The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). Its predecessor union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, was the senior national labor organization in the United States and also North America's oldest rail labor union. The BLE marked its 140th anniversary in 2003 and was founded in Marshall, Mich. on May 8, 1863, as The Brotherhood of the Footboard; a year later, its name was changed to The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. The BLE merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and became the BLET on January 1, 2004.
MISSION STATEMENT: "The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen exists to promote and protect the rights, interests, and safety of its members through solidarity, aggressive representation, and education." From BLET National Division Rules, 2004.
MEMBERSHIP: The BLET represents Locomotive Engineers, Conductors, Brakemen, Firemen, Switchmen, Hostlers and other Train Service Employees on numerous railroads in the United States. The BLET's total membership is more than 59,000 and growing, in spite of industry consolidation. Since Jan. 1, 1992, Locomotive Engineers must be trained and tested to be federally certified and licensed to operate trains.
AFFILIATIONS: The BLET is the founding member of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: Local units of the BLET are known as Divisions. Each Division elects four primary local officers - President, Local Chairman, Secretary-Treasurer and Legislative Representative - each serving three-year terms. The BLET is comprised of more than 600 Divisions.
All the local chairmen on a particular railroad constitute the BLET General Committee of Adjustment on that system; this General Committee is autonomous and responsible for negotiating, making, interpreting and enforcing contracts between engineers and their railroad. Larger railroad systems may have more than one General Committee and General Chairman.
All the legislative representatives for divisions within a state comprise the State Legislative Board. These legislative boards are responsible for educating legislators, policy makers and the public about the impacts of regulations and laws on transportation and public safety.
At the National Division, officers include the President, First Vice-President, National Secretary-Treasurer and eight "regional" vice-presidents, who assist and offer resources to General Committees. National Division officers are elected to four-year terms.
One vice-president serves as the BLET's National Legislative Representative, administering the Washington D.C. office and coordinating federal activities of the BLET, and its various state legislative boards.
The BLET is governed by its Bylaws. Policies are set and officers elected at conventions every four years. Convention delegates are elected by local BLET Division members. HEADQUARTER OFFICES: The BLET National Division is located at: Standard Building, 1370 Ontario St., Mezzanine, Cleveland, OH 44113-1702 (built and owned by the BLET). The National Legislative Office is located in IBT Headquarters in Washington D.C. |
BLET founded 145 years
ago |
CLEVELAND, May 8, 2008 — The
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) marks its 145th
anniversary today. The union was founded as the Brotherhood of the
Footboard on May 8, 1863 in
Marshall, Mich.
In 1864, the union changed its name to Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers (BLE), the name it retained until merging with the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Jan. 1, 2004, when it became
BLET.
The organization was formed when locomotive engineers on the Michigan
Central Railroad became discouraged with pay cuts and the dismissal of
their firemen.
Original handwritten
constitution from the Brotherhood of the Footboard, from the BLET
Archives, dated May 8, 1863.
In the early 1860s,
locomotive engineers at the
Michigan Central were being paid at the rate of $60 a month on
the condition that they ran at least 2,500 miles each month, regardless
of the time consumed. Because of complaints about this low rate of pay
and inequitable way of doing it, the
Michigan Central agreed in 1862 to advance the pay of first class
engineers to $85 a month. These and other concessions by the road,
however, proved to be of short duration. Runs were changed in such a way
that the engineers experienced reductions in pay rather than increases.
A. S. Sweet, who occupied the post of superintendent of machinery with
the
Michigan Central at that time, had been given that job on the
promise that he would reduce costs. He was responsible for cutting the
men''''s pay. The men carried a pointed protest to Sweet, who, as a
result, fired a number of them.
J. C. Thompson, one of the original organizers of the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers, declared that Sweet became so incensed at having
been challenged in this way that he laid off a number of firemen who had
been longest in service and gave their places to others who knew nothing
of the work required of them. This brought an immediate clash, for the
engineers refused to go out on their runs where regular firemen had been
dismissed. This attitude was an initial open display on the part of
locomotive engineers to protect firemen.
Men all over the system were discouraged. Angered by the situation, a
group of 13
Michigan Central engineers, failing to find privacy for a meeting
on company property, gathered at the home of William D. Robinson of
Marshall, Mich., to discuss conditions and map out a plan of action.
They agreed that if any one of them was discharged by Sweet, the rest
would quit on the spot. A circular was prepared and they all signed it.
Then they carried further their plan, which they called a Protective
Association. If other engineers affiliated with the group, they, too,
would be required to promise to quit the service if any member were
fired.
Copies of this were circulated over the
Michigan Central and additional engineers, subscribing to the
oath, joined the movement with enthusiasm. A committee was formed and
went to Sweet’s office. Sweet refused to see them at first, refusing
even to speak to them. But through patiently explaining their mission,
the group finally got his permission for an interview. He is said to
have called out to the waiting members of the committee as he entered
his office: "Well, boys, what do you propose to do, shut up the road?"
Sam Hill, one of the committee replied, “We are here as gentlemen,
representing gentlemen, and desire to be treated as such.” Hill went on
to say that the committee was acting as a unit and that they were
speaking for all the engineers from
Detroit to
Chicago that they had grievances that they wished to adjust. The
committee discussed all of the points at issue very thoroughly and it
ended by Sweet granting the whole of their requests.
When the success of this conference became known, it gave a tremendous
impetus to the Protective Association and it was decided to extend the
movement to all railroads. A call for a general meeting was then issued,
to be held in
Detroit on May 5, 1863.
The Detroit convention marked a new epoch in the organization of
American railroad employees. It brought together engineers from the
Michigan
Central, Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana,
Detroit &
Milwaukee, Grand Trunk, and
Michigan Southern. Together, the 12 delegates present drafted a
constitution, which combined democratic control with efficient central
administration, thus solving the fundamental problem that had wrecked
many previous labor organizations. After three days of deliberations and
plans for the future, the delegates on May 8 joined hands and obligated
themselves to abide by the constitution, forming the pioneer division of
the Brotherhood of the Footboard with W. D. Robinson as chief engineer.
This division, No. 1 in
Detroit, still maintains its proud position as first on the
roster of over 500 divisions of the BLET.
By
August 1, 1863, 10 divisions had been formed. The constitution of
the new organization provided that when five divisions were organized a
delegate from each should be chosen to come together to create a grand
division. So
on August 18th, at
Detroit, the Grand National Division of the Brotherhood of the
Footboard was formed. W. D. Robinson was elected grand chief engineer.
Today, with nearly 39,000 active members, the BLET is one of the largest
and most influential railroad unions
in the United States.
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