Washington—Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris (both D-Calif.) today called on Amtrak to reconsider closing a reservation call center in Riverside, Calif., that would result in hundreds of jobs being lost.

            “California is a critical component of Amtrak’s passenger rail network. The state spends roughly $130 million annually in support of Amtrak’s service routes, and our state’s riders accounted for over 11 million Amtrak trips in 2017,” the senators wrote. “Closing Amtrak’s facility in Riverside would be a disservice to the employees who have dedicated their time and careers to Amtrak, as well as the people of California who comprise over one-third of Amtrak’s total ridership and whose state and federal tax dollars support Amtrak’s operations.”

            Full text of the letter follows:

December 14, 2018

Mr. Richard H. Anderson
President & Chief Executive Officer
Amtrak
One Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20001

Dear Mr. Anderson,

            We write today to express our deep disappointment with Amtrak’s decision to close its reservation call center in Riverside, California. Closing the Riverside center would result in the loss of approximately 500 jobs in Southern California. Many of these employees have deep ties to the Riverside community, and are unable to uproot their families and move across the country to maintain employment. As such, we urge you to explore all possible options to keep the facility open.

            California is a critical component of Amtrak’s passenger rail network. The state spends roughly $130 million annually in support of Amtrak’s service routes, and our state’s riders accounted for over 11 million Amtrak trips in 2017. Closing Amtrak’s facility in Riverside would be a disservice to the employees who have dedicated their time and careers to Amtrak, as well as the people of California who comprise over one-third of Amtrak’s total ridership and whose state and federal tax dollars support Amtrak’s operations.

            While the loss of approximately 500 jobs in Riverside is concerning in and of itself, we are even more disturbed to hear that Amtrak plans to maintain a contracted call center in Florida that will be able to pick up work currently carried out by Riverside employees. Unionized Amtrak employees in Riverside earn an average of $19 to $21 per hour with healthcare and retirement benefits, while the non-unionized contract workers in Florida reportedly earn significantly less in pay and benefits. Reports also indicate that Amtrak directed Riverside supervisors to train their replacements in Florida after making assurances that there were no plans to close the Riverside center. If these reports are true, they would contradict Amtrak’s assertions that the contracted call center in Florida is being used to supplement, rather than replace, the work of Amtrak employees.

            We respectfully request that you reconsider the decision to close Amtrak’s Riverside call center, and work with federal, state, and local levels of government, as well as your employees’ union representatives, to explore options that would keep the Riverside facility open. Thank you for your consideration and attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

Kamala D. Harris
United States Senator