CN conductors' strike averted after company and Teamsters union reach new tentative labour agreement

CN conductors' strike averted after company and Teamsters union reach new tentative labour agreement


MONTREAL, Feb. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI)
announced today that it has reached a new tentative collective
agreement with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference - Conductors,
Trainpersons and Yardpersons (TCRC-CTY).



The parties' negotiation of a new tentative agreement averts a
threatened strike by the union at 0001 hours Eastern Standard Time Feb.
8, 2014. The TCRC-CTY represents approximately 3,000 CN train
conductors, trainpersons, yardpersons and traffic coordinators on CN's
network in Canada.



Details of the three-year labour contract are being withheld pending
ratification.



Jim Vena, CN executive vice-president and chief operating officer, said:
"We commend the leadership of the TCRC-CTY for reaching consensus with
the company and averting a possible strike. This will ensure continued
service to our customers in a very challenging environment where
extreme winter conditions have hampered CN operations and affected
service levels.



"CN has offered to work closely with the union leadership to explain the
terms of the agreement to union members over the next 45 days to help
ensure a successful ratification of the agreement."



CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting approximately C$250
billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors,
ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer
goods, across a rail network spanning Canada and mid-America. CN -
Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway
subsidiaries -- serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince
Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the
metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago,
Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., and Jackson, Miss.,
with connections to all points in North America. For more information
on CN, visit the company's website at www.cn.ca.


Forward-Looking Statements


Certain information included in this news release is "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under Canadian securities laws. CN
cautions that, by their nature, these forward-looking statements
involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company cautions that
its assumptions may not materialize and that current economic
conditions render such assumptions, although reasonable at the time
they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Such forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the
actual results or performance of the Company or the rail industry to be
materially different from the outlook or any future results or
performance implied by such statements. Important risk factors that
could affect the forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, the effects of general economic and business conditions,
industry competition, inflation, currency and interest rate
fluctuations, changes in fuel prices, legislative and/or regulatory
developments, compliance with environmental laws and regulations,
actions by regulators, various events which could disrupt operations,
including natural events such as severe weather, droughts, floods and
earthquakes, labor negotiations and disruptions, environmental claims,
uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims
and litigation, risks and liabilities arising from derailments, and
other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by CN with
securities regulators in Canada and the United States. Reference should
be made to "Management's Discussion and Analysis" in CN's annual and
interim reports, Annual Information Form and Form 40-F filed with
Canadian and U.S. securities regulators, available on CN's website, for
a summary of major risks.


CN assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements
to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or changes in
beliefs, unless required by applicable Canadian securities laws. In the
event CN does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should
be made that CN will make additional updates with respect to that
statement, related matters, or any other forward-looking statement.


SOURCE CN

CN

CONTACT: Contacts:Media
Mark Hallman
Director, Communications & Public Affairs
(905) 669-3384 Investors
Janet Drysdale
Vice-President, Investor Relations
(514) 399-0052


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