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BLET WEEKLY NEWS RECAP June 15, 2023
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I-95 Collapse: SEPTA should change its name to “INEPT-A”
The collapse of a portion of I-95 in Philadelphia has both resulted in a surge in traffic on SEPTA, the regional rail commuter line, and exposed serious problems related to staffing and service at the transit agency. BLET has been warning for months that SEPTA is short-staffed, offers commuters sub-standard service on regional rail, and is woefully unprepared for any increase in customer demand.
“The collapse of I-95 and the need for more train service has now strained the system beyond the breaking point. It’s not just the highway that’s collapsed, we’re seeing the collapse of SEPTA’s regional rail,” said Don Hill, a member of BLET Division 71 who is a SEPTA locomotive engineer and serves as the General Chairman of the BLET’s SEPTA GCA.
 In order to add trains to the Trenton Line for morning and afternoon runs for commuters seeking alternatives to I-95, SEPTA had to completely cancel trains on the Cynwyd branch. The rail service has no extra capacity. In a story yesterday, the public radio-affiliated newsletter Billy Penn reports that across the system staff shortages are evident on a daily basis.
Prior to the I-95 collapse, SEPTA was only operating regional rail at 60 percent of its 2019 service level, with even lower levels of service nights and weekends.
It’s likely to get worse. SEPTA should have 230 locomotive engineers in order to properly maintain its schedule. At the start of the pandemic the agency employed 205 engineers, today the number is 167 and seven of those members have given notice that they’re leaving the agency.
An article last month in the Philadelphia Inquirer revealed a major reason why SEPTA’s managers aren’t in any rush to properly serve the needs of rail passengers. Who needs engineers to operate trains when managers assigned to SEPTA Regional Rail can self-deal holiday and weekend work and pocket extra money for themselves by operating trains? Regional rail managers make as much as $4,000 extra per month by “filling-in” for runs. This extra income provides an incentive for managers to limit the number of engineers available and one of the reasons why contract negotiations have been going on since 2020. Last month, BLET members protested the shady self-dealing practice outside a SEPTA budget meeting. Video from that protest can be viewed here.
“SEPTA sees the I-95 collapse as an opportunity to bring back commuters and attract new riders. This change in travel patterns may become a missed opportunity unless they make some swift reforms and finalize an agreement with BLET. Right now, when it comes to regional rail, SEPTA should change its name to INEPT-A,” said Hill. “Due to self-dealing, short-staffing, stalled negotiations and a disregard for the needs of passengers, SEPTA is not providing the service the public expects.” |
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FRA: Federal agency to launch safety assessment of each major railroad – BLET National President says it should take a “hard look” at remote control trains
 The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Administrator Amit Bose has announced that the agency will conduct safety assessments on each major railroad over the next year and the FRA plans to release “an overarching final report assessing issues, trends, and commonalities across all railroads reviewed.” Each major railroad will be asked to “develop corrective actions in response to FRA’s recommendations, and FRA will track those to completion.”
Bose is one of the speakers scheduled to address BLET’s regional meeting in Milwaukee at the end of the month.
“Among other topics, I want the FRA take a hard look at the use or rather the misuse of remote trains,” said BLET National President Eddie Hall. “RCL’s should not be used outside the confined area of a rail yard. Trains outside of a yard should be guided by a licensed locomotive engineer. End of story.” In April, President Hall penned a guest editorial for The Houston Chronicle on why the public should not trust remote trains. The guest editorial can be read here.
The FRA was asked by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to conduct a safety study of all railroads similar to one announced earlier this year that focused solely on Norfolk Southern. In a news release, Schumer's office said the actions of the past few months “make it clear that the freight rail industry has perpetuated a culture of cost-cutting and shortcuts that has led to horrific damages in communities, injured workers, and even death.” |
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Capitol Hill: BLET Legislative Representatives lobby for federal rail safety legislation
 Two dozen BLET Legislative Representatives met with 70 members of Congress on June 8. The BLET representatives were in Washington to advocate for passage of the Railway Safety Act of 2023, which, among other items, would limit train length and require two-person operating crews. BLET’s advocates also asked legislators to co-sponsor the REEF Act, H.R. 2785 and S. 1274, which would end cuts to Railroad Retirement benefits that kicked in in May.
 “It was great to have Division Legislative Representatives meet with legislators and directly ask them for help on safety and quality of life issues that will help our members,” said Vince Verna, BLET Vice President and National Legislative Representative.
Prior to their meetings on Capitol Hill, the BLET Education and Training Department and the BLET National Legislative Office held a three-day training session to better prepare Legislative Representatives for their work in state capitols as well as with Congress. |
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In Ohio: Bipartisan support for rail safety
A bipartisan group of political allies from Ohio’s State Senate and House of Representatives were the featured speakers at a special meeting for Cleveland-area BLET members at National Division headquarters on June 12.
 Sponsored by the BLET’s Ohio State Legislative Board, the meeting brought together several active and retired members of BLET Division 3 and Division 607 in Cleveland, along with state political leaders who supported Ohio’s recently-signed two-person crew bill. On March 31, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Ohio House Bill 23 into law, which includes numerous safety improvements in response to Norfolk Southern’s February 3 derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine. The law includes a mandate for two-person crews and requires wayside defect detectors to be installed every 10-15 miles along mainline tracks in the state, among other safety items.
BLET Ohio State Legislative Board Chairman John Esterly said: “Ohio is the first and only state with requirements for wayside detectors, and we need to see this spread to other states throughout America. I thank our friends and allies in the Ohio Statehouse who supported this legislation, especially those who attended our meeting in Cleveland on June 12.”
 Those friends and allies were: Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-14); Rep. Tom Patton (R-7); Rep. Sean P. Brennan (D-4); Rep. Steve Demetriou (R-35); Rep. Joseph A. Miller III (D-53); Sen. Nickie Antonio (D-23); and Sen. Kent Smith (D-21). They spoke about why they supported the rail safety measure, and engaged in lengthy question and answer sessions with the BLET members in attendance regarding ways to further improve railroad safety throughout the state.
Watch some video highlights of the meeting here. |
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Picture this: Photo in the Wall Street Journal shows BLET meeting where members are seen discussing paid sick leave and quality-of-life improvements
An article this week in the Wall Street Journal titled “Railroads Offer Paid Sick Leave, Better Work Conditions After Yearslong Efficiency Push” is accompanied by a photo of James Logan, BLET General Chairman of the Union Pacific-Southern Region General Committee of Adjustment addressing members at a meeting in Ft. Worth.
While the article is a roundup of gains by railroaders across the nation at Class I railroads, the photos show BLET members discussing recent agreements on scheduling and sick leave reached with Union Pacific. Also, appearing in the article is BLET member Cliff Horton who was photographed inside a cab of a locomotive. Horton told the Wall Street Journal that he favored the new scheduling policy. “It’s a huge step in the right direction… We will be able to schedule events. When you tell somebody you’re going to be somewhere and you cancel on them, they just kind of give up on you.”
Check out the Wall Street Journal photos here: |
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| “It’s a huge step in the right direction… We will be able to schedule events. When you tell somebody you’re going to be somewhere and you cancel on them, they just kind of give up on you.” – Cliff Horton, BLET Division 212 |
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New at Canadian Pacific: Mugavero elected General Chairman of CP Rail-U.S. GCA
 Brother Nick T. Mugavero Jr. was elected General Chairman of the CP Rail-U.S. General Committee of Adjustment at the GCA’s quadrennial meeting in Las Vegas, June 5-6, 2023.
A member of BLET Division 790 in Chicago, Brother Mugavero joined the BLET on March 1, 1999, as a CP Rail locomotive engineer. This is Mugavero’s first full term of office. He began serving as General Chairman on January 1, 2023, when his predecessor Peter M. Semenek was elected as a BLET National Vice President. Immediately prior to that, Mugavero was serving the GCA as 1st Vice Chairman.
Also elected during the meeting were: 1st Vice Chairman Wes J. Sprague, Division 357 (Minneapolis, Minn.); 2nd Vice Chairman Kyle E. Donze, Division 294 (Bensenville, Ill.); 3rd Vice Chairman Jeremy C. Thorson, Division 160 (Harvey, N.D.); Secretary-Treasurer Paul M. Dinauer, Division 790 (Chicago); and Alternate Secretary-Treasurer J. Scott Woodcock, Division 754 (Elkhart, Ind.). Appointed to serve as Trustees were: Sam A. Lemm, Division 266 (Savanna, Ill.); Dave Fuentes, Division 790 (Chicago); and Paul P. Ripplinger, Division 671 (Enderlin, N.D.).
The CP Rail-U.S./Metra Northern District/Indiana Southern/Dakota Minnesota & Eastern General Committee of Adjustment is comprised of more than 1,200 active and retired members from 15 different BLET local Divisions. The GCA represents locomotive engineers on the Canadian Pacific-U.S. (former Soo Line) and Metra; locomotive engineers, conductors and trainees on the Indiana Southern Railroad; and locomotive engineers and train service employees on the former Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad. |
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You don’t have to be in the room: BLET Secretary-Treasurers complete training on Zoom
 On June 12-13, 2023, 40 BLET Secretary-Treasurers completed a Zoom-based training workshop conducted by the BLET Education and Training Department. Pictures here show the June 13 Zoom session from the instructors’ point of view. Instructors included: David Estes, BLET National Secretary-Treasurer and Department Head of Education and Training; Megan Mead, Director of the Record and Compliance Department; Walt Schmidt, Director of Online Services; Luke Myers, Director of Bylaws Administration (present not pictured); and Mike Collier, Director of the BLET Accounting Department (present but not pictured). The BLET will also conduct an in-person Secretary-Treasurer training workshop at the National Division in September 2023. Information for this workshop will be announced as soon as details become available. |
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Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen · 7061 East Pleasant Valley Road · Independence, OH 44131 · USA
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