(WASHINGTON) – Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Vice President & National Legislative Representative John Tolman has been named to the Advisory Board of the American High Speed Rail Alliance (AHSRA). AHSRA is an organization whose mission is to advocate for the development and implementation of a high speed passenger rail network in the United States.

In his capacity as a member of the advisory board, Tolman will provide guidance to the alliance on its mission to advocate for the development and implementation of an improved passenger rail network in the United States. The board will support the alliance’s policy agenda, participate in strategic planning sessions, maintain a dialogue with stakeholders in the high speed rail industry and help to establish the permanent governing board of directors for the alliance.

“I’m very proud to have John Tolman representing the BLET on the AHSRA Board,” said Dennis Pierce, BLET National President. “With interest in high speed rail at a peak, I believe that the BLET needs to ensure that the interests of our members are protected. I have every confidence that Brother Tolman will serve as a persuasive advocate for BLET members and all of rail labor.”

One of the group’s goals is to ensure workforce development initiatives that identify, train and support American workers to design, build operate and maintain America’s high speed and regional passenger rail network. The group’s mission is similar to that advocated by the BLET in its high speed rail position paper and comments regarding the National Rail Plan.

“I am proud and humbled to accept this appointment,” Tolman said. “I look forward to lobbying on behalf of BLET members as well as our fellow brothers and sisters in the Teamsters Rail Conference, making sure that high speed rail creates good, safe jobs for all of rail labor.”

Additionally, the alliance will leverage its resources and relationships to:

• Support the proposed $50 billion authorization for high speed rail in the SAFETEA-LU
• re-authorization legislation, and work with Congress to identify a dedicated source of funding to appropriate towards this authorization;
• Modify existing federal funding and financing programs such as RRIF, TIFIA, and Build America Bonds to ensure eligibility for high speed rail investments;
• Promote innovative tools that incentivize private sector participation in high speed rail financing including public/private partnerships and the development of a national infrastructure investment bank;
• Support enactment of freight rail investment tax credits that benefit the development of high speed rail;
• Advocate for a $4 billion annual appropriation from the Transportation Appropriations account for high speed rail development;
• Develop a dedicated, and predictable funding source for high speed rail to allow effective long-term planning and develop a sustainable market for high speed rail vendors and service providers;
• Support full funding of Amtrak; and
• Be a partner in industry efforts to sensibly and cost-effectively implement safety regulations, such as Positive Train Control (PTC), while advocating for funding to meet these mandates and transparency in the development of critical technology.

The BLET is a division of the Teamsters Rail Conference and represents more than 35,000 men and women locomotive engineers and trainmen on our nation’s railroads. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Honoring a heritage

A ceremony in Roanoke paid tribute to the black railroad workers who labored during segregation.

 

Photos by JARED SOARES The Roanoke Times

Joseph Johnson (center) and A. Byron Smith (right) laugh during the African-American N&W Heritage Celebration held Saturday in Roanoke.

Richard Dean (center) is greeted Saturday by the Rev. Clinton Scott (left) before a celebration honoring men in their 90s who worked for the railroad in the days of segregation.

People gather at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke on Saturday to remember the contributions of the black workers who helped establish the railroad heritage of Roanoke and the Norfolk and Western Railway.

Were it not for the railroad, there would be no Roanoke.

That's the conventional wisdom often expressed by city residents who point to the Norfolk & Western Railway's decision to move to the small town of Big Lick in the 1880s as the spark that ignited the city's history.

But there's a corollary to that statement as well: Were it not for the black men who toiled on the tracks, in the freight center and in dining cars, the railroad would not have been what it was and is.

Just a handful of black men survive of all those who worked for the railroad during the 1930s and '40s -- a time when segregation was still legal and there was no such thing as equal opportunity laws. There are fewer with each passing year: Frank Dean, who worked in the rail shops, died just last month at age 97.

On Saturday, the African-American N&W Heritage Group and the Virginia Division of the Norfolk Southern Corp. celebrated the contributions of the remaining men over 90 years of age who toiled for the railroad: Richard Dean, Frank Dean's brother; Lee Graves; Joseph Johnson; Al Holland; Ulysses Randolph; and John Divers.

A. Byron Smith, who did not work with the railyard but who has helped the heritage group, was also honored.

The event, held at the Virginia Museum of Transportation, also marked a chance for other railroad employees and transportation aficionados to express their appreciation for the men and their contributions to Roanoke.

"Those of us who are still working for Norfolk Southern would like to thank all of the recipients because we're standing on their shoulders," said John Nutter, a locomotive engineer. "They allowed us to be able to do what we do."

The heritage group already has transformed many of the men's stories into a transportation museum exhibit called "African-American Heritage on the Norfolk & Western, 1930-1970." It is also collecting stories for a book called "From Cotton to Silk," which will track African-Americans' progress from lower-level jobs to higher-paying positions. The book is still in planning stages.

The men, now in their 90s, worked for the railroad during a time when employment there meant prestige in the community. Railroad jobs paid more than most others at the time, and those men who held them were looked up to by others. They earned enough to buy cars, to buy houses and to send their children to college.

"It was a promotion from the other jobs I'd had. The railroad is just different," said Divers, 92. "At that particular time, it was different for the black men because it gave him a quality, decent salary. ... It made us feel like men."

Richard Dean, 95, said he was paid 42 cents an hour for working all day with no overtime, but that meant he could buy a nice set of clothes "for $40 and still have some change in your pocket left over for the weekend."

But there were limitations. In the era of segregation, black men were limited largely to menial labor. And taking a job meant that one was all but stuck there with no chance for advancement.

"There weren't any promotions then," said Holland, 93. "You were unpromotable men."

That began to change with passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which included provisions to prohibit discrimination by employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Holland had worked for years as a janitor for Norfolk and Western. The job helped him buy a home for his family -- but for years gave him no chance to advance.

"When fair employment came, I said, 'I'm going to apply for some of these other jobs,' " Holland said. "I got in the office up there, in the mail room. Every time a job opened up, I'd be there up on it. When I left there [in 1985] I was assistant manager in tariff compilations."

Later generations have benefited even more. David Cobbs, a Roanoke native who was the event's guest speaker, started out with NS as a laborer in the Shenandoah Division and now serves as one of the company's assistant vice presidents.

NS was also included this year in Black Enterprise magazine's annual list of the "40 Best Companies for Diversity."

Divers, Holland, Dean and others are humble men, but they are proud of their role in the railroad and its role in Roanoke.

"Put it this way: The railroad was Roanoke. That was it," Divers said. "If something came up, you'd find railroad officials right in the middle of it trying to get it straightened out. It was just a railroad time."

NEW YORK CITY — Underscoring the government’s commitment to securing transportation on the ground as well as in the air, Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano swore in the new chief of the Transportation Security Administration today at New York Penn Station, and announced a nationwide expansion of New York’s "See Something, Say Something," campaign.

Afterward, Napolitano and the new TSA administrator, John Pistole, boarded an Amtrak Acela train for Washington D.C. They were greeted there by New Jersey’s senior U.S. Senator, Frank Lautenberg, who this week was named chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriation’s Subcommittee, replacing the late Sen. Robert Byrd.

Lautenberg has accused homeland security officials of neglecting ground-based transportation in favor of airline security. But today, Lautenberg’s office released a statement saying that today’s event was, "an important step forward." Napolitano and Pistole also said they looked forward to meeting with the senator.

"We get it," Napolitano said.

Before discussing "See Something, Say Something," Napolitano outlined a new nationwide intelligence-gathering scheme that will start with Amtrak Police.

"Today, along with the Department of Justice and Amtrak, we are announcing a significant step toward enhancing security of the nation’ rail infrastructure through the implementation of a ...nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting, or SAR, capability throughout the entire Amtrak rail system," she told reporters.

Under the SAR program, Amtrak officers will gather disparate bits of information that, when pieced together and analyzed, could indicate a threat. The DHS and FBI analysts receiving the information, "have extensive training to distinguish between legal and illegal behavior." She added the program will protect the privacy rights and civil liberties of the public.

Napolitano said the SAR program will complement an expanded "See Something, Say Something," campaign, originally developed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for riders on New York City’s subways, busses and commuter trains.

"The concept is simple," Napolitano said. "If you are on a train, or standing on a platform, on in a station or public place and you see something that doesn’t look right, or out of place, like an unattended package or bag, or an individual acting in a suspicious manner, report it to law enforcement."

With Penn Station’s main Amtrak Departure board as a backdrop, Napolitano swore in Pistole with a bible, a handshake, and a grin that seemed to convey both warmth and relief. Pistole, a former FBI deputy director, was confirmed by the Senate on Friday, after a protracted effort by the Obama administration to install its own, permanent TSA chief marked by the withdrawal of two prior nominees. He said the public’s eyes and ears were part of the nation’s anti-terror network.

"Any counter-terrorism effort has to include an engaged and informed public," Pistole said, citing the May 1 car bombing attempt in Times Square, reported by a T-shirt vendor. "So if it comes down to common sense: If you see something, say something."

(WASHINGTON) – Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced the appointment of Rick Inclima, Director of Safety for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED), to a two-year term on the Transit Rail Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS).

“I congratulate Brother Inclima on his appointment to a committee that will undoubtedly have an impact on the safety of our rail members and transit systems nationwide,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “Our rail members face hazardous working conditions every day, and having a strong advocate for their safety will benefit them.”

The committee is a result of President Obama’s Public Transportation Safety Program Act of 2009, which authorized the U.S. Transportation Department to establish federal safety standards for rail transit systems, reversing a prohibition that had been in effect since 1965.

Inclima has been a member of the BMWED since 1975 and the Director of Safety since 1998. Inclima originally hired out as a trackman with the Penn Central Railroad and spent most of his railroad career as a Welder Foreman in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the National Labor College/Antioch in 1998 and currently serves as BMWED’s representative on the Federal Railroad Administration’s Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC).

The 20 new members of TRACS represent state and local transit agencies, state safety oversight organizations, transit employee unions, industry associations and other stakeholders.

The BMWED is a division of the Teamsters Rail Conference and represents more than 35,000 men and women engaged in the construction, repair and maintenance of railroad tracks, bridges, structures and equipment on our nation’s railroads. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood today announced members of the Transit Rail Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS), a newly formed advisory committee that will assist the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) with developing national safety standards for rail transit. 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/news/news_events_11786.html

At the June 24 Teamsters Rail Conference Convention, Dennis Pierce, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), First Vice President and Alternate President, was elected by acclamation to the office of President. Lee Pruitt, BLET Vice President, was elected as Vice President of the Conference, and Perry K. Geller, Sr., Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWED) Secretary-Treasurer was re-elected by acclamation to the office of Rail Conference Secretary-Treasurer.

"Brother Pruitt and I are both honored to have been given the opportunity to serve the Rail Conference,” Pierce said. “We are both dedicated to working with Brother Geller and the other officers of the Rail Conference to make the Teamsters Rail Conference stronger as BLET and BMWED transition into the future together."

The BLET Advisory Board also elected representatives who will serve on the Rail Conference Policy Committee. They are First Vice President/Alternate President Dennis Pierce, National Secretary-Treasurer Bill Walpert, Vice President & National Legislative Representative John Tolman, and Vice President Lee Pruitt.

The Rail Conference Convention came on the heels of the BMWED National Convention, where delegates reelected incumbent President Freddie Simpson by acclamation, as well as Secretary-Treasurer Perry K. Geller Jr..

Simpson, who also serves as a Teamsters Vice President, congratulated the new Rail Conference officers on their election.

“I am very confident in the newly elected officers and am very excited about working with them to transition both Craft Divisions and the Teamsters Rail Conference into the future,” Simpson said.

BMWED National Division President Freddie N. Simpson, who also serves as a Teamster International Vice President, was reelected by acclamation today during the union’s Quadrennial Convention.

During her nominating speech, Staci Moody-Gilbert said, “Great leaders are able to visualize and prepare. Freddie has been steadfast in preparing us for the future and was instrumental in developing the ten-year plan. He has seen the numbers and realizes that something must be done. He knows that a good majority of our union members, local and national division officers, and staff will be retiring over the next few years, and he is dedicated to filling the shoes of those who have served our union so faithfully and honorably”.

The floor was opened for nominations this morning during the second day of meetings. BMWED Secretary-Treasurer Perry K. Geller Sr. and all of the BMWED National Division Officers were also reelected by acclamation.

The regional Vice Presidents;  J. R. “Randy” Cook (SE Region), David D. Joynt (NW Region), Roger D. Sanchez (SW Region), David D. Tanner (Western Region) and Henry W. Wise (NE Region), will remain in their positions for another term. The delegates also retained their current Executive Board members.

Simpson thanked the convention delegates for their hard work during the first two days of meetings and congratulated each of the elected officers. 

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead this great brotherhood for another term and especially excited to be doing so with the same great group officers,” Simpson said.

Read more about the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division Convention.

(LAS VEGAS) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa and Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel addressed the opening of the Second Regular Convention of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) today, pledging to continue the fight for improved safety at work, more jobs constructing railroads and new members. View photos from this event.

“When I look at you, I see the American labor movement,” Hoffa said. “When we merged our two unions in 2004, we truly became the largest transportation union in America. With members on the highways, on the rails and in the air, I thank you for helping us achieve this goal. Together, we are stronger.”

Hoffa said the Teamsters Union would use its influence in Washington to continue pushing for new funding for rail projects, such as new rail beds and high speed rail lines, to create more union jobs. More than 500 delegates from across the country are attending this week’s convention, which runs through Thursday.

“I believe there is a great bond between our unions because you built the transportation system in this country through sweat and blood, and in the beginning, you had major struggles,” Keegel said. “We also fought battles and shed blood. Now together, we are making progress.”

BMWED President Fred Simpson also addressed the delegate members in a keynote address, saying the division’s focus is on building strength for the future.

“Both Jim Hoffa and Tom Keegel are truly leading the fight for the middle class. They are a beacon of light for workers everywhere,” Simpson said. “The focus of my administration is transitioning our brotherhood for the future. I need your input and your support to transform this union.

The BMWED is a division of the Teamsters Rail Conference and represents more than 32,000 hardworking men and women who build, maintain and construct rail lines, bridges and related infrastructure throughout the United States.

Read more about the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division Convention.