Ronnie Rhodes (right) pictured with his wife Lisa at the 2023 Milwaukee regional meeting.
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The BLET National Division extends best wishes to Brother Ronnie Rhodes, who retired from his position as General Chairman of the Union Pacific-Central Region GCA on June 17. His railroad career spanned nearly 50 years and he has been a member of BLET Division 915 in Alexandria, La., since March 1, 1980.
Brother Rhodes began serving as General Chairman on October 1, 2011. He was subsequently reelected to office at quadrennial meetings in 2015, 2019, and 2023. In the early part of 2019, Brother Rhodes successfully followed through on decades of hard work by previous General Chairmen to help finalize a massive $11 million time claim settlement on behalf of the UP-Central Region membership. It was the largest claim settlement, to date, in the rail industry for grievance time claims. The GCA represents nearly 2,000 active and retired members from 17 Local Divisions.
Vice General Chairman Kyle Bagby of BLET Division 81 (Kansas City, Kan.) has been elevated to the office of UP-Central Region General Chairman.