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WHITE HOUSE:
BLET asks Trump administration to
intervene in ongoing cross border issue
with Mexico
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BLET leadership traveled to the southern U.S.
border in Texas last week. Be on the lookout
for more coverage in a future issue of the
Weekly Recap.
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In a June 2 letter, BLET National President
Mark Wallace asked U.S.
President Donald J. Trump to take “immediate
and decisive action” to help protect
national security and American rail jobs at
the Southern U.S. border with
Mexico.
President Wallace explained how the Union
Pacific and other Class I railroads are
moving to replace American locomotive
engineers with Mexican national train crews
to operate trains across the Southern
Border, particularly in Texas, and
potentially expanding into New Mexico and
Arizona. This is work previously performed
by U.S.-based train crews represented by
BLET.
“This issue goes beyond job displacement. It
raises serious national security concerns,”
President Wallace wrote. “Recently, a
Mexican national employed by Ferromex — the
very company Union Pacific intends to
partner with — was arrested by U.S. Customs
and Border Protection for smuggling migrants across the border by
train. American train crews serve as a vital
line of defense, providing an additional
layer of scrutiny as trains cross into our
territory.”
President Wallace had two specific requests
for President Trump:
1. Instruct the U.S. Department of
Transportation to prohibit the use of
Mexican train crews within the United
States, except those who are American
citizens or lawful permanent residents.
2. Direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection
to require that all trains entering from
Mexico stop at the border, where American
crews can assume operation and cease
negotiating these terms with the
railroads.
BLET’s outreach to the White House comes in
conjunction with a recently-launched
campaign to make members of Congress aware
of the situation. Under that campaign, more
than 6,000 messages have been sent to
members of the U.S. House and Senate. The
highest number of messages have been sent to
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas
Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.
All BLET members, regardless of where you
live or how far from a national border you
are, are being asked to visit
the Take Action area of the BLET National Division
website. Once there, the site will provide
guidance on how you and other BLET activists
can connect with the appropriate member of
Congress including and, with a few clicks,
send a message pushing back against these
job and safety giveaways.
Click here to take action.
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RRB, NMB, AMTRAK, and FRA:
Examining funding levels for key rail
programs under President Trump's
proposed 2026 federal budget
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This past Friday, May 30, President Trump
released his proposed budget for the 2026
federal Fiscal Year (FY) for every federal
agency, including key federal agencies
important to BLET such as the Railroad
Retirement Board (RRB), the National Mediation
Board (NMB), Amtrak, and the FRA Office of
Safety.
While President Trump proposed massive cuts in
funding for most federal agencies, in some
cases as much as 90%, he proposed to keep
funding levels the same for most key rail
programs and agencies. That is a huge win for
the agencies and programs that directly affect
BLET members and their families.
One of the main reasons for the fact that rail
programs were not cut in these budget proposal
is the lobbying effort that was furthered by
the Rail Conference, BLET, and the Teamsters.
“Over the last year and a half, when there
were proposed cuts to the Railroad Retirement
Board or Amtrak, we pushed back,” BLET
National President
Mark Wallace said. “Our
pushback has made Congress and the
Administration think twice about attacking the
programs and agencies BLET cares
about.”
This year, for the first time, the Rail
Conference and BLET helped lead an effort to
put together a bipartisan letter from Congress
in support of $170 million in administrative
funding for the Railroad Retirement Board,
which is the level the RRB is asking for this
year.
The Rail Conference and BLET also supported
appropriations letters in the House and Senate
in support of robust funding for Amtrak and
passenger rail funding.
As Congress works on finalizing federal
funding for this upcoming fiscal year over the
next few months, the BLET and Teamsters Rail
Conference will continue to advocate and
educate Congressional offices for the
necessary funding for key agencies and
programs like the Railroad Retirement Board,
Amtrak and other passenger/commuter rail
programs, the National Mediation Board, and
the FRA Office of Safety.
Amtrak photo: Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659
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AAR DE-REGULATORY PLAYBOOK, PART 3 IN A
SERIES:
Gaming the system to obscure accident
data
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Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT) solicited public
feedback on possible federal safety
regulations that could be repealed or modified to achieve “meaningful burden
reduction while continuing to meet statutory
obligations and ensure the safety of the
U.S. transportation system.” Unsurprisingly,
Class I railroads through the Association of
American Railroads (AAR) jumped at the
chance to put their profit-hungry agenda
ahead of the safety of its workers and the
general public by advocating to remove 80
time-tested safety rules from the
books.
In the first two parts of this series, we
examined how AAR efforts to overturn key
safety regulations would be detrimental to
safe train operations. This week, we highlight
how AAR is seeking to undermine key
administrative regulations in three main ways
in order to report fewer accidents and help
improve its public image.
First, AAR has asked the DOT to modify the
financial reporting threshold for train
accidents. Currently, accidents that cause
damages in excess of $12,400 must be reported
to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
AAR wants to increase that threshold. The
likely result would be that railroads would
report fewer accidents on the record, even
though the number of
accidents would remain the same or
even increase in the real world.
Second, AAR has asked DOT to change the way in
which accidents are reported to include more
externalities such as weather. This would
allow railroads to blame rain, wind, or cold
weather for causing accidents, rather than
equipment failures.
Third, AAR has requested to cease reporting
train length data to the FRA, including trains
involved in accidents. This would make it
harder to identify safety risks posed by long
trains.
In an era of Precision Scheduled Railroading,
trains are getting longer and longer while
brake inspections and other routine
maintenance have become more and more
infrequent. Allowing railroads to attribute
the cause of accidents to external factors
like weather would give them the ability to
hide the frequency of equipment failures like
worn brake shoes in today’s environment of
deferred maintenance. A 2024 scientific study examining excessive train length urged
FRA to collect more data to study the dangers
posed by long trains, but railroads clearly
want to go in the opposite direction by
ceasing to report train length data.
Overall, their goal is to obscure reality with
a false set of data that railroads would
likely use in self-serving ways, such as
publicly boasting of an “improved” safety
record in the media or during Congressional
testimony.
The BLET will continue to examine additional
AAR waiver requests in future issues of the
Weekly Recap. Read Part 1
here. Part 2 of the series is available
here.
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TEXAS:
Two BLET-backed bills reach
governor's desk
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At the Texas Capitol after passage of HB 1772,
from left: Bryce Dondero, TX SLB 1st Vice
Chairman; Kameron Sanders, SMART-TD; Rep.
Salman Bhojani (Dist. 92); Ben
Wright, TXSLB Chairman; and Scott Piekarski,
TXSLB Secretary-Treasurer.
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It was a successful legislative session for
members of the Texas State Legislative Board
(TXSLB) as two of the bills they backed
reached the governor’s desk to be signed into
law.
The first, Senate Bill 1555, reallocates $250
million in funding to the Texas Department of
Transportation specifically for the purpose of
grade crossing separation projects. The bill
came in response to the death of Sergio
Rodriguez, a 15-year-old high school student
who was struck by a Union Pacific train while
walking to school.
Ben Wright, Chairman of the
Texas State Legislative Board, testified in favor of the bill during a Senate
hearing in late March. Gov. Gregg
Abbott signed the bill into law in May.
The second, Senate Bill 2129, doubles the
traffic fines for individuals who fail to obey
a flagman at a railroad crossing. Members of
the TXSLB worked with Rep. Salman Bhojani
(Dist. 92) on the House side (HB 1772) and
Sen. Nathan Johnson on the Senate side (SB
2129) to secure passage of the bill. It
successfully passed through the legislature
and was sent to the governor’s desk on May 27,
where it awaits his signature.
Chairman Wright thanked the members of the
TXSLB executive committee for all the help
with a successful session. “It is worth noting
that this marks the first time since 2009 that
legislation we have supported has reached the
Governor's desk,” Wright said.
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ALABAMA:
Ballots mailed in tentative BLET,
Alabama State Docks agreement
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The tentative five-year deal provides
retroactive pay and general wage increases
through 2027. Ballots are due back to the
National Division by June 26.
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The BLET has reached a tentative agreement
with the Terminal Railway-Alabama State Docks
(TRASD). Ballots were mailed this week to
active members of BLET employed by TRASD who
are eligible to vote in the ratification of
this agreement. The tentative five-year deal
would provide retroactive pay dating back to
2023 as well as general wage increases (GWI)
through 2027.
The BLET’s CSXT-Western Lines General
Committee of Adjustment represents the TRASD
membership. The negotiating team consisted of
General Chairman
Keith Kerley, Division 140
Local Chairman
Dee Willingham, retired Vice
President Alan Holdcraft, and
current Vice President
Randy Fannon.
The Terminal Railway – Alabama State Docks
provides access to five Class I railroads and
operates on about 75 miles of track at the
Port of Mobile in Mobile, Ala. It is a
subsidiary of the Alabama State Port
Authority.
Note to TRASD members: Ballots are due by Thursday, June 26.
Members who are eligible and have not received
a ratification packet by Tuesday, June 17,
should call the National Division at (216)
241-2630, ext. 222. When connected with the
extension, please leave the following
information:
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Your name, address and phone number;
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The division to which you belong;
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The railroad you work for;
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Your date of birth;
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The last four digits of your Social
Security number; and
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Your email address.
All replacement ballots will be distributed by
email. Any member who requires a replacement
ballot must include their email address in the
voicemail; otherwise, they will not be able to
participate in the ratification vote.
Photo: Alabama Port Authority
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CANADA:
Arbitrator in TCRC, CPKC contract
dispute awards 3% raises
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A Canadian arbitrator appointed to resolve the
contract dispute between members of Teamsters
Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) and CPKC
rendered his decision on May 30. The imposed
contract provides 3% general wage increases annually for
2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027.
In August 2024, CPKC locked out employees
represented by TCRC, which led to the Canada
Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) implementing
a back-to-work order and imposing binding
arbitration to settle the contract. At the
time, TCRC President Paul Boucher strongly
condemned the action, saying: “This decision
by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent. It
signals to corporate Canada that large
companies need only stop their operations for
a few hours, inflict short-term economic pain,
and the federal government will step in to
break a union.”
A press release on the TCRC website reads in part: “As you know,
despite our best efforts at the bargaining
table, the TCRC and CPKC were ultimately
unable to reach a renewed Collective Agreement
through bargaining and mediation. The
railway’s collusion and government overreach
made that impossible and forced us into a
dictated Collective Agreement. For
clarity, this process was not one the TCRC
sought when entering negotiations. Our
preference has always been to reach a freely
negotiated settlement at the bargaining
table.”
The TCRC-T&E represents 3,200 locomotive
engineers, conductors, train and yard
workers across Canada; the
TCRC-RCTC represents 80 traffic
controllers in Canada.
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OUR HISTORY:
Remembering contributions of railroad
workers on the 81st anniversary of
D-Day
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Troops of Company A, 16th
Infantry, 1st Infantry Division (the
Big Red One) wading onto the Fox Green
section of Omaha Beach on the morning of
June 6, 1944.
Photo: Chief Photographer’s Mate Robert F.
Sargent via Wikipedia
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June 6, 2025 marks the 81st anniversary of the
Allied landings on Normandy beach in northern
France during World War II. It marked the
beginning of the end of World War II. In honor
of that historic event, we publish the
following excerpt from the June 1944 issue of
the Locomotive Engineers Journal, which highlights the contributions of
locomotive engineers and other railroad
workers to the American war effort:
“With the Allied armies poised for the
invasion of Hitler’s European fortress…
American workers can well be proud of their
magnificent contribution to the enormous
military machine which shall eventually save
the world from the yoke of Nazism.
“This world conflict has brought home to us
the necessity of huge production and
widespread transportation facilities for
hauling great traffic as offered only by the
railroads. Railroad workers have assumed this
huge task and set new records undreamed of a
decade ago.
“Men in the engine cabs of the railroads of
this continent know full well the tremendous
amount of effort required to produce the
enormous masses of munitions and war material
that is being constantly stock-piled abroad
for convenient use by the military in the ‘Big
Push.’ For months on end, locomotive engineers
and other railroaders have sweated and toiled
to maintain continually increasing
traffic.
“Though he may wear denim overalls and a cap
instead of the trim military uniform, the
highly skilled locomotive engineer is making
his contribution to the invasion of Hitler’s
fortress.”
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