BLET News
High-Tech Divide and Conquer
(Editor’s Note: The following is an advance copy of President Pierce’s message that will appear in the upcoming January/February 2021 issue of the Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen News.) High-Tech Divide and Conquer By Dennis R. Pierce, National President In my last President’s Message, I closed by saying the following: “…… our success in all…
Read MoreInspector General: Former DOT Secretary Elaine Chao used DOT resources for personal errands, family business
(Source: National Public Radio, March 4, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — In her time as former President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary, Elaine Chao repeatedly used her position and agency staff to help family members who run a shipping business with ties to China, in potential violation of federal ethics laws, according to an Office of Inspector…
Read MoreBNSF worker killed after two freight trains “converge” at La Mirada rail yard in California
(Source: KTLA, March 4, 2021) BUENA PARK, Calif. — A BNSF Railway worker died after being crushed between two trains that converged Wednesday morning near the La Mirada-Buena Park border. Arriving firefighters found that the victim, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway employee, had been between two trains that were converging and was crushed. Full…
Read MoreWarren Buffett again encourages investors to bet on America
(Source: Associated Press, February 27, 2021) OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett encouraged investors to maintain their faith in America’s economy and the businesses his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns in a reassuring letter to his shareholders Saturday. Berkshire said its fourth-quarter profits grew 23% to $35.8 billion, or $23,015 per Class A share, even though…
Read MoreKeystone XL’s death sparks rush to ship oil-sands by rail
(Source: Bloomberg, February 24, 2021) WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline is sparking renewed interest in shipping Canadian oil-sands crude by rail, and that comes with its own environmental risks. Without Keystone XL, which was scheduled to enter service in 2023, rail is poised to become a…
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