Jose F. “Joey” Garcia, local chairperson of Local 168 (Chicago, Ill.), passed away suddenly in December at his home in Chicago. Brother Garcia, 46, actively participated in our union since his railroad career began in 2005. An Amtrak conductor, Brother Garcia served as a legislative representative, trustee, vice local chairperson and finally as local chairperson. […]
Switchman Thomas A. Wall, 22, of Local 206 (Peru, Ind.) died suddenly on Oct. 19 after experiencing a flare-up of an autoimmune liver disease while at work. His family said that he was responding well to treatment and was looking forward to returning to work after undergoing a few more procedures. A 2018 graduate of […]
SMART Local 556 (Tacoma, Wash.) recognized a moment of silence for their fallen brother this week. BNSF Brakeman William “Bill” Laver, 51, of Grapeview, Wash., had his life of dedicated service cut short Friday, Sept. 16 by an alleged drunken driver while he was on his way to work. Laver had answered his call to […]
Local 1846 in West Colton, Calif., tragically lost a brother on Sept. 8, and a fundraiser has been established to help his family in this inexplicably difficult time. Conductor Zachery “Zach” Lara, 25, and his engineer Steven Brown were in helper service assisting a train up a grade. When they made a reverse move into […]
Services have been arranged for Ann Simon, the wife of Transportation Division Alt. Vice President/General Chairperson Anthony Simon, who has passed away. Visitation will be 3 to 5 and 7 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, at Frederick J. Chapey & Sons Funeral Home, 20 Hicksville Road, Bethpage, N.Y. 11714. A memorial service is […]
Mario Navarro, 49, a SMART-TD member out of Local 18 (El Paso, Texas), died late Aug. 29 after a pair of rail cars derailed in an accident in Union Pacific’s Alfalfa Rail Yard during a shoving movement. An online fundraiser has been established to help his family through their time of unimaginable grief and loss. […]
SMART-TD Local 446 (Cheyenne, Wyo.) mourns the loss of Ryan Jones, 33, who died of a cardiac event while on the job July 28. A conductor and local trustee (2018 – 2020), Jones loved working for Union Pacific. According to his obituary, “Ryan was determined to follow his life passion of working in the railroad […]
Robert Kevin Spragg, 59, passed away Monday, June 20, 2022. An active member of Local 1420 (Memphis, Tenn.) since August 1998, Spragg served as the local chairperson for LCA-001A (BNSF) since 2012 and as a delegate at the 2014 and 2019 conventions. He was a dedicated union man. “Kevin worked over 25 years for BNSF […]
Former Vice President Robert “Bob” W. Earley, who served our union’s membership for decades, died June 7, 2022, at Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville, N.Y., after a short illness. Brother Earley, a member of Local 610 (Baltimore, Md.), began his railroad career in 1963 starting with the B&O Railroad and became an active member of […]
Brothers and Sisters, Today we reflect on and honor the sacrifices made by all the men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Without their protection, we would not be the country we are today, nor would we enjoy the freedoms that we do. As a veteran of the U.S. Army, […]