BLET News

The ABC Primetime special “Toxic trains,” featuring an interview with Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa, will air tonight.

Locomotive engineers working on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority’s (SEPTA) regional rail line ratified a new, five-year collective bargaining agreement.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced today its intention to propose revised federal rail safety regulations to facilitate the installation of Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brake systems capable of preventing derailments and shortening train stopping distances.

Space remains for BLET members interested in attending the National Labor College’s Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Programs at the George Meany Campus in Silver Spring, Md., on the following dates: September 17-22, 2006, and October 1-6, 2006.

Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen are asked to support Local 17 of the International Union of Operating Engineers by boycotting the Adams’ Mark Hotel in Buffalo, N.Y.

Retirees from these properties who qualify for the paid-up $2,000 life insurance that was formally paid by MetLife (the old Travelers Policy) are advised that it is now being paid by the Canadian National Railway through the Retiree Benefit Center.

BLET members are encouraged to register to vote now in order to vote in the ultra-important November 7 elections.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the United Transportation Union have told CSX CEO Michael Ward to stop the “targeted selective stalking, harassment and intimidation of its train and engine service crews.”

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has reached a tentative five-year contract agreement for its 195 members who work for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is asking its members to contact their Senators in support of S. 3726, the Railroad Retirement Technical Improvement Act of 2006.

The BLET congratulates six of its members’ children for winning scholarships from the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund. Two of these winners, Christine Haas and Elspeth Sawyer, earned $10,000 scholarships.

The Teamsters 2006 Women’s Conference will be held September 14-17 in Phoenix, Arizona.

BLET National Secretary-Treasurer Bill Walpert announced that he has good news for Secretary-Treasurers.

The BLET’s Arbitration Department has added Doug Davidson of Division 96 (Chicago) to its staff, filling the vacancy that was created by Marcus J. Ruef’s election to the office of National Vice-President at the First Quadrennial Convention in June.

BLET Vice President and National Legislative Representative John Tolman testified today before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads regarding human factors incidents in the railroad industry.

BLET National Division President Don Hahs today received a letter from the widow of Eddie Sanchez, thanking BLET members for their generous donations in memory her late husband.

In a letter to BLET National President Don M. Hahs and UTU International President Paul C. Thompson, the National Transportation Safety Board has given a safety recommendation to the organizations regarding train crew fatigue. The NTSB has asked the BLET to inform its members about Safety Recommendation R-06-17, which was issued in response to the fatal accident in Macdona, Texas, on June 28, 2004, that resulted in the death of BLET member Heath Pape.

Bill H. Holt, 82, former BLE General Chairman on the M-K-T Railroad, passed away on July 18, 2006.

Vice President & National Legislative Representative John Tolman reports that House Committees approved three bills last week that impact the rail industry, including one of particular importance to workers who receive Railroad Retirement disability benefits.

Rail labor’s campaign to defeat Senator Kit Bond’s (R-MO) anti-labor provision in the Amtrak appropriation was successful yesterday.