INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, April 24 — Former BLE General Chairman William G. (“Bill”) Hausleiter, Jr. passed away at the age of 72 on April 16. He was the inaugural General Chairman of the Amtrak General Committee of Adjustment when it was first established in the mid 1980s.
A native of Linden, New Jersey, Brother Hausleiter’s railroad career began on January 20, 1968, when he became the last locomotive fireman hired by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Due to a series of mergers and spinoffs, he subsequently also worked for the Penn Central, Conrail and Amtrak.
Brother Bill — known as “The Moose” to his friends — joined Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Division 501 in New York City (now Division 11), effective November 1, 1968, and held continuous membership for over 50 years in the Division at the time of his death. Brother Hausleiter was elected as Local Chairman of Division 501 after having served as Vice Local Chairman, and he served the Division as Delegate to the Fourth Quinquennial Convention in 1986.
On January 1, 1983 Amtrak began directly employing locomotive engineers in the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C., and between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa. On June 24, 1985, locomotive engineers employed by Amtrak voted to form their own General Committee of Adjustment (GCA). Brother Hausleiter was elected General Chairman on August 22, and assumed office on September 1, 1985.
Amtrak assumed employment of locomotive engineers operating its trains throughout the rest of the nation beginning in 1986. This led to the expansion of the Amtrak GCA, over which Brother Hausleiter presided, to become the first coast-to-coast GCA in the Brotherhood. He served as General Chairman until 1988.
“Bill Hausleiter was larger than life in many ways,” said National President Dennis R. Pierce on being informed of Brother Hausleiter’s passing. “He always put the membership first, and was willing to work as long and as hard is it took to improve conditions for locomotive engineers. On behalf of our entire Brotherhood, I extend our deepest condolences to Brother Bill’s family and friends.”
Arrangements have not yet been announced.