CLEVELAND, February 4 — The BLET Education & Training Department, in conjunction with the BLET Arbitration Department, is offering a General Chairman’s workshop in St. Louis, Mo., the week of March 30, 2008.
This is the third General Chairman workshop the BLET has held in the last 13 months due to the overwhelming interest in the first two workshops held in 2007.
However, it should be noted that this will be the final General Chairman workshop that will employ the current format. The Education & Training Department has received numerous requests from General Chairmen for a new workshop format that focuses on elements of good, persuasive writing of arbitration submissions. The current workshop focuses on remedies in arbitration.
“The feedback we have gotten from the attendees of the GC workshops and talking to other GC indicates that there is a lot of interest in having a writing workshop,” said BLET National Secretary-Treasurer Bill Walpert, who heads the Education & Training Department. “The next General Chairman workshop will not be the same as this one and the future GC workshops will focus on the aspect of proper writing techniques and there will be a lot more writing and rewriting in the future classes.”
The General Chairman workshops have been extremely helpful, informative and popular. The Education & Training Department’s first General Chairman workshop in 2007 became full within the first 24 hours after it was announced, thus creating demand for the second workshop and now the third workshop.
Those who were still interested joined a waiting list after the second workshop. All of the people on the waiting list have been contacted and several are not able to attend, which has created some openings in the upcoming March workshop.
Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis, and interested parties must register through the BLET website at https://www.ble-t.org/gc.
The focus of the March 30 workshop will duty of fair representation under the Railway Labor Act, including common law damages, public policy, and other aspects of remedies in arbitration cases. The four-day workshop will be held on March 30 – April 3 (Monday-Wednesday) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a half a day on April 3 (Thursday), from 9 a.m. to noon. While there is no tuition for the class, attendees are responsible for all other expenses.
Attendance is limited to General Chairmen and/or any subordinates they designate who are engaged in arbitration work. We ask that you bring a copy of your basic Schedule Agreement for reference. There will be assignments that will be mailed to you ahead of time that you will be expected to have done when you start the workshop.
Upon successful completion of the course, attendees will qualify for a $109 per day stipend from the North American Railway Foundation (NARF). The stipends will be paid directly to the General Committee 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.
General Chairman or their designated subordinates who are interested in registering for the workshop may do so online at https://www.ble-t.org/gc. If you are not a General Chairman, then you must have your General Chairman’s permission to attend the workshop.
Workshop instructors will include: BLET National Secretary-Treasurer William C. Walpert; BLET Vice-President Richard K. Radek; Special Representative & Coordinator of Education and Training Ken Kroeger; and Assistant Director of Arbitration Doug Davidson.
The BLET pays the costs of books and equipment. General Chairmen and Vice General Chairmen who attend are responsible for their transportation costs, along with the cost of room and board. Special arrangements have been made at the Hyatt Regency St Louis in downtown St. Louis. Once your attendance at the workshop has been approved, you will be sent a confirmation letter that will include instructions on how to register for the hotel.
For more information, please contact Ken Kroeger, Coordinator of the BLET Education & Training Dept., at (216) 272-0986 or kroeger@ble-t.org.