CLEVELAND, January 26 — The BLET Education & Training Department will conduct a Local Chairman Workshop on the campus of the University of Illinois-Champaign, starting on Sunday, March 18 and ending the evening of Thursday, March 22.
Among other assignments, the workshops will include BLET organizational structure and functions, representing members at disciplinary and decertification hearings, union leadership skills, claim and grievance handling, and writing and editing skills. Participants also will learn how to effectively use the BLET arbitration database. A highlight of the workshop is when attendees participate in a simulated disciplinary hearing.
Local Chairmen must register for the 2007 workshop online through the BLET website at: https://www.ble-t.org/lc.
Members will have to sign up for their rooms in advance and provide a credit card number to reserve a room. Those who do not show up will be charged for the first night’s stay. Members will be provided with instructions on how to make room reservations after registering for the workshop through the BLET website.
Instead of registration on a first come, first served basis, which has been done in past years, preference will be given this year to Local Chairmen on a first come, first served basis. This change is due in part to the large number of new Local Chairmen who were elected during the recent Triennial Elections. Vice Local Chairman are still encouraged to register, with the understanding that they will be put on a waiting list and will be given a slot in the class if there is room available. Class size is limited to 24.
Workshops instructors will include BLET National Secretary-Treasurer William C. Walpert; BLET Vice President and Director of Arbitration Richard K. Radek; BLET Vice President Marcus Ruef; Coordinator of Education & Training / BLET National Division Special Representative Ken Kroeger; and BLET Arbitration Department Manager Greg Ross.
The BLET National Division pays the costs of books, equipment, tuition and a Thursday evening graduation banquet. BLET members who attend are responsible for their transportation costs as well as their room and board.
Upon successful completion of the course, attendees will qualify for a $99 per day stipend from the North American Railway Foundation (NARF). The stipends will be paid directly to their Division Secretary Treasurer.
NARF is a non-profit operating foundation formed by the Brotherhood’s Relief and Compensation Fund (BR&CF) to support rail history, education, safety and technology in the United States and Canada. With initial funding and continued Board of Directors stewardship coming from the BR&CF, NARF has supported many non-political projects throughout the United States and Canada over the past 10 years. The primary focus of these efforts has been in support of organized rail labor — giving back to all of the men and women of the railroad community across North America.
Room rates at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill. are as follows:
— $900 per week for single room and board
— $725 per week for double room and board
Registration for the 2007 workshop is limited to 24 people who register through the BLET website. For more information, please contact Ken Kroeger of the BLET Education & Training Dept. at (216) 272-0986 or kroeger@ble-t.org.