BLET News
Arbitrator sides with the union: BLET wins case where the BNSF tried to eliminate rest options for locomotive engineers
BILLINGS, Mont. — On Thursday, August 6, in an important decision for railroad workers, an arbitrator ruled in favor of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), blocking BNSF Railway from eliminating contractually-negotiated rest periods under the...
President Wallace on Senator Andy Kim: “He gets it when it comes to AI and automation”
BLET National President Mark Wallace and First Vice President Gary Best met with Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) as part of their series of high-level meetings on Capitol Hill. Wallace and Best went to Capitol Hill late last month to advocate on behalf of BLET members and the...
Expanded programming set for next month’s Eastern Regional Meeting
Registration is still available for the BLET’s Eastern Regional Meeting in Chicago in August. As with the Western Regional Meeting in New Orleans earlier this month, the Chicago regional meeting will offer expanded programming in addition to the slate of traditional...
President Wallace on Senator Bernie Moreno: “He’s our guy on introducing cross border legislation in the Senate”
BLET National President Mark Wallace and First Vice President Gary Best again met with Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) as part of their series of high-level meetings on Capitol Hill in July. They met with Senator Moreno back in January as well. Wallace and Best went to...
BLET to hold Secretary-Treasurer training class
The BLET Education and Training Department will conduct a comprehensive training class for Local Division Secretary-Treasurers. The class is also open to General Committee of Adjustment and State Legislative Board Secretary-Treasurers, as much of the material covered...
BLET reaches tentative agreement with Illinois Railway
Ballots were mailed last week to BLET members regarding a tentative five-year agreement with the Illinois Railway (IR). If ratified by the members, the tentative contract would provide full retroactive pay from March of 2025, a $1,000 signing bonus, and general wage...
President Wallace on Senator Jon Husted: “He revived the Railway Safety Act when it was dead”
BLET National President Mark Wallace and First Vice President Gary Best again met with Senator Jon Husted (R-OH) as part of their series of high-level meetings on Capitol Hill in late July. They met with Senator Husted back in January as well. Wallace and Best went to...
President Wallace on Senator Cory Booker: “He had our back when we needed him”
BLET National President Mark Wallace and First Vice President Gary Best met with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) as part of their series of high-level meetings on Capitol Hill. Wallace and Best went to Capitol Hill in late July to advocate on behalf of BLET members and...
Commonsense reform for Railroad Retirement finds common cause between Democrats and Republicans, labor and management
As we reported last week, the long wait BLET members and other railroaders must endure to receive earned retirement benefits may soon be over. On July 30, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) voted 22-0 to advance the bipartisan...
BLET National President Wallace and First Vice President Best meet with Senator Roger Marshall
In July, BLET National President Mark Wallace and First Vice President Gary Best met with Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) as part of a series of high-level meetings on Capitol Hill. President Wallace and First Vice President Best advocated on behalf of BLET members and...
Latest merger filing with the STB again shows that UP takeover of NS clearly is not in the public interest; U.S. Senators also voice concern
Here we go — again. This week, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern filed a third round of merger application materials with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in their attempt to merge the two Class I railroads. Back in May, the two railroads were ordered by STB to...
Unions in America: The case for tripling union membership
A new study from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) asks the question, “What would happen if union membership tripled in the United States?” According to the study’s findings, wages would grow in tandem with the economy, the middle class would thrive, and broad...
BLET’s Sixth National Convention: Tentative schedule released
Hotel registration is open for delegates attending the BLET’s Sixth National Convention, which will be held at the Horseshoe Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Convention will convene at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, and will adjourn on Thursday, October 15,...
Statement by BLET President Wallace on announcement by FRA of a new rule imposing strict limits on the use of foreign train crews operating along the U.S. border with Mexico
Background: On July 30, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) designed to raise standards on the Class I railroads’ use of foreign train crews operating trains...
Railroad Retirement Board: Pre-retirement seminars planned for September
The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has announced dates and locations for a limited number of in-person Pre-Retirement Seminars to be held in September 2026. Please register as soon as possible if you are interested in attending, as these seminars tend to fill...
Commonsense reform for Railroad Retirement finds common cause between Democrats and Republicans, labor and management
The long wait BLET members and other railroaders must endure to receive earned retirement benefits may soon be over. On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) passed a BLET and Teamsters-backed bipartisan bill, S. 4965, the...
BLET members asked to help in organizing new properties
Virtually all short line workers who have voted for BLET representation in recent years cited the same reasons for wanting to join the union: improved pay, better working conditions, and stronger protections from discipline that come from a BLET contract. Every BLET...
Stop the Rail Merger Coalition says three times is not the charm… UP and NS’s Third Attempt Fails to Fix Flawed Deal
More Paperwork Cannot Fix a Merger That Would Raise Costs, Cut Competition and Put America’s Supply Chain at Risk WASHINGTON, D.C. — Stop the Rail Merger Coalition responded to Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern’s (NS) submission of supplemental information filed...
BLET chalks up another organizing win as workers at Temple & Central Texas Railway say yes to union representation
Train & engine service employees at the Temple & Central Texas Railway (TC) voted unanimously to join the BLET in an election certified by the National Mediation Board (NMB) on July 22. It mark’s the union’s 17th short line organizing win since 2023. TC is a...
Rail Conference-led legislation to provide long-term funding for the Railroad Retirement Board has been introduced in the U.S. Senate
Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced the Railroad Retirement Board Stability Act, which would provide long-term funding for RRB’s day-to-day operations. The much-needed legislation comes after months of hard work and lobbying by the...
Daily Headlines
BLET joins coalition urging rejection of UP-NS merger, calling it “a bad deal for America”
The BLET last week joined farmers, railroads, and shippers in opposition to the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, calling it “a bad deal for America.” The groups, representing a broad cross-section of business, labor and consumers, have joined together to form...
Stop the Rail Merger Coalition launches to oppose Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger
A new coalition, launched today, unites a broad cross section of the U.S. economy in opposing the proposed merger of Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern rail lines. If allowed to move forward, the deal would create the largest consolidated railroad in U.S. history and give...
Teamsters Railroaders Oppose the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Merger. Here’s Why
The Teamsters Rail Conference continues to oppose the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. Read why in this joint statement from Rail Conference and BLET President Mark Wallace and BMWED President Tony Cardwell. Read the article here: blet.link/4w6yG6D
House bill would block Mexican rail crews from operating trains into U.S.
Mark Wallace, president of the Teamsters Rail Conference and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said the bill addresses “a critically important issue. … In repeated visits to the southern border, I heard one consistent message from BLET members: railroad jobs in America should be done by Americans.”
Teamsters Rail Conference emphasizes protection of positions in meetings with Wall Street investors regarding proposed UP-NS merger
On April 7, leaders of the Teamsters Rail Conference met in New York City with Wall Street analysts and investors who study the Class I railroad industry to discuss potential ramifications of the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger and the Teamsters Rail Conference’s opposition to the merger.
BLET Safety Task Force: Two major Union Pacific derailments under investigation
The BLET Safety Task Force has received Party Status from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to assist with investigations into two Union Pacific derailments that occurred recently: one that resulted in an ethanol leak in Richmond, Texas, on March 18; and...
BNSF reports Q4, full year 2025 results
For full-year 2025, BNSF reported total revenue of $23.4 billion, about the same as the previous year, and net income of $5.5 billion, up 9%.
Second PEB finds for unions in dispute with LIRR
A second Presidential Emergency Board has sided with a coalition of unions in their ongoing contract dispute with the Long Island Rail Road — but the LIRR rejected the board’s recommendation, setting the stage for a strike or lockout in May.
Members discuss UP-NS merger at 12th annual Kansas City Hub meeting
Front row, from left: Joe Ferris, LC Div. 152; Jeff Jones, LC Div. 609; Kevin Sexton, BLET VP; Chris Mullin, LC Div. 336; Mark Wallace, National President; Dave Estes, National S-T.; Gary Best, First VP; Joey Rice, LC Div. 81; Tim Morgan, Missouri SLB Chairman; and...
Notch 8: A message to the membership from BLET First Vice President Gary Best
Brothers and Sisters, When I addressed the members at our Eastern Regional in Daytona Beach last summer, I said that our Union had been in a siding for the last couple of years and had just received a signal to come out on the mainline when President Mark...
