When I remember the offensive and unjust actions of PEBs 219, 220, and 221 which totally decimated many of our friends and brothers, I am still outraged. Having had the opportunity to witness the way we as an organization joined together and were able to turn the corner and overcome some of the negative impact of these imposed agreements through the combined efforts of all the affected System Federations; and with all the resources and financial backing of the Grand Lodge at our disposal which resulted in PEB 229, I cannot understand how we as a group could have so quickly forgotten the total efforts required by virtually all of our Grand Lodge Officers and Appointees to achieve the PEB 229 contract settlement. I am certain that we will all agree that the results of negotiating PEB 229 were vastly superior to the end results of the PEB 219 Imposed Settlement. They were also, however, extremely costly.

I also can't believe how we as a group could at this Convention disregard the work of the President's Office, the Secretary-Treasurer's Office, the various Vice Presidents' offices, the Legal Department, the Organizing/Mobilization Department, the Education and Safety Department, the Research Department and the Communications Department, which have all performed at an extremely high level for the past four years and have aided each System Federation, Subordinate Lodge and individual members through their efforts.

The main objection put forth by many of the delegates who opposed the dues increase was basically "My members sent me here to oppose any dues increase" without offering any other explanation for their actions. First, I would have to say that I hope with all that transpired at the Convention and with the numerous other serious matters that were addressed, these delegates were present to represent the total interests of their members and not just to make a point about a very modest dues increase. If their sole purpose in attending this Convention was to insure the Grand Lodge would not be properly funded to perform its duties in the future, they were successful. However, their actions certainly did not represent the future interests of their members.

Secondly, I would like to remind these delegates and their members that the dues we pay are modest by comparison to many other unions and are vital to provide the services we have all come to expect from Grand Lodge. If we are to continue to achieve successes through negotiations and protect our retirement and disability funds, defend our rights under the FELA and at times serve as the conscience and the primary voice of reason for all rail labor, the Grand Lodge must be financially solvent and adequately funded. Failure to do so can only lead to disaster and unnecessary hardship for our members.

I fear that many of the delegates who opposed the requested dues increase fail to understand the objectives of the people we deal with at the various carriers. The carriers are continually attempting to undermine our contracts, dismantle our disability and retirement fund and eliminate our rights under FELA. The carriers are prepared to expend any amount of money necessary to destroy our way of life and thereby lower not only our standard of living but our families' standard of living as well. We must all be aware that the carriers measure their successes solely by the number of digits on the bottom line without giving any consideration to the hardships or inequities we are subjected to in order to enhance their profit margins. I am confident that any members who were unfortunate enough to be subjected to the concessionary conditions of PEB 219 will wholeheartedly agree with this statement.

Secretary-Treasurer W. E. LaRue's requested dues increase was based on the projected financial requirements over the next four years and amounted to less than one dime a day per member or less than the cost of one fast food combo meal per month. This seems to me to be a pitifully small amount to pay in order to avoid another 219 type of imposed agreement. I am concerned that we have forgotten that the wages and benefits we now receive for our labors were not the gifts of company management but were in fact the end result of years of tedious, time consuming and very costly negotiations.

We cannot afford to overlook the fact that in just over two years, we must again begin contract negotiations for a large percentage of our members. There are numerous factors that could weigh against us at that time. Should we expend less resources in the next round of negotiations than we did in the last round, we could easily be forced to accept an inferior agreement which would adversely affect our wages and benefits; such as, health and welfare, percentage wage increases, expenses, cost of living increases and work rules. Therefore, adequate funding is essential if we are to attempt to gain ground in the next round of negotiations.

To the delegates and members whose only concern at this Convention appeared to be no dues increase, I would remind you that your dues are used to pay for all the services most of us have been provided for so long that we now take them for granted. The dues we pay are clearly not monies thrown to the wind but are in fact an investment in our future and the future of our families. They insure we have the ability to negotiate contracts, process grievances, defend the rights of our members, and in general enhance the lives of our members and their families.

I sincerely hope the short sightedness of those who would refuse to properly fund this Brotherhood's numerous endeavors don't see their actions return to negatively impact all of us in the future. I would further remind each member that by failing to adequately fund the Grand Lodge obviously some programs must be eliminated or reduced over the next four-year period. It would also be reasonable to speculate that other financial obligations now provided by Grand Lodge will be diverted to the responsibility of the various System Federations. The respective System Federations may not have the funding necessary to fill the void we have created by our actions, and therefore may place unexpected financial burden on the System Federations which may in turn be forced to increase their dues if services are to be provided at their current level.

It has long been the desire of BMWE members to improve our position in the food chain of rail labor. It is unfortunate that we lack the resolve and the foresight necessary to achieve that goal by failing to properly fund the struggle it would take to achieve it.

Paul R. Beard
Oregon, Ohio

The following letter was written to all Congressmen and Hilary Clinton.

When Jacob tricked Esau out of his patrimony in the Bible, the lesson ran deep; to meet the needs of the moment some of us will give away intangible assets that define a man or woman.

My husband is being nullified in one of these defining moments. He has a job with the railroad (Conrail).

When we married he was asked to defer wages and living increases to consolidate and make Conrail a stable entity. Twenty years later all of our sacrifices -- and there were sacrifices -- have turned into bitter fruit. And more unjustly he is being treated as a bowl of porridge (back to Jacob and Esau) by the management of CSX.

My husband is not someone else's fool. He is an aware, literate bright entity that recognizes his only protection in this brutal economic situation is his union. No other entity, including our government (by and for the people) has any other concern for him as an individual. All the rights that the union (BMWE) has desperately implemented are being stripped away, leaving him a living slave; and he feels this situation with a powerful angst. The men he works with feel more than "the pain of the moment," they recognize their lives are in jeopardy.

This letter is not about business and negotiations. I am trying to convey how deeply these employers are impacting the lives of the men who work for them.

These men who work thankless jobs at all hours have been degraded by corporate thought to mere units; poker chips, food for a machine entity.

This inhumane vision of human beings will result in tragedy. And I, on the sidelines of this confrontation, try to keep the family stable and ongoing. And I feel only God can help me now.

Please allow the union and management to meet and adjust to each others needs. Business cannot, must not take precedence over the validity of human lives. He, my husband, must not be reduced, by government interference, to slave level.

In conclusion, I am hoping you will listen and become aware that a very real wrong may be committed if the "corporate voice" is the only voice heard from. Obviously, our future is in your hands; I am asking you to think of us, about us.

Mrs. Olga Ashby
Camillus, NY