Unionized engineers, conductors, traffic controllers, trainmen and yardmen at Canadian Pacific Railway have voted in favour of a potential strike.

The workers, represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), have voted 95 per cent in favour of authorizing their bargaining committee to launch a strike "if necessary," the union said in a release Thursday night.

The railway's 5,000 TCRC-represented staff are thus in a position to strike anytime after May 22, the union said.

The TCRC said it's been negotiating with CP since October toward renewing collective agreements that expired Jan. 1, 2012.

"Despite months of bargaining, the railway continues to seek major concessions on pensions, work rules and wages," the Teamsters said.

"The union's issues concerning fatigue management and work/life balance also remain unresolved."

The union's earliest possible strike date would be the Tuesday after the company's annual meeting of shareholders in Calgary.

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