The union representing thousands of Canada's rail workers has filed an appeal against a government order that had forced them to return to work. Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked out workers on August 22, following months of failed attempts to reach a new collective bargaining deal with Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC). A day later, Canada's labor board imposed binding arbitration on the railways and union, requiring the work stoppage to end as soon as possible while the two sides continue negotiating. Now, the TCRC is challenging that decision from the labor board, claiming that it interferes with the union's ability to collectively bargain. "These decisions, if left unchallenged, set a dangerous precedent where a single politician can bust a union at will," TCRC president Paul Boucher said in an August 30 news release. "The right to collectively bargain is a constitutional guarantee.