CLEVELAND, May 7 — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) marks its 147th anniversary tomorrow. The union was founded as the Brotherhood of the Footboard on May 8, 1863 in Marshall, Mich.
The organization was formed in the early 1860s when locomotive engineers on the Michigan Central Railroad became discouraged with pay cuts and the dismissal of their firemen.
“When 12 brave men gathered in secret at the home of William D. Robinson in Marshall, Michigan, to create the Brotherhood of the Footboard, the world was a very different place than it is today,” BLET National President Paul Sorrow said. “They had to meet in secret because there was no right to organize or to bargain collectively. There was no limit on the number of hours a locomotive engineer could be required to work, no railroad retirement system, no health insurance and no FELA.”
When the success of these Brothers became known, it was decided to extend the movement to all railroads in the surrounding vicinity. A call for a general meeting was then issued — to be held in Detroit on May 5, 1863.
The Detroit convention marked a new epoch in the organization of American railroad employees. It brought together engineers from the Michigan Central, Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana, Detroit & Milwaukee, Grand Trunk, and Michigan Southern. Together, the 12 delegates present drafted a constitution, which combined democratic control with efficient central administration, thus solving the fundamental problem that had wrecked many previous labor organizations. After three days of deliberations and plans for the future, the delegates on May 8 joined hands and obligated themselves to abide by the constitution, forming the pioneer division of the Brotherhood of the Footboard.
This division, No. 1 in Detroit, still maintains its proud position as first on the roster of over 500 divisions of the BLET.
By August 1, 1863, 10 divisions had been formed. The constitution of the new organization provided that when five divisions were organized a delegate from each should be chosen to come together to create a grand division. So on August 18th, at Detroit, the Grand National Division of the Brotherhood of the Footboard was formed. William D. Robinson was elected Grand Chief Engineer.
In 1864, the union changed its name to Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), the name it retained for 140 years until merging with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Jan. 1, 2004, when it became BLET.
“The earliest leaders of our Brotherhood undertook great personal risk, and they and their families made great sacrifices for the good of the Order,” President Sorrow said. “Today, our members still benefit from the sacrifices made by our Founding Fathers.”
Today, the BLET is the founding member of the Teamsters Rail Conference. The union represents nearly 40,000 active members throughout the United States, and remains one of the largest and most influential railroad unions in the nation.