The following statement was issued June 1 by current SMART TD Illinois State Legislative Director Robert W. Guy: It is with great sadness to announce the passing of former UTU Illinois State Director and longtime UTU member Patrick W. Simmons, who passed away this past Monday [...]
A new study has found that construction workers across the southern United States receive little to no employment benefits and have relatively low pay. The Workers Defense Project report found that 40% of construction workers in Houston had no health insurance, retirement sav [...]
Bruce Robert Wigent, 73, of Prescott, Wis., died Wednesday, May 25 at United Hospital. A member of Local 1709 in Pontiac, Mich., Wigent hired out as a switchman on the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in December 1964. He was first elected as a local officer in 1970 and then serv [...]
SMART TD honors and remembers the men and women of our United States military, whose immeasurable sacrifice on behalf of our country will never be forgotten.
On May 23, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released a statement on how President Trump’s FY2018 budget proposal favors the top one percent and hurts working Americans. Trumka described Trump’s proposal as a “blueprint for how to rig the rules of the economy to f [...]
The Los Angeles Times reported that service-related issues, such as route elimination and ineffective scheduling, may be the main reasons for the steady decrease in bus ridership in Los Angeles. Read the complete article here.
The Washington Examiner reported that the Caltrain electrification project, stalled for months by the Trump administration, is now back on track and moving forward. The Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) is expected to approve the entire funding agreement. Click her [...]
After a prolonged five-year battle against the railroad carriers’ opposition to legislation to ensure the safety of their own employees; ESHB 1105, the number one priority of the SMART TD Washington State Legislative Board, was finally enacted into statute law May 16, w [...]
Yvonne Hayes, chairperson of Local 1138 in Miami, Florida, and an assistant general chairperson (GO‐851), was recently selected to serve as a member of the FEMA National Advisory Council (NAC) Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational Needs and Safety Evaluation ( [...]
SMART TD brother and conductor Mike Case was tragically the victim of a shooting by a disgruntled passenger while working Train 4 in Naperville, Ill. The father of four suffered injuries to his liver, pancreas and parts of his intestines from the single gunshot wound, accordi [...]