(The Associated Press circulated the following on March 12.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak workers who came close to striking earlier this year have ratified a new contract.
About 10,000 workers represented by nine unions had been working under outdated contracts for eight years. The parties finally announced a tentative contract Jan. 18, following years of fruitless mediation.
The White House intervened late last year, just before a deadline ran out that would have permitted the workers to strike. The new contract is based on recommendations by a presidential emergency board. It makes wage increases retroactive from 2000, a provision Amtrak had resisted.
The last of the nine unions ratified the agreement this week.
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black says several unions that were not part of the mediation process have followed with their own agreements, and others are in negotiations.
The railroad has about 16,000 union-covered employees.