BLET locomotive engineers and conductors launched and won a nine-hour strike at the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway (W&LE) earlier this week. The BLET’s 140 engineers and conductors shut down the W&LE after the railroad insisted on using managers to work as conductors, even though BLET crews were rested and available for work. This was a clear violation of the union’s contract and violated a 2013 order from the federal courts, specifically related to this issue at this railroad.
“It’s important for someone to stand up for the little guys and make sure their voices are heard,” said Owen Perry as he walked the picket line in Brewster, Ohio. “We have our rights, and they’re being protected.” Perry is a W&LE engineer who serves BLET as President of Division 292 in Beach City, Ohio.
Picket lines were set up at key locations in Ohio and Pennsylvania beginning at noon on November 11. W&LE, one of the largest regional railroads in the nation, operates trains on 840 miles of track from Hagerstown, Maryland, across West Virginia and Pennsylvania, servicing Pittsburgh and cities in Northeast Ohio, terminating in Toledo.
BLET General Chairman Scott Bunten said the decision to strike was not made lightly. But with legal precedent on its side, BLET was able to put a strike plan into effect quickly. “Management ran those trains Sunday, and we were on strike at noon on Wednesday,” said Bunten, whose Norfolk Southern-Eastern Lines General Committee of Adjustment represents the W&LE members. “We had strike captains in each location that we picketed, and all were on location at 12 noon. They got on radios, told everybody to shut it down. Everybody secured their equipment, secured their engines, put off, and joined the picket lines. The response from our members was awesome.”
Various media outlets published articles about the strike, including Trains Magazine and the Canton Repository. The ABC television affiliate in Cleveland, WEWS, reported from the picket lines and interviewed Ohio State Legislative Board Chairman John Esterly, who explained how BLET went on strike at W&LE over the same issue in 2013. Watch the video here.
In launching the strike, President Mark Wallace said the W&LE members had the full support of the National Division and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. President Wallace, First Vice President Gary Best, and several employees of the BLET National Division walked the picket lines in Akron, Canton, Brewster, and Norwalk, Ohio.
The brief but successful strike ended around 9:00 p.m. Wednesday after management capitulated to BLET’s demands. The railroad agreed in writing to abide by the contract, stop using managers to perform the work of union engineers and conductors, financially compensate the crewmembers who were replaced by carrier officials, and not pursue discipline against BLET members who participated in the strike. A PDF of the settlement letter is available here.
“We’re pleased that the railroad’s management has agreed to honor the contract, comply with the federal court order and return to best safety practices,” President Wallace said. “Conductors play a critical role in a two person crew and in keeping trains safe. Both crafts represented by the BLET, engineers and conductors, stood together to protect the work of the conductor. That is how we preserve the two-person crew requirement and help keep our communities safe by standing together, united as one.”
Click here for a photo gallery and videos from the strike and members speaking out from the picket lines.