CLEVELAND, January 18 — The BLET Education & Training Department will conduct a Local Chairman Workshop on the campus of the University of Illinois-Champaign, starting on Sunday, March 16 and ending the evening of Thursday, March 20.
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.
There was a waiting list from the Local Chairman workshop held in October of 2007 and these individuals will be considered first. However, there may be some openings in this workshop as several individuals have responded that they will not be able to attend.
Local Chairmen must register for the 2008 workshop online through the BLET website at: https://www.ble-t.org/lc.
If you registered for the workshop in 2007 and were put on the waiting list, then you do not have to register again.
If you have not registered in the past and would like to attend, then please register as soon as possible. However, if you register now and do not get in the workshop, then you will be placed on the waiting list for future workshops.
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.
Workshop instructors will include: BLET National Secretary-Treasurer William C. Walpert; BLET Vice-President Richard K. Radek; Special Representative & Coordinator of Education and Training Ken Kroeger; Assistant Director of Arbitration Doug Davidson; 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 $109 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
For more information, please contact Ken Kroeger of the BLET Education & Training Dept. at (216) 272-0986 or kroeger@ble-t.org.