Category: Leadership
Ultimately, decision about tentative agreement is in members’ hands
For the first time in more than 30 years, this Union has taken the Railway Labor Act (RLA) to its limits. We negotiated. We mediated. We cooled off. We went all the way to a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) and then back into a cooling-off period again. The coordinated bargaining group was tasked with obtaining […]
Two-person crew rule’s comment period receives extension
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced Sept. 22 that the public comment period for the two-person crew size Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) has been extended. Stakeholders now have an additional 60 days to show their support for the minimum crew size of two in the cab of trains nationwide. The previous deadline was Sept. […]
SMART General President Joseph Sellers receives George Meany Award during NCCMP Conference
The National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP) presented SMART General President Joseph Sellers with the George Meany Award on Tuesday, September 20 – recognizing Sellers’ contributions to the welfare of pension funds that SMART and other union retirees depend on. “President Sellers has been a champion within the multiemployer community, fighting for the legislative […]
SMART-TD statement on the tentative agreement (Sept. 16, 2022)
To TD members covered by national handling: Since the announcement of the tentative agreement (TA) yesterday morning, a number of posts purporting to reveal the finalized contents or finalized components of the TA have spread rapidly and are being presented as factual. They are not. Anyone who states that they have seen a final copy […]
SMART-TD, BLET reach tentative agreement with railroads
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 15, 2022 CONTACT: Jamie Horwitz, 202-549-4921, jhdcpr@starpower.net Statement by Jeremy Ferguson, President SMART Transportation Division and Dennis Pierce, President, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen On Tentative Agreement Reached Early This Morning Between Unions Representing Conductors and Engineers and the Nation’s Class I Railroads Early this morning following nearly three years […]
Alert for freight rail members
ATTENTION ALL FREIGHT RAIL MEMBERS: The SMART Transportation Division wants to hear your feedback about PEB 250’s recommendations, and our ongoing national contract dispute! This is a pivotal time in our history, and your feedback is invaluable to helping your negotiating team determine our next steps. Polling will continue to be conducted via our usual […]
SMART-TD, BLET joint statement on Labor Day 2022
The following is a statement from SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET President Dennis Pierce. CLEVELAND, (September 2) — As we approach Labor Day 2022, our Unions stand at a crossroads. While our normal messages heading into one of the most important days for Organized Labor would be about Labor’s proud history of improving the […]
Update on PEB 250 recommendations to national agreement negotiations
The following is a joint statement from SMART TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET President Dennis Pierce: CLEVELAND, Ohio, August 27, 2022 — On Monday, August 22, the SMART TD and BLET, along with the other remaining United Rail Unions, met with the Rail Carriers via Zoom to determine if PEB 250’s recommendations could serve […]