Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Division 126

Rest in Peace Brother Bill Wheeler 12-22-19 Gone but never to be forgotten!

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On the Right Track: 2018 Triennial Election manual now online The 2018 edition of On the Right Track, the Local Division nomination and election procedure man...ual, is now available for download from the BLET website and for those Officers who have access, the document is also accessible in Document Library in UnionTrack. Triennial elections for BLET Divisions are being held this year, and nominations will be held at each Division’s first regular meeting in September of 2018. The On the Right Track election manual will assist the officers whose job it is to oversee the election process as well as the members who have an interest in running for office. If you are a Division Secretary-Treasurer, you will also serve as an election official for your Division and will be receiving a hardcopy of On the Right Track in the mail in the coming days. An additional package of election materials will be mailed to you from the National Division office shortly, and copies of the Notice of Nominations and the Nominating Form are also currently available in UnionTrack. Because determinations of eligibility to run for office may involve an interpretation of the BLET Bylaws, any eligibility questions must be submitted, in writing and via a signed letter, to National President Dennis R. Pierce. A username and password must be used for logging into the Members’ Area of the BLET National Division website to download the 2018 edition of On the Right Track (PDF). It is available here: http://www.ble-t.org/members/OnTheRightTrack.asp If you are a BLET member and you do not have a username and password, you can sign up for one here: http://www.ble-t.org/signup.asp

BLET President’s statement regarding Dec. 18 Amtrak derailment in Washington State INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, December 19 The following is a statement by Dennis R. P...ierce, National President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), regarding the fatal Amtrak derailment in Washington State on December 18, 2017: Members of the BLET’s Safety Task Force are on the scene assisting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with the investigation into the tragic December 18 derailment of an Amtrak train in Washington State. As part of our Party Status agreement with the NTSB, the BLET does not make official comments about the details of any ongoing accident investigation, nor does BLET speculate on the events that may have contributed to such an accident during the investigation. Any current or former BLET members who chose to comment on this event do not speak for, or represent our Brotherhood or its members. All media inquiries should be directed to the NTSB, and the NTSB will handle release of details regarding this accident as the on-site investigation unfolds. Those who were hurt in the accident and the loved ones of those who lost their lives deserve to know what happened based upon the facts that are uncovered; sharing speculation based upon personal opinions about the events under investigation does them all a disservice. The BLET Safety Task Force (STF) assists federal agencies in the investigation of rail accidents, helping to determine probable causes and making safety recommendations. The STF will study this accident 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. On behalf of all men and women of the BLET, I extend our most heartfelt condolences to the victims and families of this tragedy. # # # The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) represents more than 57,000 professional locomotive engineers and trainmen throughout the United States. The BLET is the founding member of the Rail Conference, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

CALL TO ACTION ---- PLEASE READ AND THEN MAKE THE CALL!!!!!!!!!!! BLET Action Alert: Republican tax bill on track to put Railroad Retirement Unemployment & Sick...ness benefits in the siding http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=6050 INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, December 15 The Republican tax bill currently working its way through the House and the Senate could have a devastating impact on Railroad Retirement Unemployment and Sickness Benefits, according to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the General Counsel of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). All active and retired BLET members and their families are urged to contact their Senators and Representatives immediately and urge them to vote No. A vote is expected to take place next week. According to CBO’s analysis, the 2010 Pay-As-You-Go Act (or PAYGO) requires automatic reductions in federal spending to offset increases to the national debt. This is also known as sequestration, which already has negatively impacted Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Benefits for the past several years. According to published media reports, the proposed tax bill would add $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion to the national debt, in effect triggering sequestration on steroids. Through sequestration, the PAYGO act would trigger drastic cuts at all levels of all programs listed in the federal budget including the RRB’s Railroad Unemployment and Sickness program. The RRB’s General Counsel warns, This would have the practical result of a 100% sequestration of all non-exempt direct spending accounts including the funds from the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund which is used to pay unemployment and sickness benefits. The result: about $18 million all of which is paid by employers subject to the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) on an experience-rated basis would be taken from the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to pay for tax breaks for others corporations and the nation’s wealthiest private citizens. Please call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and ask to speak with the House of Representative Member from your Congressional District. If you do not talk directly with your Member of Congress, then ask to speak to the staff member who handles Labor issues. When speaking to staff, please be respectful just as you would if you were personally speaking with your member of Congress. Also follow these procedures when contacting each of the two Senators from your state. Contact information for your member of the House can be found online here: https://www.house.gov/htbin/findrep. Contact information for your Senator can be found online here. RUIA taxes are paid by the railroad industry to help our Brothers and Sisters who are injured or out of work, BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce said. If this threat to their economic security doesn’t make you furious then you aren’t paying attention. The wildly irresponsible Republican tax proposal would rob hard working Americans to give tax breaks to wealthiest Americans and to even wealthier corporations. I urge each and every member of the BLET and their families, as well as those in the BLET Auxiliary, to lobby their Representatives and Senators and demand that they vote ‘No’ on this outrageously unfair tax bill.