Lambert elected General Chairman of UP-Eastern District GCA
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, August 25 — Chad M. Lambert, a member of BLET Division 364 (Wichita, Kan.), was elected General Chairman of the Union Pacific-Eastern District General Committee of Adjustment at the GCA’s quadrennial meeting on August 11, 2020.
A third-generation railroader, Brother Lambert first joined the BLET on October 1, 1999. He has served BLET Division 364 as Local Chairman for 10 years. Immediately prior to his election to the General Chairman’s office, Brother Lambert was serving the GCA as its full-time 1st Vice Chairman.
Also elected during the quadrennial meeting were: 1st Vice Chairman Brian S. McCoy, Division 183 (Omaha, Neb.); 2nd Vice Chairman Dan E. O’Neil, Division 224 (Marysville, Kan.); 3rd Vice Chairman Travis D. Kuenning, Division 388 (North Platte, Neb.); Secretary-Treasurer Stacey L. Madsen, Division 88 (North Platte, Neb.); and Alternate Secretary-Treasurer Charles (Clint) Grady, Division 115 (Cheyenne, Wyo.). Additionally, Brothers McCoy, O’Neil and Kuenning were appointed to serve as Trustees of the GCA.
Representing the BLET National Division at the meeting were: National President Dennis R. Pierce; and National Vice President Mark L. Wallace.
“Congratulations to Brother Lambert and all officers of the Union Pacific-Eastern District General Committee of Adjustment,” President Pierce said. “I thank them for their willingness to serve our Brotherhood, and I have every confidence that Brother Lambert will do an excellent job as General Chairman.”
President Pierce also thanked outgoing General Chairman Dave L. Geisler for his eight years of service as General Chairman.
Brother Lambert hired out with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway as a trackman in 1994. In early 1995, he transferred to train service but, unfortunately, was immediately furloughed after completing his conductor training with Santa Fe. As luck would have it, the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) was hiring conductors at Herington, Kan, during that same summer. In September of 1995, he was hired for a conductor”s position with SP. In late 1998, during the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger, he earned promotion to locomotive engineer. Shortly thereafter, he joined BLET Division 261 (Herington, Kan.).
Brother Lambert has served the BLET as a union officer continuously since 2006. That was the year when Division 364’s Local Chairman at the time — who held that position for 32 years — approached Brother Lambert and asked him to consider running for the Local Chairman’s position upon his retirement. Even though he was a young engineer at the time, Brother Lambert accepted the challenge and was elected as Division 364’s Local Chairman in 2006, a position he held until August of 2016. In terms of service to the GCA, he was elected 3rd Vice General Chairman at the UP-Eastern District’s 2012 quadrennial meeting. Due to a vacancy in early 2016, he was elevated to the office of 2nd Vice General Chairman. At the GCA’s 2016 quadrennial meeting, he was elected to the full-time 1st Vice General Chairman’s position, which entailed handling discipline cases for the GCA, both on the property and in arbitration.
The BLET’s Union Pacific-Eastern District General Committee of Adjustment represents more than 1,000 active members in 16 different Divisions.
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
bentley@ble-t.org