Officers

President Hall’s railroad career began in 1995 when he hired out with the former Southern Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific) in El Paso, Texas. He earned promotion to locomotive engineer 1998 after relocating to Tucson, Arizona. President Hall is a proud member of BLET Division 28 in Tucson, having joined the Brotherhood effective July 1, 1999. He has been an active union member since Day 1, and has served on Division 28’s Local Committee of Adjustment for 12 years. Immediately prior to his election as National President, Brother Hall served as First Vice Local Chairman of Division 28.

Brother Hall was elected on a platform of membership involvement, and looks forward to engaging and energizing BLET members in his new role as National President.

At the time of his election in 2018, Vice President Wallace was serving as a National Division Trustee and as General Chairman of the Norfolk Southern-Southern Lines General Committee of Adjustment (GCA), which at the time represented 43 Divisions with over 3,000 members. He was elected by acclamation to the General Chairman’s position on May 8, 2012, and again in 2016. He was elected by acclamation to the office of National Division Trustee at the BLET’s Third National Convention in Las Vegas on October 1, 2014. He is currently an active member of BLET Division 267 (Asheville, N.C.), having joined the Brotherhood on February 1, 1997.

Brother Wallace began his railroad career as a carman with Norfolk Southern in 1993 and transferred to the craft of conductor in 1996. In 1998, he completed his locomotive engineer training and attained seniority as a locomotive engineer.

Brother Wallace began his service to the union immediately after joining Division 267. He served as an appointed Local Chairman for trainmen/conductors and Vice Local Chairman before becoming Local Chairman in 2000. He has served as a delegate to the BLET National Conventions in 2001, 2006, 2010, and 2014, serving on the Credentials Committee in 2001. Brother Wallace also was elected as Ninth Alternate Vice President at the 2001 Convention and First Alternate Vice President in 2014. He served as the Southeast Caucus Chairman at the National Convention in 2006 and served as Chairman of the Southeastern General Chairman’s Association from 2012-2018.

Before his railroad career, Brother Wallace attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Ray C. Wallace, who was a locomotive engineer, Local Chairman, and General Chairman of the NS Southern Lines from 1986-2008. His mother Janie was very active in the Grand International Auxiliary (GIA), serving as a national officer, and also served as Executive Secretary of the NS-Southern Lines GCA for many years.

Brother Wallace has participated in every facet of membership representation at many levels, beginning at the grassroots level and working his way up through the local level to the General Committee and the National Division. He has served as Vice Local Chairman, Local Chairman, 4th Vice General Chairman, 3rd Vice General Chairman, 2nd Vice General Chairman, General Chairman, Ninth Alternate Vice President, First Alternate Vice President, and National Division Trustee.

Brother Wallace participated in negotiations that resulted in the 2015 on-property agreement with Norfolk Southern, the current agreement with Portland & Western, the current agreement with the Pacific Harbor Lines, and the 2015 National Agreement. He is assigned as Vice President to the current National Wage Team. He also served as a member of the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) Two-Person Crew Working Group.

Brother Estes is an Amtrak locomotive engineer who spent most of his career working the Cascades service between Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. He is a member of Division 60 (Seattle) where he served as both Local Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer for over two decades.

Brother Estes began his railroad career with Amtrak in 1991 at Seattle, Wash. He earned promotion to locomotive engineer in 1997 and joined BLET Division 60 on October 1, 1997. In 2001, he was elected to the offices of Division 60 Local Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer. In 2005, he was elected as the Alternate Secretary-Treasurer of the Amtrak General Committee of Adjustment and ascended to the GCA Secretary-Treasurer position in November 2007. In November 2014, Brother Estes was elected to the office of GCA Vice General Chairman.

Brother Estes represented Division 60 as their delegate to the BLET First National Convention in 2006, Second National Convention 2010, and the Third National Convention 2014. During the 2014 Convention, Brother Estes also served as Chairman of the Salaries Committee.

Throughout his career, Brother Estes has directly participated in most aspects of both Local Division and General Committee of Adjustment membership representation, including time claims, discipline handling, Locomotive Engineer Review Board (LERB) submissions and contract negotiations.

In his role as GCA Secretary-Treasurer, Brother Estes worked closely with the 25 other Division Secretary-Treasurers across the entire Amtrak system, as well as the other railroads that the GCA represents, including Keolis in Boston (BLET Division 57) and Virginia (BLET Division 14), and Transit America Services (TASI) in San Francisco/San Jose (BLET Division 65). In addition, he has attended each of the LM-2 Secretary-Treasurer workshops offered by the BLET Education and Training Department from 2006 to the present.

Finally, while serving as a National Division Trustee, Brother Estes was responsible for auditing the books of the National Division on a monthly basis. This provided him with a better understanding of the complex financial operations of the BLET and stronger foundation to ultimately serve as National Secretary-Treasurer.

Brother Verna’s railroad career began in 1994 when he hired out as a brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Los Angeles, Calif. He transferred to engine service in March of 1995 in Tucson, Ariz., and joined BLET Division 28 (Tucson, Ariz.) on November 17, 1995. He became actively involved in the Brotherhood almost immediately, serving as Alternate Legislative Representative of Division 28 in 1995, and as Vice Local Chairman in 1999. He continued in both positions until becoming Division 28’s Legislative Representative in 2006 and full-time Local Chairman in 2008. He was reelected Local Chairman in 2009. Brother Verna also began serving as Chairman of the Arizona State Legislative Board in 2008, a position he was reelected to in 2009. He was elected by acclamation to the office of First Alternate VP&NLR at the BLET’s Third National Convention in Las Vegas on October 1, 2014.

Brother Verna began working full time for the BLET National Division on August 1, 2011, when he was appointed to the position of Director of Regulatory Affairs by BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce.

In his role as Director of Regulatory Affairs, Verna represented the BLET on numerous rail safety and human factors endeavors, such as the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) of the Federal Railroad Administration. He also represented the interests of BLET members in regulatory matters before the Department of Transportation, the National Transportation Safety Board the Transportation Security Administration, and the Transportation Research Board, among others agencies and organizations. He also prepared the union’s responses to various agencies’ proposals for rulemakings and proposed rules, and prepared responses to petitions for waiver from compliance with FRA regulations.

Brother Verna is proud to be a third generation railroader. His father Fred retired as a conductor from UP in 2010 after 48 years of service. Also, his great uncle was a conductor for the Penn Central and the Southern Pacific.

Vice President and National Legislative Representative Verna holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History from California State University at San Bernardino (1994) and a Master’s Degree in Legal and Ethical Studies from The University of Baltimore (2003).

Immediately prior to his elevation to the Advisory Board, Gibbons served as General Chairman of the BLET’s Burlington Northern Frisco (former SL-SF)/MNA General Committee of Adjustment, a position he held for 12 years.

Brother Gibbons’ railroad career began in 1972 on the former Illinois Central Gulf in Slater, Mo. He earned promotion to locomotive engineer in 1973 and joined the Brotherhood that same year. He was a member of BLE Division 8 in Slater until 1993, when he moved to Kansas City, Mo. and joined BLE Division 502. Since joining the Brotherhood, in 1973 he has been elected to numerous offices over his 49+ year career, including Division President, Local Chairman, Legislative Representative, and First Vice General Chairman.

Brother Gibbons also served the Brotherhood as a delegate to the 2001 BLE International Convention in Miami Beach, and served on the Arrangements Committee during the 2006 First National Convention in Las Vegas and the 2010 Second National Convention in Reno, Nevada.

During his tenure as General Chairman, Vice President Gibbons was privileged to be the Western General Chairman’s Association (WGCA) Secretary-Treasurer from 2009 through 2011. He was then elected Chairman of the WGCA in 2012. In 2003, he was appointed to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters / Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Merger Committee on Bylaws, and also a position on the Rail Safety Advisory Committee’s (RSAC) Risk Reduction and Fatigue Management Working Groups, representing the BLET and all of Rail Labor. Vice President Gibbons also was the Host Chairman of the 2003 Southwestern Convention Meeting in Branson, Missouri.

As General Chairman, Gibbons worked with the other three General Chairmen on BNSF in negotiating several on-property agreements in coordination with national bargaining. This included a Safety Summit Agreement/Alternative Handling Program in an attempt to change the safety culture and the punitive discipline agenda on BNSF.

Vice President Gibbons comes from a long line of railroaders in his family. His grandfather was the Superintendent on the Chicago and Alton Railroad in Slater for many years. His mother was a clerk and his aunt was a hostess on the Burlington Zephyr. One uncle was a switchman in Mexico, Missouri for the GM&O, and his great uncle was a boomer who landed on the Southern Pacific in California and retired at the age of 82 with 64 years of service.

Brother Louis was elected Third Alternate National Vice President at the BLET’s Second National Convention in 2010. Immediately prior to his 2014 election to the Advisory Board, Vice President Louis served as General Chairman of the Conrail SAA/CSXT Northern District General Committee of Adjustment in Buffalo, N.Y. He first began serving the GCA in 1997 when he was elected to the Alternate Secretary-Treasurer position. He was then elected Secretary-Treasurer in 2004, a position he was reelected to in 2007, and also began service as Alternate General Chairman prior to becoming General Chairman in 2009.

Vice President Louis’s railroad career began when he hired out with Conrail as a trainman on August 6, 1976, in Buffalo, N.Y. In 1982, he began working in Conrail commuter service as a trainman/conductor in Hoboken, NJ. He earned promotion to locomotive engineer for Conrail on September 9, 1987, at Oak Point, N.Y.

Vice President Louis first joined the Brotherhood as a member of Division 752 in 1987. He transferred to Division 659 and soon became actively involved in serving the membership. He was elected Local Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer of Division 659 in 1989, positions he held continuously until 1997, when he transferred to Division 382. He also represented Division 659 as a delegate to the BLE International Convention in 1996. Vice President Louis transferred his BLET membership once again in 1998 and became a member of Division 421 in Buffalo, NY. In 2001, he was elected to the Local Committee of Adjustment for Division 421, and was elected to serve as Local Chairman in 2004 and again in 2007. In 2006, he again served as a Delegate representing Division 421 at the BLET’s First National Convention in 2006.

In addition to his General Committee and Division offices, Vice President Louis has been heavily involved in the Brotherhood’s legislative affairs since joining the union. He represented Division 659 on the New York State Legislative Board from 1989 through 1997, and then represented Division 421 in that same capacity for several years. He was twice elected Treasurer of the New York State Legislative Board in 2004. He was promoted to serve as Chairman of the New York State Legislative Board in 2008 and held that office until 2010.

Vice President Louis has been active in the BLE/BLET’s Eastern Union Meeting Association (EUMA), serving as Arrangements Chairman in 2004, and then as Vice Chairman of the EUMA Standing Committee from 2005 to 2014.

In 2001, Vice President Louis was elected Second Alternate to the former BLE Board of Appeals. In 2006, he served on the Eastern Steering Committee at the BLET’s First National Convention in Las Vegas. In 2011, Brother Louis served as Eastern Representative on the National Wage/Rule Committee. In 2010 and again in 2014, Vice President Louis served as a member of the Arrangements Committee at the BLET Second National Convention and Third National Convention, respectively. And, beginning in 2013, Vice President Louis began serving as a member of the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) as a member of the BLET’s Crew Fatigue, Risk Management and Two-Person Crew Working Groups.

A fourth-generation railroader, Vice President Louis is proud of his strong union background. His great grandfather, Joseph, worked for 60 years on the Pennsylvania and the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroads. His grandfather, Fredrick, worked as a conductor. His father, Arthur, was a conductor with the New York Central from 1940 to 1968. His brother, Jerry, was a fireman with Penn Central/Conrail who served as a Local Chairman of the United Transportation Union from 1970 to 1979. His mother Leona, a union baker, taught Jim the values of unionism. As a young girl, she would toss loaves of bread to striking autoworkers in Flint, Michigan, at the risk of being chased by management guards.

Immediately prior to his 2018 election, Vice President Holdcraft served the BLET as General Chairman of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (former AT&SF) General Committee of Adjustment (BNSF-ATSF GCA), representing nearly 3,150 members from 35 different BLET Divisions.

Vice President Holdcraft began his railroad career on June 1, 1977, when he hired out as a trainman with the Santa Fe Railroad in Galveston, Texas. He began engineer training in November of 1977 and earned promotion to locomotive engineer on May 6, 1978. He has held continuous membership in BLET Division 776 (Galveston, Texas) since initiating into the Brotherhood on February 1, 1980.

Vice President Holdcraft is a dedicated union leader who has served the Brotherhood in numerous elected offices over the years. From 2002-2008, he served as Local Chairman of Division 776. From 2008-2011, he served as Vice General Chairman of the BLET’s BNSF-ATSF GCA. He was elected BNSF-ATSF General Chairman in 2012, and was reelected by acclamation in 2014 and 2018.

From 2012-2016, Brother Holdcraft served as Secretary-Treasurer of the BLET’s Western General Chairman’s Association, and was elected to serve as its Chairman in 2017. In 2014, Brother Holdcraft was elected Seventh Alternate Vice President at the BLET’s Third National Convention in Las Vegas.

Vice President Holdcraft served on the BLET’s National Wage Committee during the round of contract talks that concluded in 2017, which resulted in more than 88 percent of the voting BLET members ratifying the agreement. He has also served on the Rail Safety Advisory Committee’s (RSAC) Inward/Outward-Facing Recording Device Working Group.

From 2013-2022, Brother Lyons served the Brotherhood as General Chairman of the CSXT-Northern Lines General Committee of Adjustment (GCA), which represents nearly 3,000 active and retired members. In 2009, Brother Lyons was nominated and elected to the GCA’s Second Vice General Chairman office, a full-time position that required him to relocate to Florida. Over the next three years, he was elevated to serve the GCA as First Vice General Chairman and Acting General Chairman. He was elected to his first full term of office as General Chairman in May of 2013 and was reelected by acclamation in 2017 and 2021.

Brother Lyons began his railroad career when he hired out as a conductor for CSXT at Columbus, Ohio, on February 28, 2000. He joined BLET Division 34 in Columbus, Ohio, on September 1, 2003, and he immediately became an active and involved leader. In 2004, Brother Lyons became Division 34’s first-ever Local Chairman for trainmen after the BLE merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. One year later, he became the GCA’s first-ever conductor to be elected to the office of Regional Vice General Chairman. Shortly thereafter, he earned promotion to locomotive engineer.

Brother Lyons has served the National Division in various capacities. In 2010, he was elected by acclamation to serve as Fifth Alternate National Vice President at the BLET’s Second National Convention. In 2014, he was elected by acclamation to the office of Fourth Alternate National Vice President at the BLET’s Third National Convention. At the BLET’s Fourth National Convention in 2018, he was elected by acclamation to the office of First Alternate National Vice President. He also served as a member of the National Division’s Arrangements Committee during the 2010 and 2014 conventions. He has twice been elected as his GCA’s delegate to the IBT International conventions in 2011 and 2016. Brother Lyons also served as a Vice Chairman of the BLET’s National General Chairmen’s Association.

As General Chairman and Vice General Chairman, Brother Lyons participated in numerous on-property negotiations with CSXT. He also recently led negotiations for another on-property agreement with Bombardier Transportation Services for his members working in MARC commuter rail service. Brother Lyons is assigned to the National Wage Committee for the current round of national contract negotiations, and served in the same role during the round of negotiations that concluded in 2017, with an agreement that was ratified by 88% of voting members.

Prior to his railroad career, Brother Lyons attended Eastern Kentucky University, where he studied Fire Science Engineering. He also holds a degree in Labor Studies.

In 2007, Vice President Semenek was elected to the office of 1st Vice General Chairman for the CP Rail System/U.S. General Committee of Adjustment. On January 1, 2011, he was elevated to the position of General Chairman following the election of his predecessor, Mike Priester, to the BLET Advisory Board. Vice President Semenek was elected to the office of General Chairman at the quadrennial meetings in 2011, and was subsequently reelected by acclamation in 2015 and 2019. The GCA represents members on the Soo Line Railroad, Metra North (NIRCRC), ISRR and the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E).

Brother Semenek was elected to serve the National Division as Alternate National Vice President No. 4 at the BLET’s Fourth National Convention in 2018. While serving as General Chairman Brother Semenek was elected by his fellow General Chairmen to lead the Western General Chairmen’s Association in May of 2019.

During his tenure as General Chairman, Vice President Semenek negotiated contracts with Metra (the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, or NIRCRC), the Indiana Southern Railroad, and the Canadian Pacific-U.S. Railway on both the Soo Line and Dakota Minnesota &Eastern Railroad. Most recently, he negotiated a contract that provided general wage increases of 24.75% (27% compounded) to the members of the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E). BLET members ratified that agreement by a 5-to-1 ratio on June 13, 2022.

Brother Semenek said that he looks forward to the challenges that come with the National Vice President’s position and will always keep his BLET Brothers’ and Sisters’ best interests first and foremost in his thoughts and actions.

Vice President Fannon was elected Third Alternate National Vice President at the BLET’s Fourth National Convention in 2018. Immediately prior to his 2022 election to the BLET’s Advisory Board, Vice President Fannon served as General Chairman of the Norfolk Southern-Eastern Lines General Committee of Adjustment (GCA), which represents approximately 1,200 active members. He began serving the GCA in 2012 when he was elected to the office of 1st Vice General Chairman. He was elevated to the office of General Chairman on May 12, 2016, winning election by acclamation at the GCA’s quadrennial meeting a few days later. He was also reelected by acclamation in 2020.

Vice President Fannon has served the National Division as Assistant Coordinator of the Safety Task Force. Vice President Fannon was a member of the National Division’s Bylaws Committee at the Third National Convention in 2014, and served as its Chairman at the Fourth National Convention in 2018 and Fifth National Convention in 2022.

Vice President Fannon began service to the BLET when he was elected in 2009 as Local Chairman of Division 37. He was reelected by acclamation in 2012 and 2015. Vice President Fannon served Division 37 as a delegate during National Conventions in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022.

During his tenure as General Chairman, Vice President Fannon incorporated the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway and the Louisville and Indiana Railway into his GCA. He successfully negotiated the agreement for the W&LE for both locomotive engineers as well as the trainmen crafts in 2019. He also negotiated the agreement between the BLET and the L&IRC in 2019 representing both engineer and trainmen crafts.

Vice President Fannon has served the Brotherhood on the Safety Task Force since his appointment as an investigator on November 12, 2012. He represented the BLET as party spokesman on several high profile investigations alongside the NTSB, including accidents at Petal, Miss. (NS), Hoboken, N.J. (NJ Transit), Baltimore, Md. (NS), Crozet, Va. (Amtrak), Draffin, Ky. (CSXT), and Hyndman, Pa. (CSXT). He was appointed to the Assistant Coordinator of the Safety Task Force on February 3, 2020.

Vice President Fannon began his railroad career on July 5, 1988 in Norton, Va. (Norfolk Southern) as a brakeman. He was subsequently promoted to conductor in 1989 and earned promotion to locomotive engineer on November 10, 1990.

In 2022, Vice President Fannon earned an MBA from Bluefield University. He is a first-generation railroader, but he began a trend for others in his family. His brother, Barry, is a Norfolk Southern engineer in Andover, Va. Barry served as delegate to the 2022 convention and nominated Brother Fannon to the office of National Vice President. Vice President Fannon’s cousin, Jamie Wallace, and brother-in-law, Patrick Jennings, also are employed by NS in Roanoke, Va. Vice President Fannon’s son, Shaine, is also employed by NS in Decatur, Ill.

Immediately prior to his election to National Vice President, Brother Best served the BLET for nine years as General Chairman of the CSXT Eastern Lines General Committee of Adjustment (GCA), which represents about 1,200 active members. He was elevated to the General Chairman’s office in September of 2013 following the retirement of his mentor and predecessor, Brother Tony Smith, and was reelected by acclamation at quadrennial meetings in 2016 and 2020. Vice President Best was first elected to serve the CSXT Eastern Lines GCA in 2008 when he was elected 1st Vice General Chairman, a position he was reelected to in 2012. Vice President Best served as Local Chairman of Division 498 from 2001 until 2013.

A CSX locomotive engineer, Vice President Best is a member of BLET Division 498 in Abbeville, S.C., and has held continuous membership in the BLET since January 1, 1995. He is a third-generation railroader. Vice President Best began his railroad career in Danville, Ill., on September 20, 1993 when he hired out as a brakeman for CSXT. He earned promotion to locomotive engineer on May 31, 1994, in his hometown of Abbeville, S.C.

During the course of his career, Brother Best has participated in various positions with the BLET and in every facet of membership representation at each level. Brother Best has arbitrated hundreds of discipline cases and been a part of arbitrating over 20 rules cases pursuant to Section 3 of the Railway Labor Act, as amended. He has served as Division 498’s Delegate to the BLET National Convention in 2001, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. Brother Best was appointed by National President Dennis R. Pierce to serve as a Member of the Credentials Committee at the 2010 Convention, as the Chairman of the Credentials Committee at the 2014 Convention, and as a Member of the Bylaws Committee at the 2018 and 2022 Conventions. He has served as Chairman of the Southeastern General Chairman’s Association and was a Member of the Executive Committee for the National General Chairman’s Association. Vice President Best also was elected to the office of Ninth Alternate National Vice President at the BLET’s Third National Convention in 2014 and Sixth Alternate National Vice President at the BLET’s Fourth National Convention in 2018.

Brother Crow currently serves as Chairman of the Union Pacific-Northern Region General Committee of Adjustment (UP-NR GCA), which represents approximately 800 active locomotive engineers and trainmen who work for the Union Pacific Railroad and Metra commuter lines. He is a Union Pacific locomotive engineer and a member of BLET Division 404 (Chicago, Ill.).

Brother Crow began his railroad career in 1996, when he hired out as a trainman with the Union Pacific in Chicago, earning promotion to locomotive engineer in June of 1999. He has held continuous membership in BLET Division 404 since June 1, 1999.

Throughout his union career, Brother Crow has been an active and involved leader. In 2003, he was elected Vice Local Chairman of Division 404, winning election to the office of Local Chairman in 2006 and again in 2009. In 2010, Brother Crow was elected 2nd Vice Chairman of the UP-NR GCA. In a show of dedication to the Brotherhood and its members, Brother Crow relocated to Clinton, Iowa when he was elevated to the office of 1st Vice Chairman in September of 2012. He was elevated to the office of General Chairman in December of 2012 and was reelected General Chairman at the GCA’s quadrennial meetings in 2014, 2018 and 2022.

Brother Crow has served on the Executive Board of the former BLET Western General Chairman’s Association (WGCA) from 2013-2020. He was a delegate to the BLET’s Second National Convention in 2010 and a BLET delegate to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters International Convention in 2016 and 2021.

While serving as a Local Chairman, Brother Crow participated in the successful negotiation of a New York Dock Implementing Agreement from 2007-2010. He also successfully completed grievance mediation training in April of 2017.

Brother Crow and his brother, Randall J. Crow, both hired out on the Union Pacific on the same day in 1996.

Brother Patrick Driscoll joined the BLET in 1994 as a Conrail locomotive engineer. He served as Local Chairman of Division 382 from 2000 to 2015. In 2011, he was elected to Vice General Chairman of the Conrail/CSXT Northern District GCA, later elevating to Alternate Vice General Chairman of the GCA in 2014. In January 2015, he began serving as the General Chairman of the Conrail SAA/CSXCT Northern District General Committee of Adjustment, winning reelection by acclamation in 2015 and 2019.

Brother Driscoll represented Division 382 as a Delegate to the National Division at the Second and Third National Convention. He served as a member of the Bylaws Committee at the Third National Convention and as a member of the Arrangements Committee at the Fourth and Fifth National Conventions.

In 2018, Brother Driscoll was elected by acclamation to serve as Fifth Alternate National Vice President at the BLET’s Fourth National Convention in Las Vegas.

Brother Driscoll has also served as Secretary-Treasurer of the BLET’s former Eastern Meeting Union Association (EUMA) and currently serves a trustee of the National General Chairman Association.

As General Chairman Brother Driscoll has successfully arbitrated many discipline and rule cases at both CSXT and Conrail, participating in several on-property negotiations. At CSXT, the General Chairmen secured an Award that overturned CSXT’s practice of requiring Locomotive Engineers to transport themselves in carrier vehicles. He also helped secure an Award that overturned CSXT’s requirement that Locomotive Engineers dismount their equipment to inspect passing trains.

Brother Driscoll is a third generation railroader, following in the footsteps of his grandfather who served as a clerk on the New York Central and his father who was an Assistant Superintendent at Conrail. Prior to his railroad career, Brother Driscoll studied Business Finance and Accounting at Canisius College where he earned a BA in accounting.

Brother Bagby began his railroad carrier on April 15, 1993, as a maintenance of way trackman between Kansas City and St. Louis during the worst flooding in Missouri history. He transferred to engine service on May 11, 1994, with Zone 100 seniority as a trainman and became an FIT in June of 1994. Brother Bagby joined the BLET on October 1, 1994, and he became a locomotive engineer February 7, 1995, with seniority from Kansas City to Marysville, Kansas.

Brother Bagby began his service to the union in 2004 when he was elected Local Chairman for Division 81 in Kansas City, Kansas, where he served until 2012. He was elected in 2004 as UP-Central Region GCA Alternate Secretary/Treasurer. In 2008, he was elected to the position of 4th Vice General Chairman for UP-CR GCA and was elevated to 3rd Vice General Chairman in 2011 with the retirement of General Chairman Rightnowar. In 2012, Brother Bagby began serving in the position of Administrative Assistant at the request of General Chairman Rhodes which he continues to hold. In 2012, 2015 and in 2019 Brother Bagby was elected by acclamation to the position of First Vice General Chairman.

During his tenure in the BLET he was instrumental in negotiating the $11 million settlement between the UP-CR GCA and the Union Pacific Railroad for claims filed regarding guaranteed extra board regulation and drop turns violations. Brother Bagby also assisted in the settlement of claims for targeting of crews resulting in an additional $1.25 million for the members of the Central Region GCA.

Brother Bagby has been instrumental in other negotiations and settlements that have benefitted BLET members, including Vacation Agreement Settlement negotiations, a New Standing Bid Agreement, Rules Exam Arbitration, a new Field Vision Test agreement, and a Voluntary Rest-Reset agreement. Other key negotiations he was involved in include the 2004-2006 Alternative Forms of Compensation, 2008-2010 RSIA issues, 2010-2012 UP On-Property, 2009 BLET vs Union Pacific Railroad argued before the United States Supreme Court (docket 08-604) case which resulted in a 9-0 ruling in favor of the BLET.

Brother Bagby is a second-generation railroader and is proud of his strong union heritage. His Father, Larry, worked 39 years as an engineer on the MKT and Union Pacific Railroad and served as Local Chairman for BLET Division 556 (1st District) from 1976-1989. Some of his earliest memories are traveling with his father to GCA meetings in Denison, Texas and National Conventions in Cleveland, Ohio.