Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

What Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen does

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is a U.S. labor union founded in 1863, making it the oldest labor union in North America. It is organized as a Division within the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), with national headquarters in Independence, Ohio. BLET represents locomotive engineers and trainmen across Class I railroads (including Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific), commuter rail (Keolis/Virginia Railway Express), and short-line operators (Watco, South Buffalo Railway Company), providing collective bargaining, contract negotiation, FRA certification support, arbitration, safety advocacy, legislative representation, and a member benefits package (retirement, health & welfare, disability, accidental death & dismemberment, critical illness, scholarships, Union Plus discounts). Its Safety Task Force holds NTSB Party Status for rail accident investigations.

BLET's technology stack is limited to operational communications infrastructure rather than a product platform: a member portal at members.ble-t.org, an SMS alert line (833-517-1541), a dedicated FRA Certification Helpline (216-694-0240), and email distribution including a Weekly News Recap. The union maintains a public website (blet.org), journals, newsletters, and a social media presence. BLET is led by National President Mark Wallace, who also serves as President of the Teamsters Rail Conference.

BLET's revenue model is membership dues, a recurring subscription funded by covered engineers and trainmen; specific dues amounts are not publicly disclosed. Growth in revenue and influence comes from organizing campaigns at non-union carriers and successful contract negotiations. Recent strategic actions include the July 2026 ratification of a first-ever agreement with Watco, a six-year Keolis/VRE contract through 2031, active opposition to the proposed UP-NS merger before the STB, and NTSB Party Status for Norfolk Southern investigations.

Name

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

Legal name

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

Website

https://ble-t.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1863

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

BLET is the oldest labor union in North America (founded 1863), representing locomotive engineers and trainmen across Class I, commuter, and short-line railroads via collective bargaining, safety advocacy, and member benefits. It operates as a Division of the IBT Rail Conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Independence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Union Membership Dues: BLET is funded through membership dues paid by locomotive engineers and trainmen it represents. The union provides collective bargaining, safety advocacy, legislative representation, and member benefits in exchange for dues.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

BLET is a labor union that represents locomotive engineers and trainmen working at U.S. railroads. Its core offering is collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, and worker advocacy, delivered through local divisions under the umbrella of the Teamsters Rail Conference. In exchange for membership dues, members receive contract negotiation, FRA certification support, safety advocacy, legislative representation, arbitration services, member benefits (retirement, health and welfare, disability, accident insurance), and education and scholarship resources.

Product overview

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is a labor union organized as a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). It is not a technology product company but rather a union organization offering a portfolio of member services including union membership with collective bargaining rights, contract negotiation, member benefits (retirement, health & welfare, short term disability, accidental death & dismemberment, critical illness insurance), FRA certification helpline, education & training programs, a Safety Task Force, National Legislative Office, arbitration services, scholarship programs, and member communications through journals and newsletters. The union also maintains a member website portal for member data access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• BLET members transported 90% of military freight and 97% of military passenger traffic during WWII

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBLET is a Division of the IBT Rail Conference. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is the parent labor organization representing over 1.3 million workers across North America.
• IBT Rail ConferencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBLET operates as a Division within the Teamsters Rail Conference, alongside other rail union divisions.
• Teamsters Canada Rail Council (TCRC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated rail union organization under the Teamsters umbrella serving Canadian rail workers.
• Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBLET and BMWED are both members of the Teamsters Rail Conference. BLET President Wallace highlighted solidarity at BMWED's Sixth Quadrennial Convention.
• Union PlusminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUnion Plus is a benefits program endorsed by BLET, offering discounts and services to union members and their families in areas including money, home, auto, shopping, insurance, health, education, and travel.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Transport Workers Union of America (TWU): AFL-CIO transportation-sector union representing workers in airlines, transit, and rail-adjacent occupations. Comparable to BLET as a transportation labor organization with rail/commuter membership overlap and parallel collective-bargaining structures.
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART): Parent union of SMART-TD. Comparable to BLET as the umbrella labor federation housing the largest competing rail labor division, with overlapping collective-bargaining relationships and parallel federal regulatory engagement on railroad operating crafts.
• Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA): The largest airline pilot union in the world and a transportation-sector labor peer. Comparable to BLET in representing highly trained, federally certified operating crew members in a safety-critical transportation mode and engaging with FRA/NTSB-equivalent regulators on safety standards.
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT): Parent labor federation of 1.3M+ members that houses BLET as a Division of its Rail Conference. Comparable as the broader labor-union entity that defines BLET's governance, dues-affiliation, and legislative reach across multiple industries.

Regional players

• Teamsters Canada Rail Council (TCRC): Canadian counterpart under the same Teamsters Rail Conference umbrella, representing locomotive engineers, conductors, and other rail workers in Canada. Operates in the same collective-bargaining model and shares solidarity relationships with BLET but in a separate national jurisdiction.

Direct peers

• SMART Transportation Division: The largest direct US rail-labor peer to BLET, SMART-TD represents train and engine service workers in freight and passenger rail — specifically conductors, brakemen, yardmasters, and dining-car employees — overlapping with BLET on the same trains at many carriers but organized separately under SMART rather than the Teamsters Rail Conference.
• Brotherhood Railway Carmen Division (BRAC) / IBT Rail Conference: Another IBT Rail Conference division alongside BLET representing carmen (rail-car repair) workers at freight railroads. Same parent federation, same bargaining-law framework, same railroad employers as BLET — a close structural peer.
• American Train Dispatchers Department (ATDD): Historically part of the BLE/BLET lineage and remaining a direct rail-labor peer representing train dispatchers at major US freight railroads. Comparable in targeting federally certified railroad operating employees and negotiating under the Railway Labor Act framework.
• Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED): Sister rail division under the IBT Rail Conference alongside BLET. BMWED represents maintenance-of-way (track) workers on the same North American railroads where BLET represents engineers and trainmen, making it the most structurally and organizationally comparable peer.

Others

• National Conference of Firemen & Oilers / SEIU 32BJ satellite rail division: Adjacent service-worker union with representation inside rail and transit properties. Comparable as a labor organization participating in joint bargaining at the same railroad employers where BLET holds separate craft contracts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BLETNational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bletnational

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen