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Here is a story from the Boston Globe Vital Amtrak links in rural America threatened by cuts Click here to read
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UTU-SUPPORTED AMTRAK BILL
ADVANCES
WASHINGTON, D.C. – UTU-supported legislation that would authorize annual funding of $2 billion over
the next three years to finance Amtrak's capital and operating expenses was approved April 27 by a voice vote of the U.S.
House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee.
The favorable vote came just a few days after the UTU-supported
legislation was introduced, and followed a barrage of supportive phone calls to lawmakers from UTU members and retirees.
H.R.
1630, the Amtrak Reauthorization Act, is the creation of the bi-partisan leadership of the T&I Committee, where all transportation-related
legislation must begin.
Its authors are T&I Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska); the committee’s top
Democrat, Jim Oberstar of Minnesota; Rep. Stev LaTourette (R-Ohio), the chairman of the Railroad Subcommittee, and the subcommittee’s
ranking Democrat, Corrine Brown of Florida.
“There is a common understanding of the need for near-term funding
of Amtrak,” Young told UTU International President Paul Thompson. “This bill, at its requested level of $2 billion
per year, will allow Amtrak to continue with critical work under its current five-year plan.”
There are no anti-labor
provisions in the bill -- such as are being sought by Amtrak President David Gunn -- as elimination of the assistant conductor,
removing new hires from Railroad Retirement coverage, elimination of FELA coverage and removal of Amtrak from coverage under
the Railway Labor Act.
Oberstar said, “I think very little is understood about the enormous progress Amtrak has
made in the past year to improve the quality of the track, the rail bed, its rolling stock and to upgrade its operations.”
Latourette
said, “Years of deferred maintenance have left Amtrak with a deteriorated physical infrastructure, infrastructure which
is used not only by Amtrak but also by thousands of commuters each day. H.R. 1630 provides enough funds to begin a capital
program to improve both the Northeast Corridor and Amtrak's aging long distance fleet. Most importantly, this legislation
sends a clear message that we recognize the vital role passenger rail service has in our national transportation system. I
hope that H.R. 1630 will give a renewed sense of mission to Amtrak's workforce, which has been struggling for years just to
keep the trains running.” LaTourette said.
Brown said, “Today, the committee passed a bi-partisan Amtrak
reauthorization bill that will truly serve America's traveling public. This legislation will provide a safe and reliable public
transportation system that the citizens of this nation needs and deserve.”
The T&I Committee also voted
to approve a second bill, in which the UTU had input and supports. That bill is the Railroad Infrastructure Development and
Expansion Act for the 21st Century (RIDE 21, or H.R. 1631). It also was introduced by the committee's and subcommittee's bi-partisan
leadership and would provide $60 billion for high-speed rail and rail infrastructure projects.
“All of rail
labor must get involved to help defeat the Bush administration attempt to kill Amtrak and, instead, help to pass this bi-partisan
measure to fund Amtrak, said UTU National Legislative Director James Brunkenhoefer.
“This means not only continuing
to telephone and e-mail your House and Senate lawmakers, but enlisting friends and neighbors to do the same, and even calling
local newspapers and television and radio stations to encourage them to do stories about the importance of Amtrak to the community,”
Brunkenhoefer said.
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| UTU: Don't make Amtrak Wal-Mart on wheels |
| "Amtrak President David Gunn is seeking to make Amtrak
a low-wage, poor-benefits, anti-union Wal-Mart on wheels," said UTU International President Paul Thompson, following Gunn's
testimony April 21 before the Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee. Gunn testified along with Amtrak Chairman David
Laney, a Bush appointee.
"Gunn and Laney had the opportunity to support the bi-partisan legislation of the House Transportation & Infrastructure
Committee, which would keep our national intercity rail passenger network intact and ensure a loyal, competent and alert work
force," Thompson said. That bi-partisan effort proposes multi-year federal funding of Amtrak of $2 billion annually, with
no adverse impacts on employees.
"Instead, Gunn and Laney attacked Amtrak employees, who have kept Amtrak running for more than three decades in
spite of perpetual morale-busting insufficient federal funding," Thompson said.
Among the Gunn-Laney proposals are sacking assistant conductors, scrapping coverage of the Federal Employers' Liability
Act (FELA), canceling Railroad Retirement for new employees, opening some routes to private operators using non-union crews,
and negotiating wages, work rules and working conditions free from provisions of the Railway Labor Act.
"I predict hell will freeze over before those proposals gain passage by Congress," Thompson said. "This is shameful,
anti-union rhetoric one expects from Wal-Mart -- not Amtrak management, which should celebrate the loyalty of their employees
given the conditions under which they work.
"Gunn and Laney claim their objective is to return Amtrak's Northeast Corridor to a good state of repair and operational
flexibility," Thompson said. "That objective, along with improving the quality of Amtrak service, opening new markets and
making the long-distance route structure more efficient can be realized without turning Amtrak into a Wal-Mart on wheels.
"The proposal to sack assistant conductors would mean leaving up to 600 passengers in seven separate coaches to
fend for themselves in the event of an accident, fire or terrorist attack," Thompson said. "I was shocked that Gunn and Laney
referred to assistant conductors as 'ticket collectors,' even though they know full-well that assistant conductors are responsible
for passenger safety and are the front-line of defense against terrorist threats.
"Repeatedly, the National Transportation Safety Board has cited the efforts of assistant conductors in saving lives
following passenger train accidents," Thompson said. "The conductor has a responsibility to assess accident damage, give instructions
to the engineer and communicate with the dispatcher. The assistant conductor leads passengers to safety and helps the conductor
coordinate assistance from emergency responders," Thompson said.
"The Gunn-Laney attack on FELA follows a similar attack by freight railroads - and both will be beaten back by
the UTU," Thompson said. "FELA creates a powerful incentive not to cut safety corners. Safe railroads need not fear FELA.
"The attack on Railroad Retirement is reckless, unprovoked and an especially mean-spirited assault on working families,"
Thompson said. "The Railroad Retirement Board has warned that without Amtrak participation, Railroad Retirement benefits to
hundreds of thousands of current and future beneficiaries would have to be cut by 16 percent.
"Opening Amtrak routes to non-union operators, and removing Amtrak employees from coverage of the Railway Labor
Act, is intended to force wages down to the level paid by Wal-Mart, where employees are forced to work two or more jobs to
feed their families," Thompson said. "Railroads agree that going to work fatigued is like going to work drunk, meaning this
proposal could have devastating effects on train and passenger safety."
"Gunn and Laney wrongly claim these anti-labor initiatives are necessary to make Amtrak more competitive," Thompson
said. "In fact, they acknowledge Amtrak is carrying record numbers of passengers and could carry even more if it had additional
coach and track-access capacity. The bi-partisan T&I Committee approach, which they ignore without explanation, would
accomplish that objective.
"All but the most cold-hearted conservatives - those who would ship Amtrak jobs to third-world nations if they
could -- are going to consign the Gunn-Laney anti-labor proposals to the dust bin of history," Thompson said. "Then, we can
return to a more constructive dialogue of preserving and improving our national intercity rail passenger network.
"The UTU has been -- and continues to be -- prepared to work constructively with Amtrak management to make Amtrak
a world-class and efficient operation," Thompson said. "This uncalled for malicious and nasty attack on loyal and hard-working
Amtrak employees by Gunn and Laney serves only to destroy constructive dialogue and teamwork." |
| April 22, 2005 |
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Opinion: 'Amtrak, the railroad that can't'
(The
following column, "Amtrak, the railroad that can't (without more
cash)" was written by Robert Cohen of the Neward Star-Ledger's
Washington
Bureau. It appeared Monday, May 2, 2005.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On Capitol Hill, it's known as the annual Amtrak
death
dance.
The financially strapped railroad, seeking to avoid bankruptcy,
pleads for increased subsidies. The White
House balks, congressional
supporters and detractors battle it out and at the 11th hour provide
just enough money to
keep the passenger rail line on the tracks.
Once again this spring, the ritual is unfolding between those who see
Amtrak
as an essential service that should be subsidized by the
government, and those -- including the Bush administration --
who
believe it should become a private, self-sustaining business.
"About half the members of the House and Senate
support Amtrak
because their constituents support it, and half think it has been
infected somehow by the government
and needs to be set free or die,"
said Thomas Downs, a former Amtrak president. "The debate goes on and
on, but they
can't seem to reform it and they won't adequately fund
it."
The debate this year comes as all 20 of Amtrak's Acela
Express trains
have been sidelined until this summer because of cracks in brake
discs -- the latest in a long series
of mishaps plaguing the premier
high speed train service that has run along the busy Northeast
Corridor since December
2000.
It also comes as a new round of reform proposals are being offered in
Congress by the White House and Amtrak,
which again is begging for
continued subsidies to avoid insolvency while expressing a
willingness to consider some changes.
"There
has been a stalemate for years. We may be at a critical
moment," said Martin Robins, director of the Voorhees Transportation
Center
at Rutgers University.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, citing the 2004 operating
loss of $635 million and
the $29 billion in federal subsidies
provided over 34 years, has told Congress the current business model
is "unsustainable."
The administration, he said, will oppose any new
money for Amtrak next year unless there is significant reform.
For
the White House, this means dismantling and privatizing Amtrak,
which now carries 25 million passengers a year.
Under
the administration plan, states would have the authority to
join together to run regional, inter-city rail networks and
to
contract with private companies, including Amtrak, which would bid to
operate trains on their routes.
Much
of the costs now borne by Amtrak and the federal government --
including upgrading and maintaining rails and covering operational
losses
for many long-distance trains -- would be shifted to the
states. Ultimately, the plan could end many of Amtrak's 15 long-
distance
routes.
Amtrak President David Gunn said in an interview that the
administration plan is "totally unrealistic" because
it would try to
quickly reshape the passenger rail system inefficiently and without
adequate federal financial support.
A number of influential Amtrak supporters, including Sen. Trent Lott
(R-Miss.),
chairman of the Senate Commerce subcommittee, chided the
White House for the "ridiculousness of that proposal," and pledged
to
come up with a plan "one way or another" by this summer to preserve
Amtrak as "a true nationwide system."
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who believes the administration's
approach is shortsighted,
said at a recent Senate hearing that "no
passenger rail system in the world makes money" or can sustain itself
without
government help. He noted that Germany invested $9 billion in
passenger rail in 2003 alone while Congress gives Amtrak
just over $1
billion a year.
For 2006, Gunn has asked Congress for $1.8 billion, up from $1.2
billion this year.
Without the $600 million increase, he said, "the
company will become insolvent."
A House committee, siding with
Amtrak, voted last week to authorize
$2 billion for next year, but a fierce fight will come later in the
House and Senate
when the money actually has to be appropriated.
While asking for more money, Gunn and the Amtrak board of directors
have
offered a reform blueprint that seeks to meet some
administration demands for free market competition. But the Amtrak
plan
would be far more costly.
Like the White House, Amtrak said it would support states joining to
develop rail corridors
and gradually becoming the purchasers of
competitively bid services.
The administration has proposed the states
and the federal government
each pick up 50 percent of maintenance and infrastructure costs in
these corridors, but Amtrak
wants an 80 percent federal contribution.
It also calls for money-losing long-distance trains to meet
performance
standards or be eliminated.
Amtrak, moreover, wants the federal government to spend at least $2
billion up front
to get the physical infrastructure on the busy
Northeast Corridor in a "state of good repair," an element not part
of
the administration's package. And unlike the administration,
Amtrak has proposed it maintain ownership of the physical
assets and
operations on the Washington to Boston route.
Amtrak also wants the federal government to assume its
entire $3.8
billion debt -- a plan the administration opposes -- and relieve it
of some of its labor obligations, including
a generous retirement
plan. This idea is strongly opposed by the railway labor unions.
New Jersey Transportation
Commissioner Jack Lettiere, who oversees NJ
Transit's extensive commuter services, said the Bush administration
has
proposed saddling states with huge repair and maintenance costs
on the Northeast Corridor they cannot afford. And Amtrak,
he said,
wants to shift some new costs to states without giving them control
of the assets or the operations that affect
daily commuter service.
Both plans, Lettiere said, are "unreasonable."
"I'm trying to be optimistic, but no
one has offered a realistic
proposal that the states can accept," said Lettiere.
Downs, the former Amtrak president,
said the conflicts over
philosophy, money and power that have existed for years do not seem
to have changed very much
despite the latest flurry of activity.
"There remains institutional, political and regional gridlock, and
the railroad
is still caught in the switches," Downs said.
May 2, 2005
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