February 15, 2024 | Contract Negotiations, News, Short Line, Tentative Contract
The BLET has reached a tentative contract with the Berkshire & Eastern Railroad (B&E). The tentative agreement governs rates of pay, benefits and work rules for approximately 30 members. Ballots were mailed this week. Some of the proposed contractual...
January 18, 2024 | Contract Negotiations, Headlines
(Source: Trains.com, January 12, 2024) A lot has happened, since Class I railroads averted a strike in 2022. CEOs and other officials at the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting were happy to point to progress in labor relations. Which is good, because...
January 4, 2024 | 2-man Crews, Contract Negotiations, Headlines, Railroad Safety, Shippers, STB
(Source: Freight Waves, January 4, 2024) Railroads, shippers and unions are tracking hot topics ranging from service improvement to government oversight to safety regulations in 2024. Two of the items are federal action on rail safety and labor contract negotiations....
December 1, 2023 | Contract Negotiations, News
BLET members who operate regional rail trains for SEPTA in Philadelphia and the surrounding area have voted to grant BLET National President Eddie Hall the authority to call a strike. Results of the vote count on November 20 show that of engineers eligible to cast...
November 22, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Contract Negotiations, Headlines
(Source: Trains.com, November 21, 2023) Don Hill, General Chairman of BLET’s SEPTA locomotive engineers, said that SEPTA currently has 177 engineers instead of the 230 needed to properly maintain the agency’s regional rail schedule. BLET Vice President James P. Louis...
November 20, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Contract Negotiations, News
The transit authority’s locomotive engineers, already the lowest paid among major commuter railroads, haven’t seen a raise since prior to the pandemic Short-staffed and offering substandard service, SEPTA should have 230 engineers, it now employs 177 PHILADELPHIA —...
November 10, 2023 | Amtrak, Contract Negotiations, News, Tentative Contract
The BLET has reached a tentative contract agreement for more than 1,400 locomotive engineers who operate Amtrak’s passenger and commuter trains over its 21,000-mile, 46-state route system.The seven-year tentative agreement includes full retroactive payments dating to...
November 6, 2023 | Contract Negotiations, News
Two weeks ago, the BLET National Division mailed ballots and voting instructions to members working at SEPTA regarding a strike authorization vote. The deadline for receipt of ballots is at noon Eastern time on Monday, November 20, 2023. Members who are eligible and...
November 6, 2023 | Contract Negotiations, News
Using new technology that makes it easy for BLET members and their families to send letters to government leaders, engineers in New Jersey are reaching out to their legislative representatives with messages about NJ Transit’s misplaced priorities, wasteful spending,...
October 25, 2023 | Commuter Rail, Contract Negotiations, Headlines
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, October 23, 2023) Locomotive engineers and conductors are holding strike votes after months of mediated talks with SEPTA have failed to produce progress toward agreements. The engineers and conductors have not received raises in about...
