Rail Industry News
Home Depot offers freight rail a shipper wish list
(Source: Freight Waves, February 3, 2021) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Rail competition, connectivity, network speed and reliability are some of the big freight rail issues on the minds of shippers like Home Depot Inc., according to the company’s director for logistics. Full...
Union Pacific investigators look into fatality in Arizona
(Source: Freight Waves, February 3, 2021) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Union Pacific and federal investigators are looking into an incident in southeast Arizona on Sunday that claimed the life of an employee of the railroad. Full story: Freight Waves
Robert Primus designated Vice Chairman of STB
(Source: Surface Transportation Board press release, February 1, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Surface Transportation Board announced today that Board Member Robert Primus has been designated as the agency’s vice chairman. Mr. Primus was sworn in as a Board member on...
Ranking members named to House rail, transit subcommittees
(Source: Progressive Railroading, February 3, 2021) U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Mo.) on Monday announced the ranking members of the panel's railroad and transit subcommittees for the 117th Congress. Full...
Buttigieg says DOT will push bold thinking
(Source: Associated Press, February 3, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pete Buttigieg, sworn in Wednesday as transportation secretary, urged his 55,000 employees to embrace "imaginative, bold, forward thinking" as the Transportation Department embarks on a vital mission to...
Labor nominee Walsh aims to show broad appeal in Senate hearing
(Source: Bloomberg Law, February 4, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Marty Walsh’s unlikely journey to U.S. labor secretary nominee is grounded in unions and construction work, but his political rise intersected with a range of employment issues facing vulnerable workers hit...
Teamsters mourn the passing of AFL-CIO President Emeritus John Sweeney
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, February 3, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Teamsters today are remembering the legacy of longtime AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who fought for more than six decades to raise wages and benefits and to give...
AAR: Carload gain lies mainly in the grain
(Source: Railway Age, February 3, 2021) NEW YORK — In January, U.S. intermodal shipments and carloads of chemicals set new records, and grain was up 40%, its “biggest-ever” year-over-year increase, Association of American Railroads (AAR) Senior Vice President John T....
Train hits front end loader at NS yard in Bethlehem
(Source: WFMZ, February 2, 2021) BETHLEHEM, Pa. — One person was hurt after a train and front end loader collided Tuesday night in Bethlehem. Full story: www.wfmz.com
Norfolk Southern faces environmental violations in train derailment, coal spill in Roanoke County
(Source: Roanoke Times, February 2, 2021) ROANOKE, Va. — Environmental regulators have issued a notice of violation to Norfolk Southern for a train derailment last fall that spilled tons of coal into the Roanoke River. Full story: Roanoke Times
UP train derails in El Centro, 50 homes evacuated
(Source: Desert Review, February 2, 2021) EL CENTRO, Calif. — The El Centro Police and Fire Dispatch Center began receiving multiple 911 calls reporting a train that had derailed at the intersection of 8th Street and the railroad tracks Monday, February 1, at 10:56...
STB postpones Tennessee Pass exemptions, names Primus vice chair
(Source: Progressive Railroading, February 2, 2021) The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has postponed the effective dates of exemptions related to the Colorado, Midland & Pacific Railway Co.'s (CMPR) petition to lease and operate Union Pacific Railroad's Tennessee...
North American intermodal volumes climbed nearly 10% in Q4 2020
(Source: Freight Waves, February 3, 2021) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — North American intermodal volumes gained nearly 10% in the fourth quarter of 2020, setting the pace for the first quarter of 2021, according to the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA). Full...
Chicago transit agencies: CDC mask mandate will give our existing rules more teeth
(Source: Streetsblog Chicago, February 2, 2021) CHICAGO — Chicagoland transit agencies says a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control-issued nationwide mask mandate for public transportation will give them more authority to enforce their existing rules requiring face...
Amtrak is paying workers to get COVID-19 vaccine
(Source: EconoTimes, February 2, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak is the latest company in the U.S. to have been revealed to offer extra payments and benefits to its employees who will avail of the COVID-19 vaccine. It was said that the national passenger railroad...
Senate confirms Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary
(Source: CNN, February 2, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate voted to confirm Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary on Tuesday, making him the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary. Buttigieg's confirmation elevates the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor...
Amtrak looking into expansion in Cleveland with possible service to Columbus, Cincinnati
(Source: Advance Ohio Media, February 1, 2021) CLEVELAND, Ohio — Amtrak is developing what it's calling a "visionary plan" to expand rail service across the United States, including the possibility of a major expansion in Cleveland that could link the city to Columbus...
MTA set for “substantial” chunk of $305 billion in COVID relief, as Schumer vows to prioritize NYC transit
(Source: New York Daily News, February 1, 2021) NEW YORK — The next coronavirus stimulus package will include $30 billion in relief for public transit agencies — and the MTA is on track to get the biggest chunk of that, according to a source close to Senate Majority...
Winter storm forces service changes, suspensions on NJ Transit, Amtrak, SEPTA
(Source: Television station ABC 6, February 1, 2021) PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The winter storm is prompting some travel disruptions in the Philadelphia region on Monday and Tuesday. Full story: www.6abc.com
Canadian Pacific and TCRC-RCTC reach tentative three-year agreement
(Source: Canadian Pacific Railway press release, February 1, 2021) CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway Limited and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Rail Canada Traffic Controllers (TCRC-RCTC) are pleased to announce a tentative three-year agreement. "I want to...
BLET News
National Labor College to offer hazmat training at regional locations
The National Labor College will conduct numerous hazardous materials training workshops for railroad workers at various regional locations throughout the United States during 2013.
Education & Training Dept. announces March Local Chairman workshop
The BLET Education & Training Department will conduct a Local Chairman Workshop from Sunday, March 17 through Saturday March 23, at the University of Illinois-Champaign.
Update on new vision care plan and discount plan for retirees
In November, the BLET National Division announced that an improved vision care plan would begin in early 2013 for certain members. As a part of the new program, a no-cost Discount Plan is being offered to retirees. Information on the early retiree Discount Plan is now available here.
BLET to host two Secretary-Treasurer workshops in early 2013
The BLET’s Education and Training Department is hosting two expanded Secretary-Treasurer Training Workshops in February and April of the New Year.
SEPTA rail workers win big victory
In a unanimous decision issued on December 19, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that the immunity from lawsuits conferred by the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution upon the 50 States does not extend to suits filed by injured railroad workers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) against the commuter railroad operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).
A look back at 2012
From the BLET Executive Committee Looking back, it’s hard to believe the members of your Executive Committee and Advisory Board were sworn less than two years ago, on January 1, 2011. The past 24 months have flown by and events have unfolded so quickly that it feels like just yesterday. The year 2011 went by in a blur, and 2012 was no different.
The real face behind today’s “Right to Work” push
By Dennis R. Pierce, BLET National President In the days before writing this month’s message, anti-working class forces in Michigan showed America just how little they think of the working class of this great nation.
BLET VP John Tolman testifies at House hearing on Northeast Corridor high-speed rail
On December 13, BLET Vice President and National Legislative Representative John P. Tolman testified in support of Amtrak and rail labor at a hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee regarding high-speed rail and the future of the Northeast Corridor.
BLET members ratify new contract at Montana Rail Link
By a better than 3-to-1 majority, members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with Montana Rail Link (MRL) on November 20. The agreement covers approximately 400 members.
Former General Chairman Gene Thompson, 1937-2012
Former BLE General Chairman D. E. “Gene” Thompson passed away at his home surrounded by his family on December 7 after an extended illness.
