I just recently received a 10-year appreciation gift from the Union Pacific Railroad. The note enclosed stated thank you for 10 years of devoted service. The problem I have with that is I have 23 years of railroad service. It's no wonder the UP-SP merger went so bad and disrupted and ruined a lot of good railroad men and their families' lives when they can't even keep employees' service time in check. It's been a constant battle for seniority that you have already established and, of course, contractors taking work and money out of our pockets.

The gift I received was a Seth-Thomas mantle clock, which was a nice looking clock. But as I was putting the batteries in it, I noticed that it was made in China. It's really sad that a major railroad that survives off the revenue of the U.S.A. and the service of union employees would send a clock made in China.

J. R. Smith
Brighton, Illinois

This past Labor Day as I celebrated the holiday along with many other Americans, I reflected on the accomplishments of "organized labor" in the United States, especially our own Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes.

The Brotherhood began as the Order of Railway Trackmen which was founded and organized in 1887 by a 26-year old trackman whose name was John Wilson. Wilson grew tired of working from sunrise to sunset, 14 hours a day with one-hour breaks in the winter, and 90-minutes in the summer, no job guarantees, wage cuts which were forced on the workers, and no benefits for injury or death, along with the average daily wage of 80 cents a day.

As many of us do who are members and work for the BMWE today, John Wilson risked his job and welfare to make changes for the good of the railroad worker. The early members of the Brotherhood made great sacrifices to help make this union what it is today. The members were threatened, leaders were fired, workers were blacklisted, people were beaten and forced to leave their homes and the community in which they lived, and the unions had to meet in secrecy. Wilson and his members had many obstacles but they prevailed and continued to stand up for trackmen's rights. Wilson created grievance procedures, began to negotiate wage increases and shortened the work day.

In 1900, with a membership of 1,500, the BMWE joined the American Federation of Labor and insured its place as the union for maintenance of way employees.

The Brotherhood has come a long way since its beginning and its membership of 1,500 under the leadership of John Wilson to a membership of 57,000, which includes our Canadian Brothers and Sisters, under the leadership of our present President Mac Fleming. Yes, the BMWE has achieved many great strides in this century, as for example, hourly pay raises have climbed from $1.79 in 1956 to an average of $15.00 an hour and more in different work classifications in 1999. We have also made great strides in such things as representation, rules, agreements, eight-hour days, overtime pay, retirement benefits, unemployment and sickness benefits, vacation pay, health insurance, and more recently, vision care.

In this time of uncertainty with carrier mergers and takeovers, our Brotherhood and our representatives are in there fighting with all their strength, all their being, and all their knowledge and experience against the tyranny of the companies and their management. Also in the political arena and with new enemies such as the Surface Transportation Board. The STB has allowed companies such as the Union Pacific Railroad to takeover railroads such as the Southern Pacific Transportation Company and allow the UP to consolidate seniority.

The STB has allowed BNSF to take 47 seniority districts and consolidate them into 9 districts without any regard for their employees. The employees now have to travel longer distances which forces them to stay away from home longer and neglect their families. With regard to further and longer traveling, the BMWE fought to negotiate and was able to achieve a national travel allowance to help compensate for traveling expenses to try and make it easier for an employee to get home and spend more time with his family.

Through the years the BMWE has helped me and my family to afford a good living and security with regard to our health and welfare. I am a firm believer that in order for anything to work, you have to believe in it. I believe in my union and it works for me, as I believe in my God as he has always been there for me. Remember my brothers and sisters, WE are the union, WE are the Brotherhood, and in order for it to continue, WE must believe and support our representatives and each other.

We have come a long way since the Order of Railway Trackmen and its founder, John Wilson and his original members at its conception on that hot day in Alabama, and we have seen many changes. One thing that hasn't changed is that we are still engaged in a fight to preserve our rights. The BMWE is committed more than ever to continue this fight to protect its members' rights as we move into the 21^st century.

Let us make the efforts of those who came before us not to have been in vain and continue their fight for a better work place in the railroad industry, as this is the true meaning of "organized labor" and Labor Day to me.

Jeffrey T. Finch
Gretna, Louisiana