In a letter to members, Wyoming State Legislative Director April Ford asked members in her state to reach out to state legislators and urge them to support train-length legislation. The text of her message is below: “Legislators in Wyoming will be hearing a bill in the [...]
This is a call to action. The burning wreckage of what used to be the Grand Old Party (GOP) is attempting to attack the labor movement immediately after the holidays while our guard is down and as the transition to the new Congress occurs. SMART is asking you to take action a [...]
In a rare acknowledgment of the value railroaders bring to the table, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has named October 15 as “Railroad Workers Day”. Gov. Murphy went on the record saying, “Through extreme weather events and a global pandemic, our state’s railroad workers hav [...]
A bill introduced by leaders in the U.S. House on Aug. 2 and endorsed by the SMART Transportation Division seeks to address complaints levied against the Class I rail carriers brought by customers and echoed by rail unions in hearings in the spring before the Surface Transpor [...]
The two-person crew bills introduced in New York state, Assembly Bill 1287B and Senate Bill 3953B, have passed both chambers of the state Legislature as of Tuesday, May 31. Both bills have been combined into Senate Bill 3953 and are now headed to the desk of Gov. Kathy Hochul [...]
A pair of bills limiting train length have been introduced in the Iowa House and Senate and have gained some traction. House File 2339 and Senate File 2286 both contain language that would limit the length of any freight train to 8,500 feet. House File 278 (now renumbered as [...]
SMART Transportation Division Bus Department Vice President Calvin Studivant and New Jersey State Legislative Director Ron Sabol spent a significant time brainstorming ways to protect members in Sabol’s state last year. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic had added even more pot [...]
Washington, DC—Today, the White House announced its support for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, a $1.2 trillion investment in physical infrastructure. In response, SMART issued the following statement. “Today’s announcement is an important breakthrough towards tackl [...]
“Strong unions built the great American middle class. Everything that defines what it means to live a good life and know you can take care of your family — the 40-hour workweek, paid leave, health care protections, a voice in your workplace — is because of workers who o [...]
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged across the nation, nearly all intercity passenger transportation ceased almost overnight. In 2020, air carriers ferried their fewest passengers in three decades, registering months with as much as 96% fewer boardings compared to the prior year. [...]