Category: Statement
FRA Doubles Our Risk By Reducing Track Inspections
The FRA’s late-Friday decision to cut required human track inspections in half directly increases the risk for rail workers, communities, and the national network by relying more heavily on automated systems that miss many defects trained inspectors routinely catch. Read on to see how SMART-TD National Safety & Legislative Director Jared Cassity explains the dangers of this rule change, the industry motives behind it, and why every railroad worker’s safety is now more at stake.
Value of Unions
Unions provide the stability and protection that non-union workers increasingly lack in an economy defined by mass layoffs. This reality is underscored by decades of job cuts in sectors like technology, finance, and manufacturing. Read one to see how our recent job-security gains prove that union solidarity is still the strongest defense against becoming a labor department statistic.
SMART condemns executive order undermining collective bargaining rights
“SMART stands in unwavering solidarity with our brothers and sisters across the labor movement,” said SMART General President Michael Coleman. “We will fight back against any effort to silence workers and dismantle the collective power that has built — and continues to build — our great nation.”
DOGE to close seven RRB Regional Offices
SMART TD is addressing the closure of seven Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Regional Offices, as announced by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which plans to cancel their leases. The RRB has requested an exemption to keep these offices open, and SMART-TD is actively working with lawmakers to highlight the importance of these services.
BLET buys into Ancora’s promises
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) abandoned 10 other rail unions because of a “memorandum of understanding” it reached with Ancora’s aspiring Norfolk Southern (NS) management.
Department of Labor updates prevailing wage regulations in win for SMART members and building trades workers
On August 8, United States Vice President Kamala Harris and Acting Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) Julie Su announced the publication of a rule that updates the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, strengthening prevailing wage regulations and raising pay standards for SM [...]
SMART statement on Inflation Reduction Act anniversary
One year ago today, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, rewarding the efforts of the SMART members and union workers who pushed Congress to pass legislation that invested in America’s green energy economy. “The Inflation Reduction Act is one [...]