By Dennis R. Pierce
BLET National President
CLEVELAND, December 23 — On behalf of the BLET Advisory Board, I am happy to extend best wishes for a Happy Holiday season and a prosperous New Year to all BLET members, BLET Auxiliary members, BLET staff, and their families.
We have faced many challenges throughout 2015, but the state of our Brotherhood is strong. The BLET National Division will continue to invest our energies in ongoing negotiations for a new national contract during the coming year. And while railroad carriers discuss a possible mega-merger, we will continue to stand vigilant and fight for our members in the workplace.
Please join me in acknowledging those BLET members who are working this holiday season and cannot enjoy time with their families. I salute your noble sacrifice as your professionalism and skill keeps the lifeblood of the nation’s economy flowing. This is also a difficult time for our soldiers who are overseas defending our freedom. Please join me in keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.
In 2016, the BLET National Division will move into our new headquarters facility in Independence, Ohio. It is an exciting time in our Brotherhood’s history. We don’t move very often — we’ve been at our current location for 26 years, and prior to that, in the Engineers Building for 79 years. Our new facility is one that you as a BLET member can be proud of — it’s being renovated by a 100 percent unionized workforce. And once we move in, I don’t expect to move again for a long, long time. We have been blessed with good weather thus far and we are on track to open our doors early next year. While I cannot give an exact date of opening, I am proud to extend an early invitation to all BLET members to join me at a ribbon cutting ceremony in approximately mid-March of 2016. A more firm date and other details will be announced as soon as possible.
May the spirit of the season warm your heart this holiday season. As BLET members, let us be thankful for the blessings we have enjoyed in 2015 as we look forward to a renewed energy in the coming year.