Here’s how Congress could avoid disastrous rail shutdown

By John J. Brennan III

We may see a rail shutdown on or after Friday — the culmination of a long contract dispute between the major railroads and their many unions.

The door was opened to a shutdown on Aug. 16 when a Biden-appointed Presidential Emergency Board issued its nonbinding settlement recommendations. Under the Railway Labor Act, the parties have had 30 days to consider these recommendations. After Friday, the parties may engage in “self-help,” a legal euphemism for a national strike by...