Category: News
SMART Convention Day 1: DOT secretary headlines day one of SMART General Convention
DOT Secretary Buttigieg talks improvements, highlights union advances and the role our union has played in the last four years in infrastructure and transportation.
SMART-TD, FRA announce federal regulation requiring two-person freight crews
Phone: (216) 228-9400 Fax: (216) 228-0411 Department Email: news_td@smart-union.org “I would like to start off by saying that this decision by President Biden’s administration is historic for SMART-TD members and all rail labor. Today’s ruling codifying the two-person freight [...]
N.Y. special election — a chance to support Tom Suozzi, who supports our members
Tomorrow, February 13, 2024, Long Island, N.Y., will select the newest member of the United States Congress. With 435 seats in the House, it may not seem that this seat is particularly important to the well-being of SMART-TD members. But it is. Rarely in our nation’s history [...]
ERMA lifetime maximum benefit to increase in 2024
The lifetime maximum benefit for the Railroad Employees National Early Retirement Major Medical Benefit (ERMA or GA-46000) Plan will increase from $188,000 to $195,100 beginning Jan. 1, 2024. At the end of 2001, labor and management had agreed on various procedures to adminis [...]
Rail labor collectively urges representatives to oppose House THUD bill
The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, of which the SMART Transportation and Mechanical Divisions are members, issued the following letter today, Oct. 31, on the Transportation Housing and Urban Development bill under consideration in the U.S. House. Dear Repres [...]
SMART News episode 10 features Local 19 member on Biden endorsement, coverage of railroad victories, GP Coleman’s visit to Tenn. megaproject and more
SMART released the latest episode of SMART News on Thursday, July 6. Episode 10 features an interview with Local 19 apprentice Elena Farina on the Biden administration; coverage of SMART General President Mike Coleman’s visit to Ford Blue Oval City in Tennessee; an over [...]
Veto means Nevada governor picked politics over safety
In 2023, political ideology factors into almost every aspect of our lives. It can dictate what news sources we tune into, what restaurants/coffee shops we spend our money at, where we choose to live, and even who we see as a “good neighbor.” All of these are unfortunate reali [...]
Members of GO-953 ratify historic tentative agreement with Union Pacific
SMART Transportation Division members represented by GO-953 who work on Union Pacific’s Eastern District, Pacific Northwest, and Idaho Territories ratified a crew-consist agreement that preserves the in-cab conductor position that had been at the center of a court battle and targeted by the carrier for transfer to a nomadic “expediter” role.