The Nation - News from July 16, 1986

President Reagan ordered the establishment of an emergency panel to effectively delay for two months the possibility of a nationwide rail strike that could have occurred as early as July 25. The nation’s major railroads and six unions representing about one-third of their workers have been in voluntary arbitration for the last 20 days in an effort to reach an agreement on new contracts following nearly two years of unsuccessful negotiations. Under Reagan’s directive establishing the three-member panel, the unions cannot strike the carriers until mid-September.