British Columbians, CN appoints David P Edison to oversee BC rail

[HEyHEY]

These press releases keep showing up in my email. I don't know who gave them my email....maybe the CAJ. Anyway, seeing as how it will give you a heads up on tomorrow's papers here ya go. It is a press release so don't bother looking for any spins.



CN appoints David P. Edison to oversee BC Rail integration


VANCOUVER, Dec. 9, 2003 ¾ David P. Edison, a CN executive with 38 years of railroading experience, will lead the transition team responsible for the integration of BC Rail into CN. The British Columbia government this month passed legislation authorizing the CN/BC Rail partnership.
Edison has extensive experience in rail operations, car and locomotive maintenance and senior management. During the last four years, he was vice-president, Pacific Division, in charge of all CN operations, engineering and regional sales and other activities in Alberta and British Columbia. He will continue to be based in Vancouver, but will spend considerable time in key rail operating communities in the B.C. North and Interior.
E. Hunter Harrison, CN’s president and chief executive officer, said: “Dave brings seasoned judgment and sound leadership to his new assignment, as well as extensive knowledge and understanding of BC Rail, the shippers it serves, its employees and the communities they live in.”
In his new position, Edison will be responsible for the integration of BC Rail employees and operations into CN -- a gradual process that is expected to take up to three years. Edison will also oversee construction of CN’s state-of-the-art wheel shop in Prince George, realignment of rail yards in North Vancouver, Squamish and Prince George, reconnection of CN’s Hythe-Dawson Creek line, workforce planning, and other aspects of the integration. He will report to Peter Marshall, senior vice-president, Western Canada Region. Marshall, a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, will be based in Edmonton.
Edison, a native of Newfoundland, has held a number of progressively senior positions at CN in the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia. He resides in Vancouver.
The CN/BC Rail partnership transaction is subject to approval by Canada’s Competition Bureau and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2004.
A photograph of Edison, information on the partnership, and maps of the combined networks are available at www.cn.ca/BCRailpartnership, or click on the CN-BC Rail icon on CN’s home page, www.cn.ca.
Canadian National Railway Company spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.
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[zx22778a]

1. And watch all the jobs disappear.

[HEyHEY]

2. Yeah I'm gonna be pissed about this for years

BC rail made a lot of money...so why get rid of it? Oh wait, Campbell is an asshile ...I forgot.

They are trying to bill it as a no loss for jobs because they are opening shuttle rail in the North and making a few new stops...yeah so some guy working at BC rail's job goes to a guy in PG..that's a real comfort to him I'm sure.

[zx22778a]

4. I work for CN

and they're a nasty bunch. Simply cut all the jobs to an absolute bare minimum, expect management to work 60 hours plus a week, reduce maintenance to the minimum government standards etc.

When it was owned by the federal government it was a nice place to work and the priority was providing a service to Canadians. Now it's controlled by the American shareholders and the only thing that counts is the bottom line.

CN is far and away the most profitable major North American railroad (the so-called Class 1's), about 37 cents of every dollar in revenue is profit. No one else comes close. CN has been buying up American roads and laying off all the administrative staff, moving the work here to Canada. When CN bought the Illinois Central there was all sorts of nice words about how this would save jobs, but a few years later, all the accounting work was in Toronto and Customer Service (such as it is) was in Winnipeg. Same with the Wisconsin Central and other smaller railroads.

Next target I figure will be that Kansas City Southern and then the Texas Mexican Railword. CN will then run from the Atlantic in Halifax to the Pacific in Vancouver and from the Arctic Ocean at Churchill all the way to Mexico City.

The latest thing is, we're not supposed to call it Canadian National when talking to customers, seems Canadian isn't a big selling point, We're told to call it CN. Sorry I have way too much seniority to have to put up with this kind of BS, and when I answer the phone I make a point of saying "Canadian National, zx22778a speaking, how can I help you.

I would have answered this much earlier but I wasn't completely happy sending something like this from a company computer.

[Lisa]

3. just imagine what'd happen to BC Hydro ...

Those Enron and Arthur Andersen types would be lined up at the trough, drooling, if that giveaway makes it through.