BLET News
BLET members ratify Amtrak contract
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, April 3 — By better than a 9-to-1 margin, members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with Amtrak on April 2, 2018. The final tally was 90.5% in favor and 9.5% against, with nearly 65% of eligible members casting a ballot. The five-year deal…
Read MoreFree e-learning program from Operation Lifesaver provides crossing safety training for first responders
(Source: Operation Lifesaver press release, April 2, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Every day, 80,000 emergency response vehicles travel the nation’s roads; there are 200,000 railroad crossings on those roads. National rail safety nonprofit Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI) wants to help first responders safely travel to emergencies and stay safe when responding to rail-related incidents with…
Read MoreHundreds of thousands of dollars in B.C. grain, lumber and other products sit idle due to rail backlog
(Source: CBC News, March 28, 2018) OTTAWA — Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of grain, lumber and other products are sitting idle in northern B.C. due to a months-long backlog on CN rail lines, causing industry groups to warn Canada is losing its competitive edge in international trade. Full story: CBC News Thursday, March 29,…
Read MoreAAR reports rail traffic for week ending March 24, 2018
(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, March 28, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 24, 2018. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 526,521 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.4 percent compared with the same week last year. Total…
Read MoreElections Have Consequences – the Wheeling & Lake Erie Saga
By Dennis R. Pierce National President (BLET Editor’s Note: The following message from BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce has been excerpted from the March 2018 issue of the Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen News. On March 27, 2018, shortly after this article was written, the BLET requested that a proffer of arbitration be made by the…
Read More