BLET to conduct Local Chairman Workshop in March
CLEVELAND, January 28 — The BLET Education and Training Department will conduct a workshop for Local Chairmen from March 22-27, 2015, at the BLET Training Center in Cleveland. The workshop is designed to help Local Chairmen develop and hone the skills necessary to provide better representation to their members.
The week-long course will begin with an orientation and overview session on Sunday evening, March 22, at 4 p.m. Full-day classes will run from Monday through Friday and the workshop will conclude with a casual banquet on Friday evening, March 27, 2015. Hotel check-out and travel day is on Saturday, March 28. Registrations to attend should be submitted by March 10, 2015. Those wishing to attend must register online through the BLET website: www.ble-t.org/lc.
The Education & Training Department asks that you bring your portable computer to class with you on the day of orientation. Ideally, you should bring whatever portable technology you typically use to perform your duties, whether it be a laptop, Mac, tablet, iPad, or whatever your machine of choice. Before your arrival, find out if your machine has Wi-Fi capabilities. If your machine is not Wi-Fi compatible, then please contact Jason Wright, Coordinator of the BLET Education and Training Department, to let him know in advance so he can make arrangements.
Class space is limited so don’t delay in registering for your spot. The class is open to all Local Chairmen, but we particularly encourage new Local Chairmen to attend. The National Division also encourages Vice Local Chairmen to consider registering.
Among other topics, the workshop will cover BLET organizational structure and functions, representation of members at disciplinary and decertification hearings, union leadership skills, claim and grievance handling, and writing and editing skills. Additional course topics include:
• Duties of the Local Chairman;
• By-law requirements;
• Claims and grievance handling;
• Duty of Fair Representation;
• Basic understanding of the Railway Labor Act;
• Appeal and letter writing;
• Interviewing witnesses;
• Developing a defense theory;
• Due Process; and
• Making your case.
A highlight of the workshop is when attendees participate in a simulated disciplinary hearing.
Those who successfully complete the course will qualify for a $129 per day stipend from the North American Railway Foundation (www.narfoundation.org). The stipends will be paid directly to the Secretary-Treasurer of the respective divisions.
The North American Railway Foundation is a non-profit operating foundation formed by the Brotherhood’s Relief and Compensation Fund (BR&CF) to support rail history, education, safety and technology in the United States and Canada. With initial funding and continued Board of Directors stewardship coming from the BR&CF, NARF has supported many non-political projects throughout the United States and Canada over the past 18 years. The primary focus of these efforts has been in support of organized rail labor — giving back to all of the men and women of the railroad community across North America.
Workshop instructors will include: BLET Vice President Marcus J. Ruef; Assistant Director of the BLET Arbitration Department Doug Davidson; Special Representative/Short Term Disability Liaison Megan Mead; and Special Representative and Coordinator of Education & Training Jason Wright.
The BLET National Division pays the costs of books, equipment, tuition and a graduation banquet. BLET members who attend are responsible for their transportation costs as well as their room and board. Participants will be provided with instructions on how to make room reservations after registering for the workshop through the BLET website. When planning out the cost of your trip, please contact Jason Wright at (216) 296-4447 to get an idea of what additional items are covered such as meals, etc.
Again, registration for the Local Chairman workshop is on a first-come, first-served basis and space is limited. For more information, please contact Jason Wright at (216) 296-4447 or wright@ble-t.org. Again, registrations to attend should be submitted by Tuesday, March 10, 2015.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
bentley@ble-t.org