Category: News
Branson, Mo., TD Regional Training Seminar hotel deadline now Oct. 28
The hotel booking deadline has been extended for the SMART Transportation Division’s Regional Training Seminar (RTS) to take place Nov. 14 through 17, 2022, at the Hilton Branson Convention Center in Branson, Mo. Single- and double-occupancy rooms can now be b [...]
New Ford EV plant “a game-changer” for SMART Tenn. local
Rendering of the concept design of the all-new $5.6 billion Ford electric vehicle mega campus in Stanton, Tenn. Image courtesy of Ford Media Center. In new podcast episode, SMART Local 4 business manager details enormous amount of sheet metal work coming to Tenn. A new $5.6 b [...]
TD Local 653 legislative representative receives Chicago labor award
SMART-TD Local 653 (Chicago) is proud to announce the recognition of Legislative Representative Orlando Rojas as the winner of the 2022 Charlie Hayes Award for his work in the greater Chicago labor community. This award is given by an organization known as Chicago Jobs With J [...]
RRB announces retiree earnings limits will increasse in 2023
Railroad Retirement annuitants subject to earnings restrictions can earn more in 2023 without having their benefits reduced due to increased limits indexed to average national wage increases. Like Social Security benefits, some Railroad Retirement benefit payments are subject [...]
N.J. designates Oct. 15 as annual Railroad Workers Day
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 [...]Railroad Retirement benefits to see rise in 2023
Most Railroad Retirement annuities, like Social Security benefits, will increase in January 2023 due to a rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the third quarter of 2021 to the corresponding period of the current year. Cost-of-living increases are calculated in both the [...]
Social Security Administration announces benefit increase for 2023
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase 8.7% in 2023, the Social Security Administration announced. On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January. [...]
SMART MD membership votes to ratify contract with freight rail carriers
October 12, 2022 — The membership of the SMART Railroad, Mechanical and Engineering Department (SMART MD) has voted to ratify a tentative agreement with the carriers, after almost three years of negotiations between the union and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (N [...]