BLET News
Registration extended to October 7 for this month’s rail worker hazmat training class
A few open spots are still available for the 40 Hour Chemical Emergency Response (CER) class being offered by the IBT Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program, which will take place in Houston from October 19-24, 2025. Registration has been extended to...
UP-Western Region GCA arbitrates cases at BLET National Division HQ
From left: First VGC Matt Keene and GC Will Wallace. ____________________ Officers of the Union Pacific-Western Region General Committee of Adjustment (GCA) were at BLET National Division headquarters on September 25 to conduct business on behalf of their members....
Deadline is October 31 to enroll in 2026 Health FSA program
Currently happening until midnight on October 31, 2025, you can enroll or change your Medical or Health Flexible Spending Account (FSA) benefit selections for the 2026 benefit year. Members must enroll in the Health FSA every year — FSA enrollment is not automatic...
A message from BLET President Wallace: Times that may look difficult can also be moments of opportunity
Brothers and Sisters, This past May, I was given the great honor of becoming the National President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and with that title, the responsibility of serving all our members from coast to coast. I am now the National...
Local Chairmen from BNSF/MRL GCA complete two-year training workshop
The BNSF/MRL General Committee of Adjustment held a training session September 22-24 in Las Vegas for 45 Local Chairmen and Vice Chairmen. General Chairman Kent Psota said that the GCA’s bylaws mandate Local Chairman receive training once every two years. A wide range...
Attention all members at Metra: Replacement ballots now available
BLET members who work for Metra-UP Line should have received a mailing from the National Division with voting instructions on a tentative agreement with the commuter agency. Members who are eligible and have not received a ballot by today, October 1, should visit the...
Open enrollment now underway for Health FSA
From October 1 until midnight on October 31, 2025, you can enroll or change your Medical or Health Flexible Spending Account (FSA) benefit selections for the 2026 benefit year. Members must enroll in the Health FSA every year — FSA enrollment is not automatic each...
BLET continues work to advance “no tax on overtime for all” legislation
The BLET, in conjunction with the Teamsters Rail Conference, is working the halls of Congress to garner additional bipartisan support for H.R. 5475, the “No Tax on Overtime for All Workers Act,” which would provide rail workers with tax exemptions on their overtime...
Potential government shutdown would affect FRA, NMB, STB, RRB
A government shutdown looms and Congress must enact a continuing appropriations act, or Continuing Resolution (CR), by September 30 to prevent a government shutdown that would begin on October 1. At this point, it is unclear if Congress will reach an agreement to...
Arizona Eastern members enjoy improved pay, benefits, and morale thanks to first BLET contract
BLET members working for AZER have reaped the benefits of a union job since voting to join the Brotherhood in 2024. Photo by Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659 ___________________ BLET members at the Arizona Eastern Railway (AZER) are enjoying the benefits of belonging to...
Hybrid training expands opportunities for Division Secretary-Treasurers
In-person and virtual participants in this week's class for Division Secretary-Treasurers, hosted at BLET National Division headquarters. ____________________ The BLET Education & Training Department recently completed another successful hybrid training class for...
BLET’s LIRR members vote to authorize a strike at the right time and if needed; BLET-led coalition of rail unions, in an unusual move, call on the White House to establish a PEB
BLET National Vice President Jim Louis addresses the news conference regarding the ongoing LIRR contract dispute. ____________________ On Monday, September 15, after three years without a raise during a period of high inflation, Long Island Rail Road engineers...
Attention all Union Pacific locomotive engineers: Replacement ballots now available
BLET members who work for the Union Pacific Railroad should have received a mailing from the National Division containing a contract synopsis and a ballot for voting on the tentative agreement. Members who are eligible and have not received a ballot by today,...
Chicago: BLET announces tentative agreement for Metra-UP Line locomotive engineers
The BLET has reached a tentative agreement with Metra that would provide 93 BLET members with 3.5 percent general wage increases. The agreement covers BLET members employed by Metra who operate on the Metra-UP Lines and are represented by the Union Pacific Northern...
Capitol Hill: BLET takes members’ top issues to Congress during Teamsters annual Political Coordinators Meeting
BLET representatives included, from left: Eric Sroik, Chuck Schulz, Pete Baldwin, Ross Grooters, Vince Verna, and Brendan Sullivan. ____________________ Last week, representatives from BLET and BMWED were among 200 Teamsters who gathered in Washington, D.C. for the...
SAVE THE DATE: 2026 BLET regional meetings will be held in New Orleans and Chicago
The BLET’s 2026 Western Regional Meeting will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, the week of July 13. The 2026 Eastern Regional Meeting will take place in Chicago, Illinois, the week of August 24. As many BLET members are getting ready to schedule their vacations for...
Missouri: Congressman again seeks to overturn two-person crew rule
The two-person crew regulation is of vital importance to rail safety. Photo by Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659 __________________ Last year, U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, a Republican from Missouri, introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that sought to...
BLET applauds legislation that would expand “no tax on overtime” provisions to include railroad workers
The BLET is supporting a new bipartisan bill in Congress that would provide rail workers with tax exemptions on their overtime pay. The “No Tax on Overtime for All Workers Act” was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis...
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Sisterhood and solidarity from BLET and BMWED on display at annual Teamsters Women’s Conference
From left: Darice Gilliam, BLET Arizona, SLBC; Rhonda Thompson, BMWED Lodge 358; Jennifer Ross, BMWED Lodge 788; Becky Huebner, Secretary-Treasurer of BLET Div. 624; Bernadette Murphy, BMWED Lodge 509; Marketa Wells, BLET DIv. 766; and Megan Mead, Director of BLET...
Texas: Registration now open for upcoming rail hazmat/chemical emergency response training programs
Class participants will engage in a simulated hazmat response wearing full safety gear. ____________________ The Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program is hosting four in-person rail worker training sessions in late 2025 and early 2026 in Houston during...
Daily Headlines
Railroads spurn C3RS, a safety system designed to prevent accidents
Class I freight railroads incorrectly assume a punitive approach to safety gets the best results.
NS agrees to give Amtrak highest priority over freight trains and make its delay records for Amtrak trains available to the DOJ
As a result of the settlement, the Justice Department has moved to dismiss its lawsuit against Norfolk Southern.
Trump nominates rail consultant Kloster to STB, re-nominates Schults
The nominations now go to the Senate for confirmation, although a timeline for confirmation is unknown.
Trump fires STB Board member Robert Primus
Primus, a Democrat, was appointed by Trump in 2020.
Citing lives at risk, BLET urges UP to allow trail to stunning waterfall in Northern California
(Source: Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2025) About 10 times each day, giant freight trains pass along a narrow section of track along the Sacramento River in far Northern California where engineers on the locomotives regularly tense up with stress. “Every single time,...
BNSF reports Q2 2025 results
(Source: Progressive Railroading, August 5, 2025) BNSF Railway Co. recently reported second-quarter revenue of $5.7 billion, which was flat compared with second-quarter 2024’s mark. The Class I’s operating income and net income in the quarter climbed 19%...
OSHA orders UP to reinstate engineer, provide $300K in back pay
(Source: U.S. Department of Labor press release, August 6, 2025) DALLAS – A federal whistleblower investigation found that Union Pacific Railroad Co. violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act by terminating a railroad engineer after the employee reported and sought...
Wheeling & Lake Erie sold for $1.05 billion
(Railfan & Railroad Magazine, August 7, 2025) The Wheeling & Lake Erie, the over 800-mile regional railroad that runs through Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, is being sold to FTAI Infrastructure, Inc., for $1.05 billion. Once approved by...
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announce plans to create America’s first transcontinental railroad
(Source: Union Pacific press release, July 29, 2025) Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation today announced an agreement to create America’s first transcontinental railroad. These legendary companies will seamlessly connect over 50,000 route miles...
CPKC reports Q2 2025 results
(Source: Canadian Pacific Kansas City press release, July 30, 2025) Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) today announced its second-quarter results, including revenues of $3.7 billion, diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.33 and core adjusted diluted EPS1 of $1.12....
