CLEVELAND, September 18 — Brother D.W. “Bill” Hannah was reelected by acclamation to his fifth term as General Chairman of the Union Pacific-Western Lines General Committee of Adjustment at quadrennial meetings in San Diego, Calif., on September 16, 2014.
Brother Hannah is a member of BLET Division 56 (Colton, Calif.). He joined the Brotherhood on February 1, 1979, and has served as General Chairman since 2001, winning reelection by acclamation in 2003, 2007, 2010 and now 2014.
Also elected were: 1st Vice Chairman B.P. Carr, Division 692 (Tracy, Calif.); 2nd Vice Chairman C.V. Houston, Division 415 (Roseville, Calif.); 3rd Vice Chairman J.E. Cayer Jr., Division 123 (Phoenix, Ariz.); Secretary-Treasurer C.H. “Chuck” Fleming III, Division 192 (El Paso, Texas); and Alternate Secretary-Treasurer L.J. “Luis” Chavez Jr., Division 283 (Oakland, Calif.).
In addition to General Chairman Hannah, Brother Carr, Brother Fleming and Brother Chavez were reelected by acclamation. Brother Fleming begins his third full term as Secretary-Treasurer.
“Congratulations and thank you to Brother Hannah and all the officers of the Union Pacific-Western Lines General Committee of Adjustment for their service to our Brotherhood,” BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce said. “Brother Hannah has been elected by acclamation again to the office of General Chairmen, which is a rousing endorsement of the great job he has done — and continues to do — representing his membership.”
Representing the BLET National Division at the quadrennial meeting were: National President Pierce; First Vice President E. Lee Pruitt; National Vice President Mike Twombly; and National Vice President Rick Gibbons. Brother Hannah succeeded Lee Pruitt as General Chairman of the UP-Western Lines in 2001, following Brother Pruitt’s election to the Advisory Board.
The following General Chairmen were also in attendance: Dick Crow, Union Pacific-Northern Region; Jim Dayton, Union Pacific-Western Region; and Ronnie Rhodes, Union Pacific-Central Region.
The following Legislative Brothers were also in attendance: Terry Briggs, Texas State Legislative Board Chairman; Nick Johnson, Arizona State Legislative Board Chairman; Tim Smith, California State Legislative Board Chairman; and Ryan Snow, California State Legislative Board 1st Vice Chairman.
The BLET’s Union Pacific-Western Lines General Committee of Adjustment is comprised of 19 different BLET Divisions, representing more than 1,800 active locomotive engineers and trainmen from the Union Pacific Railroad and the Pacific Harbor Line Railroad. They live and work primarily in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Kansas.