Category: Front Page
SMART TD comments to FRA in support of discretionary sounding of train horns
In comments to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), SMART TD’s National Legislative Director John Risch wrote in support of allowing train crews to sound train horns at their discretion when traveling through rural America. The comments were written in response to [...]
Operation Lifesaver kicks off 1st U.S. Rail Safety Week
It happens every three hours in the United States: a person or vehicle is struck by a train. When this tragedy occurs, lives are changed forever: for the people involved in the crash, their family, friends and community, and the train crewmembers. To raise awareness of the da [...]
SMART TD General Committees unite for attendance win
Earlier this year, Union Pacific instituted a revised attendance policy for transportation employees. This new policy contained the following provision which allowed them to discipline employees who utilized their collectively bargained compensated leave days (personal leave [...]
Commercial Building Construction On Rise
A majority of commercial builders and contractors in the United States plan to employ more workers in the coming months – assuming they can find them. In fact, 61 percent of contractors maintain they are having a difficult time finding workers to man projects with skill [...]
Attention furloughed engineers: NJ Transit is hiring
General Chairperson Stephen Burkert reports that New Jersey Transit is actively looking to hire locomotive engineers. Members who have questions can contact Burkert at sburkert@utulocal60.com. Click here for instructions on how to apply. Click here for the job posting on Mons [...]
Canada Takes Stand Against Right to Work During NAFTA Talks
Canada is formally demanding, in talks on a new NAFTA agreement, that any such pact force the U.S. to eliminate so-called right-to-work laws. During the 2016 U.S. campaign, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump labeled NAFTA “the worst trade pact ever signed” and vowed to dum [...]
Member Disaster Relief Needs Increase!
Updated: September 13, 2017 Dear Members of the SMART Transportation Division: The catastrophic storm damage and flood waters caused by Hurricane Harvey and Irma have devastated Texas and Florida with loss of life and immeasurable destruction of property. Some of those affect [...]
Trains could be the next target for terrorists
NJ.com reports that despite legislation requiring strengthened security procedures for railroads having passed a decade ago, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has yet to put any new security measures in place. Both the House Homeland Security Committee and the [...]