CLEVELAND, January 24 — The BLET Education & Training Department will conduct a Local Chairman Workshop on the campus of the University of Illinois-Champaign, starting on Sunday, March 20 and ending the evening of Thursday, March 24.
Bill Walpert, National Secretary-Treasurer and Director of the Education & Training Department, said this will be the fifth full workshop that his department has conducted in the first three months of 2011.
Ken Kroeger, Coordinator of the Education & Training Department, said that this workshop is not for only Local Chairmen but that Vice-Local Chairmen are also eligible to attend, but precedence will be given to Local Chairmen. All attendees other than Local Chairman must be approved by their Division’s Local Chairman.
Among other assignments, the workshop will include BLET organizational structure and functions, representing members at disciplinary and decertification hearings, union leadership skills, claim and grievance handling, and writing and editing skills. Participants also will learn how to effectively use the BLET arbitration database. A highlight of the workshop is when attendees participate in a simulated disciplinary hearing.
Local Chairmen must register for the workshop online through the BLET website at: https://www.ble-t.org/lc.
Workshop instructors will include: BLET National Secretary-Treasurer William C. Walpert; BLET Vice-President and Director of Arbitration Marcus J. Ruef; Special Representative & Coordinator of Education and Training Ken Kroeger; and Assistant Director of Arbitration Doug Davidson.
The BLET National Division pays the costs of books, equipment, tuition and a Thursday evening graduation banquet. BLET members who attend are responsible for their transportation costs as well as their room and board. Members will be provided with instructions on how to make room reservations after registering for the workshop through the BLET website.
Upon successful completion of the course, attendees will qualify for a $123 per day stipend from the North American Railway Foundation (NARF). The stipends will be paid directly to their Division Secretary-Treasurer.
NARF is a non-profit operating foundation formed by the Brotherhood’s Relief and Compensation Fund (BR&CF) to support rail history, education, safety and technology in the United States and Canada. With initial funding and continued Board of Directors stewardship coming from the BR&CF, NARF has supported many non-political projects throughout the United States and Canada over the past 10 years. The primary focus of these efforts has been in support of organized rail labor — giving back to all of the men and women of the railroad community across North America.
The workshop will begin with an orientation meeting the evening of Sunday, March 20 (6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.), and will conclude after breakfast on Friday, March 25. A graduation ceremony and banquet will take place the evening of Thursday, March 24.
Including the upcoming LC Workshop in Champaign, Ill., the BLET Education & Training Department will hold five full workshops in the first three months of 2011. An LM-2 Secretary-Treasurer Workshop ended last week in San Diego, Calif. Two additional ST Workshops are scheduled for Atlanta, Ga., (February 27-March 2) and Vancouver, Wash. (March 13-16). There is also a Legislative Representative Workshop in Washington D. C. (February 13-17).
Registration for the Local Chairman workshop is limited to the first 20 people who register through the BLET website.
Anyone with questions should contact Ken Kroeger, Coordinator of the Education and Training Department, at: (216) 272-0986 or Kroeger@ble-t.org.