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IBEWs Stake in the Fight May 2002 IBEW Journal
More than 200 IBEW members of Local 362 work at Washingtons Union Station, performing federally mandated service and maintenance on Amtrak trains. In Washington, D.C. where approximately 200 Amtrak and commuter trains arrive and depart each day, each is inspected by IBEW electrical technicians in what they call turn-around service, meaning when the train arrives, the Local 362 members run tests and perform basic service and prepare it to depart. The local also represents the workers who work on the trains air conditioner and rail phones. Its good, steady work, said Local 362 Chairman James Meyers, who is also an assistant general chairman for System Council 6. We dont have the seasonal peaks and valleys that other areas of the IBEW have. But every few years, some members of the legislative or executive branches of the government decide Amtrak is a drain on public funds and propose abolishing it. Of publicly-funded transportation options, including roads, airlines, mass transit and ports, passenger rail is the only one without a guaranteed revenue stream from Congress. As the sabers rattle on Capitol Hill, Amtrak officials have increasingly decided to discontinue maintenance and other work that is not mandated by law, IBEW Railroad Department Director Ray Cobb said. Under federal law, locomotives must be serviced and inspected every 24 hours. Everything else is a matter of judgment. Nine of the IBEW members furloughed in Wilmington, Delaware have been hired on in Washington, D.C. A total of 1,000 Amtrak workers have been laid off this year. Next | PreviousAll Aboard | Railroads
Get Shortchanged | IBEW's Stake in the Fight |
 The coming of the high-speed Acela (above) raised hopes among Amtrak workers, like these members (left) of Local 362, Washington, D.C., who were the first to learn about servicing the state-of-the-art locomotive. Now they are wondering what the future will hold. |
