BLET News
SMART-TD President Continues Misinformation Campaign
A Message to the Members: From the BLET Advisory Board June 11, 2024 Dear Brothers and Sisters: This is an open letter from the BLET Advisory Board in response to the comments made by the President of the Transportation Division of the International Association of...
FRA to relaunch remote control RSAC group
From left: BLET President Eddie Hall, FRA Administrator Amit Bose, First VP Mark Wallace and National S-T David Estes ____________________ FRA Administrator Amit Bose revealed during his speech at the BLET Western Regional Meeting in Kansas City that the FRA will soon...
Kansas City: BLET wraps up 2024 Western Regional Meeting
Thursday, June 6, was the final day of BLET’s Western Regional Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. More than 300 BLET members participated in educational workshops and specialized training for Local Chairmen, Legislative Representatives, and Secretary-Treasurers....
Nevada: Don’t roll the dice on railroad safety
It’s been a year since Nevada’s governor vetoed an important rail safety bill, and the BLET is marking this anniversary by calling on Nevada legislators to put rail safety over corporate profits. A joint message from Brother Matt Parker, Chairman of the Nevada State...
CN-IC, Iowa Northern: Members ratify new implementing agreement
BLET members have voted in favor of an implementing agreement regarding the Canadian National-Illinois Central Railway’s (CN-IC) acquisition of the Iowa Northern Railway. Ballots were tabulated on May 30, 2024. The implementing agreement addresses changes in...
Ohio: House of Representatives passes “Stop, Look and Listen” rail safety bill
Dr. Michele Grim (front row, fourth from right) marched with BLET members at the 2023 Toledo Labor Day parade. ____________________ The Ohio House of Representatives has passed a BLET-backed railroad safety bill. The bill’s primary sponsor — Dr. Michele Grim, Ohio...
BLET’s National Legislative Board Chairmen hold annual meeting with Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives among the guests
From left: Jordan Wheeler, Div. 234 and Ross County (Ohio) Clerk of Courts; John Esterly, Ohio SLB Chairman; and Jason Stephens, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. ____________________ Members of the BLET’s National Association of State Legislative Board...
Remote control: BLET stands on the side of safety, others stand with management
In his remarks to The New York Times, BLET First Vice President Mark Wallace was highly critical of the Union Pacific Railroad regarding remote control train operations. “We have seen an aggressive approach by Union Pacific to take remote controls outside the...
Explosive New York Times investigative report exposes dangers of remote control operations
The BLET questions the safety of remote control train operations and demands safety reforms in a sweeping investigative report published by the New York Times on May 27 (via Yahoo, no subscription necessary). This major news story with national implications came about...
FRA: Certification standards will be required for train dispatchers and signalmen
On May 20, the FRA published two final rules that will require railroads to develop certification standards and training programs for train dispatchers and signal workers. Unlike locomotive engineers, there have previously been no federal regulations mandating...
Amtrak: BLET helps kick off new Borealis service from St. Paul to Chicago
From left: Joel Mueller, BLET Minnesota SLB Chairman, Riley Richmond, BLET Division 27, and Chad Roehrich, BLET Midwest Regional Chairman-Amtrak GCA. _____________________ BLET member Riley Richmond worked as the locomotive engineer on the inaugural run of Amtrak’s...
On the Right Track: 2024 Triennial Election manual now online
The 2024 edition of “On the Right Track,” the Local Division nomination and election procedure manual, is now available for download from the Members’ Area of the BLET website and in the Document Library in UnionTrack. Copies were also mailed to Division Presidents,...
Teamsters Rail Conference: Mike Smith appointed new Director
Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien has appointed Mike Smith to serve as the new Director of the Teamsters Rail Conference. Leaders of the BLET and BMWED were introduced to Brother Smith at a Rail Policy Committee meeting in Washington D.C. in May. In 2015, Smith...
Ohio: Trespasser incidents take a toll, NST Estes says
In an interview with Ohio’s Dayton Daily News, BLET National Secretary-Treasurer David Estes discussed the psychological trauma that locomotive engineers endure when they are involved in fatal pedestrian or vehicle incidents. It is an all-too-familiar scenario for...
Jerry Sturdivant reelected General Chairman of NS-Southern Lines GCA
General Chairman Jerry G. Sturdivant, Division 110, (Ludlow, Ky.), was reelected at the Norfolk Southern-Southern Lines GCA’s quadrennial meeting in Florence, Kentucky, on May 21, 2024. This is his third term of office. The Norfolk Southern-Southern Lines GCA...
Logan reelected General Chairman of UP-Southern Region GCA
Officers and guests at the Union Pacific-Southern Region GCA's quadrennial meeting on May 20. ____________________ James Logan Jr. of BLET Division 620 (Fort Worth, Texas) was reelected by acclamation to the office of General Chairman at the Union Pacific-Southern...
Iowa: Vote now to help daughter of BLET member in the Doodle for Google national competition
BLET Division 6 member Bryce A. Grail with his daughter Ella and her national finalist art piece. Vote for her at the link below! ____________________ The talented daughter of a BLET member could soon have her art on the Google homepage for hundreds of millions to...
Railroad Retirement Board Q&As: Providing answers to your important retirement questions
Many railroaders know that they can retire at age 60 with 30 years of service because of the Railroad Retirement Act. But did you know that if you do, you may need to increase your tax withholding when you turn 62? That’s one of the many important retirement topics...
Texas: Defending democracy in the Lone Star state
From left: Brother Piekarski, Brother Wright, U.S. Rep. Raskin (D-Md.), and Brother Dondero. ____________________ Members of the BLET’s Texas State Legislative Board (TXSLB) participated in a “Defend Democracy” dinner hosted by the Lone Star Project in Dallas on May...
Chicago: BLET reaches tentative agreement with CF&E
The BLET has reached a tentative contract with the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad (CFE). Ballots were mailed this week to members to vote on a tentative on-property agreement governing rates of pay, benefits and work rules for approximately 45 operating...
Daily Headlines
Buttigieg scolds railroads for not doing more to improve safety since East Palestine
In a new letter to the freight railroads’ main trade group, Buttigieg said too often regulators encounter resistance when trying to get the industry to do more to improve safety.
BNSF eliminates management jobs amid uncertain freight outlook
BNSF Railway eliminated several hundred management positions at its headquarters and across the system last week as part of a belt-tightening move.
Are railroad layoffs compromising safety and service?
Recent layoffs by Class 1 railroads Union Pacific (UP) and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) have not only raised alarms that safety may be compromised but shippers are complaining service has been poor. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently weighed in.
Va. governor vetoes bill requiring two crew members on trains
Virginia’s legislative effort to require two crew members on all trains died after the governor vetoed the legislation on Friday.
Bill to end cuts to railroad unemployment insurance advances in Senate
The Senate Budget Committee has unanimously voted to advance a bill that would permanently exempt railroad workers’ unemployment and sickness insurance benefits from sequestration cuts, and end current cuts.
More BNSF employees laid off in Lincoln in second round of furloughs
More BNSF workers in Lincoln may have lost their jobs after another round of furloughs were announced. At least 10 conductors were set to be furloughed from their positions in Lincoln on Wednesday.
Vent and burn of tank cars in East Palestine was not justified, NTSB testifies
The decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the toxic chemical inside them after a freight train derailed in Eastern Ohio last year wasn’t justified, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board told Congress Wednesday.
NTSB needs more funding for rail and air safety probes, chair says
The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board will tell the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday the agency needs more funding and warn cuts could put probes into aviation and rail accidents at risk.
NS alone should pay for cleanup of East Palestine derailment, judge says
Norfolk Southern alone will be responsible for paying for the cleanup after last year’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio, a federal judge ruled. The decision issued March 6 threw out the railroad’s claim that the companies that made chemicals that spilled and owned tank cars that ruptured should share the cost of the cleanup.
NTSB investigating collision, derailment involving three NS trains in Pa.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board continued work Sunday to determine why three freight trains collided and derailed near Steel City, Pa., on March 2.
