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BLET EASTERN REGIONAL MEETING:
Highlight video features key speakers, major themes |
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The BLET National Division has prepared a video featuring highlights from several speakers at the union’s Eastern Regional Meeting last week in Washington D.C.
The 8-minute video features the meeting’s opening ceremony and includes messages from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); BLET National President Eddie Hall; Surface Transportation Board Chairman Robert Primus; Association of Flight Attendants International President Sara Nelson; U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.); FRA Administrator Amit Bose; Railroad Retirement Board Labor Member John Bragg; and Teamsters Rail Conference Director Mike Smith.
The fiery speech by AFA President Nelson was a favorite with the audience. Go here to watch highlights of Nelson’s address.
Since last week, Senator Sanders has published two videos on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) highlighting some of his remarks to the BLET audience regarding PSR and wealth inequality in America. A video of his full remarks is available here.
Senator Sanders also discussed rail workers’ ongoing struggle to secure paid sick leave. The fight continues for BLET members at three Class I railroads: CSX, CPKC, and Canadian National, which have refused to provide this basic necessity.
Major themes throughout the speeches included PSR, rail safety, the upcoming round of national negotiations, quality of life agreements, and the carriers’ refusal to join the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) in spite of promises to do so (PDF).
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NJ TRANSIT:
BLET makes a strong case at hearing before PEB 251 |
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The BLET made a strong case on behalf of its members as PEB 251 held formal hearings earlier this week in the contract dispute between BLET and New Jersey Transit.
NJT’s locomotive engineers have been seeking a new labor agreement since October 2019. NJT’s engineers are the lowest paid engineers working in commuter service in the nation. The Board’s three members (Chair Elizabeth C. Wesman and Members Barbara C. Deinhardt and Lisa Salkovitz Kohn) now have until August 23 to analyze their findings and submit their recommendations for settlement of the dispute to the President of the United States.
Unlike most workers in the private sector who fall under the National Labor Relations Act or most government workers who are governed under state public employee relations laws, a federal law specific to railroads and airlines covers collective bargaining between rail labor and management — the Railway Labor Act of 1926 (RLA). This is true even for locomotive engineers who work for a state agency, in this case NJ Transit. Under the RLA, if there is no settlement between the parties based on PEB 251’s recommendations to President Biden, then the next step under the law is a public hearing hosted by the National Mediation Board to be held on or before Friday, September 20.
The RLA spells out the process of bargaining that eventually leads to each new contract. Negotiations can take months or years because of the many steps (some of which have time limits while others do not) available to both parties. As complicated as the RLA is, it has added steps for those who work for commuter railroads, compared to freight rail.
This flowchart (PDF) illustrates how rail labor and commuter/passenger rail management reach an agreement on rates of pay and work rules. The NMB provided this timeline (PDF) for settlement of the BLET/NJT dispute. |
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BLET SAFETY TASK FORCE:
Three major derailments in July are under investigation |
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July was a busy month for the BLET’s Safety Task Force (STF).
The BLET has received party status from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to assist with investigations into three serious incidents: a BNSF hazmat derailment and fire in Carrington, N.D.; a Union Pacific employee fatality in Melrose Park, Ill.; and a Norfolk Southern employee amputation/serious injury in Norfolk, Va.
“The BLET cannot discuss specifics on these accidents due to Party Status, but we stress that every BLET member must remain focused on their safety and the safety of their co-workers,” said Randy Fannon, BLET Vice President and Chairman of the Safety Task Force.
With a continued focus on the PSR operating model, the nation’s rail carriers, continue to place profits ahead of safety, leading to more incidents. “Since December 2022, the Safety Task Force has been a party to too many accidents,” Fannon said. “This industry must turn away from Wall Street and extreme profits and return to bringing our Brothers and Sisters home safely each and every day.”
The BLET’s STF assists the NTSB in the investigation of rail accidents, providing subject matter expertise from the viewpoint of locomotive engineers and trainmen to help determine what occurred and how to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. The BLET became the first labor union in the railroad industry to establish a formal accident investigation team when it created the Safety Task Force in 1989. |
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REMINDER TO BLET SLB CHAIRMEN:
Candidate recommendations due by August 30 |
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| Our success will depend, in large part, on promoting elected and appointed public officials who make the BLET agenda their top priority. |
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BLET State Legislative Board Chairmen are in the process of reviewing candidates for public office who are worthy of our support in the national election on November 5. Their list of candidates for federal office will be published in an upcoming issue of the Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen News, and will also be made available in the Members’ Area of the BLET website.
BLET National President Eddie Hall said: “With the most critical election of our lives coming in November, we have to gear up to distribute information to our members so that they are able to vote for candidates who will support legislation that is important to us, like two-person crews and paid sick leave. This is in addition to our efforts to be able to work with DOT and FRA personnel to ensure that our safety is their top priority and that they are willing to enforce safety regulations. Our success will depend, in large part, on promoting elected and appointed public officials who make the BLET agenda their top priority. We know all too well what happens when elected officials appoint regulators who come from railroad management and who organically share their interests.”
BLET Legislative Board Chairmen are reminded that their lists of pro-BLET candidates are due by Friday, August 30. The lists should be sent via mail to BLET Vice President & National Legislative Representative Vince Verna (verna@ble-t.org), and copied to Brendan Sullivan (sullivan@ble-t.org), BLET Director of Political Affairs, and to John Bentley (jbentley@ble-t.org), BLET Editor & Director of Public Relations. |
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NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Railroad Retirement Board urges you to review Form BA-6 |
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The Railroad Retirement Board routinely publishes important news of interest to active and retired BLET members. Here is a summary of highlights published in Summer 2024.
• Each year the RRB prepares a Form BA-6, Certificate of Service Months and Compensation, for every railroad employee with creditable railroad compensation from the previous calendar year. These forms were mailed in the first half of June. The accuracy of Form BA-6 is vital because it shows how much money and how many service months an employee earned throughout the year. This information is used to determine your monthly retirement annuity and dictates when you can retire. Missing or incorrect information on the BA-6 means you could earn less during retirement, or you could have to work longer before you are eligible to retire. The RRB urges all railroaders to make sure their BA-6 matches their check stubs. If there is a discrepancy, then you have four years from the date of publication to file a protest and make corrections. More information is available at the link above.
• RRB administers the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), which provides two kinds of benefits for qualified railroaders: unemployment benefits for those who become unemployed but are ready, willing, and able to work; and sickness benefits for those who are unable to work because of sickness or injury. A new benefit year begins each July 1. In July, the RRB published a list of questions and answers to describe these benefits, their eligibility requirements, and how to apply for and claim them.
• The old saying goes “you get what you pay for,” and it holds true regarding Railroad Retirement benefits. As most BLET members know, monthly annuities under Railroad Retirement are much higher than benefit rates paid under Social Security. That’s because employers and employees pay higher taxes under the Railroad Retirement system. The average age annuity being paid by the RRB at the end of fiscal year 2023 to career railroaders was $4,310 per month. The average age retirement benefit being paid under social security was $1,810 per month. Railroaders can also retire at age 60 with 30 years of service without a reduction in annuities, while no comparable early retirement program exists under social security. The RRB thoroughly examined these profound differences in a Q&A published in August. Go here for full details. |
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IOWA:
Division 6 hosts annual Family Picnic |
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| BLET President Eddie Hall with members of Division 6 in Boone, Iowa. |
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| BLET National President Eddie Hall was on hand as Local Division 6 in Boone, Iowa, co-hosted its annual Family Picnic on August 3. The large and well-attended event was held in a spirit of solidarity with fellow rail labor unions also based in the Boone area. With 170 active and retired members, most of whom work for the Union Pacific Railroad or have retired from UP, Division 6 is BLET’s largest Division in Iowa. |
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BLET AUXILIARY:
Thank you for being with us at the 2024 Eastern Regional Meeting |
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| BLET Auxiliary officers from left to right: Kat Bisbikis, National President; Rachel Pharris, National 1st Vice President; Jodi Wallace, National Secretary; and Natalie Miller, 2nd Vice President and National Legislative Representative |
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The BLET Auxiliary had a successful week at the Eastern Regional Meeting in Washington D.C., July 29-August 1.
Auxiliary National President Kat Bisbikis delivered an inspirational address to BLET members at the open meeting on July 30. “The Auxiliary considers everyone in this room our family," Sister Kat said. "There is not a single person here we would not go to war for if necessary. We will fight the carriers, educate the stockholders, carry signs in the rain, organize educational pickets, and blow up social media with movements that bring attention to what you deal with every day. We will do anything to protect the people we care about. That’s you.”
Later that afternoon, the Auxiliary members hosted an informational meeting of their own to educate existing members and spread their message to potential new members. Throughout the week, the Auxiliary members sold raffle tickets to help fund the BLET Auxiliary Scholarship Program, which provides $1,000 scholarships to the sons and daughters of both Auxiliary and BLET members. |
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