advertisement

---

On Saturday, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) marked its 147th anniversary. The union was founded as the Brotherhood of the Footboard on May 8, 1863, in Marshall, Mich.

In 1864, the union changed its name to Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, a name it retained for 140 years until it merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Jan. 1, 2004, and became the BLET and founding member of the Teamsters Rail Conference.

Today, the BLET represents about 40,000 U.S. rail workers and is one of the nation’s largest rail labor unions.