Urgent: Act Now On Two-Person Train Crews, Mexican Cross-Border Issue!
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, July 24 — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is urging all members to contact their Representatives and Senators in Congress to support the union’s two most pressing legislative issues: two-person train crews and foreign crews operating trains into the United States at the southern U.S./Mexican border.
In mid-July, 15 BLET State Legislative Board Chairmen came to Washington D.C. to join BLET Vice President and National Legislative Representative John Tolman, Director of Legislative and Political Affairs Bob Hagan and Director of Regulatory Affairs Vince Verna to lobby on Capitol Hill. The BLET representatives discussed these two vital issues with members of the U.S. House of Representatives and United States Senate.
Two-Person Crews
We urge you to support the efforts of the past week by contacting your U.S. member of Congress in your Congressional District, as well as both of your U.S. Senators, to support the Safe Freight Act H.R. 1748 in the House (introduced by Don Young, R-AK) and S. 1979 in the Senate (introduced by Ed Markey, D-MA). These bills have appeal to both parties and seek to put a certified Engineer and certified Conductor on freight trains in the US.
Copies of the bills can be found at www.congress.gov:
House version: https://bit.ly/2JH7l5O
Senate version: https://bit.ly/2JHkpYR
To find your Member of Congress or Senator’s contact information, please visit:
https://www.house.gov or https://www.senate.gov
Cross-Border Rail Operations
A bill just introduced in the House of Representatives, H.R. 3896 (https://bit.ly/2SywNNz), would amend Title 49, United States Code, “to provide that only citizens or nationals of the United States may operate trains within the United States that originate in Mexico.” Please tell your Representatives and Senators about this important issue and ask them to support our efforts by co-sponsoring H.R. 3896, which was introduced by Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Chairman of the Railroad Subcommittee and co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
“These are issues of high importance to the BLET,” National President Dennis R. Pierce said. “I urge all BLET members and their families to build on the momentum generated in the past week by taking a few minutes to call your members of Congress on these two vital issues. Please help us to protect our jobs, our craft and our future.”
Stay tuned for updates on the issues as they develop in Washington D.C.
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
bentley@ble-t.org