CLEVELAND, July 11 — The House vote on Amtrak last week was not the end of the battle for the future of the rail carrier. The BLET and other members of the Amtrak Action Alliance are still working to obtain full funding for Amtrak.
The $1.2 billion dollars given to Amtrak by the House is $600 million short of what the carrier says it needs in order to be fully funded. Full funding is critical. The House vote does not guarantee that Amtrak will be fully funded for next year.
The Senate must still pass a bill giving Amtrak funding for fiscal year 2006. If the Senate passes a similar bill, the two Houses of Congress must meet in a conference committee to reconcile the two piece of legislation. This could further jeopardize funding if members of the conference committee choose to decrease spending on the carrier.
Amtrak management is on Capitol Hill pushing for labor reforms. These reforms could have a negative impact on BLET members and all of rail labor. Some examples of reforms that have been suggested are: shifting the workforce away from the Railway Labor Act and to the National Labor Relations Act; “tort reform” that would enable Amtrak to move a Federal Employees Liability Act (FELA) suit from the state courts to the federal court; transitioning employees out of the Railroad Retirement system by allowing all new intercity passenger rail employees to be placed in Social Security; and also changes in work rules allowing management to shift workers between one area of a craft to another.
“Amtrak needs to be fully funded,” said BLET National President Don Hahs. “The Senate needs to pass a bill giving Amtrak the $1.8 billion it needs.
“Some reforms may be necessary, but we believe that management reforms are needed. The management of Amtrak has been ineffective in running the carrier and because of their ineffectiveness even full funding does not guarantee the survival of the carrier.”
BLET members are urged to contact their Senators (www.senate.gov) and ask them to support full funding for Amtrak.