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 Hello everybody, Has anyone heard about this issue about the Union Pacific railroad trying to extort money from model railroad makers? I cut and pasted this commentary from Jim Hightower's no nonsence comentary web site (please note the source of this article below the main text): A MODEL OF CORPORATE GREED 11/10/2003 In addition to being genetically disposed to greed, do CEO's of big corporations also carry the stupid gene? Take the case of *** Davidson, CEO of Union Pacific railroad. It's now our nation's largest rail corporation, having swallowed up such other companies as Southern Pacific, the M-K-T, Chicago & North Western, and several others. Apparently, though, *** is not content merely to control the big trains, for he's also making a grab for the miniature ones – as in model trains. How stupid. Like a bear being chased by thousands of angry bees, *** has incurred the wrath of everyone from model-train makers to the hobbyists and kids who buy the models. What's up is that Union Pacific has suddenly demanded that model-train makers pay it a royalty on all sales of trains that bear not only its logo, but also the logos of any of the former railroads that it has absorbed. As the outraged editor of Mainline Modeler magazine put it: "The Union Pacific has interposed itself into the model railroad industry, demanding a percentage of revenues . . . without any investment whatsoever. It's simply a method of skimming a profit without providing a service. It is an outstanding example of greed." Over the years, railroad corporations, including Union Pacific, have been delighted to be the subjects of model trains, seeing it as a form of flattery, free promotion, and goodwill. For it now to threaten and demand loot from these small modeling companies is an act of PR suicide. Sure enough, train buffs are fighting back against what they now call "the great yellow goliath." Among other actions, they're organizing UP stockholders and buying stock themselves so they can go to next spring's shareholder meeting en masse to rail against ***'s railroad job. *** stupidly is buying a trainload of ill will by trying to collect this pittance in royalties. To tell *** to wise up, call him: 402-271-5000. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Mainline Commentary: Can the Union Pacific Railroad Destroy the Model Railroad Industry?", Mainline Modeler, August, 2003.
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