(The TTD distributed the following news release on July 29.)
Would slash service and jobs, pass costs to broke states, launch privatization
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued today by Sonny Hall, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, in response to an Amtrak proposal unveiled by the Bush Administration.
“The White House plan is a death knell for passenger rail in this country, and the triumph of ideology over the needs of the American people. Asking cash-strapped states to pick up the tab for Amtrak, slicing and dicing the railroad into a number of separate pieces, and opening the door to privatization is no way to run a railroad. Congress must send this train back to the station.
“The widespread problems of privatized passenger rail – which, in England for example, led to rampant delays, increased accident rates, and higher fares – explains why the noted Economic Policy Institute (EPI) titled its recent report Amtrak Privatization: The Route to Failure. The EPI report noted that many of the British problems grew out of a labyrinth-like carving up of the railroad, a bureaucratic shell game now mirrored in the Bush plan. Amtrak was borne out of the ashes of defunct network of private passenger railroads, so calling for a privatized Amtrak reflects a gross ignorance of both history and economics.
“The Bush administration is badly out of touch on this issue. Bipartisan majorities on Capitol Hill – and large numbers of those surveyed in public opinion polls – support federal investment in Amtrak. And slashing service to hundreds of communities and millions of passengers benefits no one in a struggling economy. The White House is taking Amtrak down a track few want it go.
“The Bush plan would further starve an already anemic railroad and make scapegoats of Amtrak’s 20,000 workers. We will not permit this debate to ignore these employees, who make over 20 percent less than those in freight and commuter rail and who have sacrificed for years to keep the trains running. Their needs must be not be forgotten as we debate Amtrak’s future.
“We call upon Congress to reject this misguided proposal.”
TTD represents 35 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit www.ttd.org