Category: Front Page
March 2017 GP Video Message
General President Sellers discusses his series of visits to hear from members about the issues important to them. This includes recent visits to Local 100 members at Cove Point in Maryland, Local 441 members at Ingalls Shipyard in Mississippi, Local 15 members at Johnson Con [...]
Take A Stand Against Outsourcing
One year ago today, on March 23, 2016, 600 dedicated Nabisco workers in Chicago were given pink slips by Mondelēz/Nabisco and told their jobs were being sent to Mexico. We stand in solidarity with the BCTGM Nabisco 600 workers and pledge to fight the outsourcing of American j [...]Trump’s coal promises prove empty as two Ohio coal plants plan to shut down
Dayton Power & Light announced Monday, March 20, that it will shut down two coal-fired power plants in southern Ohio next year. An estimated 490 people will lose their jobs once the plants close, not to mention the jobs that will be lost in other coal-related industries a [...]
Rail coalition rallies; FRA denies CSX bid to remove track signals
A collective of rail unions and Michigan citizens lobbied the FRA to deny a CSX request that would discontinue use of vital safety signals along a busy freight rail line in Michigan – and won. SMART Transportation Division, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, B [...]
SMART TD’s Risch – DC Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies
WASHINGTON – John Risch, SMART TD National Legislative Director, participated in hearings as a member of the Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies on March 21, 2017. Discussion focused on new and emerging trends in railroad safety including train crew size, recen [...]
Partnerships Grow Female Interest in Apprenticeships
To those outside the industry, sheet metal work may seem like a man’s world. Internally, journeywomen are thriving, and although the percentage of female apprentices is at 4.2 percent, that’s double what it was only two years ago, according to the International Training Insti [...]
Young woman killed by train during photo shoot
NAVASOTA, Texas – Fredzania Thompson, a mother-to-be and an aspiring model, was tragically killed during a photo shoot on train tracks. Read the complete article here. According to John Risch, SMART TD national legislative director, there is a dangerous and growing tren [...]
Maryland House passes two-person crew bill
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On March 17, the Maryland House of Representatives voted in favor of HB 381, a measure that would require at least two crew members on all freight trains operating in the state of Maryland. The bi-partisan bill has moved to the Senate finance committee. [...]