BLET signs pacts with SEPTA, CPKC Soo Line; adds short line to union

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) members ratified new collective bargaining agreements with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and the CPKC Soo Line.

At SEPTA, 300 workers voted to confirm a one-year contract that raises wages by 5%. The ratification follows months of bargaining with the transit agency as it faces budget shortfalls.

"This contract ensures the hard work of SEPTA's BLET Teamsters does not go unrecognized as the agency looks ahead to the future," said Jim Louis, BLET national vice president. 

On the CPKC Soo Line, one of CPKC's U.S. subsidiaries, 300 locomotive engineers ratified a contract that ensures compound wage increases of 18.8% over the length of the five-year agreement. The contract also includes improvements to work rules, BLET officials said.

Meanwhile, Dakota and Iowa Railroad (D&I) workers voted to join the BLET. The National Mediation Board certified the election results on Dec. 4.

D&I is a short line that operates more than 138 miles of tracks from Dell Rapids, South Dakota, to Sioux City, Iowa, with 11 workers. It is wholly owned subsidiary of L.G. Everist Inc. BLET National Vice President Randy Fannon led the organizing drive with assistance from BLET Special Representatives Brian Terpening and Jorge Gomez, BLET officials said in a press release.

The 11 employees sought out the BLET to help secure better pay and benefits, improvements to working conditions and an enforceable union contract, BLET officials said. They will soon begin negotiating their first union contract.