RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Amtrak has reached an agreement with the union representing workers at its soon-to-close Riverside call center over severance or relocation packages, the company said in a Friday email to the Riverside Press Enterprise.
Neither the company or representatives of the Transportation Communications Union would disclose details of the agreement. In an email, Amtrak spokeswoman Olivia Irvin told the newspaper the agreement would give workers the opportunity to relocate to Amtrak’s remaining reservation call center in Philadelphia, and that the company would attempt to find employees other jobs in California, with Amtrak or elsewhere.
The workers have protested the planned closure since it was announced in November. [See “Amtrak to close California reservation center, eliminating 550 jobs,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 15, 2018.] Amtrak said it reflected a decrease in calls to the reservation center as more people made reservations on line, while the workers and their union said some call-handling was being outsourced to a center in Florida. The workers’ efforts led a group of California congressmen to write Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson in an effort to change the closure plans. [See “Congressional delegation decries Amtrak plan to close call center,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 14, 2018.]
Jack Dinsdale, the union’s national vice president, told the Press-Enterprise efforts to keep the call center open would continue despite the agreement.
it does sound like union busting. Railroad unions never had the clout that trade unions had, as they could rarely strike or the government would be all over them. Dad said Truman threatened to throw all of them in the army if they did strike so that was over fast. And one time in late 60’s they did strike overnight but over the next day. Dad could have taken a management job but he never wanted to give up his union membership.
A very good point, is exactly what type of SCABs were convinced to train the non-union replacements working for the contractor? Unfortunately union solidarity and even basic support of the TCU Lodge representing unionized employees has been severely lacking at Riverside. The Railway Labor Act is not posted as required, A repeatedly elected “chairman” of the TCU admitted that he had never read the Railway Labor Act. Union meetings are often held nearly in secret, and are poorly attended. The work environment is such that Reservation Sales Agents are monitored to the point there is little time, while working, to talk to each other, or to other employees, unless of course a team leader or other manager seeks to berate, or “council” employees. The speeds at which calls are taken, and related pressure to perform from Amtrak’s “system,” are rigged to where often RSA’s do not even know the names of the other RSA’s seated around them. There is little or no interaction, the clock and computer see to that. At least the majority of the public can be nice to talk to while helping them book, or just answering their questions. Questions “Julie” and the internet often cannot help patrons with.
RSA’s are no longer getting the proper amount of support and training they were given in the past. Some new hire classes do not learn system maps, and are not even taken for train rides as part of their training. This in order to save time and money in training them. Needless to say some of these classes left Amtrak quickly after being subjected to the public.
What might a dedicated union conductor have said to find a class of SCABS riding his or her train, so they could work for the non-union contractor in Florida? Probably was not informed, as many conductors do not care much for reservations people, because of having to often fix their mistakes. Unfortunately Amtrak’s system is still too complex for “Julie” and the internet. It needs to be greatly simplified before jobs can be cut.
Cutting these jobs has nothing to do with the call volume, and everything to do with union busting, and finding a temporary new low to sink to. Longtime , dedicated employees know that they cannot be easily replaced. The statistics revolving around the all might call volume are an echo from the past, of the body counts sent back to the U.S.A. from the Viet Nam War.
Amtrak continually calls on railroad employees to lobby and write Congress whenever the Amtrak budget is threatened. But those same Amtrak officers conveniently forget those efforts when it is time to sign labor agreements, or arbitrarily and capriciously cut the jobs of loyal union employees.
M Singer Thanks for your post. I’ll take you at your word about Amtrak labor relations, as I myself know nothing on that topic. As for Amtrak’s safety record, well, it speaks for itself.
Frankly, if Amtrak had a 21st century concept of labor relations, this would never had become an issue. What made the situation even more egregious is how a select group of employees were actually used to train a non-union shop in Florida, presumably to be their replacement.
As Amtrak acknowledged its failure and recently reached out to a safety expert from the airline industry, perhaps it’s time for Amtrak to admit it has no traction in labor relations, and retain an expert in that field as well.
Indeed, a positive safety culture runs in parallel with a competent labor relations culture to reduce the toxic corporate culture.
You had to wait on hold for at least 15 minutes before. I wonder how long we will have to wait now!