Off the rails
If you were watching you might have noticed that sticker on the tail end of a school bus. Something about how this vehicle stops at crossings. Not locally mind you. The real thieves took away all their rails back in 1989 but elsewhere that is still a relevant statement. However as of midnight the trains are not running. A nationwide dispute that puts stockholders and politicians back into attention mode. I can see the notices now telling members of parliament that they are being recalled from their summer hiatus to take care of a nation wide problem. The trains have stopped. And with it the movement of most of the products used in this country. I know not everything not all the time but much of our commerce depends on the railway taking things from here to there and back again. If you shut everything off there will be problems. As as statement goes perhaps not today perhaps not tomorrow but sooner or later there will be problems. Food supplies that are no longer on the market shelves. Fuel no longer available at the pumps. And so much more. I have no supporting figures but I believe that the railroads are still a pretty big deal in Canadian terms. And so what is the problem? Well of course it is money. The workers are aware that the railroad shareholders are still getting rich even though their incomes have plateaued. Enough to make someone join a union and then go on strike I guess. How long will it last. Or? No one knows for sure for based on precedent this will not be a long strike. The politicians will put things back on the rails as they say and there will be a lot of employees that are upset but then again, a pay-check is important to them as well. And so short term we will all tighten our belts and be aware that if there’s a shortage in the supply chain we can point fingers at the railroads. Even if it is not their fault.
