Canadian rail union says it has filed lawsuits challenging back-to-work orders

abcnews.go.com:

The Teamsters union that represents workers at both of Canada's largest freight railroads has filed the lawsuits it promised challenging the orders that forced employees back to work and got the trains moving again

The union that represents workers at both of Canada's largest freight railroads has filed the lawsuits it promised challenging the orders that forced employees back to work and got the trains moving again, the union announced Friday.

The lawsuits were filed Thursday afternoon, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said. But they won’t stop the trains because the government had ordered the union to stay on the job while the arbitration process plays out.

“The right to collectively bargain is a constitutional guarantee. Without it, unions lose leverage to negotiate better wages and safer working conditions for all Canadians,” the union’s president, Paul Boucher, said Friday. “We are confident that the law is on our side, and that workers will have their voices heard.”

One of the railroads, CPKC, declined to comment Friday on the lawsuits. The other, Canadian National, did not immediately respond.

The lockouts stopped traffic in Canada on the crucial railroads this month and halted shipments to and from the United States, cutting off delivery of raw materials, along with shipping of finished products from factories and to retail shelves. The lockouts lasted a little over a day at CN and four days at CPKC.

The union doesn't want to let the precedent stand that the government can block a strike and take away a union's leverage in negotiations. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government stepped into the contract dispute after both CN and CPKC locked out their workers Aug. 22. Trudeau defended the action this week