BLET members OK new contracts with Wheeling & Lake Erie

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) members have ratified two new collective bargaining agreements with the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co. (W&LE).

One contract covers 75 locomotive engineers and the other covers 130 trainmen, according to a BLET press release.

Each seven-year agreement governs work rules, pay rates and health and welfare issues. Ballots were counted Jan. 18.

The agreements run through 2026 and provide "significant" signing bonuses based on years of service, BLET officials said. The engineers' contract provides general wage increases of 65.4 percent over the life of the agreement, while the conductors' pact provides a 62.9 percent general wage increase.

The negotiating process began over seven years ago. Based in Brewster, Ohio, the W&LE operates 840 track miles in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. It interchanges with CSX, CN and Norfolk Southern Railway, as well as 16 regional, short line and switching railroads.