Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers is the senior national labor organization in the United States; it is also North America’s oldest rail labor union. The BLE marked its 135th anniversary in 1998 and was founded in Marshall, Mich. on May 8, 1863, as The Brotherhood of the Footboard; a year later, its name was changed to the present. The BLE’s motto is: “Since 1863, A Tradition of Forward Thinking.”

PURPOSE: “To combine the interests of locomotive engineers or other persons in railway service… (to) elevate their social, moral and intellectual standing, guard their financial interests, and promote their general welfare and safety; its cardinal principles — sobriety, truth, justice and morality.” — from the Preamble of the BLE Constitution, revised 1996.

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