CHICAGO — The United States may be hurtling toward a freight rail strike, one that could spill over into passenger service in much of the country. Railroads are cutting shipments; Amtrak has stopped some passenger routes. The sticking point isn't pay. It's the tough lifestyle that railroading imposes on people who drive trains — long shifts, lots of nights away, and the need to be on-call, able to get to work in two hours or less, for weeks on end.
On a normal day, about 7,000 freight trains crisscross the U.S, according to the Association of American Railroads, hauling most of the stuff that makes the economy work. But this whole system could shut down later this week because the people who drive these trains for a living are so angry, according to Dennis Pierce, who's president of the engineers union, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
