April 17, 2026 | Contract Agreement, News, Short Line, Top News
BLET members last week ratified a new agreement with the Tacoma Municipal Belt Railway (Tacoma Rail). The agreement provides retroactive pay from 2017-2025, general wage increases from 2026-2029, establishes an additional paid holiday (Juneteenth), and address other...
April 15, 2026 | Contract Agreement, News, Organizing, Short Line, Top News
BLET members ratified a significant new agreement with the Utah Central last week — it is the first union agreement at the formerly non-union railroad. Utah Central workers voted to join BLET in December 2024. BLET Vice President James Logan Jr., Head of the Short...
March 3, 2026 | Contract Agreement, News, Top News
On February 26, BLET members voted unanimously to ratify a new four-year contract with Alstom. The contract cover locomotive engineers who operate Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) trains in the Washington-Baltimore area. The agreement covers the period from Jan. 1,...
February 19, 2026 | Contract Agreement, News, Top News
On February 10, BLET members ratified a new contract with the Great Western Railway of Colorado (GWR). The new contract provides pay increases, paid sick leave days, and protects the members’ health and welfare benefits. The negotiating team consisted of BNSF (former...
February 13, 2026 | Contract Agreement, Historic/Steam, News, Top News
In the year 1876, numerous grievances by early members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers nearly led to a strike at the Central Railroad of New Jersey Central. After intervention by Grand Chief Engineer Peter M. Arthur, the engineers and the railroad came to...
January 15, 2026 | Contract Agreement, News, Top News
BLET members have ratified a new agreement with the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway (NYSW). Ballots were tabulated on December 29. The agreement provides wage increases and work rule improvements. Additionally, NYSW members are now covered by the...
January 9, 2026 | Contract Agreement, Contract Negotiations, News, Top News
The BLET successfully negotiated and ratified 15 new collective bargaining agreements in 2025, boosting wages and providing substantial contractual improvements for more than 22,000 active members. This achievement is backed by the work of the assigned Vice...
December 11, 2025 | Contract Agreement, News, Top News
BLET locomotive engineers who operate regional rail trains for SEPTA have ratified a new one-year contract with the transit agency. Ballots were counted on December 11. The new agreement builds upon gains achieved in the previous round of negotiations and provides a...
December 11, 2025 | Contract Agreement, News, Top News
BLET has ratified a new five-year agreement with the CPKC for locomotive engineers who work on the CPKC Soo Line territory. Ballots were tabulated on December 11. The deal provides general wage increases of 17.5 percent (18.8 percent compounded) over the life of the...
November 20, 2025 | Contract Agreement, News, Top News
On November 11, BLET members ratified a new five-year agreement with the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad (WNYP), governing rates of pay, benefits, and work rules. The agreement runs through 2030 and provides for a guaranteed 40-hour work week, a signing...
