Rail Industry News

By Dennis R. Pierce, BLET National President How can we expect non-union working class Americans to support our movement if we do not first support it ourselves? We will only accomplish this when we lead by example and show all Americans that we are proud to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and that we are united as union members. I don’t just mean unity within BLET or IBT; I mean unity with all unions across all spectrums of the work force.

The National Labor College will conduct numerous hazardous materials training workshops for railroad workers at various regional locations throughout the United States during 2013.

The BLET Education & Training Department will conduct a Local Chairman Workshop from Sunday, March 17 through Saturday March 23, at the University of Illinois-Champaign.

In November, the BLET National Division announced that an improved vision care plan would begin in early 2013 for certain members. As a part of the new program, a no-cost Discount Plan is being offered to retirees. Information on the early retiree Discount Plan is now available here.

The BLET’s Education and Training Department is hosting two expanded Secretary-Treasurer Training Workshops in February and April of the New Year.

In a unanimous decision issued on December 19, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that the immunity from lawsuits conferred by the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution upon the 50 States does not extend to suits filed by injured railroad workers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) against the commuter railroad operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).

From the BLET Executive Committee Looking back, it’s hard to believe the members of your Executive Committee and Advisory Board were sworn less than two years ago, on January 1, 2011. The past 24 months have flown by and events have unfolded so quickly that it feels like just yesterday. The year 2011 went by in a blur, and 2012 was no different.

By Dennis R. Pierce, BLET National President In the days before writing this month’s message, anti-working class forces in Michigan showed America just how little they think of the working class of this great nation.

On December 13, BLET Vice President and National Legislative Representative John P. Tolman testified in support of Amtrak and rail labor at a hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee regarding high-speed rail and the future of the Northeast Corridor.

By a better than 3-to-1 majority, members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with Montana Rail Link (MRL) on November 20. The agreement covers approximately 400 members.