US railway workers, nurses poised for strike

Unions representing about 57,000 workers who make up train crews at freight railroads in the United States are poised to go on strike on Friday if they cannot secure certain quality of life provisions in their contracts.

The strike could potentially bring nearly a third of all US freight to a halt. It would be the first national rail strike in 30 years.

Such a shutdown could disrupt critical deliveries of food and fuel, create transportation chaos and stoke inflation, posing a body blow to the US economy.