I've Been Working on the Railroad Part 9

The 1990’s -The Beginning of the End

The 1990’s began with more doom and gloom for clerical workers on the BN. Though there had been many retirements, there had not been any new hires for over a decade. Industry trade magazines pointed to new Federal laws requiring bar code scanners on each rail car within a couple of years. Additional technology made much of the clerk’s work obsolete. The rest could be done from a more centralized location. Switch crews were also given hand held computers. Morale was at an all-time low. Clerks were distrustful of former friends and coworkers. Yardmasters chatted with clerks less and less. It seemed everyone was fighting for their jobs knowing the fight was futile. Those years found me more and more on the GREB (Guaranteed Rotating Extra Board) board thankful for my Guarantee as rarely did I get 5 days of work in.  Before cell phones, you needed to be available during call hours and needed to be less than an hour from any of the work locations they were likely to call you for. My life was lived Plan A I would go to work, or Plan B, I would do something else until the next call period. If I didn’t get called during the third call period of the day, I knew that had been my day off.

By this time, most of the outlying clerks’ jobs had already been abolished. If crews needed transport, a yard clerk from 28^th St would supply the ride. The line between job duties diminished as other clerks needed to fill in for yard clerks. Most of us didn’t mind and were happy to be out of the tension filled office for a while.

Trainmasters were increasingly treating the clerks as dirt, making snide comments which in most cases we had no choice but to ignore.

Rumors of another merger came to fruition. The creation of BNSF started with the formation of a holding company, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation on September 22, 1995. This new holding company then purchased the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (often called the "Santa Fe") and Burlington Northern Railroad, and formally merged the railways into the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway on December 31, 1996.

The merger again meant more changes for the clerks. The new union negotiated agreement included separation language meant to dissolve clerks’ jobs at will. Clerks were offered a one-time lump sum severance package which by corporate standards seemed generous. Or they could take a six year buyout plan which they could at anytime during be subject to recall or risk losing their monthly payments. However, during the six years they would also accumulate credits for Railroad Retirement.  It was stipulated in the contract that employees with the least seniority would be forced back to work first.

It took the railroad almost a year to acclimate themselves to the new merger. We clerks knew the end was coming, but most of us remaining held on as long as we could just trying to do the best we could. The trainmasters continued to make our lives miserable with their comments. I felt the comments were totally uncalled for and finally spoke up with a comment of my own. Straight faced I commented, “That will look good on the harassment suit, won’t it.” I walked away.  It had the effect I wanted and at least for me, most of the harassment stopped.

The day came when we were forced to make our decision about separation with the company in November of 1997. If we wanted to continue to be employed by the railroad, we needed to be ready to transfer to Fort Worth, Texas and upgrade our skills. The separation papers allowed us to either take the lump sum or the six-year plan. Most of us took the six-year plan. We would continue to get paid full pay for the next six years or until they called us back to work.  I signed the papers knowing my life was about to change. The railroad had been my career for over 20 years. I needed time to mourn a job I had enjoyed immensely so took a long walk through the 17^th St yard. Tears flowed profusely and I was glad I was not summoned to give a ride to anybody.

Things went along for a few months and we soon realized that our union had sold our seniority out from under us. The railroad did call back a few clerks and forced the youngest in seniority to take the job or give up the severance package. Some had already found other employment so gave up the severance. Others took the jobs offered. Unfortunately, nowhere in our contract’s language did it mandate that the jobs needed to be offered to the most senior clerks first. Thus, several clerks holding less seniority than I and several others went back to work as crew haulers or yard clerks.  My final separation payment from the Railroad was November 2003.