BLET News

The BLET Education & Training Department, in conjunction with the National Legislative Office, will conduct a training class for BLET Division Legislative Representatives in Washington, D.C., from July 10-12, 2018.

BLET Vice President and National Legislative Representative John P. Tolman urged Congress, the railroads, and governmental regulators to ensure that Positive Train Control (PTC) is fully implemented by the current deadline of December 31, 2018. During his testimony, Vice President Tolman also discussed the problem of electronic device distraction (Trip Optimizer and LEADER); the government and industry’s failure to address rail worker fatigue; the danger of excessive train lengths; and the need for two person train crews.

William P. Lyons was elected unanimously by the BLET Advisory Board to serve as a National Division Trustee effective February 1, 2018. He replaces outgoing Trustee Matt O. Wilson, who has retired.

On February 15, Vice President and National Legislative Representative John P. Tolman will testify on behalf of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and its 57,000 members before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials at a hearing titled “Oversight of Positive Train Control Implementation in the United States.”

The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has announced a schedule of dates for the agency’s spring 2018 informational conferences and pre-retirement seminars.

By Dennis R. Pierce, BLET National President In the wake of recent dramatic and highly visible railroad accidents in the United States and Canada, there has been a trend to criminalize railroad workers and prosecute them as the sole cause of these tragedies. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen stands opposed to such actions.

The office of Willard J. Moody, Esq. has extended an offer of service to BLET members who may have been unjustly fired for alleged Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) violations.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has reached a Tentative Agreement with the Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad (M&NA) governing rates of pay, benefits and work rules for nearly 80 operating employees.

BLET member Michael Kempf, a member of BLET Division 35 in Jacksonville, Fla., was killed when his Amtrak train collided with a CSX train tied down in a siding near Columbia, S.C., on February 4, 2018. Brother Kempf was 54 years old. Also killed in the crash was 36-year-old conductor Michael Cella.

On January 30, 2018, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) introduced S. 2360, a bill that would mandate a minimum crew size for freight trains in the United States.

The BLET is pleased to announce that Cornerstone Benefits Management and their affiliates have been selected as the Third Party Administrator for the BLET Short-Term Disability (Part A and B) Benefit with MetLife, which was created pursuant to Article IV, Part A, Section 5 of the December 16, 2003 National Agreement.

The following is a statement from Dennis R. Pierce, National President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and President of the Teamsters Rail Conference. Although it remains a travesty that criminal charges were ever filed, justice was served in the unanimous not guilty verdict issued by jurors in the Lac-Megantic trial in Sherbrooke, Quebec, on January 19, 2018.

Each year, the BLET National Division compiles a list of scholarship opportunities available to the children of BLET members. Numerous financial aid opportunities are published here in the 2018 BLET Scholarship Directory.

Due to overwhelming membership interest, Aflac has granted an extension to the Open Enrollment period for the new BLET National Aflac Critical Illness and Accident benefits — first announced on September 6, 2017. All active members are now eligible for the new benefits and can enroll through midnight on January 15, 2018.

The James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund is now accepting applications for 2018. The deadline to apply is March 31, 2018.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the BLET’s National Division Advisory Board approved an expansion of its Gary Perrien Fund to provide financial assistance to members living in Texas and Louisiana who had suffered losses from the storm. Thanks to the generosity of BLET members and officers, the Perrien Fund raised more than $91,000, which was distributed to impacted members in the days before Christmas.

Three international rail worker Organizations have sent letters of solidarity, support and sympathy to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) National Division, its members and the victims of the fatal December 18 Amtrak derailment near Tacoma, Wash.