It only functions as long as its government masters direct it and it must operate as they desire. during his three-year tenure at Amtrak, such as reducing food service and CURTIS You speak good and necessary sense (below) at a time of total national insanity. Flynn succeeds Richard Anderson, who joined Amtrak as CEO in July 2017. Airlines are turning toward the federal government seeking a steep bailout, while plummeting ridership and service reductions for public transportation are likely to be a lasting pain point for agencies across the country. The key is consistency of the allocations, rumbustiousness of the methods, and strong follow-up audits. Fare-paying passengers have vanishedalmost entirely on Northeast Corridor Acela trains; significantly on all others. Flynn, 66, has been a successful leader across multiple modes of transportation, including rail, maritime and aviation. BNSF reopens track at site of Wisconsin derailment (updated), Unifor ratifies contract with Canadian National, Driver of truck in accident that killed NS conductor pleads not guilty, Two Metra lines disrupted as Amtrak locomotive derails at Chicago Union Station. makes me hopeful for the companys future.. News & Reviews News Wire Amtrak CEO tells employees of ridership drops, pay cuts, other plans NEWSWIRE, Capital spending slashed, long-distance capacity to be reduced; other changes still possible. It is designed to make management look like they are managing by offering a bewildering mix of numbers that their government masters most likely cannot fully grasp. Without Amtraks survival, there are no Because Amtrak has many activities and types of expenses, says Volpes latest methodology summary, from September 2017, Amtrak Performance Tracking uses 45 different allocation statistics. These include: Identifying these metrics provides a roadmap of how otherwise amalgamated costs, including over $1 billion in general and administrative expenses, are to be assigned to each train or operation. He remained with Amtrak through the end of the year as a senior advisor to his replacement, William J. But do either one have the spine to deal with by firing the Board, Flynn, and especially the Gestapo officer-faced Stephen Gardner? If I had run my business that way, Id be in jail. . In his early career, he served as a prosecutor and corporate attorney, before moving into executive positions. For sure, Anderson, a lame-duck CEO who officially retires Amtrak will spend the funds required to keep the existing 1873-vintage tunnels functional, but put engineering for their replacements on hold. Wed like to avoid it, but if we cant get the kind of funding out of Congress that we need, then we need to face that issue and will have a contingency plan to do that. Wolfs mandatory shutdown order for all businesses that arent life-sustaining,, New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority, California residents do not sell my data request. We have 10 routes running on reduced schedules and Members enjoy 15% off any purchase in our store. The family followed railroad work from Galveston to Dallas and Amarillo. The average salary for Richard Cottrell employees is around $100,786 per year, or $48 per hour. Anderson's parents both died of cancer while he was . Media related to Richard H. Anderson at Wikimedia Commons, "Executive Suite: Delta chief takes unlikely flight path", "Anderson's Retirement From Delta Could Be As Unique As His Career", "Delta CEO Anderson to become airline top dog", "Richard Anderson: The man behind the Delta-Northwest deal", "BIO BOX: RICHARD ANDERSON, CEO OF DELTA AIR LINES", "Anderson retiring from Delta board of directors; Frank Blake named non-executive chairman", "Amtrak Names William Flynn as CEO and President", Aviation Week Names Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson Person of the Year, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_H._Anderson_(businessman)&oldid=1132823011, This page was last edited on 10 January 2023, at 19:35. In good times (i.e. Most accountants and managers learn the problems associated with managing using allocated costs; Amtrak (and Volpe) has evidently learned nothing. WASHINGTON Although incoming Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson made a name for himself in the airline industry, he comes from a railroad family. [8] On October 11, 2016, Anderson announced his retirement from the Board of Directors effective on the same day. The one thing the US cannot do is default on its debt, that standard is one of the reasons our country as been a safe place for investors world wide to be in. A Former Airline CEO Thinks He Can Fix It. He has been Assistant Vice President Policy at the Association of American Railroads; a White House appointed chief of staff at the Surface Transportation Board; and Director of Public Relations for the United Transportation Union. It took him two months in office to start blabbering what President Kamala Harris told him to blabber. Starting April 1, cutting management salaries from 22% to 7%, with the amount of reductions decreasing with the pay grade. Paul Smith, who authored or published those white papers that you site? Frankly, I dont think he has the will and courage to break down Amtraks wall of silence and obfuscation. Moorman was referring to the Amtrak Performance Tracking methodology. Last week, the transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, endorsed that idea in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee. Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York who has pressed for federal funding for Amtrak and Gateway, applauded the choice of Mr. Flynn. He was accused of engaging in sexual acts with a minor between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020, a felony . In a letter Friday, Pennsylvania lawmakers turned to top congressional leaders for help, noting the financial impact of the outbreak on SEPTAs operations will be devastating.". As less people travel due to the coronavirus, Amtrak has "taken aggressive measures to cut costs to minimize employee and service impacts. The resulting process has 60,000 allocation rules, with 1,600 responsibility centers grouped into nine similar cost families (for example, transportation operations), which are divided into 36 subfamilies (onboard service), and finally 44 subcategories (linen). Salaries do not include: Longevity compensation; hazardous duty compensation; expanded duty pay or additional location compensation for New York City and the following counties: Dutchess . Whether maintenance is an operating expense or a capital item depends on the nature of the expenditures. During his three years in charge, Amtrak invested in new equipment, including faster Acela trains that he said would allow for daily nonstop service between New York and Washington every weekday morning and evening. [5][6] In 2010, during his tenure at Delta, Anderson led an anti-union campaign against the Association of Flight Attendants, calling the labor union "un-Christian" and "immoral. Why Sign In? Amtrak Contact 202 906.3860 About Amtrak Amtrak offers a more comfortable and convenient travel experience with free Wi-Fi on most trains, plenty of leg room and no middle seat. I actually respect Mayor Pete. transportation system recovered fairly quickly, Anderson said, in contrast to In his early career, he served as a prosecutor and corporate attorney, before moving into executive positions. The pay cuts take effect for the first pay period in April, reflected in the employees April 17th paychecks. Georgiette Morgan-Thomas heads on the platform at Penn Station in New York to board the Amtrak #89 train which leaves at 5:51 a.m. May 3, 2019. With all respect to the distinguished author, much/ most of this article is old news. and How Do Long Distance Trains Perform Financially? If the Chief is discontinued, the non-direct corporate overhead assigned to it will be redistributed to other services, increasing the costs for state-operated trains and forcing more expense on long-distance ledgers. Amtrak now projects losing $1 billion in revenue through those riders, only 3% actually rode end-to-end. Executive Vice President and General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. View Library Salaries List. Also, President Trump on March 2 re-nominated two of his proposed candidates for the Amtrak Board of Directors - Joseph Gruters and Lynn Westmoreland. It is quite obvious that you are blinder than a bat when it comes to US passenger rail. Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York who has pressed for federal funding for Amtrak and Gateway,. financial contributions from private citizens and the business community. Yet Amtrak has been designated by the Department of Homeland But transit advocates warned that fixing the tunnels while they were being used at full capacity during rush hours would inevitably disrupt the New York regions already precarious commute. Hopefully Amtrak and/or Congress will see the wisdom of preserving at least a modicum of service on all routes so that when things improve, it will be a lot easier to ramp up service. On 9/11, we knew The past is best left dormant when a crisis descends, as its At least $1 billion in cash will flow Amtrak generates revenues from private cars by charging operators to haul the cars either behind regularly scheduled trains or on their own special moves. That would be . The proposed $11 billion project, known as Gateway, has failed for years to gain the approval of the Trump administration. Subsequently Amtrak confirmed the news . SEPTA is taking its own difficult short-term measures including a cut to executive pay, eliminating overtime, and a hiring freeze, while it also considers further service reductions. Social distancing measures taken by state and local officials, including Gov. Get your questions about railroads and railroading answered. The expense is irrespective of costs incurred for overhauls and maintenance of fully depreciated rolling stock. Wilner earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics and labor relations from Virginia Tech. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) has submitted its own request to Congress for $2.34 billion in federal appropriations in fiscal year 2021, a 17 percent increase over their FY 2020 enacted appropriations and 57 percent ($854 million) above the amount the Trump Administration requested on behalf of the railroad. Richard Anderson stepped down as CEO on April 15, 2020 a year ago! Yet rather than follow the business school playbook of lopping jobs as if workers are disposable office supplies, Amtrak President Richard H. Anderson is ministering to his workforce, treating workers as family by making an extraordinary effort to protect their income stream and healthcare benefits. Were not getting credit for efficiencies, she told Trains in a September 2014 interview, adding, Weve committed to paying the costs of operating our services. Mr. Flynn is the chairman and former chief executive of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, which operates cargo airlines and other airfreight businesses. So, the train lost more than $54 million? Anderson is a liar and a stooge for Trump ! Anderson also assumed the role of co-CEO on that date, serving alongside Moorman. The long-distance network as it stands today is intact, but we are going to pull 40% of available seat miles from the consists, Anderson said, adding, If we get to a point with Congress where we dont get $500 million (the company has asked for), we have contingency plans underway to further reduce the network to match capacity to demand.. [9], In June 2017, Amtrak announced Anderson as the organization's next President and CEO, replacing Charles "Wick" Moorman. Gardner should be doing 10 years in the slammer for violating the public trust. Mayor Petes problem is who he works for. He drafted the railroad section of the Heritage Foundations Mandate for Leadership (Volumes I and II), which were policy blueprints for the two Reagan Administrations; and was a guest columnist for the Cato Institutes Regulation magazine. There are plenty of others motivated by what Mr. Shigley above describes. Wonder what congress will think about all of this? MIKE Really? The relationship between the government and Amtrak is almost a pure definition of Fascism. Tuesday afternoon rail news: With William Flynn set to take over Wednesday as Amtrak president and CEO, outgoing CEO Richard Anderson sent a message to employees today thanking employees for their efforts during his tenure and in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. repair. Richard H. Anderson (born May 2, 1955) is a retired American lawyer and business executive. Most of the critics of Amtraks accounting dont have access to the company books and, even worse, are not accountants. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) need to be aggressive in preserving our cash, he said. Classic Railroad Scenes: Railroads at Work. General chairmen need to get engaged and figure out how to do this if we are to avoid an involuntary furlough, given that we dont have any business anymore, Anderson said. irresponsible., We cant force our customers to get on our trains, Anderson said. Given all that we have read in both this article and the comments that accompany it, putting even one more dollar into the Amtrak bank account it is a BIG mistake. Richard will remain with Amtrak until the end of the year as a senior advisor, working directly for Bill. Together, we will get through this," General Manager Leslie Richards told employees in a letter sent Friday. The expense burden has become Amtrak's justification for systemwide cost cutting. In need of about $1 billion in supplemental funding to battle an unprecedented drop in ridership, Amtrak has now taken aggressive" steps to cut the pay of top staff and other measures, the company confirmed Saturday. Don't miss this look at the history of America's most influential builder of locomotives. The goal is to keep as many people employed as possible, Anderson said. Two things we need to go away Anderson & the virus. The report would be rejected by independent, objective auditors from one of the big accounting firms. Flynn.[11]. Through February in the 2020 fiscal year that began in October 2019, Anderson reported that Amtrak was running 91% above plan. Trains News Wire confirmed that in February, the long distance, state-supported, and Northeast Corridor categories all showed sharp increases, with overall ridership and revenue both up an average of 6.5% compared with February 2019. All of it! As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Sept. 15, 2017 Make no mistake about it. However, when Anderson stated that over two and a half years it takes about $2 billion to keep the long-distance network operating, he again used the largely allocated expense figures the company assigns to imply that these are avoidable costs that is, they would all disappear if the trains were discontinued. 5th Paragraph: The quest to stem the sources of red ink has been blessed by Amtraks board of directors and orchestrated by CEO Richard Anderson. Thats reality, and we best face reality and make the very best we can, be calm about it, do what we have to do, and position Amtrak to come back strong when we are on the other side of the pandemic.. Anderson was named Aviation Week's Person of the Year for 2015. Instead of investing in rail infrastructure we will be borrowing at the federal level to pay current and future retirees in the states and localities. the current situation. But there will be no pink slips for MARK Good post. Boarding or deboarding for individual stations and by trip length, Estimated diesel power and electric traction usage factors. Incoming CEO William Flynn will succeed Richard Anderson on April 15. Mr. Flynn, who will be paid $475,000 a year, was not available for comment on Monday. We analyze collective bargaining agreements, evaluation handbooks, salary schedules, and other documents to distill district policy across key topics such as salary, evaluation, and teacher work day. Sept. 30, simply because Americans have been told by their federal and state While Flynn has rail and maritime executive experienceCSX and Sealand Serviceshis under-fire management DNA is not dissimilar to Andersons, having stabilized and strengthened Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings after leading it out of bankruptcy during his 13 years at the helm. different longer term, Anderson said. off 10,000 or 15,000 people, that would be far more demoralizing. Amtrak treats these as a capital expenditure rather than showing them as part of operating expenses. Amtrak Joey and Mayor Pete need to read this. He said he planned to stay on part-time as a consultant through the end of the year to see the completion of the Acela upgrade and the opening of Amtraks new base of operations in New York, at the Moynihan Train Hall across Eighth Avenue from Penn Station. Over the past three or four years, it The Department of Transportation administers the RRIF program. How it accounts for revenue and expense is just a big game played on a giant game board. [1], Anderson attended Texas Tech University and the University of Houston, graduating from the latter in 1977 with a degree in political science. Despite having no experience in airline operations, he was named senior vice president of technical operations and airport affairs. Sign-up for email today! Moreover, he performed his study for an advocacy group with a dog in the hunt, which is not likely to produce an independent outcome. That pair of single-track tunnels poses one of the greatest threats to Amtraks service and to transit in the metropolitan area and throughout the Northeast. Charges ranged from $400,000 to $900,000 for moving different long-distance trains from New Yorks Penn Station to Sunnyside Yard in Queens. specifically what the root cause of the problem was at the time, [and] the The question now is, What do we do about it? And without that access, he as well as everyone outside of the organization, with the exception of the auditors and regulators, is just guessing. Rather than collecting specific data that would clearly show what costs would disappear if, say, the Southwest Chief were eliminated avoidable costs, in the parlance of Congress 2005 directive allocation protocols permit Amtrak to use measurements it already has or believes it can estimate. In April, Trains filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking for details of their total compensation, including bonuses. The bottom line: managements no-growth priorities are a reality, but Amtrak Performance Tracking is the culprit facilitating them. Until the end of last year, Mr. Flynn ran Atlas Air, which is based in Purchase, N.Y., and claims to have the worlds largest fleet of large cargo planes in the world. William J. Flynn, 66, will succeed Richard Anderson, 65, as Amtraks chief executive on April 15, the company announced on Monday. The Silver Star and Silver Meteor still call at a facility miles from the center city, bereft of convenient rental-car or public-transportation connections. Amtrak employees rate the overall compensation and benefits package 3.9/5 stars. Anderson leaves with a much-improved safety record for the railway and a. anyone riding those trains. Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson speaks to attendees at the National Association of Railway Passengers during a conference in Chicago, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2019, the long-distance ridership was but Previously, he was CEO of Delta Airlines, which after weathering the horrors of Setting up a real accounting system would require a lot of work that many would rather not do. Amtrak still is trying to win funding to complete major repairs and a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River in the heavily traveled northeast U.S. corridor. designing a new tunnel a decade away. That was in good times. In truth, I dont think anyone even wants to. In response, the company offered no numbers, only this statement: National assets are the nations core rail assets shared among Amtrak services, including systems for reservations, security, training, training centers, and other assets associated with Amtraks national transportation system. are working on further cuts., DOWNLOAD AN AMTRAK INTERNAL MEMO ON TRAIN CANCELLATIONS. You sure wish it would go a bit smoother in terms of the funding, he said. We The real miracle is that the railroad has survived into its 50th year. the future, and to assure they do, the day-to-day struggle continues to keep Northeast Moving to the new station would clearly produce a leap in customer convenience and revenue, but would introduce higher crew costs for a backup move from the existing yard. Mr. Flynn, who will be paid $475,000 a year, was not available for comment on Monday. Corridor bridges, catenary, signals, track and tunnels in a state of good Passengers can no longer be able to make changes or cancel tickets 24 hours after purchase as they can now for the lowest-cost Saver fares. The company also imposed new restrictions on changing some higher priced tickets. Richard Anderson. The problem is, and the reason Gardner has gotten away with this for so long, Amtrak is so small, after 50 years no less!! that would like to take over our services. Nothing has challenged Amtrak as A total of $3 million in electric-traction maintenance costs were assigned to non-Northeast Corridor routes. As for Amtraks current travails, Anderson said the railroad is in line for a $500 million congressional grant in the first of expected stimulus measures intended as a financial bandage through June. Emotions run strong when the long-distance network is An example of the insanity a year ago was the train in Connecticut that frequently sold out its two cars (my memory). Yes, Amtrak families will feel financial pain, beginning So whatever amount the company decides to spend, the Chief and other routes are charged a portion based on performance tracking formulas, not whether the resources were deployed to actually benefit the services. This week Amtrak, following the practice of U.S. airlines, started limiting refunds and passengers ability to make changes to most lowest-price train tickets. Galen Riley:Yes, the rationale for the NEC Acela Trains, and perhaps the overall value of the NEC itself, as Amtraks most important focus, appears to be a pretty weak argument in light of these proposed cuts (and dramatic drop in ridership, admittedly in a major national crisis). Amtrak President and CEO Richard Anderson, 63, Texas-born and son of an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway clerk, persistently rejects interview requests, declining to reveal the origin of his strategy in light of his transportation background being entirely in airline management. $100,281 - After five years. DOT Inspector Generals report. If the expenditure will extend the life of the asset, it is capitalized and depreciated over the expected life of the asset. Anderson will remain a senior adviser through the end of the year. We have a great team. now, which elsewhere in America are darkening family futures as did locusts Don't miss this look at the history of America's most influential builder of locomotives. But I guess thats the government way. William J. Flynn will take over as president and chief executive on April 15, succeeding former Delta Air Lines chief executive Richard Anderson who has run Amtrak since July 2017. Isnt it amazing that the total amount of federally supported rail capital investment in our lifetimes, plus Amtrak and local operating subsidies for Amtrak and local transit from the federal government, is about five minutes worth of the corona virus bailout. Although Anderson said Amtrak has more than $3 billion in "Please stay safe and know that your health and well-being and that of our customers is always my priority.. One way to reduce costs is to eliminate all customer costs: advertising, salesmen, support, service, Since Amtrak has no incentives to increase sales that is what will happen. Wilner is a past president of the Association of Transportation Law Professionals. And, with more boardings, the stations corporate-allocated share of system costs would rise. government restrictions are put in place, Anderson said. Yard and equipment charges for overnight servicing at Chicago ranged from $300,000 for the. When he took on the role of CEO, Anderson signed a three-year contract. What happened, however, is that Volpe enlisted Amtraks help. suspension of company matching contributions to 401(k) plans; encouragement three months ago) this nation significantly under-invested in rail infrastructure. Miami station expense included a portion for snow removal. and long-distance bookings are down 64%. future paychecks, no healthcare benefits and no jobs. Company officials told Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico stakeholders in August that maintaining the Chief route will require $254.7 million over the next 10 years on top of those annual losses. Join Today! His father, Hale, was an office worker for the Santa Fe in his native Texas. It is, by definition, a public/private partnership. With many Democrats wanting socialized medicine for the U.S. imagine what health care for us would be like with Amtrak accounting. . Click the start your search button . If we did default on our countries debt (I am using we because it is our country)the damage would make the COVID virus look like a common cold. end right now.. [See Passenger Train Game Changer, October 2013.] So, CURTIS, you can forget about your sensible position. I dont think any Washington bureaucrat has guts to to tackle this accounting sham. Following a Chicago luncheon on May 25, 2017, former Amtrak President and CEO Wick Moorman told Trains that long-distance trains break even on direct costs. But when Amtrak allocates overhead using a formula developed by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, he said, based on rational types of things like passenger-miles and train starts, [they] end up with about a $500 million loss. State-supported trains, he added, lose about $90 million on a fully allocated cost basis. Both Amtrak and the airlines are on the verge of a possible total shutdown and the only question is what routes will be re-established. He retired as Delta's CEO effective May 2, 2016, and was executive chairman of the Delta Air Lines board of directors for an additional five months. Obtaining directs costs is more efficient, but allocating costs does not necessarily produce a bad outcome. Daily ridership is down 90% systemwide while future bookings are down 85% year-over-year, according to Amtrak. Connection revenue is not tracked, so if one train is discontinued, the company cant determine the resulting negative monetary impact on other services. He earned a J.D. It would hurt the individuals that bought them, but the big losers would be all the foreign governments that bought that debt, theyd fight tooth and nail to get us to keep payingwhich is when you through the ultimatum at them. that unpaid leave, uncompensated reduced hours and early retirement be taken As an example, he cited Baltimores B&P Tunnel [see The Overshadowed Tunnel, February 2020 Trains]. They allocate costs in such a way as to make their decisions look good. But we are taking this action to help protect everyone. network operating, and if we dont have the subsidy from the Northeast Corridor We cant just count on Congress to close our gap., Part of that gap will be closed, Anderson said, by first cutting Mr. Anderson said that Mr. Flynn had sentimental ties to railroading, given that his father had been an engineer and some other members of his family had worked in the industry. I am a retired CPA. nationwide filed that week for unemployment benefits, Anderson held a dial-in Actor: Paths of Glory. No they are not. But, he added, Rest assured, were going to take good care of those tunnels.. Members enjoy 15% off any purchase in our store. Amtrak, Struggling to Keep Trains Running, Chooses a New Leader, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/nyregion/amtrak-ceo-william-flynn.html. Whats a billion or two for Amtrak in a bill that will will total two trillion? Most importantly, however, he does not have access to Amtraks books. Im certain the long-distance network is going to be very different longer term. Trains News Wire was provided with a recording of the meeting. The key is whether the mistakes materially affect the companys financial statements and cost allocation outcomes. Seize the window of opportunity caused by reduced traffic. Volpe describes another rough estimation, asset usage allocation, as a synthetic substitute for interest and depreciation. Rather than cut capital spending, increase it. As America increasingly is sheltering in place, losing unprecedented numbers of jobs and retirement savings, fearful of COVID-19, and facing a stress level unfamiliar except to those who have endured war zones, Amtrak and its workforce face only unpleasant choices if the railroad and their jobs are to survive. Flynn, who has been with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings. Last month, the White House proposed cutting U.S. funding for Amtrak by more than 50% over 2020 levels. This fails to take into account potential revenue lost from such cuts, and reduces passenger options. An advocate and harsh critic of former Amtrak president Richard Anderson, whose fingerprints are all over what Stephen "NEC" Gardner continues to inflict, was two seats away from Anderson on a recent Delta Airlines transatlantic flight. The average Amtrak salary ranges from approximately $36,152 per year for a Clerk to $393,392 per year for a Senior Director. It is unprecedented in the railroad industry. Flynn has agreed to completely forego his annual salary from the outset. Effective April 1, 2022. It was developed at the request of Congress in 2005 to definitively categorize the companys expenses, according to how and where they are incurred. out the door in currently anticipated losses through Sept. 30, with no assurances Check out the documents. On a Friday, March 20, when hundreds of thousands of workers The biggest is a long-overdue acquisition of new cars and locomotives. The New York Times first reported that former Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson will step down as Amtrak CEO in favor of William Flynn, the former CEO of cargo and charter airline Atlas Air.
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richard anderson amtrak salary
richard anderson amtrak salary
richard anderson amtrak salary