Members in Missouri & New Hampshire: Call your State House Representatives! The state of Missouri recently passed a right-to-work (for less) bill in the State Senate, 21-12. A similar bill is expected to pass in the state’s House as well. If the bill passes in the S [...]
VOLUNTEERS CLEAN VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL Volunteering is an important form of member action—giving back to our communities and building a positive image. Even the simplest tasks, however, can be deeply significant. Such was the case a few months ago when a group of mem [...]
With roughly 340,000 passengers every weekday, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is the busiest commuter rail system in North America—one of only a few systems in the world that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round. In 2015, its fourth straight year with increased [...]
President Donald J. Trump has appointed Ann Begeman to serve as Acting Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Begeman is currently serving a second, five-year term as a Member of the Board following her recent nomination by President Barack Obama Dec. 7, 2016, an [...]
Earlier this week, I was joined by SMART Government Affairs Director Steve Dodd and General Vice President Gary Masino in a meeting with President Trump and Building Trades leaders at his first work day in the Oval Office. Throughout, we were regarded with respect and courte [...]
General President Sellers led a group of SMART leaders joining Sean McGarvey, president of the North America’s Building Trades Unions, Terry O’Sullivan, president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) and others in a day one meeting w [...]
Chuck Akers, lifelong train engineer, was forced to retire early after three physicians concurred that his numerous experiences with collisions that were caused by vehicles and people blocking the tracks (he was cleared of any wrongdoing in all incidents), had culminated into [...]
Commuter rail has been former Vice President Joe Biden’s method of transportation his entire career. During his 36-year run as U.S. Senator, Biden commuted daily from his home in Delaware to Washington D.C., then back home again – a three hour, roundtrip commute. [...]
CLEVELAND, Jan. 20—The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Rail Air and Transportation Workers (SMART TD) are urging their respective memberships to contact members of the Hou [...]
Trains.com reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing that railroad jobs dropped by 3.8 percent in 2016 – reflecting the elimination of approximately 8,600 railroad jobs. In 2015, the drop in railroad jobs was reported at at sharper decline o [...]