Dear Brothers

The FRA is concentrating its field operations on Switching Operations Safety. So far this year, there have been 10 fatalities, and 76 fatalities in the last 2 1/2 years. Because of this, the following recommendations have been made and the FRA field agents will be looking for strict compliance:

A. Insuring that there is good communication between the Engineer and ground crew. A clear understanding must be had by all concerned. Practice job briefing and have several briefings during the course of your tour of duty.

The above recommendations may sound like a page out of the rule book and, for the most part, they are. These are rules the government has put into place over the past few years and they expect compliance not only from the carriers, but also from the employees. The FRA Field Agents will be concentrating on compliance with the above when they visit the various carrier properties and will include yard operations as well as road operations.

Ms. Havren reported that our retirement fund is solvent and should remain this way until 2025 based on its current structure. Keep in mind that the current structure is about to be changed, possibly today, and should be re-evaluated after all the changes are in place. I asked her what effects the proposed changes would have on the system if it passed, but she was instructed not to answer questions on the "what ifs." The Board would not issue any opinions until such time as the legislation had actually passed. (See the attached Legislative Report for more information on this bill).

The Railroad Retirement Board has a help line: 800-808-0772 and is available 24/7. For those of your with internet access, go to www.rrb.gov for more information regading Railroad Retirement.

We are still negotiating a national agreement and have a firm commitment from President Ed Dubrowski and the other members of the negotiating team to try and bring us a good contract. He is confident that we can make improvements in our existing agreements because the Carriers have enjoyed 5 continuous years of steady profit. Of course, the American Association of Railroads continues to cry poverty.

To date, the fight with the UTU has cost us $1.63 million and is expected to continue going up because the UTU will not back down. They are now attacking on some of the smaller railroads in hopes of taking us back to the NMB in order to overturn the favorable ruling we got late last year. I suspect that there is a dues increase looming on the horizon because of this, but hopefully it won't be a large one.

(1) In light of the fact that Al Gore is backing China for permanent status in the World Trade Organization, which is, in my opinion, completely contrary to unionism and workers rights, I asked why we (BLE) were still endorsing Mr. Gore's candidacy? The response from President Dubrowski was that he disagrees with Gore on this issue, so does the AFL-CIO, but after discussing this with other labor organizations including the Teamsters, the concensus is that Gore is not an enemy of organized labor and in the long run would help us. As opposed to Bush and the GOP who are sworn enemies of labor.

In conversations I had with several members, International Officers, and designated counsel, it seems evident that one of the first things the GOP would do if Bush is elected and they retain control of both houses will be to eliminate F.E.L.A. (Federal Employees Liability Act). This is the protection we have as railroaders in the event we are hurt or killed while at work. They elimination of this law would put us under the State workman's compensation plan. Believe me Brothers and Sisters, this would be disasterous, especially in Texas, which has one of the lowest paying worker's comp plans in the nation.

It is believed that the next President will appoint at least 3 new supreme court judges, possibly 4. Remember the last judges appointed by a Republican President (Reagan), ruled that we were allowed to sit in limbo waiting for our relief. The next president will also appoint the FRA Administrator, National Mediation Board, Railroad Retirement Board, Presidential Emergency Board, if needed to rule on our new agreement, and Federal Circuit Court Judge vacancies that occur during his term. This may not seem like much, but if you think about it, all of these agencies and courts have and will continue to impact our working conditions and quality of life.

The B.L.E.'s position is that we can. At least this is the position of the International officers. There seems to be a difference of opinion between the International Division and various General Committees on this issue. At any rate, the International is in the process of filing a law suit whereby a federal court will be asked to make a determination on who can and cannot represent trainmen.

A. Power Brake Rule. This issue is currently in committee and what we are hoping for is to get certain language in the existing law changed so as to give Engineers the right to refuse to take a train if air brakes, safety devises, or other equipment doesn't work properly or is otherwise deemed to be unsafe. This is similar to language in laws that govern airline pilots. Currently, if an engineer takes exception with equipment and is instructed by a company officer to leave the terminal "as is" then the engineer cannot refuse.

B. Clean Toilet Regulation. The B.L.E. is trying to bring about changes to the rules that deal with sanitary conditions in locomotives to include clean, serviced toilet facilities.

C. Crash Worthiness of Locomotive Cabs. The crash worthiness of locomotive cabs is also being discussed on Capitol Hill. Currently, there are minimal requirements in place. In the past, this issue has been debated with no success. Hopefully, we can make some progress in the near future.

D. Air Conditioning. Recently, Jolene Melatoris, FRA Administrator and President Ed Dubrowski rode a train in Arizona to experience first hand the effects of heat on crew members in locomotives. Ms. Melatoris had promised to bring attention to the dangerously high heat levels in the cabs. To a certain degree, this ride together with other efforts, is working to bring about some relief. Efforts at the national level have been stepped up to bring about a regulation that will require working air conditioners on all lead locomotives.

E. H.R. 4844 - Railroad Retirement and Survivor's Improvement Act of 2000. You have probably heard quite a bit about this already. As of September 27th, this bill is marked up in the Senate, meaning that it is being presented on the Senate Floor for consideration. To date, it has the backing of 80 of the 100 Senators, virtually assuring passage with little or no debate. It will then be sent to the President for signature after which it becomes law. My 2 cents worth on this issue is that for the most part the bill has it's good points, I believe we are being short changed because we could have gotten so much more. Compared to what the Carriers are getting ($550 million windfall) we got very little. Nonetheless, some of these changes were needed to help widows survive, for instance, and should have been enacted a long time ago. I welcome the changes we are receiving.