True NorthEAST Strong and Free

Hey folks! I'm back after two weeks of vacation, feeling rested despite two WHOLE days back at work. Vancouver was nowhere near as smelly as I thought it would be--yay, private garbage pickup!--and the weather was fabulous.

Now, where were we? Right, blogging. IR blogging, specifically.

So, many of you may know this is a Rail Year--all three big rail co's were at it with the CAW, Teamsters, IBEW and sundry others this year, with varying degrees of success. Via has recently signed with the CAW, which I believe may be the last of Rail bargaining. Anyone care to correct me?

The CAW local 4000 has in fact ratified the deal, which is great. Apparently there are significant work rule changes that bring up to date "antiquated rules" within the collective agreement. I find it interesting that the union is selling this point, so I'm curious to know what that's about.

Of course, the CAW can't issue a press release on VIA without talking about government funding. And this time, I think they really should have tried to resist. Why?

"The CAW continues to pressure the federal government to put in place the necessary funding in order to continue to support this important passenger rail system that links the country together. "

Apparently the country ends at Thunder Bay.