By Dennis R. Pierce
BLET National President
CLEVELAND, November 24 — As we approach Thanksgiving, I ask our membership to join me in a moment of silence for those who are away from their families at this special time of year.
Let us remember our service men and women, who are fighting overseas or are stationed at military bases throughout the world.
Let us also remember our own BLET Brothers and Sisters, who are sitting in the cab of a locomotive or in a hotel instead of at the Thanksgiving dinner table with their families.
Let us remember the fallen, not only our members, but all railroaders and all workers who have given their lives in the performance of their duties.
In the toil of our day-to-day lives, we may forget in this season of Thanksgiving that we are truly blessed. We sometimes forget to count our blessings because, as locomotive engineers and trainmen, we work extremely hard to earn our pay and benefits.
While our work at the railroad often prevent us from fully enjoying the fruits of our labor, we are blessed with the knowledge that our hard work and dedication puts food on the table and clothes on the backs of our children and families.
At this time of year, I would also like to express my thanks to all of our elected officers and staff at the national, general committee, state and local levels. I am thankful for your hard work and devotion to the Brotherhood.
But most of all, I am thankful for our members, both past and present.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the Brothers and Sisters of past generations, whose commitment and sacrifice helped to lay a solid foundation. And I am also proud of today’s generation of locomotive engineers and trainmen for continuing to build upon that foundation so that today, the BLET stands as the leading rail labor union in America.
On behalf of the BLET Advisory Board, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.