LABOR

Nationwide Rail Strike Threatened: The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees is threatening to halt railroad freight traffic with a nationwide strike this summer after a presidential emergency board ruled against it in a dispute over wages and work rules. The union representing 60,000 track workers issued the threat after the emergency board rejected its and other Amtrak and Conrail unions’ proposals on work rules and wage increases. The five-member emergency board appointed by President Bush after a brief nationwide strike last spring said the union demands exceed what other rail employees got in their last negotiations and would destabilize the pay structure of the industry.