Getting your player ready...
WASHINGTON — Forestalling a possible strike by Amtrak workers Saturday, President Bush created a five-member “presidential emergency board” to investigate the labor dispute between the passenger railroad and employees who have been without a contract for nearly eight years.
Bush’s action Wednesday pushes back the start of any strike at least until Jan. 31. The president did not immediately announce the names of the board members.
The labor dispute centers on health-care contributions, proposed changes in work rules and back pay to Jan. 1, 2000, when the last contract ended.
