Railroad strike averted — Amtrak routes to SLO and Paso Robles will resume soon
Amtrak trains on the West Coast will start running again soon.
On the eve of a potential strike that was already disrupting passenger service, freight rail companies reach a tentative agreement with their worker unions based on the recommendation of the Presidential Emergency Board, according to a White House press release.
That’s good news for train passengers on the West Coast and across the country, as routes were canceled Thursday in anticipation of the work stoppage.
Locally, the national labor dispute was affecting both the Coast Starlight service from Los Angeles to Seattle and the Pacific Surfliner routes from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.
In the immediate term, a search of long-distance Coast Starlight departures from San Luis Obispo Amtrak station showed that departures appear to be on track again as early as Friday after Thursday’s service was canceled.
The Pacific Surfliner route departing from SLO, meanwhile, appears to have resumed service late on Thursday, a search of the day’s departures found.
“Pacific Surfliner service is expected to continue through Thursday and Friday as a tentative settlement has been reached between the freight railroad worker unions and their employers,” Amtrak posted on the Pacific Surfliner site.
The negotiated deal includes the largest raises for rail workers in the last four decades, allowing average rail worker salaries to reach $110,000 by the end of the five-year deal in 2025, averting a strike that could have cost the U.S. economy more than $2 billion a day.
While time off for medical procedures was expanded and health insurance premiums were capped at 15% in the new deal, its unknown if workers will support the deal over concerns about current working conditions, as major railroads cut nearly a third of their workforce over the past six years.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 11:58 AM.
