BLET National President Hall to retire May 1

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) yesterday announced that National President Eddie Hall will retire May 1. First Vice President Mark Wallace will succeed Hall as national president in accordance with BLET bylaws.

Hall announced his decision to retire at an April 23 meeting of the union’s advisory board meeting in New Orleans. Following that announcement, board members voted to elevate Vice President Gary Best to first vice president, BLET officials said in a press release.

Hall was elected to the union’s highest office in December 2022. He began his railroad career in 1995 when he hired out with the former Southern Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific) in El Paso, Texas. He was promoted to locomotive engineer in 1998 after relocating to Tucson, Arizona.

Hall is a member of BLET Division 28 in Tucson, having joined BLET on July 1, 1999. He served on Division 28’s Local Committee of Adjustment for 12 years and was first vice local chairman of Division 28 prior to his election as national president.

Wallace, a locomotive engineer for Norfolk Southern Railway, will become the 25th president in the BLET’s 162-year history. He is a member of BLET Division 267 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Best, a locomotive engineer for CSX, began his term as BLET national vice president on Jan. 1, 2023. He is a member of BLET Division 498 in Abbeville, South Carolina.