RENO, Nevada, October 1 — Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa will deliver the keynote address during opening ceremonies of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen’s (BLET’s) Second National Convention, which kicks off here on October 4.
President Hoffa will speak to more than 500 BLET delegates during opening ceremonies of the four-day convention. The delegates represent more than 56,000 active and retired locomotive engineers and trainmen from all Class I railroads and numerous short line railroads throughout the United States.
Joe Szabo, Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, will also address the delegates on October 4.
BLET National President Dennis Pierce said the guest speakers will provide enlightening and informative presentations to the delegates. Delegates will also be deeply involved with nominating candidates for National Division office, analyzing and voting on proposed changes to the Brotherhood’s bylaws, and various other important duties.
“Our delegates will have their plates full throughout the convention,” President Pierce said. “The business of the National Division is of the utmost importance and the actions taken by our delegates here this week will help shape the future direction of our organization for years to come.”
President Pierce also said the National Division has spent more than a year preparing for this convention.
“We have gone to great lengths to line up an impressive list of guest speakers,” he said. “I am sure that these distinguished speakers will not only inform, but will motivate, inspire and energize our delegates.”
In addition to General President Hoffa and Administrator Szabo, other featured speakers include: C. Thomas Keegel, Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer; John Murphy, Teamsters International Vice President and Director of the Teamsters Rail Conference; Cecil E. Roberts, International President of the United Mine Workers of America; Jim Flegel, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Secretary-Treasurer; Freddie Simpson, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division President; and Antonio Christian, Director of the Teamsters Human Rights Commission.
The BLET’s National Convention is held once every four years, and the 2010 convention will be the second such convention since the Organization merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters effective January 1, 2004.
Earlier this year, the National Division prepared a welcome video for delegates. That video, which explains about the goings-on at the National Convention and gives the delegates an idea of what to expect while in session, is available here:
For regular news updates throughout the four-day convention, please visit the BLET website: www.ble-t.org.