California State Legislative Board

Welcome to BLET's California State Legislative Board Website
This site is provided by the CSLB to help keep you up to date on issues of concern to you as a BLET member, as well as to provide you with ready access to your representatives and the wealth of information available to you on the internet.

CSLB Mission Statement

"In faith to persevere for the collective good of the Brotherhood, shall we strive for the betterment of the industry we serve and for the families we love and protect. Where, in the halls of the Assembly and the Legislatures of our Great State and Nation, we shall counsel the powers of the land to insure a just and fair hearing. In our grievances and in our accolades, we discharge the trusts of our members for standards of safety and quality of life, and establish a righteous purpose so as to temper the objective concerns of the industry of railroading, with the subjective realities of the human condition. For this we serve, for this we protect, and for this we envision a tomorrow of credit to our calling, and to the great history and pride of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the California State Legislative Board."

I recently called Senator Boxer's and Senator Feinstein's office to voice a concern over what we are currently doing to provide the safety the crews and the public deserve on the nation's railroads. While we as an organization, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, support the implementation of Positive Train Control, we must insist that it be an overlay system to back up the Locomotive Engineer who operates the train. In other words, should something happen, the PTC system takes over and stops the train...freight and passenger. Some major carriers are insisting the opposite...that PTC become the primary automated way of moving trains, with a "lookout" sitting in the cab observing the process. This is flawed thinking from my perspective.

As you know, it will take years to implement this technology, and once implemented (after many cost overruns etc...) there will be many "bugs" to work out. PTC is NOT a silver bullet. No Collision Avoidance System is. However, you may ask what we can do right now to create another line of defense on each and every train (passenger or freight) in the nation. The answer is very simple...TWO PEOPLE IN THE CAB OF EVERY TRAIN! There was only one person in the cab during the Metrolink crash...that puts everyone at high risk should the Engineer become incapacitated in any way.

For years, the railroads, just like other major corporations, have been streamlining their industry in order to enhance their bottom lines. The adage of doing "More With Less" applies. It is time for the railroads to start working toward real safety, so that we can do a better job of preventing accidents like the one that occurred in LA last week.

Please let me know if this is something that interests Senator Boxer. Until such time as I hear from you, I remain...

Yours truly,

Timothy L. Smith, State Chairman
California State Legislative Board
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
610 Auburn Ravine Rd., Suite C
Auburn, CA 95603
530-823-7510
530-823-7215 FAX
916-996-2967 Cell

Sign Up for the BLET Political Action Committee Today!!!
Email the Webmaster Tuka with any questions, comments, ideas, or changes!