July 7, 2026 | Contract Agreement, News, Organizing, Top News
Railroad workers at Watco, who joined the BLET to gain collective bargaining rights, have overwhelmingly ratified their first-ever contract. This marks a significant milestone for BLET-represented employees at the formerly non-union railroad. Prior to selecting BLET...
July 6, 2026 | Contract Agreement, News, Top News
BLET members last week unanimously ratified a new six-year contract with Keolis/Virginia Railway Express (VRE). The agreement runs from July 1, 2026, through June 29, 2031 and provides a strong wage package along with meaningful quality of life improvements. Amtrak...
June 22, 2026 | Contract Agreement, Metra, News, Top News
BLET members on June 19 ratified a new seven-year agreement with the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (NIRCRC/Metra). The deal covers about 250 BLET members who work as locomotive engineers for Metra and provides compounded general wage...
June 21, 2026 | Contract Agreement, LIRR, News, Top News
After a three-day strike and years of ongoing contract negotiations, members of the BLET overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) this week. The vote was 98 percent in favor of ratification. The BLET bargained as part of a coalition...
June 18, 2026 | Contract Agreement, LIRR, News, Top News
After a three-day strike and years of ongoing contract negotiations, BLET members have overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). Ballots were tabulated today, and the vote was 98 percent in favor of ratification. The BLET bargained...
June 4, 2026 | Contract Agreement, News, Top News
BLET members last week ratified a new three-year agreement with the Delaware & Hudson Railway. The agreement covers the period from August 1, 2024 through July 31, 2027, and provides general wage increases of 4.5% for 2024, 4.0% for 2025, and 3.75% for 2026. There...
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...
