Category: Leadership
Nomination rules, election procedures for fall local elections have been released
SMART Transportation Division members are reminded that elections are scheduled to be held this autumn to fill the three-year Local officer positions described by the SMART Constitution’s Article 21B, Section 56. Positions include President, Vice President, Secretary and Trea [...]
Elimination period waiver for VSTD extended into November
Dear Member: As many of you may recall, the SMART Voluntary Short Term Disability Plan temporarily suspended the Elimination Period for COVID-19 (Coronavirus) disabilities. In an announcement to you dated April 15, 2020, we communicated that the Elimination Period was being w [...]
A Labor Day message from President Ferguson
Brothers and Sisters, It may not be common knowledge to many Americans who have the opportunity to kick back and relax on Labor Day what the true genesis of the holiday is. In the early 1880s, Labor Day was initiated by strong local union leadership in the New York-New Jersey [...]President Ferguson: Setting record straight on anti-labor articles
Brothers and Sisters, It’s time to set the record straight. I am certain many of you have seen the recent anti-labor articles that have been published regarding our recent win in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. That win has apparently struck a raw nerve with th [...]
Amtrak furloughs could be avoided with proper action in Congress
Amtrak, despite having been given $1 billion in funding under the CARES Act to prevent furloughs as a result of COVID-19, has announced that more than 500 – 509 to be exact – SMART members are targeted to be furloughed, effective Oct. 1. Carrier leadership announced Sept. 1 t [...]
Court vacates FRA approval of KCSM engineer certification
WASHINGTON, D.C., (August 28, 2020) — A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has vacated Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approval of the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCSR) certification program under which locomot [...]
Fifth Circuit vacates injunction in crew-consist case
Today, Aug. 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued its decision in BNSF et al v. SMART-TD (Case No. 20-10162) concerning crew consist. This decision is a long-awaited victory for the Union. The appellate court vacated the injunction that forced SMART-TD Gene [...]Union leadership: Rail bosses are tightening the screws on workers, representatives
CLEVELAND, Ohio, (August 21, 2020) — As freight rail traffic levels rebound strongly from the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, railroad management has unleashed an unprecedented barrage of measures to manipulate recalls from furloughs, make alr [...]