Long hours and safety are key issues in a strike launched by CN Rail workers on Tuesday.
About 3,200 conductors, train personnel and yard workers, including 165 in Sarnia, walked out at midnight after the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and the company failed to reach a contract agreement.
Pickets went up at three locations in Sarnia.
Conductor Don Taylor, on picket line duty on Highway 40 north of Plank Road, said they're concerned that lack of adequate rest is compromising safety.
"Minimal rest to run the trains, like I said in Sarnia here we're running a lot of chemicals, a lot of dangerous commodities through here," said Taylor. "A lot of safety concerns, they don't care if you're rested."
CN Rail workers on the picket line near Plank Road and Indian Road in Sarnia. November 19, 2019.
Taylor said they run 10 hours as it is on the trains, and a lot of workers with young families want to be able to spend more time at home.
He said scheduling in Sarnia is poor and they want to keep workers on-call 24/7.
"You go to bed at say, 10 o'clock at night with the train showing up at five in the morning, next thing you know you're getting called at 2:45 a.m. So that's one of the main reasons we're out here," said Taylor.
The strike halted freight trains across the country.
Talks were continuing with the assistance of federal mediators.
-With files from Colin Gowdy