July 3, 2025 | Legislation, News, Top News
Rail workers got the short end of the stick when Congress passed the massive federal spending and tax package — known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBB) — on July 3. The bill’s “No Tax on Overtime” provision (Section 70202) was crafted in such a way as to...
June 30, 2025 | Legislation, News, Teamsters, Top News
Two provisions of the massive federal spending and tax package now under consideration in the U.S. Senate, called the “One Big Beautiful Act,” look pretty ugly to the BLET and the Teamsters. One provision of the spending bill, which has nothing to do with federal...
June 30, 2025 | Legislation, News, Take Action, Top News
Right now, the United States Senate is considering reconciliation legislation, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBB). Section 70202 (“No Tax on Overtime”) of the OBBB deals with exempting as much as $25,000 in overtime pay from taxation for workers...
June 20, 2025 | Legislation, News, Railroad Safety, Top News
Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill on June 4 to fund the hiring of rail safety inspectors. The new law, Senate Bill 162, would impose fees on rail companies to hire six new state rail safety inspectors. The total annual fees collected is capped at $2.9...
June 18, 2025 | Legislation, News, Top News
Roughly every five years, Congress takes up “Surface Reauthorization.” This broad legislative package covers various federal surface transportation programs, including funding and federal policy for highways, transit (including commuter railroads), and passenger and...
June 13, 2025 | Legislation, News, Railroad Safety, Top News
At the Texas Capitol after passage of HB 1772, from left: Bryce Dondero, TX SLB 1st Vice Chairman; Kameron Sanders, SMART-TD; Rep. Salman Bhojani (Dist. 92); Ben Wright, TXSLB Chairman; and Scott Piekarski, TXSLB Secretary-Treasurer. ____________________ It was a...
April 8, 2025 | Legislation, News, Top News
BLET Texas SLB Chairman Ben Wright prepares to deliver testimony in favor of Texas Senate Bill 1555. ____________________ The BLET is working with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Texas to make railroad grade crossings safer following the death of a Houston high...
April 4, 2025 | Legislation, News, Top News
The New Mexico House of Representatives unanimously passed a rail safety bill in March designed to address the ongoing problem of blocked grade crossings in the state. Members of the BLET’s New Mexico State Legislative Board (NM SLB) spent significant time and effort...
March 23, 2025 | Legislation, News, Top News
Pictured from left: Jeff Crane, BLET; Alex Beckman, Rail Conference; Tim Drea, President of Illinois AFL-CIO; Cory Martin, BLET Illinois State Legislative Board Chairman; Brandon Stewart, BLET; Todd Knight, BLET; and Chad Clayton, BLETThe BLET’s Illinois State...
February 20, 2025 | Legislation, News, Railroad Safety, Top News
Members of the BLET’s New Mexico State Legislative Board, from left: Gil Tafoya, Div. 791; Steve Seale, Div. 192; Gilbert Montiel, Div. 446; Clem Harris, Div. 15; Charlie Jeffcoat, Div. 811; and Mike Willis, Div. 446. (Not pictured: Alvin Largo, Div. 400)...
