CLEVELAND, August 31 — BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce announced today that the National Division of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has entered into a Letter of Intent with the Albert M. Higley Co. to perform the construction services related to the build out of its new headquarters building in Independence, Ohio.
The BLET, founded on May 8, 1863, is the oldest labor union in the United States, and has been headquartered in downtown Cleveland since the late 1860s. The AM Higley Co. is a 90-year old, 100 percent union construction company also headquartered in Cleveland.
“This is an exciting time in our Brotherhood’s history,” President Pierce said. “The selection of a construction company that will use only union labor to build out our new facility is a prime example of our ‘Proud to be American, Proud to be Union’ campaign at work. All members can take pride in the fact that we are using a company that will use a 100 percent union workforce to complete the construction and renovation of our new headquarters.”
The AM Higley Co. workforce is comprised of union members belonging to Cement Finishers Local 404, Carpenters Local Union 200, Laborers Local 310, Local 894 and Local 758. The AM Higley Co. will use subcontractors in addition to its own union workforce, and those subcontractors will also be union members. The company has completed several high-profile projects in the Cleveland area, including the Eaton Corporation headquarters and a new training facility for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007.
In 2014, the BLET sold its headquarters building, the Standard Building, which was originally constructed by the BLE and dedicated in 1924. The new headquarters building, located in the Cleveland suburb of Independence, Ohio, was purchased in early 2015.
“Our new headquarters location will provide ample room for our National Division officers and staff in a more modern work environment, and we will also use the opportunity to continue and expand our state-of-the-art Education and Training Center,” President Pierce said. “The Executive Committee’s selection of The AM Higley Co. is the culmination of a complex bidding process that allowed area builders with union work forces to bid on the project. Although we are certain that all four of the companies that bid on the project would have provided BLET with a quality product, we are confident that our partnership with The AM Higley Co. will bring the project in on budget and on time, and will also provide our membership with a National Division Headquarters facility that they can all be proud of.”
It is expected that the National Division will relocate to the new headquarters building in the Spring of 2016.