BY RUTH ROBINETT
NEW YORK - The passenger railway Amtrak has rejected the recommendations of a government-appointed board that would extend to the 2,800 members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE) at Amtrak the same wages and benefits paid to BMWE members employed by class-1 freight railroads. This is a central demand of the BMWE, whose members have worked without a general wage increase for more than two years. The union organizes workers who construct and maintain Amtrak's railroad tracks, buildings, bridges, and electrical power systems that power trains.

The "presidential emergency board" recommended a series of 3.5 percent annual salary increases going back to 1995 through 2000, along with a series of lump sum payments. There were no recommendations on work rule adjustments, another disputed issue, other than leaving it to the company and union to resolve.

Amtrak had applauded Clinton's invoking of the Railway Labor Act on August 21, prohibiting a strike by the union for 60 days and setting up the board. Clinton's action followed the BMWE's rejection of a federal mediator's offer of arbitration.

The emergency board's recommendation isn't legally binding. The railroad and union have until October 22 to accept it or to use it as the basis for a settlement. If they haven't agreed by that time, the union can strike, or the rail bosses can impose a lockout.

Amtrak, which is partially federally funded, claims it is borrowing funds to meet its expenses and cannot pay the wages that would bring the BMWE members up to parity with other rail workers. The company said the legislative measures under consideration do not include sufficient funding to implement the board's proposals.

A September 22 company press release quotes Tom Downs, Amtrak's chairman, president, and chief executive officer, as saying, "Amtrak simply cannot sign a contract it cannot pay for." The press release continues, "The recommended wages from freight settlements, if extended to all employees, would cost Amtrak over $250 million. The company will work with the BMWE over the next 30 days to convince the union the corporation's survival will be imperiled by an impasse or work action and will continue to urge the extension of the current agreement."

It added the threat that "Amtrak will also immediately approach Congress and urge it to prepare to take appropriate action to avoid disruption of service which could cripple Amtrak operations nationwide and commuter travel throughout the Northeast, Chicago, and California."

At Amtrak's Sunnyside Yard in Queens, New York, Ron Aliendre, a track worker explained, "Ten percent over three to four years, plus a $400 bonus is being asked for. It's unreasonable for Amtrak to turn it down. We've been working almost three years without a contract.

"I think we're ready to strike," he added. "It'd be good to make a stand even for two or three days to show what the union is."

Terrence Jones, who has worked eight years at Amtrak, said, "They want to contract out work. They want us to report to the job site and start our time there, not at a central location. Amtrak makes all their money between New York and Washington. If we shut them down for even 12 hours, we could hurt them."

Jones called the government intervention "unfair. This is supposed to be a democracy. But if the government can send us back to work, what's the use of striking?"

Ruth Robinett is a member of United Transportation Union Local 1370 at Amtrak.  
 
 
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