Periodically, the UTU NEWS will contact members at random to report their thoughts on a question of interest to the general membership. This month's question:

Are you satisfied with your occupation?

"My only complaint would be that LACMTA doesn't make life easier on our membership, which would lighten my workload. I drove a bus for 23 years before becoming a full-time local chairperson, secretary to the general committee of adjustment, and chairperson of the state legislative board. I'd consider retiring, but there's a great group of able officers here, and we really like doing what we can to help the membership. As long as they want me, I'll be sticking around."
-- VIC BAFFONI, L-1608, CHATSWORTH, CAL.

"I'm very satisfied, and have been as a railroad man for 35 years. I've raised three children on my earnings. One's a dentist, another's a chiropractor, and the third is a machinist, and it was all made possible by UTU benefits we've received through the years. I'm a general chairperson on BNSF, and by craft I'm a conductor who began on the Santa Fe. I've always liked railroad work. My wife used to tell me this was the only part of my life I didn't complain about."
-- JACK HOLDEN, L-771, NEEDLES, CAL.

"I'm a pretty happy railroader, I guess. I'm a promoted conductor on a switching job in the yard for BNSF, sometimes working some local freights and coal trains. I like the physical aspects, and like the guys I work with. I could see myself retiring from here. My father and my grandfather both did it, so my eyes were wide open when I started here. The lack of quality family time and difficulty coordinating schedules with my wife can be a problem, but the job pays a lot of money."
-- MARK MILEHAM, L-113, WINSLOW, ARIZ.

"I've been railroading for 27 years, and on the whole, I'm satisfied. But it's probably due to being a conductor and a union officer. At the railroad, as a conductor for UP, I'm just working for the bucks, but as a local officer, I'm working for my fellow employees, which is very satisfying. Because I'm involved and at meetings, I hear what's going on, whereas others maybe only hear second-hand information, which can be wrong and frustrating. I like the idea of being of service."
-- LARRY ROMINE, L-473, LA GRANDE, ORE.