Amtrak workers fed up too...

[caravanman]

Surprised not to see mention of this penn station protest on A.U. ?

https://nypost.com/2018/10/09/amtrak-workers-protest-outside-penn-station-over-possible-layoffs/amp/

Ed.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Surprised not to see mention of this penn station protest on A.U. ?

https://nypost.com/2018/10/09/amtrak-workers-protest-outside-penn-station-over-possible-layoffs/amp/

Ed.

All of the Amtrak Craft Unions need to join this before their Jobs start vanishing also!

 

[tricia]

Nice Snidely Whiplash mustache drawn on the pictures of Anderson. Thanks for posting.

 

[VT Hokie]

Gotta love corporate doublespeak. When you have to blatantly lie, it says something about your agenda. Yeah, okay sure, because one reheated option in your 7 Eleven/Wawa quality snack boxes is so much better than the restaurant quality menu you just eliminated!

"Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said in a statement: “We are undertaking changes with the dining service to provide higher-quality food with a contemporary style of service. Sleeping car customers on the Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited can now dine on fresh food choices, including a hot option."

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

...get meal options like “in a restaurant.”

“Eggs any style you wanted, ham, bacon, French toast” for breakfast and for dinner and lunch, “steak, hamburgers, pasta, anything,”

I guess I never traveled on the Amtrak train that offered all the meal options like those in a restaurant, including choices that covered anything.

 

[dlagrua]

What is happening on Amtrak LD trains is not fair to the food service workers nor is it fair to the sleeper passengers that pay a hefty price for their ticket. This matter must be brought before congress as that's where these bad ideas originated. Had I known about the protest I would have been there to give my support and be part of the demonstration. I do agree that if something is not done about Anderson, why before you know it, he will drive the long distance service into the ground.

 

[slither]

diagrua hit the nail on the head!! Spot on

 

[cpotisch]

...get meal options like “in a restaurant.”

“Eggs any style you wanted, ham, bacon, French toast” for breakfast and for dinner and lunch, “steak, hamburgers, pasta, anything,”

I guess I never traveled on the Amtrak train that offered all the meal options like those in a restaurant, including choices that covered anything.

Yeah, that was a bit of a stretch, but is IMO very much to be expected. What I did not expect was for the article itself to be pretty accurate or for the author to have apparently done their research.

In June, Amtrak nixed dining-car service on the long-distance Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited trains, replacing the freshly prepared meals with pre-packaged foods served in a balsa wood container.

This is I think the first time I’ve seen any article by a mainstream outlet which accurately describes “contemporary dining” without any of Amtrak’s buzz words.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Good find, Eddie.

Thanks for posting it!

 

[Charles785]

I have to wonder if Amtrak could operate more efficiently - and have more ability to dismiss employees with attitude problems (for example, some members of the dining car wait staffs that moist of us long-distance passengers have experienced all too often) if they could jettison all of their contracts with organized labor.

If employees of a privately owned business want to organized into a union for some reason, I suppose that's OK (but I have to believe top performers in any line of work don't need unions) but government employees should be not be unionized at all. I don't know what percentage of Amtrak's expenses are for labor - if it's anything like the US Postal Service I'm sure it's too high - but between artificially high (above-market) wages, and restrictive work rules, I'm not sure the unions do much to enhance the Amtrak customer experience, or to help keep fares and sleeper changes as reasonable as they could otherwise be.

 

[the_traveler]

... with meals of their choice ...

I would like an omelette or French Toast, and later Crab cakes or a bean burger! Can I get them on the LSL?

 

[chrsjrcj]

I have to wonder if Amtrak could operate more efficiently - and have more ability to dismiss employees with attitude problems (for example, some members of the dining car wait staffs that moist of us long-distance passengers have experienced all too often) if they could jettison all of their contracts with organized labor.

If employees of a privately owned business want to organized into a union for some reason, I suppose that's OK (but I have to believe top performers in any line of work don't need unions) but government employees should be not be unionized at all. I don't know what percentage of Amtrak's expenses are for labor - if it's anything like the US Postal Service I'm sure it's too high - but between artificially high (above-market) wages, and restrictive work rules, I'm not sure the unions do much to enhance the Amtrak customer experience, or to help keep fares and sleeper changes as reasonable as they could otherwise be.

How soon we forget that organized labor brought us things like an 8 hour work day and 40 hour work week amongst other employee benefits.

An Amtrak OBS employee is not like your typical restaurant employee who works an ~8 hour shift then goes home. On the long distance trains, they can be away from home for almost a week, working +16 hour days.

 

[IndyLions]

The Diner Employees I’ve seen sure don’t work 16 hour days. The Lounge Attendant - absolutely. Servers in the Diner? - no chance. It’s open - what - 6-8 out of every 24 hours? From what I’ve witnessed, there sure isn’t 8-10 hours of prep, clean-up and paperwork going on.

That being said - Amtrak as a whole is horribly inefficient. What do you expect from a government run operation?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

The Diner Employees I’ve seen sure don’t work 16 hour days. The Lounge Attendant - absolutely. Servers in the Diner? - no chance. It’s open - what - 6-8 out of every 24 hours? From what I’ve witnessed, there sure isn’t 8-10 hours of prep, clean-up and paperwork going on.

That being said - Amtrak as a whole is horribly inefficient. What do you expect from a government run operation?

The diner is open for 11-1/2 hours on days when all 3 meals are served.https://m.amtrak.com/h5/r/www.amtrak.com/onboard/meals-dining/dining-car.html

 

[Pere Flyer]

I found the article’s statement that Amtrak is a “moving restaurant” refreshingly accurate, at least for the LD trains. As such, I see the value in keeping hot item dining car service on those routes. That goes for the LSL and CL, too. However, as much as I believe in strong organized labor and worker wellness, if it takes tough actions at the expense of the service staff’s union to improve efficiency and retain hot item service, I support it. Maybe it will cause the union reps to renegotiate. Who knows.

As for prices of Amtrak tickets—I’d rather pay more knowing those who rendered their services to me were paid well, than pay less for an outfit whose workers were paid less.

 

[cpotisch]

The Diner Employees I’ve seen sure don’t work 16 hour days. The Lounge Attendant - absolutely. Servers in the Diner? - no chance. It’s open - what - 6-8 out of every 24 hours? From what I’ve witnessed, there sure isn’t 8-10 hours of prep, clean-up and paperwork going on.

That being said - Amtrak as a whole is horribly inefficient. What do you expect from a government run operation?

The diner is open for 11-1/2 hours on days when all 3 meals are served.https://m.amtrak.com/h5/r/www.amtrak.com/onboard/meals-dining/dining-car.html

Yup. Then throw in at least half an hour of set up and clean up for each meal, and you're at around 13 hours. And for the waiters/servers, much of that is spent carrying cups and dishes to and from tables on a moving train. And the chef spends that time cooking in a cramped galley (on a moving train. So I really wouldn't dismiss the job of the diner staff as being easy or quick.

 

[tonijustine]

I have to wonder if Amtrak could operate more efficiently - and have more ability to dismiss employees with attitude problems (for example, some members of the dining car wait staffs that moist of us long-distance passengers have experienced all too often) if they could jettison all of their contracts with organized labor.

If employees of a privately owned business want to organized into a union for some reason, I suppose that's OK (but I have to believe top performers in any line of work don't need unions) but government employees should be not be unionized at all. I don't know what percentage of Amtrak's expenses are for labor - if it's anything like the US Postal Service I'm sure it's too high - but between artificially high (above-market) wages, and restrictive work rules, I'm not sure the unions do much to enhance the Amtrak customer experience, or to help keep fares and sleeper changes as reasonable as they could otherwise be.

How soon we forget that organized labor brought us things like an 8 hour work day and 40 hour work week amongst other employee benefits.
An Amtrak OBS employee is not like your typical restaurant employee who works an ~8 hour shift then goes home. On the long distance trains, they can be away from home for almost a week, working +16 hour days.

It’s been a while since I’ve worked a 40 hour work week.

But more to the point, they choose the job knowing they will be away from family. It isn’t sprung on them.

 

[IndyLions]

The Diner Employees I’ve seen sure don’t work 16 hour days. The Lounge Attendant - absolutely. Servers in the Diner? - no chance. It’s open - what - 6-8 out of every 24 hours? From what I’ve witnessed, there sure isn’t 8-10 hours of prep, clean-up and paperwork going on.

That being said - Amtrak as a whole is horribly inefficient. What do you expect from a government run operation?

The diner is open for 11-1/2 hours on days when all 3 meals are served.https://m.amtrak.com/h5/r/www.amtrak.com/onboard/meals-dining/dining-car.html

I think in practice the Diner is open for the number of hours the employees feel like keeping it open.

On a 2018 Texas Eagle Trip - the Staff was fantastic and kept it open late to be sure that a late arrival in St. Louis didn’t mean sleeper passengers missed dinner. Overall they did an outstanding job for the entire trip - despite limitations in menu and ingredient quality they have no control over.

However, other than the Eagle, on all other 2018 routes I’ve taken (especially the LSL & CL) it was a race to get the Diner open & closed as quickly as possible - with an attitude that was a cross between indifferent and surly.

 

[railiner]

Just curious....I noticed the TWU logo's on some, but wondered about the Teamster's logo on the sign's they held...

I looked them up and see that the BLE and some other's merged into them a few years back...wasn't aware of that....

 

[ehbowen]

I'm no fan of organized labor. But I'm even less of a fan of squeezing every nickel until the buffalo screams. I really like the idea of Amtrak being a place that a service worker can look to as a career, not as just a temporary pit stop while they try to get into something higher and better. But the converse of good pay with benefits means that you need to EARN that good pay and benefits.

I understand that unions need to protect their workers against arbitrary management decisions. I get that. But, at the same time, I think that the unions ought to be protecting themselves against unprofessional members. These disappearing SCAs, or the cafe attendant who wouldn't open up on the Sunset Limited until past Lafayette (he was supposed to be open immediately upon leaving New Orleans)...the other union members should be going to them and saying, "You're making all of us look bad!" They ought to be taking care of ninety percent of the bad apples themselves...management shouldn't have to get involved except in rare cases!

 

[caravanman]

I didn't think it would take long for the anti-union brigade to start "explaining" that Amtrak's problems are to do with unions, not to do with the leadership.

We are talking about the loss of food services, nothing to do with unions, other than folk trying to keep a job, keep paying their rent...

Divide and rule, muddy the water, next thing we see, Amtrak long distance services are being dismantled... Watch this space...

Ed.

 

[ehbowen]

I'm just saying that I think there's room for improvement in both management and the labor force. A LOT of room for improvement...

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

How soon we forget that organized labor brought us things like an 8 hour work day and 40 hour work week amongst other employee benefits.

I thought a lot of that started back with the non-organized Ford?

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

... nor is it fair to the sleeper passengers that pay a hefty price for their ticket.

IMHO, a big part of the problem is that Amtrak's bookkeepers aren't allocating the correct portion of Sleeper ticket fares to the dining car. Yea, you are paying a hefty price, and believe a good part of it is suppose to be for meals, but it appears that doesn't happen in reality.

If I was in charge (vote for me!), I would make sure that enough of Sleeper fares get allocated to the dining car to cover 100% of all its costs (no loosing money). When any additional meals get served/sold to Coach passengers, and the dining car actually starts to show a profit.

 

[Pere Flyer]

How soon we forget that organized labor brought us things like an 8 hour work day and 40 hour work week amongst other employee benefits.

I thought a lot of that started back with the non-organized Ford?

Of course, it’s on a graphic, so it must be true [emoji6]