Winter 2001
Volume 108 - No. 4
Winter 2001
Volume 108 - No. 4
BLE Focus
Meet the new BLE officers
At the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers' Seventh Quinquennial Convention in Miami Beach, Fla., the delegates made several changes in the ranks of the BLE leadership. These changes marked a significant deviation from the previous administration of the BLE and the newly elected leadership will set the BLE's course for the next five years.
Delegates elected three new members of the Executive
Committee - International President Don M. Hahs, First Vice-President &
Alternate President Edward W. Rodzwicz and General Secretary-Treasurer William
C. Walpert - who had previously served as International Vice-Presidents
and were first elected to the Advisory Board at the Sixth Quinquennial Convention
in Detroit.
Don Hahs came to the position of BLE International President in a run-off election.
President Hahs has vowed to make the BLE a more member-friendly organization than it has been in the recent past and plans an open-door administration dedicated to serving the members' interests.
"This is a service organization first and foremost," said Hahs.
While he will be more receptive and welcoming, he also vows to do whatever it takes to protect the interests of the members.
"We may be willing to work with other groups," said Hahs. "But we won't allow people to push us around."
Hahs comes into the office of International
President with a history of leadership on all levels of the organization.
He joined BLE Division 366 in 1975, after being promoted to locomotive engineer
in 1974, and he was elected to the office of Local Chairman from 1977-80.
From 1980 until his election to the position of Vice-President in 1996,
he served as General Chairman of the BLE General Committee of Adjustment
for the SP-Eastern Lines. He also chaired the Western General Chairmens
Association, and the 1983 Southwestern Convention Meeting Association. At
the BLE's international convention in 1986, he was appointed to the Constitution
& Bylaws Committee. Since 1991, he has been a member of BLE Division
566 in Del Rio, Texas.
As Vice-President, Hahs coordinated activities with various BLE general committees on the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe System and Union Pacific. He also assisted with the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger.
His father E. D. "Gene" Hahs was a member of BLE Division 442. Brother Hahs was born Dec. 17, 1942, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He and wife Janice have three children - Von, Michelle and Sonya. Von is a member of BLE Division 139 (Houston). Two of his brothers-in-law, G.M. Scheper and R.D. Scheper, belong to BLE Division 442 (Scott City, Mo.). A third brother-in-law belongs to BLE Division 62 (Houston).
Edward Rodzwicz, who was elected to the
position of First Vice-President & Alternate President, has been active
in the BLE for many years. He joined the BLE in 1977, and since has served
in numerous division offices and on several BLE committees. He began his
career at the International level in 1988 as a part-time Special Representative.
This position became full-time in 1989.
He was part of a team that won three BLE representation elections: New Jersey Transit hostlers, Wheeling & Lake Erie engineers, and Guilford Railroad (including the Springfield Terminal, Boston & Maine, and Maine Central). In 1991, Rodzwicz was elected to the Second Alternate U.S. Vice President position at the Fifth Quinquennial International Convention.
Rodzwicz began his rail career in 1976, when he hired on with Conrail as a fireman-hostler in Pitcairn, Pa. He earned his promotion to engineer the next year.
In addition to his service at the International level, he has served in many positions at the local and general committee level. From 1983-1990, he served as Local Chairman of his Wilkinsburg, Pa. Division. He was also elected to Legislative Representative and served from 1986-89. In 1985, he was elected to Secretary-Treasurer of the BLE's Pennsylvania State Legislative Board, and served until 1990. In 1986, he was elected to Alternate Vice-Chairman of the BLE General Committee of Adjustment representing engineers on Contrail 'D' and 'E' Districts, and served until 1993.
Rodzwicz served as secretary of the Conrail Bylaws Committee in 1983, and then as its chairman in 1986 and 1989. He also served on the International Division Finance Committee in 1986, and has served on several International Office committees as a special representative. He is also co-author of the "BLE Division Officers Reference Manual."
A veteran of two years in the U.S. Marine Corps, he was stationed in the U.S. and Vietnam. He attended the University of Pittsburgh.
Born Aug. 27, 1946, in Cannonsburg, Pa.,
he and wife Victoria have two daughters, Kristin and Joelle. Several members
of Rodzwicz's family have worked in the railroad industry, with service
totaling more than 110 years.
William C. "Bill" Walpert is the BLE's new General Secretary-Treasurer, the Brotherhood's chief financial position.
From 1996 until his election as General Secretary-Treasurer, he held the office of International Vice-President. In 1991, he was elected to the office of First Alternate International Vice-President.
As the General Secretary-Treasurer, Walpert will promote a plan of "fiscal responsibility" in order to get the BLE's finances back on track.
President Hahs and General Secretary-Treasurer Walpert, along with BLE staff members, have been examining the budget in order to see what needs must be met and what can be cut.
"We are embarking on a program of fiscal
responsibility," said Walpert. "After the dues increase comes
through, we will look at expanding some existing programs and establishing
new ones for the members. Until then, it is business as usual."
Walpert will continue to head the BLE's Education & Training Department and will continue to serve as national chairman of the BLE's Safety Task Force, the rail industry's first employee-based accident investigation team. Walpert will also continue in his role as director of the BLE's Department of Internal Organizing, Mobilizing and Strategic Planning.
Brother Walpert joined BLE Division 172 in Ft. Worth, Texas, on Nov. 1, 1973, transferring to BLE Division 604 in Sherman, Texas, in 1991. During his 28 years with the BLE, Walpert has served as General Chairman on the St. Louis & San Francisco/Burlington Northern Railway General Committee of Adjustment from 1984-1992, and as seventh and then fourth alternate international vice-president, from 1986-1991. In addition, he has been Chairman of the Southwestern Convention Meeting's Scholarship Committee since 1984.His first railway position came in 1973 as a fireman for the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad in Fort Worth, and his promotion to locomotive engineer for Frisco came in 1974. Brother Walpert comes from a rich railroad heritage, as his grandfather, father and brother all worked in the rail industry.
A 1972 graduate of Southwest Missouri State
University with a master's degree in creative writing, he and his wife Janet
live in Twinsburg, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.
Along with these three brothers, a new Advisory Board was also elected in Miami Beach. There are four new members of the Advisory Board and the rest are returning members. The Advisory Board is responsible for setting, interpreting and enforcing polices according to the BLE's Constitution & Bylaws.
Raymond Holmes was elected to the position of International Vice-President & U.S. National Legislative Representative in a run-off election. Vice-President Holmes was previously the Chairman of the Texas State Legislative Board and served as Chairman of the National Association of State Legislative Board Chairmen.
Vice-President Paul Sorrow was re-elected by
acclamation to the position of International Vice-President. This is Vice-President
Sorrow's third term in office. Prior to his first election in 1991 to vice-president,
he served as General Chairman of the CSX Transportation (CSXT) Eastern Lines.
Vice-President Joseph A. Cassidy Jr. was re-elected to a third term in the position of International Vice-President. He served as BLE General Chairman for the Long Island Railroad immediately prior to becoming an International Vice-President in 1986.
Vice-President R.K. Radek was re-elected to
the position of International Vice-President. Radek serves as the Director
of Arbitration at the BLE's International Office in Cleveland. This is second
term as an International Vice-President. Immediately prior to his election
in 1996, he served as an Alternate Vice-President and the Director of Arbitration.
Vice-President Dale McPherson was elected by acclamation of the delegates in Miami Beach. On August 7, 1999, the BLE's Advisory Board elevated Brother McPherson to a vacant International Vice-President's position. Immediately prior to his 1999 promotion, McPherson served as First Alternate International Vice-President, winning election at the BLE's Sixth Quinquennial International Convention in July of 1996.
Brother Merle W. Geiger Jr. was elected to the position of International Vice-President for the first time in Miami Beach. Prior to his election, Brother Geiger served as General Chairman of the BNSF-MRL General Committee from 1998-2001.
Brother E.L. "Lee" Pruitt was elected
to the position of International Vice-President. This is his first term
in office. Immediately prior to his election, he served as the BLE General
Chairman on the UP Western lines.
Brother Stephen D. Speagle was elected to his first term in the position of International Vice-President. He served as General Chairman of the Norfolk Southern-Northern line prior to his election.
The Canadian officers remained unchanged in Miami Beach.
Vice-President and Canadian Director Gilles Hallé was re-elected to his position by acclamation. He announced at the convention that he expects this to be his final term in office prior to retirement.
Vice-President and National Legislative Representative-Canada T. George Hucker was re-elected in a run-off election. This is his third term in office. Immediately prior to becoming an International Vice-President, he served as General Chairman of the Canadian Pacific Western Lines, winning re-election twice to head the BLE General Committee of Adjustment on that railroad since 1986.
Congratulations to all these brothers on their election victories!
© 2001 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers