(The Associated Press circulated the following on April 8, 2010.)
EAST LYME, Conn. — A labor union seeking Amtrak records on a Connecticut bridge project says the rail service wants a $6,080 fee for compiling the public documents.
The New London- Norwich Building and Construction Trades Council asked Amtrak for the documents under federal records laws, which allow agencies to charge “reasonable” fees for compiling records requests.
The union wants to know why Connecticut workers aren’t being hired for the Niantic River Bridge replacement in East Lyme.
Amtrak said in an April 1 letter that more than 4,700 documents are involved and it would take 160 hours to compile them. The fees include $38 an hour to find the documents and 25 cents a page to copy them.
Labor officials are asking Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney to look into the high fee.