INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, April 10 — Members of the BLET’s National Association of State Legislative Board Chairmen (NASLBC) concluded their 44th annual meeting on March 27, 2019, in San Diego, Calif.
The NASLBC has met annually since 1975 to hear from each State Chairman about railroad related safety and health issues as well as their state””s political climate.
Members elected the following officers to lead the NASLBC for the next three years: Chairman Paul Piekarski (Illinois State Legislative Board Chairman); Vice Chairman Nick Johnson (Arizona SLBC); Secretary-Treasurer Dave Dinges (Maryland SLBC);. The following Regional Chairmen were also elected: Region 1 Herbert Harris (District of Columbia SLBC); Region 2 M.D. Frank (Alabama SLBC); Region 3 David Brown (Minnesota SLBC); and Region 4 Cory Runion (Wyoming SLBC).
Several new State Legislative Board Chairmen were seated for their first NASLBC meeting, including: Brendan Sullivan (Florida SLBC); Shane Hubbard (Indiana SLBC); Calvin Groose (Missouri SLBC); Lanie Keith (Mississippi SLBC); Tim Laveing (Pennsylvania SLBC): and Jeff Rich (Tennessee SLBC).
BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce, First Vice National President E. Lee Pruitt, National Secretary-Treasurer Stephen J. Bruno, and Vice President & National Legislative Representative John P. Tolman were in attendance and addressed the NASLBC members and guests. President Pierce thanked the Chairmen for their service to the Brotherhood and discussed a number of issues, including efforts on the state and national levels to secure two-person crew laws.
Also, BLET Director of Regulatory Affairs Vince Verna and BLET Director of Political and Legislative Affairs Bob Hagan both made presentations on behalf of the National Division. Kat Bisbikis, BLET Auxiliary National President, and Jessica Cole, BLET Auxiliary National Second Vice President and National Legislative Representative, also addressed the group.
Guest speakers included: Rich Connor of the Federal Railroad Administration, who discussed Hours of Service regulations; and Bob Apriacio of the National Association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees (NARVRE), who discussed the group’s advocacy in assisting all active and retired railroad employees in support of Railroad Retirement.
The various committees of the Association also met and conducted their business for the year. The group will re-convene in 2020 for their 45th annual convention, which will be held in Austin, Texas.