Edward Rodzwicz

Locomotive Workers Union President Announces Retirement

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 14:58

Locomotive train The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is about to get its fourth national president in less than three years. Paul Sorrow, head of the Teamsters-affiliated railroad employees union since last November, announced in a letter a few weeks ago that he would be retiring on July 1, making way for current First Vice President Dennis Pierce to take over. Unlike his two predecessors, Sorrow's departure is unrelated to corruption. Sorrow, 63, cited health problems as the reason for departure.

Locomotive Engineers President Rodzwicz Pleads Guilty to Bribery, Related Charge

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 18:56

The resignation of Edward Rodzwicz last November as president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) was almost inevitable. So, it seems, was his guilty plea. On Thursday, March 4, Rodzwicz pleaded guilty in St. Louis federal court to bribery and interstate travel for unlawful activity in relation to solicitations for bribery totaling $20,000. He had been indicted and arrested last fall at his home in Avon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, headquarters of BLET. He faces sentencing on June 3.

Rodzwicz Resigns as Locomotive Engineers President; Union Names Interim Leadership

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Wed, 12/23/2009 - 14:56

Locomotive train The reign of Edward Rodzwicz was brief. And members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) might be feeling a certain relief. On November 13, Rodzwicz resigned as president of the Cleveland-based, Teamsters-affiliated union, one month after his arrest by federal agents on a pair of bribery charges. He is scheduled to stand trial in St. Louis starting January 4. This makes the second BLET president to step down in as many years. The union in the meantime has named an interim replacement.

Railroad Union National Chieftain Arrested for Accepting Bribes

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Thu, 11/05/2009 - 20:09

Scandal has a way of following the leadership of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) lately. In March 2008, Don Hahs, president of the Cleveland-based International Brotherhood of Teamsters-affiliated labor organization, was removed from his post by the Teamsters for embezzling around $58,000 in BLET funds. Now his replacement, Edward Rodzwicz, is in hot water of his own. On Tuesday, October 13, federal agents arrested Rodzwicz at his Avon, Ohio home on bribery charges. The previous week, prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against him in St. Louis federal court.