Wabtec CEO speaks at 169th Charter Day service

What makes each Charter Day unique, said Waynesburg University President Douglas Lee, is the variety of speakers that visit each year to connect with the campus community.

“The uniqueness of Charter Day lies in the array of guests that we have that are the speakers,” Lee said. “And this year, we have a really exceptional individual.”

The university celebrated the 169th anniversary of its official charter Tuesday, March 19. The day’s festivities included the traditional “Charter Day Chicken” meal, and a special chapel convocation featuring Raymond T. Betler, chief executive officer of Wabtec, Inc., a company that manufactures transportation materials.

Betler’s speech centered around the idea of “love in the workplace,” how a person can incorporate faith into their daily life as a professional.

“Really, what it’s all about is to be a vessel of the Lord’s love in everything you do,” Betler said.

Betler said he relates strongly to Waynesburg’s mission of faith, learning and service, which further motivated him to speak this Charter Day, after being approached by the Rev. James Tinnemeyer at the Pittsburgh Prayer Breakfast in October.

“Service is really the mission we’re called for,” he said.

Betler began his career working for Westinghouse, advancing through the company and eventually becoming the youngest president and CEO in its history.

He worked at Westinghouse for more than 30 years, through numerous structural and leadership changes, before joining Wabtec in 2008. There, Betler held many titles, including group executive, chief operating officer, president and now, CEO.

Wabtec, Inc. recently came under fire from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who challenged the company’s treatment of union workers at a plant in Erie. The plant, which Wabtec had acquired after a recent merger with General Electric Transportation, received national attention when Sanders sent a letter to Betler, throwing his support to union workers and demanding the company negotiate better working compensation.

“Wabtec is not a poor company,” the letter reads. “It is not going broke.”

The narrative Sanders established goes against what Betler preached in his sermon, though. While he is CEO, Betler said he sees himself less as a superior and more as a servant to the company and
its workers.

“I have a responsibility to serve the people in our organization,” he said. “I don’t like hierarchical organizations, bureaucratic approaches. My approach is always to look for opportunities to serve other people.”

Moreover, Betler said the incident simply negated any capitalist business approach—Sanders is notorious for touting “democratic socialism”—and that it was “degrading” to suggest workers at the plant needed such “handouts.”

Politics aside, Lee said Betler gave a fabulous message about servant leadership and faith.

“What I’m interested in him sharing is his perspective of faith and how you bring that into the workplace,” Lee said. “When you are in a very high position, there will always be things people will criticize you for. It’s how you respond to those things I think are important, but also, again, how you live out your life and your faith.”

Though universities often invite celebrities and political leaders to speak at convocations, Lee said Waynesburg takes a different approach. Often
drawing from professionals in the Pittsburgh market, Lee said the university looks for leaders who share its values and promote success in the region.

“What we’re trying to establish is this connection between how you have faith and live it out in your career,” he said.

Betler said that despite all his successes, he most appreciates the opportunities to serve communities he visits, including those overseas. While working in South Africa, for example, Wabtec, Inc. adopted an orphanage and established a place to access computers, where company employees volunteered as “virtual parents” online. Domestically, he is grateful to contribute to an industry essential to the national economy.

Betler said he hoped to inspire Waynesburg students to adopt the same attitude of giving and faith in every aspect of their lives.

“I just hope I can encourage people to leave Waynesburg full of the Holy Spirit,” he said.