Potential rail strike - EU energy plan - Trafficked teen penalized

Unions in the current talks have been offered significant pay increases. Three of 12 unions, representing about half of the 115,000 workers affected by the negotiations, have yet to sign deals. They are grappling with railroads over working conditions that they have said worsened after the industry slashed its workforce by almost 30% during the past six years.
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Railroads have until midnight on Friday to reach tentative deals with [the holdout unions]. The potential shutdown could freeze almost 30% of U.S. cargo shipments, stoke inflation, impede supplies of food and fuel, cost the U.S. economy about $2 billion per day. The U.S. energy sector relies on railroads to move coal, crude oil, ethanol and other products.
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Rail customers have said a shutdown will send them scrambling for alternative transportation and storage. It takes about four trucks to handle cargo in a single rail car. The United States does not have the estimated 467,000 trucks or the necessary labor to support such a shift. Beyond that, some cargo is too heavy or large to travel over the road.