CLEVELAND, August 1 — Persistence paid off again as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers scored another shortline organizing victory, this time on the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (SL&A).
In the last 12 months, the BLE has organized four shortline properties — the Utah Railway, the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad (IC&E), the Indiana Southern Railroad, and the Texas-Mexican Railway (Tex-Mex).
By a vote of 22-1, Train & Engine Service Employees at the SL&A chose the BLE over the United Transportation Union. The National Mediation Board certified election results on August 1.
BLE International President Don M. Hahs first and foremost thanked employees at the SL&A for working with the BLE throughout the organizing drive and for selecting the BLE as their designated collective bargaining representative.
He also praised Tommy Miller, BLE Director of Organizing, John Mullen, Shortline Director, and members of the Springfield Terminal/Delaware & Hudson General Committee of Adjustment, for their efforts in making the organizing campaign a success. President Hahs also acknowledged General Secretary-Treasurer Bill Walpert, who heads the BLE’s Department of Organizing, Mobilizing, and Strategic Planning.
A part of the Genesee & Wyoming shortline network, the SL&A operates over 260 miles of contiguous mainline track between Portland, Maine, and Ste. Rosalie, Quebec. The SL&A crosses the international border at Norton, Vt., and interchanges with the Canadian National Railway (CN) at Ste. Rosalie. It has offices in Maine and Quebec.
The SL&A carries a variety of commodities including the three key forest products of lumber, pulp, and paper. It also carries industrial products, intermodal traffic, steel, and grain and agricultural products.