Amtrak is redistribution of wealth this holiday season at the insistence of the Trump administration.
Amtrak is paying $900 in holiday bonuses to its more than 18,000 unionized workers, the Department of Transportation said this week.
The bonuses are the result of an agreement between DOT and Amtrak management and its board of directors, the agency said, adding that Amtrak executive management agreed to give up half of its own bonus package to make it happen.
“Christmas will come a little early this year for 18,000 @Amtrak workers, thanks to management returning their holiday bonuses,” the Transportation Secretary said. Sean Duffy This was stated in an Instagram post on Friday.
President Donald Trump's administration has criticized existing bonus structures for Amtrak executives, with the Department of Transportation saying they have resulted in “exorbitant payments to senior employees.” As part of the settlement, Amtrak's board agreed to get rid of long-term incentive bonuses for its top executives, DOT said.
“We applaud Amtrak and its executive leadership for doing the right thing,” Stephen G. Bradbury, undersecretary of transportation and Duffy’s representative on the Amtrak board of directors, said in a statement.
Amtrak did not respond to a request for comment.
Wall Street Journal reported that about 246 Amtrak managers gave up a portion of their bonuses totaling $16.2 million. DOT did not provide further comment or confirm these numbers when Business Insider reported them.
In its announcement, DOT touted Amtrak's record year. National passenger rail service for the fiscal year that ended in September, there were a record 34.5 million customer trips and record adjusted ticket revenue of $2.7 billion.
The bonuses were similar to those received by other transportation workers this holiday season. The Federal Aviation Administration said it would pay $10,000 bonuses to nearly 800 air traffic controllers which had perfect attendance during the government shutdown.
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