For years, Rail Division Director John Feltz pressured Amtrak officials to revive a long-shuttered apprentice program that provides critical training to become a Journeyman Carman, only to be told he was “beating a dead horse.”
“My response was, ‘I’ll beat that horse until it comes back to life,’” Feltz said at the first graduation of Amtrak mechanical apprentices since 1994. “That horse is now a Triple Crown winner and taking its victory lap.”
Seven new TWU members completed a three-year program that gave them mentorship and experience at Beech Grove Shops, Amtrak’s oldest and largest railway maintenance facility in Beech Grove, Indiana.
Luke Bolin, RaJeana Costelow, Jaysen Cummings, Braxton Stapleton, Eric Ferguson, Steve Wells, and Kevin Perry all graduated on March 27th and immediately became Journeyman Carmen earning over $38 an hour. They are all members of TWU Local 2003.
“The apprenticeship program is a shining example of TWU advocacy paying off,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “For years, we were told that reviving the program wasn’t possible – but the Rail Division and John Feltz persisted, and Amtrak leaders finally listened.”
The creation of this program gives Amtrak a highly skilled, qualified, and engaged workforce, which in turn will maintain the safest and most reliable passenger railroad fleet in North America. It has been accredited by the U.S. Department of Labor, making Amtrak the only railroad in the country with a DOL accredited curriculum, which means Amtrak can apply for future funding for the program.
There are currently 110 apprentices from the TWU and three other unions who are learning new skills at Amtrak facilities across the country.
“This is a game-changer for TWU members that allows someone to start as a Coach Cleaner and work their way up to a Journeyman Carman position that pays well and provides great benefits,” Feltz said. “Programs like these will improve the economic security of families across the country.”
The apprenticeship graduates were presented with certificates of recognition from Indiana U.S. Rep. Andre Carson’s office during a ceremony in March with top Amtrak officials and TWU leaders present.
“I’ve always been a mechanical person and Amtrak is a good job,” Wells said. “Being part of the TWU means unity; you look out for each other and it’s a family. By the time you get through the apprentice program you’re in a good place with seniority.”
Apprentices worked across the different shops at Beech Grove to gain a range of skills, including learning how to take apart, rebuild, and refurbish sleeper and observation cars, paint locomotives, and overhaul wrecked railcars. They also repair and replace the interiors of dining cars and their kitchens. Apprentices also accrued seniority while completing the program – allowing the apprentices to accumulate time on the job that further improved their pay rate.
“I had no mechanical skills,” said Costelow, who worked as a Coach Cleaner for years and is the first-ever female Amtrak apprentice graduate. “I was cleaning cars, now I know how to repair a train car from the wheels up. I’m a 16-year TWU member and we’re always helping our brothers and sisters.”
Costelow said she will now begin working on second shift to repair train cars and said that the program in the future should provide critical skills training to the next generation of railroaders and TWU members.
“A young person should really start their career early and get into it,” she said. “This is a great opportunity.”
