We take this opportunity to thank you and your members for the support concerning President Bush’s anti-labor stance.

The Presidential Emergency Board has taken free collective bargaining out of the airline industry and authorized the government to tell our members what we should negotiate. His intervention did more harm than good. He reaps short-term political advantage with his colleagues at the expense of working men and women. These unconscionable acts and blatant anti-labor philosophy will surely make him a one-term president. He has undermined the bargaining process by announcing the PEB before the cooling off period ended.

Your letter has been a boost to morale and motivation for our members to continue the fight. We wholeheartedly thank you again for your support.

O. V. Delle-Femine, National Director, Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association

Dear President Fleming,

I was wondering if you could print the excerpts that I have mailed to you taken from the Norfolk Southern 2000 Annual Report.

I have underlined the sections that I believe are critical to people like me in the BMWE who have been working most of their lives on one carrier or another toward the hope of one day retiring with good benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board.

"Our goal now is to improve the financial performance of our expanded network as we continue to improve service. We will do that through a series of planned restructuring initiatives designed to reduce costs and enhance value for investors while we push even harder to offer high quality. ...

"The restructuring includes:

Improving productivity by a workforce reduction over the next 12 months, which will be in addition to programs announced in 2000. ...

"We began attacking our cost structure last year through work-force reductions. Since the end of 1999, we have reduced the number of employees by 3,300 or 9 percent of the workforce. As part of that effort, we have been able to reduce our non-agreement workforce by almost 25 percent from approximately 6,000 to about 4,600. Meanwhile, our agreement workforce has been reduced 7 percent.

"Going forward, we will continue to review our resources in light of business levels and will size our workforce accordingly. ...

"Our $806 million capital budget for 2001 reflects expenditures that have been carefully targeted to take advantage of growth markets. ...

"Our primary goal for 2001 is to build on the momentum our restructuring initiatives generate to create added value for our investors, our customers, our people and the communities we proudly serve."

Next to a photo of NS CEO David Goode: "This fat cat wants to terminate my employment by replacing agreement people with ‘scab,’ private contractors. Thereby taking food, clothing and shelter from myself, my spouse, my two children, and my grandchild. Shame on him."

Frank Ross Blackburn, Trackman, Bloomingdale, Ohio

Dear Editor:

I work for BNSF on the Gateway Sub. I am seeking information from my fellow co-workers. On November 16, 2000, while working on the tracks hitting down high spikes, pieces of metal or foreign objects came back up at such a velocity that it shattered my prescription safety glasses (left lens and left side shield) sending slivers of glass into my eye, face, cheek, nose, etc. Without a doubt this is not the first reportable injury that was due to sub-standard eyewear. I need your help. If any other BNSF employees have experienced a problem where the prescription safety glasses have failed, please contact me.

Richard D. Fitzer
Box 171
Bieber, CA 96009
Fax No. 530-294-5618
Local Lodge 236

Water vs. Coke

75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the world’s population.)

In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.

Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 3%.

One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters in a University of Washington study.

Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

No wonder Coke tastes sooooo good:

1. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.

3. To clean a toilet: pour a can of Coco-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous China.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.

8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate), a commercial truck must use the hazardous material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean engines of their trucks for about 20 years!

Still want to drink up???

Submitted by Leon Fenhaus, Wakonda, South Dakota.