Category: Amtrak/Commuter News
FTA transit safety training registration open
U.S. DOT’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced that registration is open for National Transit Institute (NTI) and Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) safety training courses for transit personnel. See the table below for some of the courses being offered by NTI. [table id=13 /] The mission of the NTI is to provide training, education and […]
SMART-TD member loses home in fire
On January 9, 2022, tragedy struck in the form of a fire for Alaska Railroad conductor and SMART-TD Local 1626 (Anchorage, Alaska) member Danielle Gallagher. Gallagher and her two children lost their home near Palmer, Alaska, that night, reports Local 1626 Secretary & Treasurer Justin Voss. The local has rallied around Gallagher and Alaska SLD […]
Dates set for 2022 TD Annual Meeting
Save the date for the TD annual meeting! SMART Transportation Division is pleased to announce that plans are underway to resume the TD Annual Meetings after a two-year pandemic disruption. The meeting is scheduled to take place Aug. 8 through 10, 2022, at the San Francisco Hilton Union Square, 333 O’Farrell St., San Francisco, CA […]Remembering Martin Luther King’s legacy
SMART-TD shares with the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the dream that men and women should be judged not by the color of their skin, their nationality or religious beliefs, but by the content of their hearts. King’s brilliance, vision, leadership and ultimate personal sacrifice shifted the course of American history by shedding light […]
Union officers’ efforts yield better protections for N.J. transportation workers
SMART Transportation Division Bus Department Vice President Calvin Studivant and New Jersey State Legislative Director Ron Sabol spent a significant time brainstorming ways to protect members in Sabol’s state last year. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic had added even more potential risk to our members working on New Jersey Transit (NJT) and other carriers. Beyond their […]District court denies SMART-TD, BLET bid to halt Metra vaccine mandate
CLEVELAND, Ohio (January 7) — On January 6, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, ruled against the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), denying the unions’ preliminary injunction motions to stop […]
Bill enhancing punishment for assaulting transit workers on desk of N.J. gov.
Legislation championed by the SMART Transportation Division that toughens penalties on passengers who do harm to transportation workers has passed both chambers of the New Jersey Legislature and has been sent to Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D) desk for his signature. Assemblyman Daniel R. Benson (D-Dist. 14) and state Sen. Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. (D-Dist. 18) […]
SMART-TD, BLET suits seek immediate halt to Amtrak vaccine mandate
CLEVELAND, Ohio, (Dec. 9, 2021) — The Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) yesterday filed motions for a preliminary injunction, seeking to immediately halt a unilaterally implemented vaccine mandate imposed by Amtrak, and require the carrier to […]