BLET announces restructured Safety Task Force
CLEVELAND, June 26 — The BLET National Division is restructuring its Safety Task Force (STF), BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce announced today.
The group will maintain a list of Primary Investigators, as in the past, but has eliminated its list of secondary volunteers. National Secretary-Treasurer Stephen J. Bruno will continue serving as Chairman of the STF, while Brother Carl W. Fields (Division 682, Hammond, Ind.) remains Coordinator of the STF and Brother Scott G. Palmer (Division 842, Klamath Falls, Ore.) remains the Assistant Coordinator.
The BLET became the first labor union in the railroad industry to establish a formal accident investigation team when it created the Safety Task Force in 1989. The STF assists federal agencies in the investigation of rail accidents, helping to determine probable causes and making safety recommendations. The STF is typically granted Party Status by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to assist with accident investigations, depending on the type and severity of the accident. The STF studies accidents from the viewpoint of locomotive engineers and trainmen to help determine how the accident occurred and how to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future.
In addition to NST Bruno and Brothers Fields and Palmer, the STF Primary Investigators are as follows: Paul Aird, Division 173 (Fond du Lac, Wisc.), Canadian National; Bryan T. Aldridge, Division 78 (Louisville, Ky)., CSX; Jerry Bullard, Division 212 (Big Spring, Texas), Union Pacific (UP); Oscar A. Burrola, Division 839 (Richmond, Calif.), Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF); Randy J. Dumey, Division 595 (Chaffee, Mo.), BNSF; Russell R. Elley, Division 197 (San Antonio, Texas), UP; Steven D. Facklam, Division 130 (Kansas City, Kan.), BNSF; Randy Fannon, Division 37 (Norton, Va.), Norfolk Southern (NS); Doug Ford, Division 239 (Knoxville, Tenn.), NS; Brian Fransen, Division 207 (Casper, Wyo.), BNSF; Mike A. Galvani, Division 664 (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), UP; Donald Hill, Division 71 (Philadelphia, Pa.), SEPTA; Erich M. Jeske, Division 256 (Denver, Colo.), BNSF; D.B. Kenner, Division 195 (Forsyth, Mont.), BNSF; Ronald E. Sprague, Division 28 (Tucson, Ariz.), UP; and Melvin L. Wichelmann Jr., Division 335 (Elrama, Pa.); NS.
“I cannot overstate the importance of our Safety Task Force and our investigations into accidents from the human perspective, and more importantly, from the perspective of the operating employees” President Pierce said. “It is a critical part of the National Division’s efforts to look out for the safety of BLET members.”
Safety Task Force map (click here for PDF).
Friday, June 26, 2015
bentley@ble-t.org