Railroad Division: Current Issues: TWU Presses Amtrak on Contract
Below are the first three of a series of flyers outlining the union's continuing campaign to press Amtrak for new collective bargaining agreements.
Click here to see letter to the National Mediation Board (pdf)
TWU, TCU, IAM, IBEW Seek Release from Amtrak Talks
Following yet another unsuccessful negotiations session with Amtrak on August 29, 2006, the Joint Council of Carmen, Helpers, Coach Cleaners and Apprentices (JCC) formally requested the National Mediation Board (NMB) to proffer arbitration, which would set the wheels in motion for a strike.
Acting in concert with the JCC were the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), both of whom also formally requested release from mediation.
The JCC began negotiating in a coalition with the Machinists and Electricians earlier this year. All three shop craft unions have been without a contract since 1999.
Under the Railway Labor Act, it is now up to the NMB to decide whether to hold the parties in mediation, or to proffer arbitration as we requested. Amtrak opposes the request.
If the NMB does proffer arbitration, the unions will reject the proffer. That will almost certainly trigger the appointment of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) by President Bush, who will hold hearings and then issue non-binding recommendations.
If no contract is reached in the thirty days following the PEB's report, the unions will be free to strike.
The JCC did not reach the decision to ask for release lightly. All three unions realize that a PEB appointed by President Bush will most likely be anti-worker and side with Amtrak.
However, contract negotiations have now dragged on for almost seven years. At the last negotiations, the parties were further apart than ever. Amtrak's wage proposal is wholly unacceptable, as are its demands for radical restructuring of the shop craft workforce.
The time is long overdue for Amtrak Carmen, Cleaners and Helpers to be treated fairly. We know a strike on Amtrak may be difficult. But Amtrak's intransigence at the bargaining table leaves us no choice.
We will keep you informed of further developments.
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