Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Division 34 - President & Secretary-Treasure

It seems like the dawn of the new error has came and went. We have gotten a little relaxed and maybe letting our guard down and I'm just as guilty. But I knew we elected a good local chairman with J.D. Scott to keep the THE FIRE BURNING.

I would like to take this time to welcome all of the new members to BLE&T. I'm working on the welcome letters to all of the new members. Tom heater has been giving me all of the names and info. of the new members for that purpose, but I have been lazy about getting them out. There is know excuse for this but to tell you that I'm sorry and I will do better. You have showed that you have the courage and common sense to see the better light, and least I could do is to welcome you.

I would also like to welcome Rob Dehart as local chairman in the yard. That is something we have needed for along time. We all have the greatest confidence in you and I'm sure you will do a fine job.

Please remember that our union meeting is on the last Tuesday of every month at 1300. The next one will on March 30th. at the teamster hall.

Thank You!

Woody (president)

div. 34

So far it has been a busy year. I have spent most of the past two months just getting things set-up the way I want and need them. Kenny Webster has been a big help in getting me started and showing me how to correctly fill out the monthly and annual forms. Also, I attended the Secretary-Treasurers class at the GeorgeMeanyCenter this past February 22^nd - 25^th.

Monday, our first day, primarily consisted of a presentation from three investigators from the Department of Labor. One of the tasks that the Secretary-Treasurer has is doing a Labor Management report at the end of the year. The main thing the Labor Department Investigators talked about was how to correctly fill out this report. Kenny had me fill in his report for last year while he watched over to make sure I did it right. That helped me a lot, because I already understood most of what they were talking about. Tuesday was a full day. We started in the morning and did not finish until around 9 p.m. That day consisted of a presentation from the Railroad Retirement Board and going over all of the other forms that we will or may need to use and all of the taxes that we will or may have to pay. We had to learn how to do the payroll taxes for those divisions that have a paid representative and for those of us who may pay on a regular basis at a later date. This also applies if we pay for a day of lost wages, so it was very important that they taught us this and that we understood what they were teaching. I feel the class was taught well and was absolutely worth attending. I have the confidence now that I can do what was taught during our class with little or no problems. If I do have a question about any of the forms or procedures, we were given several names and numbers of people we can call or e-mail. Dr. Elaine Reese, from our National office in Cleveland, taught most of the class. Dr. Reese is a former IRS agent and has her doctorate in accounting. She is very knowledgeable and did a great job of teaching us so much in a very short time.

I highly recommend that if you ever have the opportunity to take a class at the GeorgeMeanyCenter, that you do it. It is an excellent school and is growing and adding on at the present time. Their school has an excellent library and a plethora of information on unions and labor studies. The AFL-CIO purchased this school in 1971 and operates it today. As you know, we are the only union on our property that is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. The fact that you support the AFL-CIO by being in a union affiliated with them, is something to be very proud of. By supporting the AFL-CIO you are also supporting the GeorgeMeanyCenter for Labor Studies. If you would like more information about this school you can request a brochure or if you would like more information about the AFL-CIO, I will provide this information at the bottom of the page. Also, I am interested in teaching anyone who would like to learn what I have learned so far about the duties and responsibilities of the Secretary-Treasurer. If you think this is something you might want to do later on, then I encourage you to get in-touch with me. I am certainly not planning on resigning or anything like that. However, I do encourage as many of you that want to, to get involved by getting with the person that is holding the office that you may be interested in and may want to do someday. The more you learn now, the more confidence you will have later. The more people we have that know and can do these jobs, the stronger our local will be. Thank you for allowing me to be your S/T. So far it has been an honor and a pleasure. I hope that you will attend the meetings as much as you possibly can, use your website to retrieve and offer information to your Brothers and Sisters, and BE Safe. Thank you and God Bless Division 34.