To :Senator Ron Wyden                                                                           April 11, 1997

RE: Surface Transportation Board

Mr. Wyden,

I am a Local Chairman for the United Transportation Union and have been employed by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (formally the Burlington Northern Railroad) for the last 24 years.

I am writing you in regards to the Surface Transportation Board and their fast track actions on mega-mergers. It is my opinion that the STB is to the transportation industry what the banking deregulation did for the savings and loans in the 80’s.

The STB allows mergers to take place without any assurance that services won’t be affected.

I am sure you are well aware of what is happening with the Union Pacific Railroad. I am sad to report that the same problems exist on the BNSF.

• Personnel are being temporally furloughed to bolster earnings for a quarter. Mean time they do not have the people to run the trains let alone to allow days off. (see attached)
  

• Ongoing pay shortages then bound by the Railway Labor Act. (see attached)

I will not go into the safety issues here with fatigue and public safety.

I am sure there are some happy stockholders with CEO Krebs performance at keeping costs down. But what of the local plant workers sent home because they can not get cars?

How much will the US Taxpayers pay to bail out the rail industry and get trains rolling again?