dmcowen674
No Lifer
4-21-2004 Iowa Town Suing Railroad Over Job Cuts
BURLINGTON, Iowa - Battered by layoffs over the past few years, this Mississippi River town of crumbling brick buildings and faded Victorian homes is striking back at the one that hurt it the most ? by suing the railroad that shares its name.
In January 2003, BNSF laid off 260 workers in Burlington. In December, 93 more jobs were moved to Topeka and another shop in Galesburg, Ill. Today, there are only 44 workers are left at the West Burlington shops.
Des Moines County, in which Burlington is located, has lost about 1,800 jobs since 1996 ? well-paid jobs at longtime employers such as the railroad, Case IH, General Electric and Exide Technologies. In that time, two grocery stores and a department store in Burlington closed.
Workers who were laid off or transferred were bewildered by BNSF's decision to take the jobs away.
"These guys just don't understand," said Deb Olson, whose husband, Terry, an electrician, now commutes 100 miles every day to work at the Galesburg shop. "They had the best shop, the best record in the country. This town was pretty much built on the railroad. It's pretty sad."
The mayor said the city begged the railroad to stay, offering tax breaks and other incentives to no avail.
"Doing nothing just wasn't an option," Edwards said. "We tried our little carrot approach, and that didn't work. So now we're going to try the stick."
About three dozen BNSF trains still rumble through Burlington every day. Train whistles rattle the windows in downtown buildings, many of them now empty.
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BURLINGTON, Iowa - Battered by layoffs over the past few years, this Mississippi River town of crumbling brick buildings and faded Victorian homes is striking back at the one that hurt it the most ? by suing the railroad that shares its name.
In January 2003, BNSF laid off 260 workers in Burlington. In December, 93 more jobs were moved to Topeka and another shop in Galesburg, Ill. Today, there are only 44 workers are left at the West Burlington shops.
Des Moines County, in which Burlington is located, has lost about 1,800 jobs since 1996 ? well-paid jobs at longtime employers such as the railroad, Case IH, General Electric and Exide Technologies. In that time, two grocery stores and a department store in Burlington closed.
Workers who were laid off or transferred were bewildered by BNSF's decision to take the jobs away.
"These guys just don't understand," said Deb Olson, whose husband, Terry, an electrician, now commutes 100 miles every day to work at the Galesburg shop. "They had the best shop, the best record in the country. This town was pretty much built on the railroad. It's pretty sad."
The mayor said the city begged the railroad to stay, offering tax breaks and other incentives to no avail.
"Doing nothing just wasn't an option," Edwards said. "We tried our little carrot approach, and that didn't work. So now we're going to try the stick."
About three dozen BNSF trains still rumble through Burlington every day. Train whistles rattle the windows in downtown buildings, many of them now empty.
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