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Congress Must Stop Amtrak Board’s Reckless Outsourcing Agenda

By Admin

For Immediate Release
For Further Information Contact
TTD, AFL-CIO
202.628.9262

WASHINGTON, DC
– Transportation labor leaders today called on Congress to stop Amtrak’s Board from trading away the safety, reliability and efficiency of our national passenger rail system through “destructive and misguided efforts to break-up Amtrak and outsource as many jobs as possible.”

At the biannual meeting of the Executive Committee of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), the organization’s 31 member unions endorsed a policy statement that stresses the need for Amtrak management to recognize the critical role that Amtrak employees play in the success of the passenger railroad.  “Amtrak workers are already the lowest paid in the industry and many have gone seven years without updated contracts or wage increases,” the statement declared.  “Using outsourcing schemes to lower wages and slash benefits at a carrier supported by taxpayers is simply outrageous and should not be tolerated by Congress.”

Amtrak targeted outsourcing of jobs ranging from reservationists to food service to maintenance repair.  In the statement, transportation unions call on Amtrak’s management to “include its workers and unions in determining how to provide services to passengers in a manner that is cost-effective, efficient, and reliable.”

“Congress must stop the Amtrak Board’s outsourcing agenda,” said Edward Wytkind, president of TTD.  “Amtrak workers are specialized and highly trained men and women with a vested interest in the survival and success of the carrier.  Lawmakers must send a message to Amtrak’s Board and the company’s new CEO that they reject outsourcing that gambles away the future survival of our national passenger railroad and threatens the livelihood of 20,000 Amtrak workers.”

Please visit www.ttd.org for a copy of the full statement.

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About TTD
Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), a Washington, D.C.-based labor organization, represents several million transportation workers in the private and public sector.  The 31 member unions of TTD work in aviation, bus, mass transit, rail, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries.  TTD works with Congress and the Executive Branch including the transportation related Federal Agencies to protect good jobs, increase wages, defend workers’ rights, increase transportation safety plus security and ensure adequate funding for our nation’s transportation infrastructure.  Under the umbrella of the AFL-CIO, which represents more than 9 million workers in the United States, TTD handles policy and legislative issues related to transportation. Visit
www.ttd.org for more information.

Attached Document or File Congress Must Stop Amtrak Board’s Reckless Outsourcing Agenda