BLET News
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)...
Bipartisan rail safety legislation seeks to prevent another East Palestine
The BLET is backing new bipartisan legislation to improve railroad safety recently introduced by members of the 119th Congress. Vice President J.D. Vance also called for common sense rail safety legislation recently and indicated that the administration would support...
Pennsylvania: Train crew helped passengers to safety prior to SEPTA car bursting into flames
Roughly 325 passengers were quickly evacuated just before a SEPTA commuter train went up in flames on February 6 near Crum Lynne Station in Ridley Park, Pa. The six-car train was traveling from Philadelphia, Pa. to Newark, Del. when it caught fire, causing significant...
Maryland: Members have time to request replacement ballots in BLET-Alstom/MARC tentative agreement
BLET members are continuing to vote on a tentative contract with Alstom governing rates of pay, benefits, and work rules for members who operate Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) trains in the Washington-Baltimore area. Ballots are due by Thursday, February 20, at...
Second in a Series: Understanding collective bargaining under the Railway Labor Act — What does it mean when we talk about “status quo?”
To better understand how rail labor and management reach agreements on rates of pay and work rules, the BLET has produced a series of briefs, Understanding collective bargaining under the Railway Labor Act, explaining how the Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926 works....
BLET Education & Training Department: LM-3/LM-4 Zoom workshop
The BLET National Division Education & Training Department held virtual Secretary-Treasurer refresher training last week, with over 50 officers participating via the Zoom platform. The four-hour class provided valuable assistance with the preparation of forms LM-3...
Daily Headlines
NTSB releases final report on Lou Shuster fatality
NTSB determined that the probable cause of the March 7, 2023, Norfolk Southern Railway employee fatality was the crew not following Norfolk Southern Operating Rule 120 requiring a member of the crew to be on the ground at the private highway-railroad grade crossing to warn traffic.
BNSF accuses teenage rail enthusiast of derailing train, filming it
The teenager allegedly filmed the derailment as it happened and later posted it on YouTube.
T&E headcount up from a year ago, but below 2019
Three of the big four U.S. railroads now employ more engineers and conductors than they did a year ago, but headcount is still mostly below pre-pandemic 2019.
BNSF deals with derailments in Kansas, Minnesota
The first was reported at approximately 12:46 a.m. near Ottawa, Kan., while the second was reported at approximately 3:16 a.m. at Big Lake, Minn.
NTSB has pushed for railroad safety for decades. Making the changes can take just as long.
The NTSB, an independent investigative agency, can’t force railroads to put their safety recommendations into place. As a result, unfulfilled safety recommendations can linger for decades, while the same problems contribute to incident after incident.
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
