Teamster Canada Rail Conference: Don Ashley

 Don Ashley is the new National Legislative Director for the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) and one of his primary concerns is safety for the members of his union and for the public. He has spent his life since college as a railway worker. He started as a trainman, progressed

New Spirit of Cooperation in Rail

 Photo by Frederic Dekkal Everything old is new again, and a new spirit of cooperation in negotiations between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) union and two of Canada’s biggest railways, CN and VIA Rail, has the potential to use old-style sitting down and talking to change a century of

Jean-Michel Hallé

 ABOVE: Teamster Jean-Michel Hallé takes a rest from union matters and recharges on the water. Described as “up and coming” by his colleagues at Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), Jean-Michel Hallé has recently taken over the union position of General Chairman of CN Eastern Lines, which includes negotiations between union

Profiles: Rob Smith

 Rob Smith is a fourth-generation railroader. Hailing from Perth, Ontario, he started as a brakeman (a position now called a trainman) with CP Rail in nearby Smiths Falls, where he spent much of his career. The legislation of safe working conditions for railway workers and the communities through which railways

Profiles: Rex Beatty

 Like most railway workers Rex Beatty started when he was a young man. Beginning as a brakeman and becoming a conductor he has always been an active union member, and in 2011 he was elected president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC). The TCRC is an autonomous group within

Heal the Rail

 photo by Frederic Dekkal When rail charters were first extended in the 1800s, the great gift of expropriated land came with expectations— that far-flung communities would be well-served, that grain would get to ports quickly and affordably, that goods would be moved efficiently for the betterment of the economy, and