INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, October 7 — Brother Brian P. Carr was reelected by acclamation to his second term as General Chairman of the Union Pacific-Western Lines General Committee of Adjustment at the GCA’s Third Quadrennial Meeting in San Diego, Calif., September 20-21, 2022.
Brother Carr has been a member of Division 692 (Tracy, Calif.) since he first joined the Brotherhood on March 1, 2000. He was elected by acclamation to serve the GCA as 1st Vice General Chairman in 2014, and was elevated to the office of General Chairman effective October 1, 2017, following the retirement of D.W. (Bill) Hannah. He was elected by acclamation to his first full term as General Chairman in 2018.
Also elected by acclamation were: 1st Vice Chairman Paul R. Ansberry, Division 158 (Sparks, Nevada); 2nd Vice Chairman Curt V. Houston, Division 415 (Roseville, Calif.); 3rd Vice Chairman Kenneth B. Walker Jr., Division 28 (Tucson, Ariz.); Secretary-Treasurer Paulo Tortorice, Division 5 (Los Angeles, Calif.); and Alternate Secretary-Treasurer Brian Hess, Division 5 (Los Angeles, Calif.). Outgoing Secretary-Treasurer C.H. (Chuck) Fleming III of BLET Division 192 (El Paso, Texas) is retiring after 47 years of service and four terms as Secretary-Treasurer of the UP-WL GCA.
Appointed to serve as Trustees were: Curt V. Houston, Division 415 (Roseville, Calif.); Lon Simmons, Division 660 (Los Angeles, Calif.); and Jose L. Covarrubias, Division 214 (Long Beach, Calif.).
Representing the BLET National Division at the meeting were: National President Dennis R. Pierce; Vice President and National Legislative Representative Vince G. Verna; and Vice President (assigned) Mark L. Wallace.
“I thank and congratulate Brother Brian Carr and all officers of the Union Pacific-Western Lines General Committee of Adjustment,” President Pierce said. “I extend best wishes to Brother Chuck Fleming upon his retirement and thank him for his many years of dedicated service to the Brotherhood.”
Additional BLET guests included: Retired UP-WL General Chairman Bill Hannah; UP-Central Region GC Ronnie E. Rhodes; UP-Central Region VGC Kyle Bagby; UP-Northern Region GC Dick Crow; UP-Southern Region GC James Logan; UP-SR VGC Scott Alexander; UP-SR S-T Jason Ogden; UP-Western Region GC Steve Leyshon; UP-WR VGC William Wallace; UP-Eastern District GC Chad Lambert; UP-ED VGC Brian McCoy; California State Legislative Board Chairman Ryan Snow; and California SLB 1st VC Rob Tuttle.
In 2003, Brother Fleming was elected to serve the GCA as 2nd Vice Chairman and Alternate Secretary-Treasurer. In 2004, he was elevated to the office of GCA Secretary-Treasurer following the retirement of Tommy Gowan. Brother Fleming was subsequently reelected by acclamation to serve as GCA Secretary-Treasurer in 2010, 2014, and 2018. Brother Fleming first began serving the Brotherhood in 1994 when he was elected Local Chairman of Division 591, a position he held through 2015. His wife Terri has been a National Division officer with the BLET Auxiliary for many years.
The BLET’s Union Pacific-Western Lines General Committee of Adjustment is comprised of 17 different BLET Divisions, representing more than 2,800 active and retired members 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.