Founded on May 8, 1863, the BLET this year celebrated its 160th anniversary as the oldest labor union in North America. The BLET highlighted this significant milestone with a commemorative issue of the Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen Journal (PDF), and a series of features articles on social media to amplify unique stories from the union’s early history. 1863: Honoring our founders 1867: Insurance Association established 1870s: Early Masonic influences 1877: “Shoot the Strike to Pieces:” The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 1900: Legendary BLET member Casey Jones immortalized in song 1910: BLET builds a national headquarters
Our History: BLET marked 160th anniversary in 2023
