BLET to conduct training for Legislative Representatives

Written by BLE-T.org Thursday, 01 April 2026 00:00

The BLET Education & Training Department, in conjunction with the National Legislative Office and the National Association of State Legislative Board Chairmen (NASLBC), will conduct a workshop for BLET Division Legislative Representatives in Washington, D.C., from May 23-27, 2010.

The workshop will take place at Teamster headquarters in Washington, D.C., with classroom training beginning the evening of Sunday, May 23. All-day classroom training will follow on May 24, 25 and 26.   

The workshop will cover the following topics:

• Computer skills (principles of letter writing and database management);

• Regulatory affairs (reporting and documenting important issues);

• Political affairs (the anatomy of elections, how a bill becomes a law, communications skills, and writing to politicians);

• Robert’s Rules of Order (conducting meetings); and 

• Understanding individual State Legislative Board bylaws.
After completion of the classroom training, attendees will participate in a full day of lobbying on May 27. May 28 is scheduled for travel home.  

Instructors for the class will include: Bill Walpert, National Secretary-Treasurer; John Tolman, Vice-President & National Legislative Representative; Ken Kroeger, BLET Special Representative & Coordinator of the Education & Training Department; Fred McLuckie, Teamsters Legislative Director; Bill Munger, Teamsters Department of Training & Development; Christy Bailey, Teamsters Director of Field and Political Action; Tim Smith, California State Legislative Board Chairman and Chairman of the NASLBC; Tim Hanely, BLET Ohio State Legislative Board Chairman; Kathleen Policy, BLET Legislative, Political & Regulatory Coordinator; Gail Carson, Administrative Assistant to the Vice President & National Legislative Representative; and Steve Bruno, BLET Director of Regulatory Affairs.  

Participation in the workshop is limited to the first 18 who register, with a limit of two representatives from each state.

Those who successfully complete the classroom portion of the workshop will be eligible for a stipend of $116 per day from the North American Railway Foundation (NARF). The stipends will be paid directly to the State Legislative Board or Division Secretary-Treasurer.

NARF is a non-profit operating foundation formed by the Brotherhood’s Relief and Compensation Fund (BR&CF) to support rail history, education, safety, and technology in the United States and Canada. With initial funding and continued Board of Directors stewardship coming from the BR&CF, NARF has supported many non-political projects throughout the United States and Canada over the past 10 years. The primary focus of these efforts has been in support of organized rail labor — giving back to all of the men and women of the railroad community across North America.

Register for the class at http://www.ble-t.org/lr.

After registering for the workshop, workshop attendees will receive an e-mail confirmation that will include hotel registration information. Attendees are responsible for their transportation costs, along with the cost of room and board.

For more information, please contact Ken Kroeger of the BLET Education & Training Dept. at (216) 272-0986 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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