December 3, 2007 - After eight years without a general wage increase, the Machinists who maintain Amtrak passenger trains are sick and tired of waiting for their ship to come in. Thanks to poorly enforced labor laws, Amtrak officials have been able to block new contract terms since the last agreement became amendable on January 1, 2000.
Members of IAM Local 1284 (left to right) Glenn Johnston, Pres. Pat McGrath, Kevin Byrd and Rick Anaya spoke with Amtrak passengers at the Wilmington, DE, station about their eight-year battle for a new contract.
The long delay was extended even further last week when President Bush announced a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to investigate the long-running dispute and make recommendations for a settlement. By creating the PEB, the President pushed back a December 2 strike deadline, removing any real incentive for Amtrak officials to bargain with unions representing rail workers.
“The laws that govern collective bargaining for rail workers have been manipulated to prevent a new agreement,” said Local 1284 member Glenn Johnston, who recently spoke with sympathetic passengers at the Amtrak station in Wilmington, DE. “We want to be treated fairly and we want the law to work the way it was designed to work.”
In a letter to the National Mediation Board (NMB), the federal agency responsible for rail negotiations, IAM Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. cited Amtrak’s demands for major work-rule concessions and its stance that it will not pay retroactive pay. “A settlement on such terms would disrupt future rounds of collective bargaining in the industry as it would reward carriers for refusing to bargain in good faith,” said Roach.
