Category: Front Page
AAR describes rail job decline as “being flexible, efficient”
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 [...]
SMART TD announces introduction of two-person train crew legislation
Washington, D.C. (Jan. 17, 2017) – SMART Transportation Division announced the re-introduction of the Safe Freight Act (H.R. 233) by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and former Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, which would require two crew members [...]
North Dakota member dies in BNSF crew van accident
Robert W. Vann IV, 54, was killed Tuesday, Jan. 10 when the BNSF crew van that he was riding in was involved in a head-on collision with a pick-up truck near Wolf Point, Mont. Vann served his country in the U.S. Air Force before hiring out as a conductor with BNSF in Minot, N [...]Remembering Dr. King
On Monday, January 16, 2017, every member of the SMART union will stand with our entire nation in honor, solidarity and remembrance of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s brilliance, vision, leadership and ultimate personal sacrifice shifted the cours [...]
Unions seek to overturn punitive New Jersey substance abuse law
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, January 9 — Two railroad labor unions have jointly filed a lawsuit to overturn a punitive New Jersey law that prohibits New Jersey Transit locomotive engineers from operating trains if their personal motor vehicle driver’s license is suspended. The unions [...]
Kentucky Republicans Push New Right-to-Work Law Through Committee
On the first day of the state’s new legislative session, Republican members of Kentucky’s House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee approved House Bill 1, a law requiring unions to negotiate for and represent people even when they refuse to pay [...]
FRA releases 2017 drug and alcohol testing rates
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has determined that the minimal annual random drug and alcohol testing rate will remain the same for 2017, as positive test rates have remained below the set threshold. The testing rates will continue to be 25 percent of covered servi [...]
LIRR derailed in Brooklyn, N.Y., dozens injured
FOX5NY reports that 103 people were injured when Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train 2817 derailed at the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, N.Y. at 8:20 a.m. The first train car left the track, but no other cars seemed to have derailed. Approximately 600 passengers were on the tr [...]