BLET Newsroom
The latest comprehensive, up-to-date features and news releases effecting the BLET.
PSR and related railroad policies continue to aid cargo thieves
News organizations nationwide continue to cover cargo theft from freight trains. A CBS News report on October 9 focused on a first-of-its-kind national blitz to crack down on rail thefts. Reporting from the Chicago area, CBS showed how federal agents, railroad police,...
Take Action: Tell FRA to protect cab signals at Norfolk Southern
Brothers and Sisters, We are asking you to take action to protect safety. Norfolk Southern has asked the Federal Railroad Administration for permission to remove cab signals on portions of the following subdivisions: Lancaster, Harrisburg Road, Harrisburg Terminal,...
URGENT REMINDER TO MEMBERS: Document all EMS and PTC failures to the BLET
Railroads, manufacturers, and outside contractors are reporting to federal regulators that Energy Management Systems (EMS) and Positive Train Control (PTC) systems are working flawlessly. BLET members know otherwise. The BLET National Division is collecting its own...
BLET Auxiliary elects new officers at Fifth Quadrennial Convention
The BLET Auxiliary concluded its Fifth Quadrennial Convention in Las Vegas on October 15. Delegates conducted business and elected the following slate of new officers for the next four years: • Jodi Wallace, National President; • Cheryl Lambert, National 1st Vice...
The USA’s railroads and its workers are an “indisputable national security asset”
Without question, railroads have played a critical role in our nation’s military history. As an example, during the Civil War, Atlanta was burned by General Sherman’s army because it was an important rail hub. Sherman targeted railroads, but it’s also important to...
2026 election: Get out and vote on November 3
All BLET members are encouraged to head to the polls on November 3. If you are basing your voting decisions on issues that affect your job, then please visit the Members’ Area of the BLET National Division website to obtain a list of voting recommendations for your...
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UP CEO Jim Vena threatens retaliation against customers who speak out against the proposed merger with Norfolk Southern
“...I’ll probably increase everybody’s rates that said they didn’t want a seamless railroad by 3 or 4 percent to teach you a lesson.” — Jim Vena On Thursday, under pressure from the Surface Transportation Board, Union Pacific was forced to release a video of its CEO...
Senator Roger Marshall doubles down on opposition to UP-NS merger in new op-ed
Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) is continuing his fight against the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. In a new op-ed published on October 30th in the High Plains Journal entitled “Kansas farmers need a fighter. I'm not backing down on this rail merger,”...
UP-NS Merger: Judge rules speech where UP’s CEO threatened to punish shippers if and when the proposed merger with NS fails must be made public
On October 23, an administrative law judge ruled that Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena’s video remarks about raising rates for customers who don’t support the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger must be made public. The judge’s ruling related to a keynote address...
Tragedy in Ohio: Long trains and blocked crossings put communities at risk
Long trains can keep railroad crossings blocked longer and leave emergency crews with fewer ways to reach people who need help. Communities should not have to wait for a disaster before railroads take that danger seriously. In Lockland, Ohio, a stopped Norfolk...
A message to BLET members: Vena’s “gold standard” looks like fool’s gold
By Mark L. Wallace BLET National President and Teamsters Rail Conference President Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena seems perplexed that unions are fighting for their members. During UP’s October 22 earnings call, he questioned BLET’s opposition to the proposed UP-NS...
Delegates examine UP-NS merger at Town Hall-style meeting
National President Mark Wallace and First Vice President Gary Best closed out the BLET’s Sixth National Convention with a behind closed doors members-only Town Hall-style meeting focused on the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. The two national officers...
BMWED President Cardwell emphasizes job protections in UP-NS merger
Tony Cardwell, President of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED), shared BMWED’s concerns about the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger as he addressed delegates in the Thursday morning session of BLET’s Sixth National Convention....
IBT General President O’Brien tells BLET convention delegates: “The partnership between the Teamsters Rail Conference and the International Union has never been stronger”
Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman energized delegates with spirited speeches during the morning session of BLET’s Sixth National Convention on Wednesday. “Since Fred Zuckerman and I took office in 2022, together...
IBEW joins growing labor opposition to UP-NS merger
More than 70 percent of union railroad workers now oppose the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, after the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) last week became the seventh rail union to oppose the proposed acquisition. The IBEW’s announcement...
BLET MEMBERSHIP PUBLICATIONS
March/April 2026
