|
|
|
Follow the BLET online and stay up-to-date on all the latest union news and information.
Click the icons below to visit the the BLET's social media pages and website.
|
|
| Victory for IBT: UPS workers score big gains – strike averted |
|
This week, the Teamsters reached a tentative agreement for 340,000 IBT members employed at UPS. The new agreement, that must still be ratified by IBT members, includes raises in wages for all workers, creates more full-time jobs, and includes dozens of new workplace protections and improvements. The UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee unanimously endorsed the five-year tentative agreement. If no agreement had been reached by August 1, a strike, the largest private-sector strike this century in the United States, would likely have been called.
“Rank-and-file UPS Teamsters sacrificed everything to get this country through a pandemic and enabled UPS to reap record-setting profits. Teamster labor moves America. The union went into this fight committed to winning for our members. We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “UPS has put $30 billion in new money on the table as a direct result of these negotiations. We’ve changed the game, battling it out day and night to make sure our members won an agreement that pays strong wages, rewards their labor, and doesn’t require a single concession. This contract sets a new standard in the labor movement and raises the bar for all workers.”
To learn more about the tentative 2023-2028 UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement click here. |
|
| Congress proposes gutting already-approved funding for rail, including deep cuts to the RRB |
|
 |
| Amtrak estimates that 10,000 employees would be furloughed if the funding levels were to take effect from the 2024 appropriations bill |
|
Last week, the July 20 Weekly Recap contained a brief story about a House subcommittee advancing a fiscal-year 2024 appropriations bill that would slash funding for Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and other rail-related programs. Amtrak alone would see a 64% cut. By Amtrak’s estimates,10,000 employees would be furloughed if these funding levels were to take effect. Service would become extremely restricted on the Northeast Corridor and other routes.
It’s important for all BLET members to know that in addition to cuts to Amtrak, the FRA, and commuter rail, some GOP members of Congress are calling for a 30% cut to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) — equal to $103 million in the agency’s funding. This proposed funding level for the RRB, if adopted, would force the agency to make drastic personnel cuts to customer service personnel, field office staff, and claims agents. RRB’s backlog for processing disability claims is currently a year behind. If this budget ax falls it would mean that railroaders, retirees and their spouses would experience months-long wait times on any issue with the agency.
Please call Congress today, especially if you are represented by a Republican member of Congress, at 202-224-3121. Ask to be connected to your representative’s office and tell them that you oppose any cuts to the RRB, Amtrak, and other rail programs where funding already has been approved. |
|
| Can't attend in person? RRB Pre-Retirement Seminars available online |
|
The Railroad Retirement Board’s Pre-Retirement Seminars are now available online. Members can view seminar topics that include: Retired Employee and Spouse Benefits, Spouse Annuities, Working After Retirement, Survivor Benefits, and Items Affecting All Retirement and Survivor Benefits.
These seminars are designed to help educate those nearing retirement about the benefits available to them and what they can expect during the application process.
Click here to view the RRB video page. |
|
| Union Pacific: Jim Vena to become CEO — BLET members may recall the name |
|
|
 On July 26 Union Pacific announced that the railroad had hired its former Chief Operating Officer, Jim Vena, to become UP’s CEO effective August 14, replacing Lance Fritz. Vena first came to UP in 2019 from Canadian National, where he had a 40-year career, to help implement the Precision Scheduled Railroading model. He stayed less than two years at UP. Now, he’s back.
Below is an excerpt from an Associated Press article that raises questions about PSR and Vena’s track record. It includes a challenge from BLET National President Eddie Hall:
“…rail unions have criticized UP and the other major freight railroads’ reliance on the precision scheduled railroading model that has become the industry standard. They say the deep workforce cuts that have accompanied that model have made railroads riskier because employees are spread too thin and under pressure to rush safety inspections and maintenance. Plus, the changes made it less desirable to work for the railroads with train crews on call 24-7 and increasing demands on all rail workers.
“Union Pacific has made progress this year in addressing workers’ quality of life concerns by agreeing to provide paid sick time to all its workers and improve scheduling for engineers so they can reliably know ahead of time what days they will have off. The president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Eddie Hall, was operating UP trains during Vena’s previous stint with the railroad, and he said he hopes the new CEO is willing to temper his approach now.
“’We would like to see continued progress, including necessary changes to the precision scheduled railroading operating model,’ Hall said. ‘Few people alive know more about PSR than Vena. He should be fully aware of its failings. If not, rest assured, we will make him aware.’”
The full article can be found here.
|
|
| Cleveland: Brother Lou Shuster, BLET officer and NS conductor, remembered, honored |
|
 |
| BLET members in front of the plaque dedicated to fallen BLET brother Lou Shuster who was tragically killed on the job in March 2023 |
|
A memorial plaque honoring the late Lou Shuster, former president of BLET Division 607, was dedicated in a ceremony on July 26 at Norfolk Southern’s Rockport Yard in Cleveland, Ohio. Brother Lou, 46, was killed in an accident while working as a conductor for NS at a steel mill in Cleveland in March. Family, friends and fellow BLET members were on hand to pay tribute and to view the newly revamped garden area in front of the plaque.
“It’s a sad day for us and his family,” said Brother James McMahon, Legislative Representative of Division 607. “But it’s also a good day too, in that there will be a remembrance every time we come to work or whenever his family wants to stop by and take a look.”
Brother J.T. Lawson of Division 607 read the opening and closing prayers and also shared a few fond memories. Brother Pat Redmond, Local Chairman of Division 607, conducted the empty chair ceremony and shared stories about working with Brother Shuster.
“We’re trying just to remember Lou in a positive way and think about some of his antics,” Brother Redmond said. “Being able to go out on the lead and get on a train and have a smile on your face thinking about the good times rather than the pain and sorrow. But Lou will be forever missed.”
BLET National President Eddie Hall, who was on hand to pay his respects, said: “We often struggle to find the right thing to say. At the dedication ceremony for Brother Lou, I gained an understanding of him as a father, friend and BLET Brother. A beloved friend to all, may his sacrifice never be forgotten.”
Brother Lou is survived by numerous loving family members, including his teenage son and his elderly parents.
A highlight video can be viewed here.
Photo gallery of the event can be viewed here. |
|
| Florida Gulf & Atlantic: After short line organizing victory the focus is now on getting a solid contract |
|
 |
| BLET First VP and Teamsters Rail Conference President Mark Wallace: “It is our honor to be chosen to represent the conductors and engineers of the Florida Gulf and Atlantic. The BLET is committed to getting these new members a solid contract.” |
|
Following its successful organizing victory at the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, the real work now begins for the BLET as it prepares to negotiate a first-ever union contract for workers at the formerly non-union railroad.
“It is our honor to be chosen to represent the conductors and engineers of the Florida Gulf and Atlantic,” said BLET First Vice President and Teamsters Rail Conference President Mark Wallace. “The BLET is committed to getting these new members a solid contract.”
In mid-July, the BLET held an informational meeting in Tallahassee, Fla., to welcome the new members and get their input regarding what they would like to see in their first union contract. At the meeting the FG&A members also selected a local representative to assist Vice President Randy Fannon during the upcoming negotiating sessions with the company. |
|
 |
| Newly organized BLET members of the Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad |
|
| GCA news: Psota reelected BNSF/MRL General Chairman |
|
 |
| Members of the BNSF/MRL GCA at the GCA’s First Quadrennial Meeting in Las Vegas on July 19, 2023 |
|
Kent J. Psota was reelected to his second term as General Chairman of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe/Montana Rail Link General Committee of Adjustment (BNSF/MRL GCA) at the GCA’s First Quadrennial Meeting in Las Vegas on July 19, 2023.
The BNSF/MRL GCA is the largest GCA in the BLET in terms of the number of members represented and the number of Divisions. The GCA represents nearly 6,200 active and retired members from 44 different Divisions.
Also elected were: First Vice Chairman Jess Nelson, Division 842 (Klamath Falls, Ore.); Second Vice Chairman Vern Gordon, Division 98 (Lincoln, Neb.); Third Vice Chairman Jason Scanlan, Division 107 (Kansas City, Mo.); Fourth Vice Chairman Brian Fransen, Division 207 (Casper, Wyo.); and Secretary-Treasurer Luke Myers, Division 727 (Sterling, Colo.).
Elected to serve as alternate officers were: First Alternate Vice Chairman A.J. McAfee, Division 98 (Lincoln, Neb.); Second Alternate Vice Chairman Jeff Grimes, Division 402 (Pasco, Wash.); Third Alternate Vice Chairman Jon Tisdale, Division 518 (Seattle, Wash.); Fourth Alternate Vice Chairman Howard Allington, Division 758 (Vancouver, Wash.); and Alternate Secretary-Treasurer Cordell Booke, Division 746 (Mandan, N.D.).
Elected to serve the GCA in Trustee positions were: First Trustee Tyler Simard, Division 195 (Forsyth, Mont.); Second Trustee Alex Hilde, Division 232 (Laurel, Mont.); Third Trustee Brandon Folsom, Division 665 (Centralia, Ill.); First Alternate Trustee Grant Thornburg, Division 80 (Brookfield, Mo.); and Second Alternate Trustee Lloyd Morgan, Division 213 (Edgemont, S.D.). |
|
|
|
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen · 7061 East Pleasant Valley Road · Independence, OH 44131 · USA
|
|
|
|
|
