Summer 2001
Volume 108 - No. 2
Summer 2001
Volume 108 - No. 2
President's Message
Recognizing those who serve
One recurring theme in much of the correspondence I receive is that
the contribution of BLE members to the economies and well-being of Canada
and the United States rarely is acknowledged.
In fact, the role we play collectively is so important that a different set of laws and standards is applied to us, as compared to workers in most other industries; in the process, the contribution of the individual often is overlooked.
Individual efforts as part of the collective organization are what have made the railroad industry viable for so many years. However, the workers are usually forced into the background for the greater good of society.
The railroad industry, along with the airline industry, are expected by law to stay on the job through the most trying of circumstances. We are expected to put our needs last while the greater economic and social good comes first.
The foundation of social stability relies upon people working together as its cornerstone. The historical role of the locomotive engineer - and all railroad workers - made it possible for North America to be settled from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the span of a couple of generations.
Every now and then, someone performs such an heroic deed that he or she earns a place in history; Casey Jones is one such example. Brothers Don Blain and Kevin Lihou, who died in the Thamesville, Ontario, VIA Rail accident on April 23, 1999, are another. These Brothers were honored by the Canadian government posthumously for their efforts in saving many passengers' lives.
But, for every Casey Jones and Don Blain and Kevin Lihou, tens or hundreds of thousands of others have toiled - just as hard - in anonymity.
The same is true of the labor movement. Names such as Debs, Powderly, Lewis, Green and Reuther are etched in the history books, while thousands of officers and activists who led the ground wars that established the legitimacy of trade unions in the United States are largely forgotten. Yet, these nameless foot soldiers forged the labor movement as we know it.
Today, there are over 3,000 officers in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, fighting to protect the interests and working to improve the wages and working conditions of BLE members.
Some of the accomplishments of these fine Brothers and Sisters will receive broad renown. But, for many others, the greatest recognition they will receive is the satisfaction of knowing that they made a difference ... and a place in our Brotherhood telephone directory.
They serve their Brothers and Sisters largely for free - on their off-time from work - and often go unnoticed by their members until something goes wrong. Yet they endure, purely for the satisfaction of knowing that they did something to advance the cause of their fellow members.
This issue of the Journal is going to take a look at yet another special type of person. Everyone who is portrayed in our Focus Section is a BLE member, who helps make a contribution to our nations, by being at the center of the transportation industry.
Some of these members also serve their Brothers and Sisters as elected officers of the BLE. But we are not featuring them for either of these reasons.
Each of the people profiled in the Focus Section also has earned a degree of notoriety for volunteer work on behalf of the larger society. Their achievements run the gamut from making the general public more aware of the dangers that can be posed by rail traffic, to working to protect the public safety during times of crisis, to helping find missing persons.
These members are busy with work and family, but still find the time in their schedules to add to the character of our continent.
Too often we open a newspaper or turn on the news and encounter all of the bad things that happen in the world. Sometimes it seems as if nothing good ever happens any more. But these members show us that the world still is a good place.
They represent but a small fraction of the thousands of BLE members who make a difference in their communities 365 days of the year. And they are a measure of the character of our Organization.
© 2001 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers