Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), and Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) recently commended Amtrak’s recent decision to reconsider a Request for Proposal (RFP) for eCommerce and Mobile Development enabling certain work to be offshored.
During a Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee hearing last week, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) questioned Amtrak President and CEO William Flynn about the RFP. In response to that questioning, Flynn reversed course, additionally crediting correspondence previously sent by DeFazio, Lipinski, and Wexton urging support for American workers.
“I’m pleased that William Flynn is scrapping Amtrak’s RFP that would have allowed offshoring of good jobs and will instead ensure that American taxpayer dollars support American workers,” DeFazio, chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said. “Amtrak calls itself America’s Railroad Railroad—connecting communities big and small—and it should be staffed by an American workforce. Maintaining these jobs is even more important in the wake of Amtrak’s recent decision to lay off approximately 2,050 employees by October 1, 2020, contributing to the current national unemployment rate of 8.4 percent. I’m glad Mr. Flynn agrees with us, and we’ll continue to work with him to ensure that he follows through with his commitment.”
Lipinski said American workers should always staff America’s public rail service.
“I am proud that the committee acted quickly to prevent the offshoring of these US jobs,” he said. “While we are pleased with Amtrak’s decision to change course, we must be diligent in our efforts to prevent the furloughing of over 2,000 Amtrak employees. We should continue to work with Amtrak leadership to keep American workers on the job and protect daily long-distance service.”