The BLET notched its 14th organizing victory since 2023 this month as a majority of workers at the Dakota and Iowa Railroad (D&I) voted to join the BLET. The National Mediation Board certified the election results on December 4.
The D&I is a short line that operates over 138 miles of track from Dell Rapids, S.D. to Sioux City, Iowa. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of L.G. Everist, Inc.
BLET National Vice President Randy Fannon, who heads the BLET Organizing Department, led the organizing drive with assistance from BLET Special Representatives Brian Terpening and Jorge Gomez. BLET National President Mark Wallace thanked these Brothers for a job well done and welcomed the D&I workers into the BLET family.
Fannon said the D&I workforce sought out BLET to help secure better pay and benefits, improvements to working conditions, and an enforceable union contract. The 11 D&I workers will now have the strength of the BLET as they begin the process of negotiating their first-ever union contract.
If you know someone at a short line railroad who would like to help form a union please contact the BLET Organizing Department at organizing@ble-t.org.