Former BLET VP Speagle dies

Former Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) National Vice President Stephen Speagle died May 26. He was 74.

Speagle began his railroad career in 1964 as a switchman for the Norfolk & Western Railroad in Decatur, Illinois. He was promoted to locomotive engineer and joined the BLET as a member of Division 155 in Decatur in 1972.

Speagle was elected to the office of international VP of the then-Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in September 2001 and was reelected in 2006. He announced his retirement in 2010.

Speagle helped to negotiate many contracts during his tenure as a union officer, including agreements with Norfolk Southern Railway while serving as general chairman, and with BNSF Railway Co. while assigned as a national VP. He also helped negotiate a contract for members at Pacific Harbor Line in 2005.

The agreements helped boost pay rates of pay and improve working conditions for members, BLET officials said in a news release.