Hotline #6 - October 30, 1997

The House Amtrak reauthorization bill was pulled off the floor on October 24 by Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bud Shuster, after losing a key labor-reform vote. Sen. James Jeffords (R.-Vt.) then developed Senate Joint Resolution 37, which would freeze Amtrak pay until a reauthorization became law. Then, a 90-day negotiating period would begin, to be followed by arbitration. The goal was to give labor an incentive to support reauthorization, the key to unlocking the $2.3 billion in Amtrak capital funds in the tax law passed in July.

As reported in the October 28 Wall Street Journal, the Amtrak Board has taken over Amtrak's negotiations with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes, so amateurs represent Amtrak while pros continue to represent labor. It was the board, under pressure from the White House, that negotiated an eight-day strike postponement, to 12:00 am on November 6. This undercut Jeffords, so the Senate did not vote on his resolution this week. The new strike deadline is the day before Congress plans to adjourn for the year.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said on October 28, "Unless there's some strong labor changes and some strong liability changes we won't get an Amtrak reform bill, and if we don't get it, Amtrak will probably die." He hopes to bring up a strike and reauthorization bill before November 6, to give time for the bill to go to the House and a conference committee before adjournment.

Republicans have already compromised twice on labor reforms -- the two Quinn amendments of 1995. They offer a third softening measure, clarifying that labor reforms would not apply to any other carrier. They have indicated room for compromise on liability and on the composition of the Amtrak board.

Thus far, however, Democrats seem less concerned with saving Amtrak than with blocking strong labor changes. Only five House Democrats voted with Chairman Shuster last week.

All legislators must hear clearly that saving Amtrak is more important than blocking labor reforms that merely put Amtrak workers on a level playing field with all workers in America outside of railroading. Many Amtrak employees would favor labor reform if they knew its absence would cost them their jobs.

If you are an Amtrak employee or if you have a friend who is, please consider or ask your friend to consider whether 23,000 jobs should be lost because of the anti-reform agenda of unions less concerned with the welfare of their Amtrak members than with the impact of Amtrak developments on union negotiations with freight railroads. Democrats will listen when constituents who say they are union members support the Amtrak reauthorization bill.

The Republicans would take the contracting-out ban and labor protection out of federal law and put in six months' protection, rather than the current six years, into contracts. Amtrak could negotiate these issues, but would get something in return for reinstating any contracting-our ban or expanding labor protection. Another proposal you might suggest would remove the provisions from federal law, have the parties negotiate for a fixed time, and establish a Presidential Emergency Board on these issues at the end of that period. If the parties rejected the Board's recommendations, they would then be able to resort to self-help, that is, management could impose a new contract and labor could strike.

If you can't answer legislators' questions about the reauthorization, call, e-mail, or fax them to NARP, saying whether you want us to respond to you or to your legislator.

If there is a strike, Amtrak trains that do not use the Northeast Corridor should be unaffected. Among commuter services, Boston-area and Connecticut Shore Line East commuter rail would shut down totally, Virginia Railway Express would terminate at L'Enfant Plaza and MARC CSX lines would terminate at Silver Spring and Greenbelt. But arrangements protecting Long Island, New Jersey Transit, and SEPTA would be reviewed after a week. Separately, SEPTA commuter rail engineers say they are overworked and have threatened to strike as early as November 9 if service is not cut 15%.