BLET News
2024 Election: BLET Legislative Board recommendations
In advance of the general election on November 5, the BLET National Division is publishing a list of voting recommendations from the various BLET State Legislative Board Chairmen. The list includes candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of...
Texas: Annual rail labor solidarity rally slated for October 15
BLET members are encouraged to attend the annual Houston Solidarity Rally, which runs from noon-7:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, October 15. The rally features guest speakers from organized labor (including BLET), presentations from the Railroad Retirement Board and various...
Texas: BLET notches another short line organizing victory — third one in 2024
Train and engine service employees at Transglobal Solutions/TGS Cedar Port Railroad in Baytown, Texas, voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the BLET this week. Rail industry publication Progressive Railroading described Cedar Port, where the railroad operates, as...
Members still have time to request replacement ballots in Metra-UP implementing agreement
Ballots are due on October 8 in the Metro-Union Pacific implementing agreement. Photo: Chase Gunnoe _____________________ BLET members are continuing to vote on a tentative implementing agreement regarding Metra’s takeover of services from the Union Pacific Railroad....
Pearson reelected to third term as Colorado State Legislative Board Chairman
Brother Paul Pearson of BLET Division 133 (Denver, Colo.) was reelected by acclamation to his third term as Chairman of the Colorado State Legislative Board at its 8th quadrennial meeting in Centennial, Colo., on September 18. Brother Pearson hired out with the...
Help is available for BLET members who suffered damage or property loss from Hurricane Helene
Big Bend Region, Florida — Coast Guard personnel from the Gulf Strike team and Station Pascagoula conducting urban search and rescue operations alongside federal and state partners to assist stranded people. (Photo Credit: U.S. Coast Guard) ____________________ More...
Biden-Harris administration calls on CPKC, CN and CSXT to guarantee paid sick leave for all railroad workers
Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. Department of Labor photo ____________________ On September 25, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Department of Labor Acting Secretary Julie Su sent letters to the CEOs of three Class I freight railroads — CPKC,...
Buffalo: CSXT’s remote control trains kill and maim pedestrians
The BLET continues to expose the dangers of remote control train operations after three tragic pedestrian incidents — including a fatality — in Buffalo, New York. The lead story on Page 1 of the September 22 issue of the Buffalo News says it all: “Driverless trains...
New England: Cadogan reelected State Legislative Board Chairman
The BLET’s New England Legislative Board, formerly known as the Massachusetts State Legislative Board, reelected Daniel Cadogan as Chairman at its 8th quadrennial meeting held virtually on September 7, 2024. This will be the third term of office for Brother Cadogan,...
BLET President Hall on hand as ATDA is inducted into DOL’s Century of Service Honor Roll
From left: Retired ATDA President Leo McCann, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and ATDA President Ed Dowell (DOL photograph) ____________________ The American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) was one of nine unions honored by the U.S. Department of Labor on...
Georgia: New state law increases penalties for assault against railroad workers
BLET Georgia State Legislative Board Chairman Dwayne Massengale (second from left) at the desk of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp during the signing ceremony. ____________________ A new law in the State of Georgia, backed by the BLET, increases the punishment for assault...
Rail Conference in the spotlight as IBT hosted 2024 Political Coordinators Meeting
BLET SLB Chairmen (SLBC) who attended the Political Coordinators Meeting. Front row, from left: Brendan Sullivan (BLET Director of Political Affairs), Corey Martin (Illinois SLBC), Adam Hausman (Nebraska SLBC), and Vince Verna (BLET Vice President & NLR). Back...
Chicago: Ballots mailed in tentative Metra, UP implementing agreement
Ballots were mailed last week to BLET members eligible to vote on a tentative implementing agreement regarding Metra’s takeover of services from the Union Pacific Railroad. Ballots were mailed to 307 members. UP has provided operating crews to Metra since its purchase...
New report says railroads and regulators must address dangers of long trains
The recently-released report confirms what the BLET has been saying all along. Longer trains create a greater risk of overall safety. Photo courtesy of Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659 ____________________ A report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and...
In his testimony to the STB, First VP Wallace says “inept” Class I management, PSR to blame for lack of growth in rail industry
BLET First Vice President Mark Wallace did not mince his words when he testified at the Surface Transportation Board’s public hearing that focused on the lack of growth and poor service in the freight rail industry. “To be clear, today’s rail service problems and lack...
ATDA, BLET, & SMART-TD jointly endorse Sherrod Brown for US Senate after he meets with Presidents of the three unions at ATDA HQ
For Ohio’s rail workers and union members across the state, the choice is clear. Sherrod Brown has spent his career fighting for them—fighting for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to organize. Bernie Moreno, by contrast, poses a threat to the very existence of unions and the protections they provide.
Teamsters Rail Conference endorses Harris-Walz
The 70,000-member Teamsters Rail Conference represents locomotive engineers, trainmen, and maintenance-of-way workers on all major freight railroads in the United States, Amtrak, and many of the nation’s commuter rail systems and short lines. The 70,000-member...
Education & Training: Record attendance for September 12 Local Chairman class
The BLET National Division Education & Training Department hosted a claims and grievance training class for Local Chairmen on September 12. “With 113 attendees in person and via Zoom, it was the largest single training class hosted since our Department was founded...
BLET-backed identity protection bill signed into law in Illinois
Cory Martin, Chairman of the BLET Illinois State Legislative Board ____________________ Last month, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a BLET-backed privacy bill into law that protects the identities of train crew members following grade crossing incidents...
Nunnenkamp reelected Kansas Legislative Board Chairman
Brandon Nunnenkamp of BLET Division 130 (Kansas City, Kan.) was reelected to his second term as Chairman of the Kansas State Legislative Board at its quadrennial meeting in Lenexa, Kan., September 4-6. Brother Nunnenkamp is a BNSF locomotive engineer. He was first...
Daily Headlines
AAR reports rail traffic for week ending July 13, 2024
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 483,806 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.3 percent compared with the same week last year.
Heat disrupts rail service along Northeast Corridor
Extreme heat is taking its toll on rail transportation along the Northeast Corridor, with transit agencies and Amtrak all feeling the impact and taking operational measures.
House T&I Committee to host July 23 hearing on rail safety
An in-depth examination of nationwide freight rail policy is on a House committee’s agenda before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess.
EPA watchdog investigating delays in how the agency used sensor plane after fiery Ohio derailment
The EPA’s Inspector General is investigating why the agency didn’t get its specialized plane loaded with advanced sensors into the air over East Palestine until four days after the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment last year.
FRA encourages railroads to make better use of hot bearing detector data
The safety agency has updated an advisory issued last year in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment
New STB chair orders rail CEOs to attend forum on declining volumes
Robert Primus, the new chairman of the US Surface Transportation Board (STB), has set a two-day hearing for September 16 and 17 at STB HQ in Washington, D.C.
House bill would enhance safety requirements for hazmat trains
H.R. 8996 would incorporate aspects of freight-rail safety legislation introduced last year by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), but also would set federal limits on freight-train lengths.
Pacific Harbor Line, BLET extend agreement
The extension covers 145 of PHL’s 180 employees. It was ratified July 12 by a record number of eligible BLET members, with more than 91% voting in favor of the deal’s wage and benefit provisions.
NTSB chair says Norfolk Southern interfered with derailment probe after botching vent-and-burn call
The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that Norfolk Southern repeatedly tried to interfere with the agency’s investigation into the East Palestine derailment and shape its conclusions about the flawed decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside.
Wyoming’s oldest, and still active, railroad union predates statehood by 21 years
Four days after the golden spike was driven for America’s first transcontinental railway linking the nation’s coasts, the Cheyenne Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers received its charter May 14, 1869.
