BLET News
Members still have time to request replacement ballots to vote on tentative agreements at Utah Central and Tacoma Rail
BLET members are continuing to vote on two tentative agreements: one with the Utah Central Railway and another with the Tacoma Municipal Belt Railway (Tacoma Rail). Eligible members who have not received a ratification packet by this time should immediately request a...
BLET holds first meeting at newly-organized Austin Western Railroad
The BLET held an inaugural meeting for its newest members at the Austin Western Railroad on March 21, less than a month after securing an organizing win at the Texas-based short line railroad. National Vice President James Logan Jr., BLET’s Director of Organizing, and...
BLET Safety Task Force: Two major Union Pacific derailments under investigation
The BLET Safety Task Force has received Party Status from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to assist with investigations into two Union Pacific derailments that occurred recently: one that resulted in an ethanol leak in Richmond, Texas, on March 18; and...
Keep the momentum going and tell lawmakers that rail workers deserve no tax on overtime
Last week, the BLET and Teamsters Rail Conference launched a petition in support of the No Tax on Overtime for All Workers Act (H.R. 5475) with the goal of securing at least 8,000 signatures. The proposed bill would provide BLET members and all rail workers with the...
Railroad Retirement Board Q&A: The importance of a current connection
A “current connection” is the term the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) uses to describe a railroad employee’s maintenance of a relationship to the railroad industry. Basically, it is demonstrated by an employee having earned 12 months of railroad service in a 30-month...
U.S. DOT calls on Congress to pass Railway Safety Act of 2026
President Donald Trump’s Department of Transportation formally called on members of Congress to pass the Railway Safety Act of 2026, according to a report published by Bloomberg Government on March 12. A DOT spokeswoman is quoted telling Bloomberg, “President Trump...
BLET announces tentative agreements with two short line railroads, including a significant first at Utah Central
The BLET has reached tentative agreements with two short line railroads: the Utah Central Railway and the Tacoma Municipal Belt Railway (Tacoma Rail). Utah Central The Utah Central tentative agreement is significant. If ratified, it would represent a first-ever union...
Members discuss UP-NS merger at 12th annual Kansas City Hub meeting
Front row, from left: Joe Ferris, LC Div. 152; Jeff Jones, LC Div. 609; Kevin Sexton, BLET VP; Chris Mullin, LC Div. 336; Mark Wallace, National President; Dave Estes, National S-T.; Gary Best, First VP; Joey Rice, LC Div. 81; Tim Morgan, Missouri SLB Chairman; and...
Women’s History Month: Steelworkers make history with swearing-in of Roxanne Brown as the union’s first female International President
On March 1, the United Steelworkers (USW) union made history with the installation of Roxanne Brown as International President. She is the first woman and first person of color to lead the major industrial union since it was founded in 1942. Born in Kingston, Jamaica,...
BLET members asked to make their voices heard by signing petition in support of No Tax on Overtime for All Workers Act (H.R. 5475)
As part of the BLET’s effort to make members and other railroaders eligible for the overtime tax relief that most other workers received through the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed in July 2025, the BLET and the Teamsters Rail Conference have launched a petition in...
Last Run: Leland Eoff retires after 48 years of railroading, 44 years of BLET membership
Leland Eoff of BLET Division 197 (San Antonio, Texas) retired in January 2026 after 48 years of service. Eoff has over 44 years of membership in the BLET and served Division 197 for several years as President and Vice President. Division 197 President Jason...
PEB 254 sides with rail labor unions in LIRR contract dispute, unions call on MTA to settle
On March 16, Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) 254, the second board assigned to the long-running contract dispute between a coalition of five railroad unions and the Long Island Rail Road, like an earlier appointed board of experts, recommended raises and...
BLET and BMWED working together for Secure Tracks Act
Legislation introduced in Congress, with support from BLET, the Teamsters Rail Conference and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, would put into federal law the current long-standing requirement that railroad tracks are visually inspected twice a week while...
Teamsters Rail Conference concludes quadrennial convention
“The Teamsters Rail Conference today is stronger, more unified, and more influential than it has ever been,” said Mark Wallace, President of the Teamsters Rail Conference and BLET National President, in his keynote report to delegates during the Rail Conference’s...
State Legislative Board seeks to honor fallen member Lou Shuster
The BLET’s Ohio State Legislative Board conducted its 18th quadrennial meeting last week. Chairman John Esterly was reelected to his second term of office. A CSX locomotive engineer and member of BLET Division 34 (Columbus, Ohio), Esterly hired out in 2011 and has...
Ballots mailed in tentative agreement with Indiana & Ohio Railway
The BLET has reached a tentative agreement with the Indiana & Ohio Railway (IORY). Ballots were mailed to members last week. If ratified by the members, the agreement will run through 2031 and provide a 7% general wage increase (GWI) in 2026, 4.5% GWIs each year...
LIRR labor coalition presents case to a second Presidential Emergency Board
In early March, a White House-appointed mediation panel, Presidential Emergency Board 254, heard from five rail unions, including BLET, as well as the Long Island Rail Road’s management on proposals for a new agreement in the years-long contract dispute at the...
A message from BLET National Secretary-Treasurer David Estes: Modern, practical and accessible officer training leads to a stronger BLET
Brothers and Sisters, It has been the honor of my career to serve this organization, first as a Local Division officer, then as a General Committee officer, and now as your National Secretary-Treasurer. Having worked at every level of this union, I understand the...
U.S. union membership reached 16-year high in 2025
It’s not just railroaders at short lines joining unions. The number of workers covered under union contracts jumped to a 16-year high in 2025, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). About 16.5 million workers were covered by a union contract...
Education & Training: Annual LM-2 workshop
The BLET Education & Training Department hosted a hybrid training class for LM-2 filers from February 23-26, with a total of 24 officers participating — both in person at the BLET National Division Training Center and virtually via Zoom. The workshop was designed...
Daily Headlines
Trump nominates rail consultant Kloster to STB, re-nominates Schults
The nominations now go to the Senate for confirmation, although a timeline for confirmation is unknown.
Trump fires STB Board member Robert Primus
Primus, a Democrat, was appointed by Trump in 2020.
Citing lives at risk, BLET urges UP to allow trail to stunning waterfall in Northern California
(Source: Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2025) About 10 times each day, giant freight trains pass along a narrow section of track along the Sacramento River in far Northern California where engineers on the locomotives regularly tense up with stress. “Every single time,...
BNSF reports Q2 2025 results
(Source: Progressive Railroading, August 5, 2025) BNSF Railway Co. recently reported second-quarter revenue of $5.7 billion, which was flat compared with second-quarter 2024’s mark. The Class I’s operating income and net income in the quarter climbed 19%...
OSHA orders UP to reinstate engineer, provide $300K in back pay
(Source: U.S. Department of Labor press release, August 6, 2025) DALLAS – A federal whistleblower investigation found that Union Pacific Railroad Co. violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act by terminating a railroad engineer after the employee reported and sought...
Wheeling & Lake Erie sold for $1.05 billion
(Railfan & Railroad Magazine, August 7, 2025) The Wheeling & Lake Erie, the over 800-mile regional railroad that runs through Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, is being sold to FTAI Infrastructure, Inc., for $1.05 billion. Once approved by...
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announce plans to create America’s first transcontinental railroad
(Source: Union Pacific press release, July 29, 2025) Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation today announced an agreement to create America’s first transcontinental railroad. These legendary companies will seamlessly connect over 50,000 route miles...
CPKC reports Q2 2025 results
(Source: Canadian Pacific Kansas City press release, July 30, 2025) Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) today announced its second-quarter results, including revenues of $3.7 billion, diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.33 and core adjusted diluted EPS1 of $1.12....
CSX reports Q2 2025 results
(Source: CSX press release, July 23, 2025) CSX Corp. announced second quarter 2025 operating income of $1.28 billion compared to $1.45 billion in the prior year period. Net income was $829 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, compared to $963 million, or $0.49 per...
Norfolk Southern reports Q2 2025 results
(Source: Norfolk Southern press release, July 29, 2025) Norfolk Southern Corporation announced its second quarter 2025 financial results. For the quarter, revenue was $3.1 billion, income from railway operations was $1.2 billion, operating ratio was 62.2%, and diluted...
