CLEVELAND, June 14 — Mark B. Kenny was reelected by acclamation to his fourth term as General Chairman at the Amtrak/ MBCR/ VRE/ Caltrain General Committee of Adjustment’s third quadrennial meeting held in Washington, D.C. from May 10-12, 2013.
Brother Kenny is a member of Division 11 (New York, N.Y.). He joined the Brotherhood on March 1, 1981, and has served as General Chairman since 1998, having also won reelection by acclamation in 2009.
All officers of the General Committee were elected by acclamation, including: Vice General Chairman S.J. Tuck, Division 17 (Kansas City, Mo.); Secretary-Treasurer D.P. Estes, Division 60 (Seattle, Wash.); Western Region Chairman D.H. Hansen, Division 51 (Salt Lake City, Utah); Midwest Region Chairman M.J. Gaab, Division 27 (St. Cloud, Minn.); Eastern Region Chairman J.J. O””Neill, Division 483 (Philadelphia, Pa.); and Alternate Secretary-Treasurer E.A. Stumpf, Division 20 (Los Angeles, Calif.). As with Brother Kenny, Brother Hansen was reelected to his fourth term of office.
Appointed to serve on the Bylaws & Finance Committee were: D. Raptis, Division 12 (Fort Wayne, Ind.); J. J. Cawley, Division 11 (New York); and E.A. Stumpf, Division 20 (Los Angeles). Brother Raptis was chosen to serve as Chair of the Committee.
BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce represented the National Division at the meeting, along with John P. Tolman, Vice President and National Legislative Representative, and Stephen J. Bruno, National Vice President. National Division staff members Tom Pontolillo, Assistant to the National President and Director of Research, and Vince Verna, Director of Regulatory Affairs, were also in attendance.
“I offer my congratulations to these officers on their election and my sincere thanks for their continued service to our great Brotherhood,” President Pierce said. “I have every confidence they will continue doing an excellent job of representing the membership.”
Additional BLET officers in attendance included D.L. Wright, First Vice Local Chairman of Division 60 (Seattle), who gave a presentation on Amtrak’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). Also, R.F. Paseman, Special GCA Representative and member of Division 20 (Los Angeles), assisted with a New Local Chairmen””s Training Seminar that was held on May 13.
“Given that we have 12 new local chairmen, we held a training seminar following the GCA meeting,” General Chairman Kenny said. “It was held at International Brotherhood of Teamsters headquarters in Washington, D.C., and it was an immensely helpful learning experience for all involved.”
Local Chairmen (unless otherwise noted) in attendance included: J.J. Cawley, Division 11 (New York); Dino Raptis, Division 12 (Fort Wayne, Ind.); T.A. Reed, Division 14 (Washington, D.C.); C.R. Houser, Division 15 (Albuquerque, N.M.); S. J. Tuck, Division 17 (Kansas City); D.K. Uldricks, Division 19 (Detroit, Mich.); E.A. Stumpf, Division 20 (Los Angeles); J.M. McGregor, Division 22 (El Paso, Texas); M.J. Gaab, Division 27 (St. Cloud, Minn.); L. Yeartie Jr., Division 35 (Jacksonville, Fla.); J.P. White, Division 40 (Chicago); J.E. Bateman, President of Division 45 (Carbondale, Ill.); D.D. Lewsader, Division 47 (Denver, Colo.); D.H. Hansen, Division 51 (Salt Lake City, Utah); G.T. Hobson, Division 57 (Boston, Mass.); D.P. Estes, Division 60 (Seattle); R. Seanez, Division 65 (San Jose, Calif.); P.W. Darcy Jr., Division 77 (New Haven, Conn.); J.K. Loger, Division 144 (Oakland, Calif.); W.F. Sanders III, Division 197 (San Antonio, Texas); B.A. Bennett, Division 312 (Boston); G.L. Perez, Division 474 (Blue Island, Ill.); K.F. Edler III, Division 482 (Washington, D.C.); J.J. O’Neill, Division 483 (Philadelphia); and J.H. Kross, Division 752 (Rensselaer, N.Y.).
Invited guests included Joseph McHugh, Amtrak Vice President of Government Affairs & Director of Communications, and Minnette Miller, Senior Director of Amtrak Payroll Operations. McHugh gave a presentation on overall Amtrak operations, legislative matters, and the impact of sequestration. Miller gave a presentation on the services provided by Amtrak Payroll and a comprehensive explanation on the implementation of the new bi-weekly payroll process in July 2013.
The delegates paid a special tribute to Brother C. A. (Mac) McDowell, retired Vice General Chairman and member of Division 47 (Denver, Colo.). Brother McDowell retired in December 2012. Even though he was not in attendance, the delegates recognized him for his three terms of officer serving as Vice General Chairman.
The delegates also held a memorial for Brother R. G. Jones, former Local Chairman of Division 459 (Harrisburg, Penna.), who passed away in December 2012 after battling cancer for several years.
General Chairman Kenny thanked the National Division officers for attending. “I know they had a particularly grueling schedule that week with the BLET’s 150th Anniversary Celebration in Detroit on May 8,” he said. “They went above and beyond the call of duty to make certain they attended our meeting, which speaks volumes to their character.”
Brother Kenny also thanked the Amtrak delegates for their hard work and focus throughout the meetings and subsequent training workshop.
The BLET’s Amtrak/ MBCR/ VRE/ Caltrain General Committee of Adjustment represents more than 2,300 active and retired locomotive engineers and trainmen who work for Amtrak, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, the Virginia Railway Express and Caltrain.