The BLET exists to promote and protect the rights, interests, and safety of its members through solidarity, aggressive representation, and education.

BLET WEEKLY
NEWS RECAP

April 4, 2025
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NEVADA:
BLET State Legislative Board Chairmen wrap up 50th annual meeting
Members and guests attending the 2025 annual meeting of the BLET's National Association of State Legislative Board Chairmen.

Members of the BLET’s National Association of State Legislative Board Chairmen (NASLBC), meeting in Las Vegas, concluded their 50th annual meeting late yesterday. The NASLBC has met each year since 1975 to hear from each State Chairman about railroad-related safety and health issues as well as each state’s political climate.

The following Brothers were elected to lead the NASLBC over the next three years: Chairman Shane Hubbard (Indiana State Legislative Board Chairman); First Vice Chairman John Esterly (Ohio SLBC); Second Vice Chairman B.J. Trumble (Michigan SLBC); and Secretary-Treasurer Joel Mueller (Minnesota SLBC). 
 
The NASLBC is comprised of 40 State Legislative Boards across the United States and represents thousands of hard-working members of the BLET.

UNION PACIFIC:
BLET UP-Southern Region GCA conducts training for new Local Chairmen

The BLET Union Pacific-Southern Region General Committee of Adjustment (GCA) held a training session on March 25-26 in Burleson, Texas, for recently elected or newly appointed Local Chairmen. The session was specifically designed for those taking office for the first time, either through the recent Triennial Election cycle or by elevation between election cycles.

“The Southern Region GCA has made it a tradition to offer this vital training following several recent election cycles,” UP-SR GCA General Chairman Scott Alexander said. “This session reaffirms the Southern Region GCA’s commitment to provide tools and skills for the effective representation of our members.”

The training aimed to prepare Local Chairmen for the responsibilities of their new roles, covering a wide range of topics. These included their duties under the BLET Bylaws, the Duty of Fair Representation, elements of successful time claims, and how to prepare for and participate effectively in disciplinary hearings. Additional discussions focused on matters unique to the UP Southern Region GCA.

The new Local Chairmen participating in the training session were: Andre Hill, Division 910 (Beaumont, TX); Corey Rivet, Division 193 (New Orleans, LA); Jerry Beaty, Division 834 (Longview, TX); Jesse Conger, Division 242 (Ennis, TX); Joe Gatewood, Division 944 (Dallas, TX); Marquis Hamilton, Division 219 (Shreveport, LA); Scott Piekarski, Division 620 (Ft. Worth, TX); and Wayne Nuernberg, Division 197 (San Antonio, TX).

The training session was organized and facilitated by the GCA Executive Committee, which consists of General Chairman Scott Alexander, 1st Vice Chairman John Prokop, 2nd Vice Chairman Tyler Gray, 3rd Vice Chairman Kevin DeArment, 4th Vice Chairman Randy Willis, and Secretary-Treasurer Jason Ogden.

BLET National Vice President Gary Best was in attendance and participated in the training class, offering guidance and valuable insight to the attendees. Vice President Best said: “I was extremely impressed with the level of training General Chairman Alexander and his Vice General Chairmen provided to their general committee’s new local chairmen last week. Their efforts will no doubt give the new LCs a head start on how to properly represent BLET members in each of their respective jurisdictions.”
WISCONSIN:
BLET and Teamster-backed judge Susan Crawford wins election
Susan Crawford, center, speaking at an election night event.
On April 1, pro-union candidate Susan Crawford won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, securing a 3-2 pro-worker majority. A proven labor advocate, Crawford is committed to protecting collective bargaining rights and working class Americans.
 
BLET and Teamster members throughout Wisconsin played a key role in her election victory. Representatives of the BLET Wisconsin State Legislative Board joined fellow Teamsters in canvassing on behalf of the judge in Rice Lake, La Crosse, Sheboygan, Green Bay, Stevens Point, Wausau, Lake Delton, Madison and Middleton, among other locations. BLET and Teamster members also visited worksites, knocked on doors, and ran phone banks in the final push before Election Day.
 
A state race with nationwide significance, the election was the most expensive court race on record in the U.S. according to the Associated Press, with spending exceeding $100 million. Billionaire Elon Musk personally spent more than $21 million in an attempt to swing the election to the opposing candidate.

AP Photo/Kayla Wolf
ARIZONA:
Excessive train length a factor in recent train heists, President Hall says in television interview
BLET National President Eddie Hall explained that train thieves typically cut the air hoses of freight trains to initiate emergency stops.
In a recent television interview, BLET National President Eddie Hall said excessive train length is a factor in the ongoing problem of train robberies in the American southwest.
 
In an interview with television station Fox 10 News in Phoenix, President Hall said that excessively long trains are easy targets. Seemingly with a working knowledge of freight train air brake systems, thieves typically cut air hoses to initiate emergency stops in specific areas. They then break into shipping containers and disappear with their stolen cargo long before train crews have time to respond. Hall said it often takes 40 minutes or longer for a conductor to walk the length of the train to find damaged air hoses.
 
Also interviewed was Steven Thomas, a BNSF railroader. He said it is “very unsettling” for train crews to be stopped in remote locations when their trains are potentially under attack by vandals. “You start walking back and you start thinking, what if we are being robbed? They have no regard for you, so you could very well not go home that night.”
 
You can watch the full video at the Fox 10 Phoenix website.

Fox 10 Phoenix image
TEXAS:
BLET delivers expert testimony on grade crossing separation bill
BLET Texas SLB Chairman Ben Wright prepares to deliver testimony in favor of Texas Senate Bill 1555.
The BLET is working with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Texas to make railroad grade crossings safer following the death of a Houston high school student, Sergio Ivan Rodriguez, 15, who was struck and killed by a Union Pacific locomotive while walking to school in December.
 
Senate Bill 1555 would allocate $350 million for the construction of grade separation projects throughout the state to help prevent similar tragedies. A pedestrian bridge named in honor of Rodriguez would be built near his high school at the crossing where he was killed.
 
Ben Wright, Chairman of the BLET Texas State Legislative Board, called upon his 20+ years of experience as a locomotive engineer when he testified in favor of the bill in late March. “Passing Senate Bill 1555 could prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future,” Wright testified. “While we cannot eliminate all railroad grade crossings, Senate Bill 1555 is a critical step toward making both the general population and the railroad safer.”
 
Senate Bill 1555 was passed unanimously by a vote of 31-0. It’ll now move to the House for consideration.
 
A video of Brother Wright’s testimony is available here.

The Senate of Texas image
REMINDER:
Deadline to apply for Teamsters Scholarship Fund is May 1
BLET members are reminded that the Teamsters Scholarship Fund (TSF) will award 600 one-time $2,000 awards for the upcoming school year. To apply, please visit the TSF website (aim.applyists.net/TSF) and create an account. The deadline is May 1. For more information, please read this list of Frequently Asked Questions. Additional scholarship opportunities for BLET families can be found in the BLET’s 2025 Scholarship Directory.
CHICAGO:
BLET members ratify quality of life agreement with Belt Railway of Chicago
For the first time, BLET members will have paid sick days and access to the company’s 401k program under the new quality of life agreement.
BLET members ratified a new quality of life agreement with the Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) in late March.
 
There are two significant gains under provisions of the new agreement. First, members will earn up to four paid sick days per year. Second, BLET members gain initial access to the company’s 401k program. Engineers also will have the ability to convert five personal leave days in place of President’s Day, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve.
 
The BLET’s BRC locomotive engineers belong to Division 16, the union’s division for short line railroads.

Photo by Benjamin Dziechciowski
GOODBYE RAILROAD, HELLO RETIREMENT:
Metra and Union Pacific honor BLET’s Doug Davidson
Then and now: Davidson in the cab of a C&NW locomotive in the late 1980s (left) and Metra's C&NW heritage locomotive on March 31, 2025 (right). 
Both Metra and Union Pacific gave the BLET’s Director of Arbitration Doug Davidson a nice send off on March 31, his last day on the job after a 50+ year railroad career.
 
Metra arranged for a photo shoot using Metra F59 Chicago & North Western Heritage unit No. 90 as a backdrop. Davidson hired out on the C&NW in 1976. Union Pacific issued a track bulletin to all trains in the Chicago area on March 31 announcing Davidson’s retirement and thanking him for his years of service. It read in part, “May you have the right of way from this the last starting terminal to your destination and find enroute nothing but good health and success.”
 
The BLET again thanks Brother Davidson for his years of service to the Brotherhood and its members.

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen
7061 East Pleasant Valley Road, Independence, Ohio 44131

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