Tom Pontolillo
Director of Research / Assistant to the National President
Pontolillo@ble-t.org
(216) 241-2630 ext. 236
Tom Pontolillo serves the BLET as Director of Research and Assistant to the President. He was appointed to the position by National President Ed Rodzwicz on April 10, 2008.
Immediately prior to his appointment, Brother Pontolillo served the BLET as the Director of Regulatory Affairs at the BLET’s Washington, D.C. office. A member of BLET Division 11 in New York City, Brother Pontolillo first joined the Brotherhood as a member of Division 501 on September 1, 1973.
As Director of Research, Pontolillo will play a key role in the next round of national contract negotiations. Brother Pontolillo takes over the job previously held by Dennis Simmerman, who passed away on March 7. Simmerman had held the job for 25 years, and Brother Pontolillo says he has big shoes to fill.
“Dennis’ coordination of our efforts in national bargaining for the past 25 years means we have lost a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge, and President Rodzwicz believes the best interest of the BLET is served by my reassignment, as we begin to prepare for the 2009 round,” Pontolillo said. “I will have a great deal of study in the coming months, but I look forward to the challenge.”
Pontolillo began serving as Director of Regulatory Affairs in January of 2006. In that role, he represented the BLET on numerous collaborative endeavors (such as the Rail Safety Advisory Committee with the FRA); prepared the union’s comments submitted in response to various agencies’ proposals for rulemakings and proposed rules; and prepared comments submitted in response to petitions for waiver from compliance with FRA regulations. On February 13, 2007, he testified before the House Subcommittee on Railroads regarding worker fatigue in the railroad industry.
From 1999 through 2001, Brother Pontolillo served the Brotherhood as Director of Communications and Strategic Coordination. During the 1980s and 1990s he also prepared cases for several Presidential Emergency Boards and numerous LERB cases, and he was involved in two of the four appeals of decisions by the FRA’s Locomotive Engineer Review Board, which were decided by Department of Transportation Administrative Law Judges. In addition, he testified as an expert witness before Arbitration Board No. 564 on the impact of locomotive engineer certification.
Brother Pontolillo hired out as a fireman for the Penn Central Railroad in November of 1972. From 1977 to 1983, he served as Local Chairman of Division 501, representing members from Conrail, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. From 1983 to 1987, he performed various services for Division 501 and the Amtrak General Committee of Adjustment, representing members at disciplinary hearings and drafting arbitration briefs.
President Rodzwicz said Pontolillo’s experience will be an asset to the BLET National Division.
“I welcome Brother Pontolillo,” President Rodzwicz said. “He is a true professional who will be a stabilizing force at the National Division. I expect him to be tremendous resource as the Brotherhood gears up for the next round of national contract negotiations.”
