BNSF Tool House, Sheridan, Wyoming, May 3, 1999, left to right, Rene DeLuna, Jim Nielson, Dave Nelsen, J. J. Hall, Bob Alley.

IMAGE 02 - Bob Grear

IMAGE 03 - Left to right, Ed Knudson, Tony Rosalez, D. H. Bradley

IMAGE 04 - Dave Bradley

IMAGE 05 - Left to right, Chris Gleason, Jeff Swanson, Mike Sutphin, Larry Lindsey

IMAGE 06 - Left, Carl and Jonnie Stark with Kathy and Bob Alley

IMAGE 07 - Left to right, Gerald Pinder, Steve Meece, Rene DeLuna

IMAGE 08 - Local Lodge 1074 meeting, May 5, 1999, Sheridan, Wyoming. Left to right, standing, Todd Heemeyer, Mike Sutphin, Chris Gleason, Randy Myers, Carl Stark, Rene DeLuna, Mark Geiss, Terry Mines. Seated, Leo Schroder, Joe Brockel, Dave Haworth, Bob Alley

"They're taking kids and shipping them over 600 miles from home. Now we just got enlarged seniority districts shoved down our throat and even guys who have 20 years in are worried," said Bob Alley, a section foreman who has worked for Burlington Northern Santa Fe for 27 years. Alley was referring to the decision of Arbitrator Mittenthal issued on March 11 which permitted the BNSF to consolidate its 47 seniority districts into nine. Mittenthal "weighed" the BNSF's "large operational need" against the "clear adverse impact on the work force" and decided for the carrier. *

When we talked to Alley and other BMWE members working on a BNSF section gang in early May in Sheridan, Wyoming, there was still a great deal of uncertainty about the impact the seniority district consolidations would have, but like dark clouds threaten bad weather, everyone knew such massively increased territory sizes didn't bode well for them.

"I'm a very nervous pup, I'm afraid I'll never see home" said Chris Gleason, who has two years of seniority. "It's bad enough as it is," said Jeff Swanson, a truck driver who also has two years of seniority. "There's no stability on the road. I'm from Glendive, Montana and I had to come here (Sheridan), 280 miles from home, I had no choice."

Section laborer J. J. Hall, who has seven years' seniority, said "I could hold if I went 500 miles to Mandan (North Dakota) but I can't afford to. Maintaining two households is not cost effective and trying to limit your trips home because of cost is very tough on any relationship." Jim Nielson, a section laborer with 23 years seniority, agreed that most important to him was "job security, being able to hold near home."

Larry Lindsey, who has 21 years of seniority and has been divorced twice, said "if I go on the road it's probably gonna happen again. Just how much pain and misery do you have to put up with to earn a buck?"

Mike Sutphin, with six years on the railroad, said "I know guys who made money traveling because the weekend mileage allowance is okay, but they're vegetabled out. It's not worth it." Sutphin also questioned why the company doesn't post more jobs "because there is work, work that needs to be done, but there are still people sitting at home."

"That's right, there's too much work for the amount of people," said truck driver Rene DeLuna, who has 21 years of service. "Like following the rail detector. They want 20 miles no matter how many defects there are to cut out. It takes about one and a half hours with a full crew of four to cut one out and we're usually short of men. When you don't have a full crew it makes it hard on everyone. If you voice your opinion about it, they label you a trouble maker. When Alley tried bringing problems like this up at a recent safety meeting, the company's response was 'saw mill's hiring.'" Added Alley, "it kind of makes you believe that all the talk about empowerment is just propaganda."

Carl Stark thinks situations like this are all part of the railroad's strategy to try and make "everyone mobile and going down to nine districts is a big step toward that goal. You need sections, home-based people. But guys that don't behave-- guys who will speak up -- could be put 500 miles away in Mandan and it does make you think twice about being vocal."

Loren Music, a furloughed grinder with one year of service wants to follow in the footsteps of his father "Frosty," also a grinder. "But I'm struggling because of insurance," he says. "My two-year old son gets colds and I need insurance for him. Being laid off, it's hard."

Tony Rosalez, Ed Knudson and D. H. Bradley all agree that "30 and 55 is the biggest thing. Many don't make it much past 62 as it is, they die out. If they have to wait till they're 67, they're probably gonna die on the job." However, Bradley said, "I'm willing to give up zero because wages haven't met the cost of living. But keeping us out here almost 50 years is too long, 30 years ought to be enough. I want to enjoy a couple years of retirement before I'm crippled from the type of work we do which is not just riding along."

Dave Nelsen thinks it's "blatantly evident the company wants to break railroad retirement. Look what they tried to do with occupational disability. They talk about a 401K plan but then they try to get out of a 401K. And look at our turnover rate because the poor working conditions dilute the dollar per hour and make it a worthless job."

"Contracting out," is the most pressing problem said Bob Grear, a track inspector with 28 years on the railroad. Almost all agreed that if not the most important, contracting out was certainly near the top of the list of important issues that needed to be discussed with the railroad in the upcoming round of bargaining.

* Following Mittenthal's decision the BMWE continued to meet with BNSF officials in an attempt to ensure that both parties were interpreting the Mittenthal Award in the same manner and to try to minimize as much as possible the hardship associated with the expanded seniority districts over BNSF's 35,000 plus miles of operated track. On June 16 a tentative agreement was initialed and a ratification ballot was mailed to the membership on June 21. In addition to the detailed information provided by General Chairman David D. Joynt in the Old "Q" News, twenty-seven special meetings were held across the territory of the Burlington System Division in July during which there were "very good discussions regarding the seniority district consolidation." On August 2 an accounting firm advised that the tentative agreement had been approved by a majority of the members who returned their ballot. Although the agreement was effective September 12, 1999, it was agreed to "phase-in" the seniority district consolidation to try to minimize the problems associated with the implementation of the new larger districts. The first bulletins advertising positions to the new consolidated Northwest, Montana and Fargo Districts were issued September 16 with a report date of October 11; to the new consolidated Kansas, Texas and Southwest Districts were issued September 30 with a report date of October 18; to the new consolidated Galesburg, Lincoln and Southeast Districts were issued October 1 with a report date of October 25.

Terri Blakeman with sons Kolter, age 6 and Kade, age 15 months.

Brian and Terri Blakeman, both born and raised in Sheridan, Wyoming, have been together 11 years. Brian, 32, went to work for the railroad six years ago as a machine operator on a section gang.

But when I talked to Terri in May, Brian was working in Denver, Colorado, 426 miles away from home. Brian works five eight-hour days and doesn't get home until 9 or 10 on Friday night, after his children are in bed. He leaves again about 2:00 on Sunday.

"Every year we say, let's try and hold in Sheridan," Terri said. "We try but we can't and we go back on the gang. How come we can't hold when there are guys from Montana in Sheridan and vice versa. Why?

"Every weekend I worry about his safety, driving so many hours in such a short time after working hard all day. I worry about the safety of the whole gang and there's no quality time at all.

"Travel money is good but he wasn't here when I miscarried a baby in February 1997. Other gang members offered to help him come up with money for plane fare but he wasn't here when the worst happened, so ...

"Our phone bill is atrocious.

"He lives in a motel with a roommate, no privacy. He's allergic to smoke but he has no control over the situation.

"The hardest is not being able to help with the kids. He doesn't want to come home and have to discipline them, he has such little time with them. And every week he needs to reestablish a bond, especially with Kade who is kind of aloof at first, I think because Daddy left him before.

"This year Kade ended up in the hospital for a week. They would have let Brian come home but he had just come off layoff and we needed him to work because even with insurance it's expensive. Kade was in an oxygen tent with a respiratory infection. I had to do it by myself and it caused Brian even more stress because he couldn't help. If he had been working here, everything would have been different."

Sesame Street Section Houses

by the ST&F Committee

"You've got to be kidding," I said when I was told that the "ST&F Committee" was the "Slip, Trip and Fall Committee." I still think they must have been kidding even though everyone at the small but colorful BNSF section house I briefly visited one day in May said they weren't.

When I stepped in the section house that day, I couldn't help but notice all the colors -- bright red, orange, yellow, blue -- which one employee said made him feel like he should be tacking up Sesame Street characters to go with the paint. What particularly stood out was the wide, wavy red arrows in front of all doors indicating which way the doors opened.

Pointing to a document containing numerous pages tacked up on the wall entitled 1999 ST&F Pre-Audit Powder River Division, I was told items were painted pursuant to these directives from the ST&F Committee. Just a few of the items I noticed on the list: door edge needs painted yellow, wood shed door thresholds need painted yellow, men's restroom needs the book shelf cleaned, put trash can in restroom and label TRASH, dock step needs highlighted yellow paint, need stripes on floor, paint poles 4' up yellow, label trash cans TRASH, paint thresholds yellow, door swings need marked, paint all barriers yellow, in welding room paint floor yellow, highlight steps and concrete walkways yellow, stripe railway orange battery room.

While I was impressed with the organization and attention to detail demonstrated by the list, I couldn't help but wonder if cleanliness and orderliness were the goals rather than safety since there were only a handful of items on the list such as "electric cords on CatPac truck need to be put away so they are not a tripping hazard." And with that much focus on those goals, is the critically necessary attention to safety being compromised?

-----------S. L. Creswell