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On Friday, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) marked its 146th anniversary. The union was founded as the Brotherhood of the Footboard on May 8, 1863, in Marshall, Mich., after Michigan Central Railroad locomotive engineers became discouraged with pay cuts and firemen dismissals.

In 1864, the union changed its name to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, which remained the organization’s name for the next 140 years until it merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Jan. 1, 2004, and became the BLET.

Today, the BLET is the founding member of the Teamsters’ Rail Conference and represents about 40,000 U.S. rail workers.

"While the rail industry may be facing troubled times now due to the depressed economy, we can look back and know that we have endured worse during the past 146 years,” said BLET National President Ed Rodzwicz in a prepared statement. “With a labor-friendly White House, a freight industry poised to resume record profits when the national economy turns around and an unprecedented amount of public funding slated to boost America's high-speed rail network, we know things can only get better."