Big Labor Republicans
York, Byron
Big Labor Republicans In rescuing Amtrak, a new wing of the congressional majority party appears eager to outdo the Democrats in the benefits it offers powerful unions. Was this in the...
...It's an open question, because the money-losing railroad is the target of a "zero out" campaign by conservative Republicans...
...For their part, the unions say they'll give up their congressionally mandated C-2 rights and place their faith in collective bargaining...
...We would never have agreed to accept any change If Amtrak had eliminated the Empire Builder—laying off, say, an engineer who had been with the railroad for six years—C-2 would have required Amtrak to continue paying him full salary and benefits for six years...
...That seems curious, since Amtrak President Thomas Downs has said he favors getting rid of C-2...
...Given labor's apparently weakened position, and all parties' apparently sincere opposition to C-2, one might have expected a quick end to the matter, especially in a Congress dominated by conservative Republicans...
...Of the 4,800 people laid off by Amtrak this year, he says, about 300 collect C-2...
...If there were still no agreement then, the unions would be free to strike, and Amtrak would be free to lock them out...
...lib Why wait to do it...
...In recent months several members of the House majority have joined liberal Democrats and union leaders in fashioning a plan that appears to kill C-2 but actually extends its life...
...Here's how it would work...
...mtrak receives $1 billion a year from the taxpayers...
...If they couldn't reach an accord, the matter would be sent to a Presidential Emergency Board, which would have 60 days to suggest a solution...
...Mark Maria honored in the Wail StreetIotsnal as the nation's top producer for one of the counlrys leading life insurance caniers...
...The dispute is sent to the Presidential Emergency Board, whose members are selected by Bill Clinton...
...Under pressure to cut costs, Amtrak recently cut back service on several routes, typical among them the money-losing "Empire Builder" line linking Chicago, Minneapolis, Spokane, Seattle, and Portland...
...Take the recent debate on Amtrak, which led to the first serious labor reform vote of the 104th Congress...
...Shortly afterward, New York Republican Susan Molinari fought back, trying to re-insert the original "six years to six months" provision in a measure up for consideration by the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee...
...There's no real difference, in other words...
...management argued that if Amtrak were shut down, everybody would be eligible for C-2, costing the taxpayers between $2.1 billion and $5.2 billion in severance pay alone...
...They should remember John Dingell's Amtrak gambit from the last Congress...
...It's one thing to come up with a plan, even a detailed one, to balance the budget...
...C-2 is nearly as generous for workers who have less time with Amtrak...
...Environmentalists would take it on the chin...
...It's completely out of whack with reality in 1995," one railroad official says...
...The amendment just says let labor and Amtrak work it out," says Mike Pietkiewicz, the staffer who is handling the issue for Quinn...
...The debate illustrates the perilous nature of the budget war that has consumed Congress this summer...
...W hat gives...
...What are the odds," says the Republican staffer, "that the Clinton-appointed Emergency Board will do any great damage to C-2 and risk an Amtrak strike right before the election...
...They responded with a bit of the GOP's own creed: Haven't you Republicans always charged that the six-year rule was an example of statist Democrats micro-managing Amtrak in labor's favor...
...by Byron York 1 f you believed the pundits in the days after the 1994 elections, there were several groups that stood to lose big in the new, conservative Congress...
...They viewed this as the doomsday weapon," says the Hill staffer...
...The president appoints five members...
...To hear some tell it, for the same high-minded reasons as the Democrats...
...Yet it appears C-2 might survive for quite a while, saved by . Republicans...
...Thus Amtrak would no longer be required by federal law to pay C-2 benefits...
...Why don't we just get rid of C-2 altogether...
...The union, with C-2 in its contract, makes no concessions...
...they were joined by even more Republicans: Steve LaTourette of Ohio, Bill Martini of New Jersey, Tom Petri of Wisconsin, Randy Tate of Washington, and Don Young of Alaska...
...Amtrak and the unions would be given 270 days to come up with a new labor agreement...
...There's one more thing: With the 100 Days long gone and 1996 approaching, some Republicans have concluded that their best chance for re-election will come from resisting efforts to cut spending...
...The obvious solution is to get rid of C-2, let the railroad and the unions enter into collective bargaining, and come up with a real-world agreement acceptable to all...
...Formerly a once-a-day train, the Empire Builder now runs just four times a week...
...it would instead be required to do so by its labor contracts...
...500,000 $29 / MO...
...But Downs, says the staffer, "is being kept on a short leash by the board...
...The last member is Downs, who serves at the pleasure The 100 Days are over...
...It would have reduced the maximum six-year severance benefit to six months, afigure more in line with standards in private industry...
...It just boils down to politics...
...No agreement is reached by the end of the 270-day period, about July 1, 1996...
...Even more so when one considers how it would actually work...
...And besides, despite its dire financial condition, Amtrak never fought back...
...No labor union in the country enjoys those kinds of benefits...
...There's been plenty of that kind of talk in the past, of course, and Amtrak has always survived...
...W by did they do it...
...The American Spectator September 1995 23 [before now], but we want to do all we can to save Amtrak...
...And it's not right for Congress to decide the working of business now...
...So far, so good...
...No labor union in the country enjoys those kinds of benefits...
...For years both the Democrats and the unions loved C-2...
...N ow things look more serious...
...Was this in the Contract...
...All arrangements, agreements and conditions," it states, "shall become part of the collective bargaining contracts between Amtrak and all labor organizations which have such contracts with Amtrak...
...So, just to be safe, he pulled back and saved C-2 without actually saying so...
...It's a stacked process," says one conservative Republican...
...Others point to less idealistic reasons...
...In addition to Quinn, Republicans Sherwood Boehlert of New York, Bob Franks of New Jersey, Jay Kim of California, John Mica of Florida, and Spencer Bachus of Alabama all voted for it...
...But now they have no choice...
...Joel Hefley of Colorado attempted to attach what was called a "six years to six months" amendment to the bill...
...If it had passed, the enormously generous C-2 benefit would virtually have disappeared overnight...
...But the second section orders that the old C-2 provisions be incorporated into all of Amtrak's labor agreements...
...They said, 'We dare you to shut us down, because it would cost more to close down than to operate for a year.'" The tactic always worked...
...So attractive, in fact, that the Democrats persuaded New York Republican Jack Quinn, a moderate who represents a traditionally Democratic district in Buffalo, to sponsor the scheme...
...You had a lobbying vacuum," says a conservative Hill staffer, noting that Amtrak displayed no enthusiasm in the fight to kill C-2...
...So would gun controllers...
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...You're not getting any younger, and every year you delay the more expensive coverage becomes...
...You can...
...While there still may be some compromise agreement on labor reform, it's quite possible that congressional foot-dragging on C-2, along with the equally troublesome issue of whether the railroad will be allowed to contract out for functions such as maintenance and reservations, might be the end of Amtrak...
...Their' s a misconception that you lose your job, they mail you a check and you go home and drink beer and watch 0.J.," Brunkenhoefer says...
...Suppose the Quinn amendment becomes law on the first of October...
...The American Spectator September 1995 25...
...four years entitles them to four, and so on...
...The unions were very worried," says a railroad official familiar with the situation...
...The clause, mirroring others that have long applied to private rail lines, mandates extraordinary benefits for Amtrak workers who lose their jobs as a result of route closings...
...1 n the last Congress, when the Amtrak Reauthorization Bill was up for consideration, conservative Republican Rep...
...And affirmative actioneers...
...So far, Amtrak has carefully planned its route changes to minimize its C-2 payments...
...The Board takes 60 days to come up with a suggested solution, which moves the matter to about September 1, 1996, two months before the presidential election...
...If the railroad were somehow free to do what is economically best for itself, there would be many, many more C-2 eligible workers out of a job.sion to free-market conservatism...
...Then–Energy and Commerce Committee chairman John Dingell, not sure he had the votes to preserve C-2 even in a Democratic Congress—and not wanting to force Democrats to defend an indefensible policy before the 1994 elections—removed the bill from consideration rather than risk losing...
...And they've all scrambled for rhetorical cover by proclaiming their devotion to free-market principles...
...If during that time he got a lesser paying job, Amtrak would have to pay him the difference between his new salary and his old—again, for a maximum of six years...
...Back then, C-2 usually figured in the debate as a reason to continue funding the railroad...
...She lost 36-21...
...If Amtrak had eliminated the Empire Builder—laying off, say, an engineer who had been with the railroad for six years—C-2 would have required Amtrak to continue paying him full salary and benefits for six years...
...How could that happen in the new Congress...
...The answer requires a closer look at the amendment...
...We're trying to get away from micro-management...
...If your son or daughter asked you this question, would you have the right answer...
...What is more difficult to understand is why the Quinn Amendment won 13-3 in the Railroad Subcommittee...
...The fact that it consumed months of wrangling and negotiating shows just how hard it is to change anything on Capitol Hill...
...The 270-day clock begins ticking...
...So it is entirely possible that C-2, entrenched in Amtrak's labor contracts, will live at least for another year, and perhaps much longer, despite the public pronouncements of Republicans and Democrats who claim to oppose it...
...It's completely out of whack with reality in 1995," says one railroad official familiar with the situation...
...Dingell killed an Amtrak reauthorization bill rather than risk losing it...
...Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena appoints two, and is a member himself...
...A few of the predictions turned out to be right, but they were remarkably wrong in the case of labor...
...The theme of the bill," he says, "is that Amtrak ought to be made to run more like a private corporation...
...It makes you wonder just how serious Republicans are about changing the way Washington works...
...The once-powerful lawmaker feared that Democrats might lose the elections if they openly defended an outrageous policy like C-2...
...Amtrak's nine-member board of directors is a Clinton administration monopoly...
...CI Daddy, what would happen to me and mommy if you died...
...If they've worked for the railroad five years, they get five years of full salary and benefits...
...And the outcome shows how a conservative cause can be easily defeated when just a few Republicans drift to the other side...
...But, in truth, eliminating the Empire Builder might well have cost more than keeping it running...
...When the reauthorization fight resumed this year, Republicans in the newly named Transportation and Infrastructure Committee resurrected the "six years to six months" proposal that terrified Dingell...
...The six-year rule would be taken off the books, no longer mandated by law...
...Some Republicans feel they did their part, and now it's time to worry about re-election...
...And he doesn't mean the Quinn amendment...
...But this time the Democrats were ready...
...Amtrak continued to run without a formal reauthorization...
...Molinari and Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bud Shuster have asked Secretary Pena to prepare a plan for the orderly shutdown of Amtrak...
...Almost everyone involved—Republicans, Democrats, Amtrak, and the unions—says there is simply no way to defend it under present conditions...
...Brunkenhoefer points out that it would be unreasonable for big-labor Republicans to vote any other way, just as one would not expect a representative from Kansas to oppose farm subsidies...
...At first glance, shutting it down altogether would have made more economic sense, saving Amtrak more than $19 million a year...
...So why throw it out the window now...
...The first section removes C-2 from the law...
...But that ignores Amtrak's present plight...
...And, perhaps most of all, big labor...
...I think that's a tremendous step on the union's part," says Jim Brunkenhoefer, legislative director of the United Transportation Unions...
...Today C-2 is one of the issues at the heart of the congressional debate over Amtrak's future...
...Despite that, the railroad still managed to run a $200 million deficit this year...
...The fight over C-2 should have been an easy win for conservatives...
...Paul Schellenhammer, Democratic staff director for the House committee, agrees...
...The 100 Days are over...
...Some Republicans feel they did their part, and now it's time to worry about re-election...
...Doesn't that make your six-month proposal just an example of statist Republicans micro-managing Amtrak in management's favor...
...All the Republicans who had voted in favor of C-2 in subcommittee voted against Molinari...
...It's not a group likely to push hard against the unions in an election year...
...Many of the GOP converts are from risky districts or labor centers, and can't afford to anger union leaders...
...The six-year rule would remain the starting point for any collective bargaining...
...Now some Republicans are doing essentially the same thing...
...That's eight out of nine...
...They've never really been able to cut their routes, in part because they didn't want to incur [C-2] costs," says the railroad official familiar with the situation...
...The only issue is: Will Amtrak still be around for any of this to matter...
...It wasn't right for Congress to make that decision [on retirement benefits] then," says a spokesman for freshman Randy Tate, who represents a district dominated by unionized Boeing workers...
...Suite 1050 Atlanta, GA 30326 AGE COVERAGE COST 30 $100,000 $12/Ma 40 50 $250,000 $22 / MO...
...It was a big win for the unions—and a big defeat for conservatives...
...Many of the GOP converts are from risky districts, and can't afford to anger union leaders...
...Big-labor Republicans like Quinn certainly didn't mind it either...
...Byron York is a writer and television producer in Washington...
...Call today for your free personalized quotation: Mark Mafia 800-866-2955 Murdock-Taylor 3350 Peachtree Road, N.E...
...There must be a lesson in there somewhere...
...22 The American Spectator September 1995 Why...
...t seemed like an aurae/ five idea...
...24 The American Spectator September 1995 of the board...
...The answer is in Appendix C-2 of the Rail Passenger Service Act, adopted by Congress in 1971 with the approval of the Nixon administration...
...By all accounts, labor lobbied the issue furiously...
...Your family's future security is at risk ifyou haven't made adequate life insurance preparations...
...The unions . . . have done a marvelous job of peeling off Republicans," said a railroad official...
...Amtrak has been at best a wet noodle on this...
...And they've done a marvelous job of peeling off Republicans...
...House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich has said Amtrak will not be reauthorized without significant labor reform...
...It's another to forge a policy on an issue like Amtrak and put it through the appropriations and reconciliation process, where the money is actually divvied up between the thousands of interests competing for federal dollars...
...With that in mind, it becomes easier to understand why the Democrats and the unions experienced a sudden conver1Bnurkenhoefer points out that a relatively small number of laid-off workers actually collect C-2 benefits...
Vol. 28 • September 1995 • No. 9
