CLEVELAND, August 27 — The BLET Education & Training Department, in conjunction with the BLET Arbitration Department, is proud to host an Advanced Local Chairman Workshop at the new BLET Training Center in Cleveland from November 2-7, 2014.
This advanced workshop will start with an orientation session at 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 2. Full day classes will run from Monday, November 3, through Friday, November 7. The workshop will conclude with a banquet scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, November 7. Check out and travel home is on Saturday, November 8.
This workshop will go into greater detail than the regular Local Chairman training class, focusing on claim handling, computer skills, letter writing, and investigations. Among other assignments, participants will be given a topic to research and they will report their findings back to the class. There will also be a session on Duty of Fair Representation (DFR) and we will dig deeper into the Railway Labor Act (RLA) than in the first Local Chairman class. Students will be required to write several appeal letters on cases handed out in class. We will also spend some time explaining and teaching the proper way to audit your Division with the goal that students will leave the workshop with helpful tips and an understanding of their position as a Division Trustee. As with past workshops, a highlight is when attendees participate in a simulated disciplinary hearing.
To attend this workshop, you must be a current Local Chairman or a member of the Local Committee of Adjustment, and have completed the first Local Chairman workshop, or have been in the position of Local Chairman for several years. If you are a Local Chairman who has not attended the first class but still wish to attend, then please contact Jason Wright at (216) 296-4447. Such requests will be reviewed on an individual basis.
BLET officers who are interested in registering for the workshop may do so online at: www.ble-t.org/lcadvance. Applicants will be sent an email confirmation with more details and hotel reservation information after the National Division has received your online application.
Workshop instructors and guest will include: Dennis R. Pierce BLET National President; William C. Walpert BLET National Secretary-Treasurer; Marcus J. Ruef, BLET National Vice President; Doug Davidson Assistant Director of Arbitration; Megan C. Mead, Special Representative and Liaison for Short Term Disability; Jason C. Wright Special Representative and Coordinator of Education & Training.
The BLET pays the costs of books, equipment, tuition, and the Friday evening graduation banquet. BLET members who attend are responsible for their own transportation costs as well as the cost of room and board.
Upon successful completion of the course, attendees will qualify for a $129 per day stipend from the North American Railway Foundation (NARF). The stipends will be paid directly to the Secretary-Treasurer of the respective participants’ divisions.
NARF (www.narfoundation.org) is a non-profit 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 16 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.
Registration for the Advanced Local Chairman workshop is on a first-come, first-served basis with class size limited to the first 15 who register. For more information, please contact Jason Wright, Coordinator of the BLET Education & Training Department, at (216) 296-4447 or wright@ble-t.org.