Category: Bus news

Three new mediators join the NMB

June 26, 2015 Washington, D.C. – The National Mediation Board (NMB) is pleased to announce that in June 2015 three new mediators have joined the NMB: Jane Allen joins the NMB with 22 years of experience in the airline industry. She also practiced law for five years. Ms. Allen worked for fi [...]

Tags Catherine McCann, Eva Durham, Jane Allen, Mediators, National Mediation Board, NMB

General Chairperson Dale McClain passes away

June 17, 2015 Dale W. McClain, 59, of Buffalo, N.Y. died of cancer June 11 at a nursing home in Buffalo, N.Y. McClain hired out with First Student Inc., and was a member of Local 1908 (Buffalo, N.Y.) since 1990. McClain served her union in various positions since 2011 when she was voted in [...]

Tags Dale McClain, Dale W. McClain, First Student, GCA NSB

DOT rules on vehicle electronic stability control

June 5, 2015 WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today that the Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has finalized its rule requiring electronic stability control (ESC) systems on heavy trucks and large buses (FMVSS No. 136). “E [...]

Tags DOT, electronic stability control, ESC, Foxx, nhtsa

University of Tennessee shuttle operators seal deal

April 23, 2015 The campus shuttle operators for the University of Tennessee’s transportation service unanimously ratified their first agreement with their employer after choosing SMART representation last year, Alternate Vice President – Bus Alvy Hughes reports. The members of newly formed [...]

Tags Alvy Hughes, First Transit, Local 1703, shuttle operators, University of Tennessee

FTA lists alcohol, drug-testing rates for 2015

April 15, 2015 Acting Federal Transit Administrator Therese McMillan has determined that the random drug-testing rate will remain at 25 percent for 2015 and the random alcohol-testing rate for 2015 will remain at 10 percent for transit employees performing safety-sensitive functions, accord [...]

Tags drug and alcohol testing, Federal Transit Administration

Foxx sends six-year transportation bill to Congress

March 31, 2015 WASHINGTON – Over the past year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has visited more than 100 communities and heard one common story – shared by all – about crumbling infrastructure and dwindling resources to fix it with. Secretary Foxx March 30 sent to Congress his s [...]

Tags Anthony Foxx, crumbling infrastructure, Department of Transportation, Grow America Act, transportation bill

Treat members alike, represent the interests of all

March 27, 2015 By Calvin Studivant, Vice President – Bus – On behalf of the Smart Transportation Division officers, and especially the officers of the Bus Department, I would like to wish all of our members and their loved ones a safe, healthy and prosperous 2015. Now that the electi [...]

Tags studivant

Mayors call on Congress to pass transportation bill

March 24, 2015 BOSTON – Led by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Vice President Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, mayors pledged March 23 to work together to urge Congress to move past parti [...]

Tags transit, transportation, U.S. Conference of Mayors

Bus drivers still coping with bathroom access issues

March 2, 2015 One afternoon during the summer of 2000, her first year as a bus driver in Oregon’s Portland, Hope Okazaki had a troubling episode of gastrointestinal distress while on the job. She had just finished an almost two-hour tour through the east side of town, and her bus was parke [...]

Tags bathroom breaks, bus operators

Long-term disability program forthcoming

February 26, 2015 The trustees of the SMART Voluntary Short-Term Disability program are pleased to announce that they have reached a tentative agreement with Anthem Life Insurance Co. on a group long-term disability plan for our bus and rail members. The plan is intended to provide a seamless [...]

Tags Anthem, long-term disability insurance, long-term disability program, Voluntary Short-Term Disability Program