BLET to hold Secretary-Treasurer training class, September 11-15, 2023

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, August 3 — The BLET Education and Training Department will conduct a comprehensive Local Division and State Legislative Board Secretary-Treasurer training class from September 11-15, 2023, at the BLET National Division headquarters.

The course will begin with an orientation and overview session at 4 p.m. on Monday, September 11. Full-day classes will run from Tuesday through Thursday. Hotel check-out and travel day is on Friday, September 15.

Secretary-Treasurers will receive training in several areas, including how to use the BLET National Division’s UnionTrack system for membership reporting, OLMS tax compliance tips, Division/SLB Trustee reporting, and computer skills (Word, Excel, search engines, etc.). During the three-day session, members will also learn proper record keeping techniques, minute-taking, and methods for filing various Department of Labor and Railroad Retirement reports. The class will also focus on filing Internal Revenue Service Federal tax reports such as CT-1, 941, W-2, W-3, and W-4, and a focus on essential items such as 990 authorizations, bonding, check registers, banking, and other related items. A goal for our instructors is to do everything they can to make the Secretary Treasurer’s job as easy as it can be.

Registration for the class is available to Local Division and SLB Secretary-Treasurers on a first come, first serve basis. You must register online through the BLET website at: https://members.ble-t.org/EducationTraining/RegisterST.

Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email that will contain more detailed hotel information and instructions for making your room reservation. Attendees will stay at the Embassy Suites Hotel located at 5800 Rockside Woods Boulevard, in Independence, OH. If you have any problems securing your room in our reservation block, contact BLET Special Representative Matthew Kronyak at (201) 978-6436, or email kronyak@ble-t.org.

Upon successful completion of the course, attendees will qualify for a $98.00 per day diem from the North American Railway Foundation (www.narfoundation.org). The stipends will be paid directly to the Local Division. The North American Railway Foundation (NARF) is a non-profit 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. The primary focus of these efforts has been in support of organized rail labor — giving back to all the men and women of the railroad community across North America.

For more information, please contact David Estes, National Secretary-Treasurer and Department Head of the BLET Education and Training Department, at (216) 241-2630 ext. 227, or email estes@ble-t.org.