I haven't mentioned much about the recent problems of Amtrak which included a potential strike and the difficulty of obtaining renewed funding from Congress. There are websites, newgroups, and mail lists that cover rail advocacy more closely than TrainWeb and I felt those that were interested would want the more intense coverage provided by those sites.
The strike has been averted and a bill to release $2.3 Billion dollars to Amtrak has made it through the U.S. Senate. Here is the latest News Release from NARP, the National Association of Rail Passengers:
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 15:25:26 -0500
From: narp@worldweb.net (NARP)
Subject: Senate approves bill
To all NARP members, November 7, 1997 (p.m.)--
The Senate at 2:25 pm (Eastern) approved its Amtrak authorization bill, S 738, on a voice vote. This followed approval (also on voice vote) of the Hutchison substitute amendment, which contained the bipartisan compromises worked out this week. Principally, these are:
--Labor protection (C-2) is removed from the statute upon enactment. Then, parties negotiate during a 180-day period. At the end of that period, the parties are free to resort to "self-help."
--Contracting out ban is removed from the statute, goes into (becomes part of) the existing contracts, which generally become amendable in November, 1999.
--Liability -- there is a global cap of $200 million per Amtrak accident.
Our attention now turns back to the House, which is expected to be in session tomorrow (Saturday) and possibly Sunday. There are signs the House is ready to take up authorization again. Please contact your Representatives right away, pointing out that the Senate has acted today, and that the House needs to adopt similar compromises for Amtrak -- indeed any passenger train service -- to have a future.
Senator John Kerry's (D-MA) strong speech today in favor of S 738 should reassure House members who are close to labor that it is O.K. to support the labor provisions in the Senate bill. Kerry has been the lead negotiator on labor issues in S 738.
The Capitol switchboard number is 202/224-3121. House e-mail addresses are at http://www.house.gov/writerep/.
--Scott Leonard