BLET News
RRB Q&A: More information on the Social Security Fairness Act and its impact on Railroad Retirement annuities
The Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), which was signed into law on January 5, 2025, eliminates the reduction previously applied to the Railroad Retirement annuities or Social Security benefits of individuals who also receive pensions from work not covered by Social...
Teamsters Rail Conference thanks Rep. Titus
Front row, from left: Cole Scandaglia, Teamsters; Vince Verna, BLET; Rep. Dina Titus; Brendan Sullivan, BLET; and Alex Beckman, Rail Conference. Back row, from left: Mark Wallace, BLET; Eddie Hall, BLET, Jeff Joines, BMWED; and Roy Morrison, BMWED. ...
Cleveland: Division 607 members mark two years since the tragic passing of Brother Lou Shuster
From left: Laying a wreath in memory of Brother Shuster is Division 607 member Tim Shultz and Vice Local Chairman Kevin Russell. ____________________ March 7 marked two years since BLET Division 607 President Lou Shuster was killed in a rail yard accident while...
BLET Education & Training Dept.: Secretary-Treasurers complete hybrid LM-2 training
The BLET Education & Training Department hosted a hybrid training class for LM-2 filers last week, with Secretary-Treasurers participating both in person at the BLET National Division Training Center and virtually via Zoom. The workshop was geared toward...
Remote control: BLET meets with Rep. Kennedy regarding safety of remote control trains
New York Congressman Tim Kennedy (left) meets with Teamsters Rail Conference President and BLET First Vice President Mark Wallace ____________________ Teamsters Rail Conference President and BLET First Vice President Mark Wallace, along with Brendan Sullivan of the...
DOGE: Elon Musk’s latest proposal — if adopted — would derail Amtrak
Elon Musk hinted that bankrupting Amtrak could be a good thing even though bankruptcies have been detrimental to rail workers. ____________________ Last week, speaking to a Morgan Stanley investor conference, billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk said privatizing Amtrak...
BLET, NJ Transit sign tentative agreement after five years of negotiations
Locomotive engineers represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), who keep NJ Transit’s trains running for the nation’s third largest commuter railroad, have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. If the contract is ratified by...
BLET Education and Training Dept.: LC training class hotel room block cut-off is March 9; S-Ts can still register for the Zoom portion of this week’s class
The BLET Education & Training Department is hosting classes for Local Chairmen and Secretary-Treasurers in the coming weeks, providing an excellent opportunity for newly elected officers to get up to speed with their required duties. Veteran officers are also...
Rail security: Thieves continue to target freight trains
Thieves targeting freight trains have again made national headlines after more than $2 million worth of new Nike sneakers were stolen from trains in California and Arizona. A common method for these modern day train robberies involves cutting air hoses to force trains...
California: FRA to conduct compliance review of high-speed rail project
According to a recent survey, a majority of Californians support the state's high-speed rail project. Image: California High-Speed Rail Authority ____________________ DOT Secretary Sean Duffy recently ordered the Federal Railroad Administration to conduct a compliance...
BLET to file comments regarding zero-to-zero technology. BLET’s National Legislative Office seeks input from members.
The BLET will submit comments to the Federal Railroad Administration on CSX’s “zero-to-zero” technology that relies on computers to automatically start and stop freight trains. The railroad is seeking FRA approval for a Product Safety Plan (PSP) to begin using...
Organizing: Chalk another one up. Watco workers say yes to BLET.
The BLET notched its first organizing win of 2025 as employees at Watco voted to join the BLET in an election certified by the National Mediation Board on February 26. Watco owns and operates 45 regional short line railroads throughout the United States, and the...
Maryland: Not so fast, CSX. BLET takes action to stop railroad from using managers to pilot engineers.
Renovations to the 125-year-old Howard Tunnel in Baltimore led to train rerouting. CSX used managers as pilots initially until the BLET put a stop to it. Photo: Associated Press ____________________ A historic tunnel constructed in the late 1800s has led to a 2025...
BNSF: New Local Chairmen complete training
Twenty newly-elected Local Chairmen from BNSF General Committees of Adjustment participated in training sessions in February designed to help them become familiar with their duties under the BLET Bylaws. Most of the participants in the training session are taking...
Don’t mess with Texas: BLET member joins annual Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup
Blake Stephens of BLET Division 863 (left) helps Texas State Legislative Board Chairman Ben Wright get up close and personal with a western diamondback rattlesnake at the Texas Capitol. ____________________ Some people equate lobbying activity with snake handling....
Black History Month: Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King who stood up for labor rights as well as civil rights
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is widely known as a civil rights leader, as a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and as a skilled orator. It’s also important to remember that Dr. King’s vision extended beyond racial equality to include organizing for better working and...
Utah: New law bans collective bargaining for public sector workers, a threat to the entire labor movement
Union members protesting anti-worker legislation at the state capital in Salt Lake City, Utah. Photo: Associated Press ____________________ A regressive collective bargaining ban that strips Utah’s public sector workers of their long-held worker rights was passed by...
Reminder: March 1 is the deadline for children and dependents of Teamster members to apply for a valuable scholarship opportunity
As a reminder, March 1 is the deadline to apply for financial aid from the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund. Academic scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 are available to high school seniors who are the sons/daughters/financial dependents of Teamster...
In memoriam: BLET mourns the passing of Bob Broka, long-time Director of Records and Honorary Member
Robert D. (“Bob”) Broka, who served the BLET National Division as Director of Records, passed away on February 13. He was 77 years old. Broka began working for the Brotherhood in 1970 and retired in 2010. His 40 years of service spanned the administration of 11...
New Mexico: BLET-backed rail safety legislation would mandate wayside detectors every 10 miles and protect workers who report safety violations
Members of the BLET’s New Mexico State Legislative Board, from left: Gil Tafoya, Div. 791; Steve Seale, Div. 192; Gilbert Montiel, Div. 446; Clem Harris, Div. 15; Charlie Jeffcoat, Div. 811; and Mike Willis, Div. 446. (Not pictured: Alvin Largo, Div. 400)...
Daily Headlines
NJ Train regulation bill advances in state senate
A New Jersey state senate committee has approved a bill that would require two-person crews for freight trains and set a maximum length of 8,500 feet for “dangerous hazardous trains.”
NTSB: Improper coupling, excessive in-train forces caused March 2023 NS derailment
Contributing to the accident was the misidentification of couplers without alignment control during the NS’ inspection process, according to an NTSB report issued Sept. 22.
CSX’s former Clinchfield largely unrecognizable after historic flood
With roadways out of service and railroad washouts prohibiting inspections and repair, CSX’s Blue Ridge Subdivision and much of its Clinchfield are likely to remain out of the service for the foreseeable future.
Q&A: RRB financial reports
As of September 30, 2023, total railroad retirement system assets, comprising assets managed by the National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust (NRRIT) and the railroad retirement system accounts at the Treasury, equaled $26.5 billion.
UP explains absence from early contract agreements with organized labor
UP has sought to renegotiate the scheduling deal it reached last year with the BLET, under which engineers work 11 days and then have four days off. That prompted the union to sue the railroad this summer because it had yet to implement the scheduling agreement systemwide.
NTSB identifies probable cause of close-clearance death of CSX conductor trainee
“In this accident, a conductor trainee was fatally injured when he rode a shoving movement through a close clearance — a 7-inch gap — between his train and a series of parked locomotives. The conductor, riding a different ladder on the same railcar through the same gap, was not injured,” the NTSB said.
STB urges BNSF and UP to be prepared for West Coast container surge
Specifically, Primus asked the railroads for their plans to provide reliable service, how they will allocate resources to West Coast ports, and how the railroads are sharing information with port officials.
Biden-Harris administration calls on Class I freight railroads to guarantee paid sick leave and get to 100% worker coverage
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Department of Labor Acting Secretary Julie Su today sent letters to the CEOs of three Class I freight railroads – CPKC, CN, and CSX – calling on them to guarantee paid sick leave to all of their employees.
Regulators scrutinize trends on second day of rail growth hearings
At the opening of today’s Surface Transportation Board hearing on the lack of rail freight volume growth, Vice Chair Karen Hedlund said she was still struck by what she heard the day before from analysts and shippers and Class I railroad executives.
Railroads and regulators must address the dangers of long trains, report says
The report said there is a clear correlation between the number of derailments related to in-train forces and the long trains that routinely measure more than a mile or two long.
