ONLINE VERSION	VOLUME 106 - NUMBER 10 - NOVEMBER 1997

MofW ... Working on the Railroad

Working on the railroad is a non-traditional job for women, especially in the maintenance of way department. But although their number is small, there are women working on the railroads all across the country. That is why Grand Lodge, along with the Burlington System Division, General Chairman David Joynt and the Chicago & North Western System Federation, General Chairman Leon Fenhaus, were proud to co-sponsor two BMWE women members' attendance at the first AFL-CIO Working Women's Conference. The conference, attended by over 1,700 women, was held on Sept. 5-7 in Washington, D.C. Terrilou Nelson, currently furloughed from the Union Pacific Railroad, and Clara (Carey) McLaughlin, working on a production gang for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, both gave up their weekend and took the long flight from Wyoming to Washington, D.C. to attend the conference on behalf of the BMWE. Forty-eight states and four foreign countries were represented at the conference. In a mixture of plenary sessions and workshops, attendees discussed issues such as equal pay for equal work, flexible hours, child care, health care and pensions. Nelson attended workshops on "Common Sense Economics" and "Electing Women to Public Office" while McLaughlin attended "Organizing Women in the Trades/Nontraditional Jobs" and "Sexual Harassment." To help women work together on such issues, the AFL-CIO Working Women's Department is networking with women's civil rights, community and religious organizations by the creation of the Working Women Working Together Activist Network. For more information you can call toll-free 1-888-971-9797. The results of the "Ask a Working Women" survey to determine what issues most concern working women were released at the conference. This national mail-in survey, returned by 50,000 union and non-union women, found that equal pay is women's top concern. This was rated most important by 99 percent of the women. Women are also very worried about job security and their families' financial security. Forty-one percent think job security has gotten worse in the past five years compared to only 26 percent who think it has gotten better. For more information on the results of the survey, contact the Working Women Network at the toll-free number previously given. Speakers at the conference included Vice President Al Gore, Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Born and raised in Caribou, Maine, Carey McLaughlin has one son who attends college in Colorado. After spending 20 years in the nursing field, McLaughlin felt she needed a career change a few years ago. Being a "farm kid" and loving the outdoors, McLaughlin went to work for the railroad. Although it was her first time in a union, her dad, a welder, was a union man. One of the things she likes best about the union is the security it provides; "you can't just lose your job if someone doesn't like you." McLaughlin really enjoyed the conference, particularly for its "upbeat attitude, the unity, the solidarity and the friendliness of the women attending." Some of the ideas she heard inspired her to want to start a networking group for railroaders, maybe a talk line where workers can talk to each other about their problems and concerns. Nelson, who is serving as the Town Clerk for Lusk, Wyoming while on furlough also owns a bar in town with her husband of four years, Dean. Nelson "loved working on the railroad, especially being outdoors" and is finding it difficult being in an office all day. Beyond defining the entire conference experience as "wonderful" and "well-worth the trip," Nelson particularly enjoyed hearing from so many dynamic speakers. "I was impressed and inspired, especially by Maxine Waters (U.S. House of Representatives) and Ann Richards (former Governor of Texas). They have been so successful in their political careers and I can understand why. They were great."