New scholarship available to families of seriously injured rail workers | Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

CLEVELAND, March 6 — Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a new scholarship opportunity is available to family members of seriously injured railroad workers from the Our Brothers Keeper Foundation (OBKF).

OBKF is planning to award four $1,000 scholarships in 2008 to family members of seriously injured railroad workers. One winner will be awarded a scholarship from each of the four geographic regions represented by the BLET regional meetings — Eastern Union Meeting Association, Southeastern Meeting Association, International Western Convention, and Southwestern Convention Meeting.

OBKF is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that provides consultation, referral and financial assistance to aid employees of the railroad industry and their families in times of hardship arising from accidents and injuries that occur within the scope of the worker’s railroad employment.

In 2006, the last year for which complete statistics are available, Class I railroads reported almost 300 Category I & II casualties. These are on-the-job deaths or injuries so serious that they frequently result in permanent disabilities to railroad workers. These workers and their families are often left without the resources needed to cover everyday living expenses, much less provide tuition for family members who need, or would like, to further their education. OBKF is hoping to assist these families realize the goal of achieving higher education.

In terms of basic eligibility requirements, applicants must:

Be a spouse, daughter or son of a seriously injured railroad worker;

Complete all sections of the application form and mail it to the designated address, no less than thirty (30) days prior to starting date for the BLET Regional Meeting territory in which the injured worker is employed; and

Provide all supporting documents required by the application form, including proof of enrollment in an accredited college, technical, or trade school.

Additional information is provided on the application form, which is available on the BLET’s web site.

The deadline for each scholarship is 30 days prior to the start of the BLET regional meetings:

Southeastern Meeting Association (SMA) begins June 15, and the OBKF deadline is May 15;

Eastern Union Meeting Association (EUMA) begins July 6, and the OBKF deadline is June 6;

International Western Convention (IWC) begins August 17, and the OBKF deadline is July 17; and

Southwestern Convention Meeting (SWCM) begins September 14, and the OBKF deadline is August 14.

Since the majority of the support for OBKF’s outreach efforts currently comes from engineers and train service employees, family members of these crafts will be given preference. All scholarship applications will be carefully reviewed. Scholarship awards are to be based on need and fulfillment of applicant requirements.

A copy of the application form is available here:
https://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/OBKFscholarship2008.pdf