Central Illinois consumers worried about higher prices can rest easy after Canada ordered an end to the rail workers' lockout

PEORIA (25News Now) – Decisions made far away are having a significant impact on Illinois’ economy.

In this case, two major Canadian freight railways, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, have locked out their employees because of a wage dispute with union members. After a work stoppage, Canadian trains will soon be running again.

Many products are exported across the border from Canada to the United States, so a prolonged work stoppage could potentially slow the economy even in central Illinois.

Now that the Canadian government has forced the railway company to end its lockout, the dire consequences feared may not occur.

Farmers were most at risk. They had sold grain at cheaper prices in anticipation of a work stoppage. US farmers depend on potash exports from Canada. Potash is a mineral used in fertilizers.

A finance professor at Bradley University said a longer work stoppage could have been felt here.

“Moody's estimates that the daily cost of this electricity [lockout] “The cost will be about $250 million. For an eight-day period, we're talking about $12 billion, and that's a lot,” said Joseph Arthur, assistant professor of finance at the Bradley Foster College of Business.

In contrast, Chicago-based Railroad Workers United released a statement Thursday afternoon expressing solidarity with the Teamsters Canadian Rail Conference, which called for better hours and wages.

Mark Burrows, a member of Railroad Workers United, opposes the Canadian government's actions and believes they could negatively impact workers' negotiations in the state of Illinois.

“This is a precedent for these issues [are] on the table here in this country. Whenever you have set a precedent, it is easier when things go to an arbitration tribunal or a PEB [Presidential Emergency Board]“Well, they do it here, they do it there,” Burrows said.

Had the lockout continued for a longer period of time, there would have been less demand for railroad workers in Illinois, which would likely have led to absenteeism among those workers, according to Burrows.

With work set to resume in the next few days, consumers will not have to worry about higher prices for products transported by rail, Professor Arthur said.

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