Recently retired BLET General Chairman Mark B. Kenny, who served the Amtrak/KCS/VRE/Caltrain General Committee of Adjustment for over 26 years, passed away on November 12. He was 73 years old.
Brother Kenny was elected to seven consecutive terms as General Chairman (1998, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021), all by acclamation. He negotiated dozens of collective bargaining agreements with, and represented members in several hundred arbitration cases against the railroads where the General Committee held representation rights.
Brother Kenny was hired as a Locomotive Fireman by the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) on February 27, 1977. He was promoted to locomotive engineer in August of 1979, and became a BLE member on March 1, 1981, when he joined Division 501 (now Division 11) in New York City. When passenger and commuter service was spun off Conrail in 1983 Kenny went to work for SEPTA, before returning to Conrail in 1984 and later flowed to Amtrak in 1985.
Brother Kenny was inspired to become involved in the union movement after he was nearly killed in a train accident in 1998. To read about that near tragedy, and for more information about his BLET career, please read his retirement article on the BLET National Division website.
BLET National Secretary-Treasurer David Estes, who served as the Amtrak GCA Vice General Chairman from 2014 to 2022 and Secretary-Treasurer from 2007 to 2022, said, “Brother Kenny will be remembered for his intellect, tenacity, and unwavering commitment to the betterment of the BLET.”
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Kathleen, daughters Lauren and Jessica, and eight grandchildren. Tragically, Brother Kenny’s son Daniel passed away in 2019 at the age of 39.
More information and details on the funeral arrangements can be found here.