Amtrak and representatives of nine labor unions signed a deal Friday that averted a strike which would have crippled train services in New York City, Chicago and California. Amtrak said in a statement that the details of the agreement will not be made public till the ratification process by the affected labor unions has begun. The strike, if it had happened, would have been the first in Amtrak's 36 year history.
After years without a contract unions representing maintenance workers and dispatchers had threatened to go on strike from January 30th. President Bush had earlier appointed an emergency board to help negotiate a labor agreement and a cooling off period had been ordered.
Amtrak was offering signing bonuses of $4,500 and pay rises of 24% between now and 2010. The unions who have only been getting cost of living increases since their contract expired in 1999 want pay increases to be retroactive to 2000. Amtrak had been resisting this as it would cost the company about $215 million. Amtrak also seeks to introduce work rule changes which will allow it to assign workers to different jobs. This is opposed by unions who claim that assigning workers to jobs which they are not trained for can be dangerous.
With oil prices hitting record highs, and congestion worsening at airports and on highways, lawmakers are looking at railways as an important part of the national infrastructure, worthy of federal support. Amtrak could look forward to increased federal subsidies in future.