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 Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of BLET members and the top legislative and political priorities of the BLET and Teamsters Rail Conference.
Wallace personally thanked Senator Husted for leading the revival of the Railway Safety Act in the Senate.
“The Railway Safety Act was dead until I met with Vice President J.D. Vance in the Summer of 2025,” President Wallace said. “Vice President Vance reignited the efforts to get the RSA passed since it was his legislation when he was a Senator from Ohio. Senator Husted deserves a tremendous amount of credit for working with Vice President Vance to get the legislation reintroduced in the Senate earlier this year with strong bipartisan support. Our members in Ohio and elsewhere know that Vice President Vance and Senator Husted are the primary reasons the RSA was reintroduced in the Senate. We will continue working with Senator Husted on this opportunity to pass the RSA in the Senate and have it become law.”
During the meeting, President Wallace and First Vice President Best discussed with Senator Husted the strategy for passing the RSA through Congress and how BLET and the Teamsters Rail Conference can work with the Senator to do so.
They also discussed the proposed UP-NS merger and the negative effects it would have in Ohio and elsewhere on workers, businesses, and the American taxpayer.