Georgia Central Railway Votes to Join BLET (UPDATED, 10/30)

The short line organizing victory, which BLET says was due to “the specter of job loss to autonomous train technology” marks the union’s fifth since mid-2023. As was the case with all BLET’s recent short line organizing victories, the 31 Georgia Central workers cited “improved pay, stronger discipline protection, and better working conditions as reasons for joining BLET,” the union noted. However, they also said they wanted “union protection in the face of growing threats to their jobs from automation and artificial intelligence (AI).”

Earlier this year, Georgia Central, a 211-mile Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) property that runs from Savannah to Macon, Ga., and interchanges with CSX in Savannah and Norfolk Southern (NS) in Macon, petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain safety regulations in order to begin testing unmanned, autonomous train technology known as Parallel Systems. Even though certified locomotive engineers would be utilized to monitor the technology, BLET Vice President & National Legislative Representative Vince Verna testified against the waiver at an FRA hearing on March 12, where he said the technology was “not ready for prime time.” BLET also filed formal written comments in opposition to the waiver.

“It was brought to our attention that the railroad was going to start using autonomous trains, and basically, us short line guys were going to be the guinea pigs. We knew there could be a lot of jobs lost due to new technology. No job stays the same forever,” said one Georgia Central worker.

The BLET Organizing Department organized four new properties in 2024 and one in 2023. BLET welcomed workers from the Arizona Eastern Railway in June 2024, the COASTER commuter railroad in July 2024, and Transglobal Solutions/TGS Cedar Port Railroad in October 2024. Workers at the Florida Gulf and Atlantic voted to join BLET in 2023.

BLET National Vice President Randy Fannon, who heads the BLET’s Organizing Department, said Division 210 (Macon, Ga.) Local Chairman Marco Handberry was “instrumental to the success of the Georgia Central organizing drive.” Brother Handberry volunteered to attend multiple meetings where he talked with the Georgia Central workers and explained the benefits of belonging to the BLET.

According to an Oct. 29 post by the union, eight maintenance of way workers on Georgia Central Railway are the newest members of the BMWED-IBT. They will join the BMWED’s American Rail System Federation.

“We are proud to welcome in these new Brothers and start improving their standing at work,” BMWED Organizing Director Thomas Kirby said. “This is just the first step in strengthening their value on the job and we are excited to get to work together to bargain a good contract.”