BLET News

(Source: DeSmog Blog, January 21, 2017) NEW YORK — “The policy landscape in Washington, D.C., dramatically shifted on Election Day…” While clearly not news to anyone, it was part of Edward Hamberger’s address to a conference in New York a week after Trump’s presidential victory. Hamberger is CEO of the rail industry lobbying group, the…

CLEVELAND, January 20 — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Rail Air and Transportation Workers (SMART TD) are urging their respective memberships to contact members of the House of Representatives about co-sponsoring The Safe Freight Act of 2017 (H.R. 233), a bill…

(Source: International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers press release, December 20, 2016) On December 24, the Heritage Foundation, a Washington conservative republican think tank, sent out a flyer to its supporters soliciting donations for the work ahead. Among the usual suspects, a new target has been added, Railroad Retirement. See link below. Full story:…

(Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer, January 12, 2017) SEATTLE, Wash. — The Washington State Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling, has temporarily and possibly permanently derailed plans to locate a rail-fed crude oil export terminal at Hoquiam in Grays Harbor. Full story: www.seattlepi.com Friday, January 13, 2017

(Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, January 10, 2017) PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney introduced a bill Tuesday that would increase regulations for railroads carrying crude oil and other hazardous materials through the state. The bill would give the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality the authority to regulate railroads carrying hazardous materials. Full story:…