7 years after contract expired, Amtrak workers demand raises

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=6534817&nav=S6aKaBM6

7 years after contract expired, Amtrak workers demand raises

Associated Press - May 18, 2007 7:05 AM ET

Amtrak workers say they're tired of waiting for new union contracts.

About 10,000 Amtrak workers have been working under a contract that ended at the end of 1999. Roughly 5,000 more have been without an up-to-date agreement since the end of 2004.

Barry Squires is a 30-year Amtrak employee from Philadelphia. He says Amtrak presidents have been repeatedly asking labor "to take it on the chin" so it can survive till the new year -- then repeating that message year after year.

Hundreds of Amtrak workers rallied in Washington, DC, yesterday to demand a new contract that includes raises and back pay.

[MADem]

1. Well, with gas prices, trains may be viable once more.

It is a form of transport that the damned government should subsidize, IMO. Get cars off the roads, trucks, too.