Tell Congress: Choose Safety Over Politics at Amtrak

Some Republicans in the House are using bait-and-switch tactics to lure the public into believing that by outsourcing Amtrak jobs, they will reduce government waste. In reality, these lawmakers will hurt transportation safety while taking your tax dollars and subsidizing corporations. We can’t let them do that and we are asking you to tell them the same.If Reps. John Mica (R-FL) and Jean Schmidt (R-OH) have their way, they will outsource 1,200 jobs performed by on-board Amtrak workers who are trained in everything from administering CPR to handling terrorist threats and assisting in evacuations, and fill those positions with minimum wage workers with no training.Dining car service, especially on long train rides, simply cannot be provided at McDonald’s prices and the employees who serve these meals should not be paid McDonald’s wages. These House Republicans want to guarantee subsidies to companies that offer the service and fail to make a profit at a time when Amtrak’s operating subsidies are among the lowest levels in 41 years and ridership continues to grow.Please write to your Representative and tell him/her not to replace Amtrak workers who are trained to perform critical safety functions with outsourced workers hired by companies guaranteed wasteful subsidies.