March 4, 2025 | News, Organizing, Top News
The BLET notched its first organizing win of 2025 as employees at Watco voted to join the BLET in an election certified by the National Mediation Board on February 26. Watco owns and operates 45 regional short line railroads throughout the United States, and the...
January 24, 2025 | News, Organizing, Top News
The BLET successfully organized seven short line railroads over the past two years, with more organizing campaigns planned for 2025. The recent string of victories can be linked to a strategic decision made in early 2023 when BLET National Division’s leadership...
January 22, 2025 | East Palestine-NS, FRA, Headlines, Organizing, Railroad Safety, Remote Control
(Source: Bloomberg, January 16, 2025) The Federal Railroad Administration is eyeing a test of a self-driving train car on Georgia railroads, which has sparked similar outrage from union leaders who are still reeling from the East Palestine train derailment, where...
January 2, 2025 | News, Organizing, Top News
The BLET scored its seventh short line organizing victory since 2023 as train and engine service workers from the Utah Central Railway voted unanimously to join the BLET in an election certified by the National Mediation Board on December 18. Patriot Rail owns and...
December 11, 2024 | Contract Agreement, News, Organizing, SLB Elections, Top News
BLET members this week ratified a new contract with the Huron and Eastern Railway (HESR). The on-property agreement governs rates of pay, benefits, and work rules for 24 BLET operating employees. The five-year deal runs through the end of 2029 and provides general...
November 6, 2024 | News, Organizing, Top News
National Vice President Randy Fannon (front row, second from left) with workers from the Carrolton Railroad. ____________________ The BLET scored another short line organizing victory this month, marking the union’s sixth organizing win since mid-2023. Workers from...
October 30, 2024 | News, Organizing, Top News
The Associated Press reported recently that the number of union representation petitions more than doubled in fiscal 2024. The National Labor Relations Board received 3,286 union petitions in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, up from 1,638 in 2021. By contrast, AP...
October 28, 2024 | News, Organizing, Top News
The specter of job loss to autonomous train technology played a role as the BLET scored a significant short line organizing victory on October 22. A majority of train and engine service employees at the Georgia Central Railway voted to join BLET in a representation...
October 7, 2024 | News, Organizing, Top News
Train and engine service employees at Transglobal Solutions/TGS Cedar Port Railroad in Baytown, Texas, voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the BLET this week. Rail industry publication Progressive Railroading described Cedar Port, where the railroad operates, as...
September 5, 2024 | Headlines, Organizing, Short Line, Unions
(Source: American Train Dispatchers Association press release, September 4, 2024) On September 4, 2024, the National Mediation Board (NMB) announced that Train Dispatchers from the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad (G&W) have voted to unionize with the American Train...
