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 top legislative and political priorities of the BLET and Teamsters Rail Conference.
During the meeting, President Wallace and First Vice President Best discussed with Senator Kim the negative effects of AI on rail workers. They thanked Senator Kim for his recent line of questioning at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing about Automated Track Inspection (ATI) and how ATI cannot replace skilled human track inspectors doing visual track inspections. “He gets it when it comes to AI and automation,” President Wallace said. They also discussed BLET’s concerns about the safety and deskilling issues associated with software systems like Trip Optimizer and Zero-to-Zero and the dangers of UP’s waiver request to operate their Integrated Train Operations (ITO) system on main line railroad tracks through communities in states like New Jersey.
They thanked Senator Kim for signing onto a recent letter to the Surface Transportation Board asking the STB to examine the effect of the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger on rail workers and take steps to address some key issues that UP refused to commit to when President Wallace met with UP CEO Jim Vena in the summer of 2025 about the merger.
Wallace also thanked Senator Kim for standing by BLET and its members during the union’s strike at New Jersey Transit in 2025. “Senator Kim’s staunch support helped the BLET and our New Jersey Transit membership achieve a successful outcome,” President Wallace said.