Sal and his older brother George started working summers on the railroad in the 1960s. George later went into the Army but Sal now has 26 years working on the railroad. Three of Sal’s five other brothers (he also has two sisters) also work or worked for the railroad. Jesse has two years, Mike has 27 years, and Art, 29 years.

Zee Tovar, Sal’s wife, also has a railroading background. Her grandfather, John Edward Burrow, was a section man for Santa Fe out of Gainesville, Texas. Zee, mother of five, went back to school for her teaching degree when her oldest children entered their teenage years. She has now been teaching Kindergarten for four years at Robinson Elementary School in Augusta, Kansas.

So it was only natural, with her family background, that Zee chose the railroad when her principal proposed a school/business partnership. She recently wrote to the BMWE Journal about the success of this project; her letter follows:

My name is Zee Tovar. I teach Kindergarten at Robinson Elementary School in Augusta, Kansas. I though you might appreciate hearing about a civic project, more specifically a school/business partnership, that Roadmaster Kitch and his men of the Kansas Division have been involved in this year.

It all began when my Principal Sheryl Erickson asked each grade level at Robinson Elementary to form a partnership with a local business. Naturally, since my late grandfather, my husband and most of his family have worked for the Santa Fe, I thought of the BNSF. Knowing that children (of all ages) love trains and are in awe of large machinery, I was sure that it would be an enjoyable learning experience for one and all. The added incentive was, that in addition to our two main objectives for forming the school/business partnership, we would also have the opportunity to teach the children safety in regard to railroads.

Our initial motives for this project were to: increase student awareness of the many ways they will be using the skills that they are currently learning in school once they enter the work force and to allow us a greater opportunity to share some of the neat things that we are doing at Robinson with our community.

On the first visit we watched two videos. One told the history of the Santa Fe, the other exhibited various machines and men performing a variety of tasks at their job location. During that visit, we discussed the importance of safety, telling time, knowing colors, and following directions.

We were fortunate in that our business partners on subsequent visits were able to bring some of their heavy equipment to us. We saw a section truck and a Little Giant crane. The crews explained the safety rules and regulations that had to be followed when operating the various machines. We discussed the importance of being able to get along with co-workers, the responsibility involved in getting to work on time, and taking pride in your work by doing the best job that you are capable of.

We toured the Augusta BNSF depot in May. There we saw more of the equipment that is used and watched trains as they passed through Augusta. We were all impressed with the sign in front of the depot that proclaims how many injury-free days that Roadmaster Kitch’s crews have worked. As I have mentioned, we had talked in length about safety, but the children were astounded with the actual number--1,353.

The children found that for someone to hold a job on the railroad, they would need these skills: reading, writing, math, the ability to communicate proficiently, listening skills, co-operation, social skills, the ability to follow specific directions, and tell time.

They also learned the importance of safety, technology and the understanding of that technology. The students were made aware of the fact that education does not end with high school or even college but is ongoing throughout life and, in order to be successful at your career, you must have pride in yourself, your work, and your company.

As you can see, we’ve learned a great deal. However, the most important knowledge that the children gained from this experience was that the things that they study, learn and do each day are the very things that they will need to know if they are to have a successful future.

In closing, the children, their parents and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the BNSF and especially Roadmaster Gene Kitch for the nice gifts the children received, i.e. BNSF safety coloring books, key rings, thermometers, rulers, book marks, as well as allowing us the opportunity to tour the Augusta depot and most importantly, for his dedication to our school/business partnership. Our partnership has been a wonderful and exciting learning experience for the children, one which I am sure they will not forget.

We would also like to express our appreciation to the men that came to speak with us and share their knowledge: Foreman L. G. Rosenbraugh, Machine Operators Sal Tovar and Steve Mackey, Truck drivers Mike Tovar and Larry Burrows and Section Crewman Fernando Lopez.

In a follow-up telephone conversation, Zee said that more parents went to tour the Augusta depot (with video cameras) than any other field trips (fire station, hospital, etc.). They too were excited about being able to sit in the seat of a tamper and also to watch the operator working a burro crane.

It was a pleasure for the BMWE Journal to print this rewarding example of how things can work on the railroad. When experiences like this occur, the BMWE wants to note the benefits a positive labor-management relationship can produce. Like in Augusta, these benefits can go far beyond the railroad and its employees. We commend all involved for their contributions.

Editor’s Comment

Those of you who do not wish to follow reading such an upbeat story with a grimmer one may want to read the rest of this article later. But we deeply regret that we must note that experiences like the one at Robinson Elementary are all too rare in the railroad industry, and we must report that grimmer picture here because we have a heavy obligation to those who have been injured or killed while working on the railroad.

The BMWE has long held safety as one of its top priorities and has fought for improvements on many fronts. Unfortunately, all too often the railroads talk safety but push productivity. Hundreds, if not thousands of times a year, railroad workers are injured on the job.

On many railroads when an incident occurs, the first thing the railroad does is begin intimidating the worker. As was reported in last month’s Journal article about the Harriman (Harassment) Safety Awards, before medical attention is sought, an employee is subjected to an interrogation on how the incident happened. When medical attention is sought, every effort is made to downplay the injury and necessary treatment so that it will not reach the threshold of requirements for an injury to be reported to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Just one example: An employee was cut on the hand while on duty and wasn’t taken to a doctor for three hours--three hours. When he did get there, the supervisor suggested to the doctor that the employee be treated with tylenol and a band-aid, if necessary. Tylenol and a band-aid? The employee required 36 stitches--36!

Unfortunately, BNSF is not an exception to the rule. So committed is BNSF to their principles of safety they incorporated language in their labor agreements empowering their employees to refuse to violate any rule because of safety reasons. Yet, as reported in the November 1996 issue of the Journal, an 18-year employee, Jerry Geiger, was fired for using this very same "empowerment" by refusing to engage in an unsafe activity.

While the BMWE knows that the railroads under report accidents and injuries to the FRA, the numbers that are reported are quite bad enough. In the latest statistics for the calendar year 1995 (FRA Accident/Incident Bulletin No. 164--August 1996), the Santa Fe reported 256 employees injured while Burlington Northern (BN) was more than three times that with 894. Of these totals, maintenance of way employees accounted for 94 injuries on Santa Fe and 284 on BN.

Far worse and almost impossible to under report is the appalling fact that 1995 saw 80 fatalities (including non-employees such as trespassers, contractors, etc.) on Santa Fe and 135 on BN.

In a tragic irony, as this article was being prepared, a 21-year-old railroad worker was killed in Texas when he fell off a crane similar to the "Little Giant" which was mounted to a repair car as reported by The Dallas Morning News. The worker slipped off the front of the train car and was run over when he tried to catch a cable that was falling. The accident occurred about 9:00 a.m. on June 23 on the BNSF line in the 5000 block of Blue Mound Road in Saginaw, Texas. Police said the car, which carried the deceased and another worker, was only moving a few miles an hour but couldn’t be stopped before it ran over him.