Cole Davis reelected Norfolk Southern general chairman
CLEVELAND, October 27 — Cole W. Davis was reelected to his third term as General Chairman of the BLET’s Norfolk Southern-Northern Lines General Committee of Adjustment at quadrennial meetings in Cleveland on September 30-October 2.
Brother Davis is a member of BLET Division 86 in Moberly, Mo. He first joined the BLET on January 1, 1984. This is his second full term as General Chairman, winning elections in 2005 and 2009. He served a partial term after 2001.
First Vice-Chairman Bob Linsey was reelected by acclamation, as was Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Elmore. This is the third full term on the General Committee for Brother Linsey, who first began serving the BLET as a Local Chairman in 1986. Also reelected by acclamation was Vice General Chairman Stephen Fogle, Division 292, who represents members on the Wheeling & Lake Erie property.
Also elected were: 2nd Vice Chairman Rodney Cutlip, Division 385; 3rd Vice Chairman Ron Couch, Division 83; 4th Vice Chairman Dewayne Dehart, Division 548; and Alternate Secretary-Treasurer Brian Mills, Division 273.
Thirty-three Local Chairmen were as session representing the various Divisions and Local Committees of Adjustment on the Norfolk Southern-Northern Lines GCofA.
Numerous BLET National Division officers were in attendance, including: Acting President Paul Sorrow; National Secretary-Treasurer Bill Walpert; Vice President & National Legislative Representative John Tolman; National Vice President Dennis Pierce; National Vice President and Arbitration Director Marcus Ruef; and National Vice President Willard Knight.
Also in attendance were: General Chairman Jim Louis, Conrail SAA/CSX Northern District; General Chairman Rick Finamore, CSX Northern Lines; General Chairman Kevin Peek, Norfolk Southern-Eastern Lines; 1st Vice Chairman Bill Thompson, Norfolk Southern-Southern Lines; and Ohio State Legislative Board Chairman Tim Hanely. Ken Kroeger, Coordinator of the BLET Education and Training Department and Special Representative, and Dan Cook, BLET Director of Benefits, were also in attendance.
Brother Doug Davidson, BLET Assistant Arbitration Director, worked with Vice President Ruef to conduct a Section 3 Arbitration workshop for the delegates,
Retired General Chairmen Larry Sykes and Joe Frailey were also in attendance.
“I appreciate all those who attended,” said Brother Davis.
Representatives from railroad management also attended the meeting, including: Joseph Burley, Director of Human Resources, Wheeling & Lake Erie; Steve Budzina, Vice President of Labor Relations, Norfolk Southern; Mark Manion, Executive Vice President & Vice President of Operations, NS; John P. Rathbone, Executive Vice President, Administration, NS; and Donald Seale, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officers.
“I thank the outgoing officers and look forward to working with the incoming officers on our Executive Committee,” Brother Davis said.
Also in attendance were: Michael Burns and Paul Nowakowski of Merryl Lynch; Woody Taylor, who gave a presentation of the Short Term Disability Plan; and Carol Sincebaugh of the Wabash Hospital Association.
The BLET’s Norfolk Southern-Northern Lines General Committee of Adjustment represents more than 2,600 members from 30 different BLET Divisions. The membership consists primarily of locomotive engineers and trainmen on the Norfolk Southern and Wheeling & Lake Erie railroads who live and work in Ohio, Indiana, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
bentley@ble.org
