BALTIMORE — The BLE’s 67th annual Eastern Union Meeting Association kicked off on June 30 with the opening ceremonies.
The ceremonies began with a bagpipe procession and the presentation of colors. The U.S. National Anthem was sung by Chris Thomas and the Canadian National Anthem was sung by BLE Division 898 (Jasper, Alberta) member Don Anderson.
EUMA Arrangements Chairman Fred Cox spoke about the selection of Baltimore as the host city for this year’s meeting. The EUMA was originally scheduled in conjunction with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum’s Fair of the Iron Horse, which was to celebrate the 175th anniversary of American railroading. However, the fair was cancelled after a large snowstorm caused the roof of the B&O Railroad Museum to collapse.
GIA President Onita Wayland addressed the audience and gave a brief history of the B&O Railroad. She also spoke about the changes in railroading and the courage that it took to face those changes in the early years.
“We often admire the courage of these early railroaders,” said Wayland. “But railroaders today have courage, too. There are also of changes going on now and railroad workers are still enduring.”
BLE International President Don M. Hahs then made some brief introductory remarks about the Brotherhood’s current affairs, including the status of national negotiations.
He noted that some railroads are already involved in on-property negotiations and others are close to reaching agreements. The National Carriers Conference Committee and the BLE have meetings scheduled in the coming weeks.
“I want to get this agreement done,” said Hahs. “When we get it done, we will turn around and start preparing for the next round of negotiations.”
The BLE President also noted that several bills are pending in Congress for Amtrak funding.
“We know that until something happens with Amtrak funding, we are not going to get a contract,” said Hahs.
Hahs told the audience that the proposed agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has been mailed to members of the BLE Advisory Board, who will meet in Cleveland to vote on it on July 9-10.
“We think that the agreement is a good one and hope that it will be received positively,” said Hahs.
President Hahs also discussed the state of the railroad industry. He noted that freight traffic is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years and that the railroads will be a large part of moving this freight.
“I think the future looks bright,” Hahs said. “We are moving more freight with fewer people. Trucks are less of a threat to us now than the technology is. We hope to embrace the technology because some of it positively affects the safety of the railroads. We are embracing it because some of it will improve safety.”
IBT General President James P. Hoffa was scheduled to discuss the prospective merger between the IBT and the BLE during the June 30 afternoon session.