From left: Darice Gilliam, BLET Arizona, SLBC; Rhonda Thompson, BMWED Lodge 358; Jennifer Ross, BMWED Lodge 788; Becky Huebner, Secretary-Treasurer of BLET Div. 624; Bernadette Murphy, BMWED Lodge 509; Marketa Wells, BLET DIv. 766; and Megan Mead, Director of BLET Record & Compliance Department.
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More than 1,500 Teamsters women from across North America gathered in Toronto for the annual Teamsters Women’s Conference, August 25-27, 2025.
Seven members of the BLET and BMWED were on hand to represent the Teamsters Rail Conference and to celebrate Teamsters women who have been at the forefront of successful organizing campaigns and contract negotiations.
Representing the BLET were Megan Mead, BLET National Division Director of Record and Compliance Department; Darice Gilliam, Arizona State Legislative Board Chair; Becky Huebner, Secretary-Treasurer of BLET Division 624 (Sheridan, Wyo.); and Marketa Wells of BLET Division 766 (Las Vegas, Nev.). The three BMWED representatives were Jennifer Ross, Lodge 788; Bernadette Murphy, Lodge 509; and Rhonda Thompson, Lodge 358.
The Rail Conference sisters hosted a workshop titled “Steel on Steel,” conducted by Sister Murphy of BMWED in collaboration with Sister Mead of BLET. The workshop provided a brief history of the BMWED and BLET and examined the growing contributions of women railroaders to the Rail Labor movement and the industry.
