Category: Press release
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 (NCCC). The vote was passed with a 54% margin in favor of the negotiated […]
SMART Mechanical Department reaches tentative agreement with the NCCC
September 11, 2022 — SMART’s Railroad, Mechanical and Engineering Department (Mechanical Department or MD) reached a tentative agreement with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which includes the highest wage increases ever achieved in national freight rail bargaining. The tentative agreement provides our members with a 24% general compounded wage increase over five years. In addition, members […]
Third week of NMB sessions concludes; unions again call for proffer of arbitration
The United Rail Unions issued the following statement June 9, 2022: The rail unions who are bargaining as part of the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way/SMART Mechanical Coalition concluded their third week of compulsory joint National Mediation Board-mediated negotiations with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) yesterday. These joint […]
United Rail Unions’ statement following NMB sessions
The United Rail Unions issued the following statement June 2, 2022: The rail unions who are bargaining as part of the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way/SMART Mechanical Coalition concluded their second week of compulsory joint National Mediation Board-mediated negotiations with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) yesterday. These joint […]
House Transportation leaders urge FRA to act on fatigue, attendance policies
CLEVELAND (April 6) — Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure are asking the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to take action on a 2008 Congressional mandate to address rail worker fatigue at Class I carriers, with a specific reference to attendance policies such as those imposed at CSX, Union Pacific, […]Petition drive launched to compel action on carrier attendance policies
CLEVELAND, Ohio (March 7, 2022) — In conjunction with the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), the SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) urge all members to engage in a petition drive to bring attention to the draconian and punitive attendance policies that have forced rail workers to live […]
SMART Statement on White House Launch of Coalition to Improve Building Performance Standards
Today the White House Council on Environmental Quality announced the launch of a coalition of states and local governments to strengthen building performance standards.
SMART-TD responds to carrier vaccine mandates
Recently, Amtrak, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced that they will require their employees, including those represented by SMART Transportation Division, to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. It is anticipated that many of the remaining, if not all Class I rail carriers, will eventually implement similar policies, citing their status as government contractors and […]