AMTRAK PEB REPORT SUPPORTS RAIL LABOR

The PEB agreed with labor that the National Freight Agreement serves as a pattern for resolving this dispute. The recommendations include that Amtrak workers should receive the wage increases proposed by the unions, that full retroactive pay is warranted and that no work rule changes should be adopted.

When considering retroactive pay, the PEB agreed with the unions’ position that Amtrak had in essence received an interest-free loan from its employees. The members of the PEB found that “Amtrak appeared content to continue to work its employees at 1999 wage levels….” The Board determined that “In this case, nothing short of full retroactivity is fair and equitable and appropriate to restore to employees lost wages that resulted from their inability to obtain a successor agreement over the unprecedented eight year period that employees have continued to work without a new agreement.”

In rejecting Amtrak’s proposal for dramatic work rule changes, the members of the PEB noted Amtrak workers’ increased productivity and said, “The evidence introduced by Amtrak in support of its claimed need for these sweeping reforms was weak, at best, and with respect to many of the proposals bordered on non-existent.”

While the report significantly validates the arguments labor has made for more than eight years, not all the recommendations are favorable. For example, while endorsing full retroactive pay for employees, the PEB recommends it be paid in two installments, 40% within 60 days of ratification and the remaining 60% on or before the anniversary date of the first installment. Further, it recommends that retroactive pay be restricted only to employees on the payroll as of December 1, 2007, the day the PEB was created, excluding workers who retired since the current agreements became amendable. TWU and the Amtrak Shopcraft Coalition disagree with this particular recommendation.

The Amtrak Shopcraft Coalition, consisting of TWU, the Machinists Union, Transportation Communications Union (Carmen Division), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will attempt to resume negotiations with Amtrak, using the PEB’s non-binding recommendations as the roadmap to an agreement the membership can consider for ratification.

If no agreement is reached by 12:01 a.m. on January 30, 2008, Amtrak workers who have not received a wage increase in more than eight years will finally be able to strike. However, the possibility still exists that Congress may intervene in the dispute and impose an agreement. The Amtrak Shopcraft Coalition is preparing for all three scenarios: a negotiated settlement, Congressional intervention or a strike.  The membership’s continued solidarity and support is crucial as we head to an ultimate resolution. Updates will be posted on www.twu.org as developments occur.