SMART-TD announces enhanced benefits with new Voluntary Long-Term Disability (VLTD) carrier 

SMART Transportation Division members now have the chance to get up to five times the guaranteed coverage in the Union’s new VLTD plan. Beginning March 1, 2023, Sun Life Financial will administer the VLTD Plan and provide the 24-hour coverage plan participants enjoy now, with up to $5,000 of guaranteed approved tax-free coverage. In the […]

ERMA lifetime maximum benefit to increase in 2023

The lifetime maximum benefit for the Railroad Employees National Early Retirement Major Medical Benefit (ERMA or GA-46000) Plan will increase from $182,700 to $188,000 beginning Jan. 1, 2023. At the end of 2001, labor and management had agreed on various procedures to administer the annual changes in the amount of the lifetime maximum benefit under […]

Important update for all SMART-TD and BLET members included in national negotiations

2023 payment rates confirmed for H&W plans INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (Nov. 8, 2022) — Late last week, members of the Cooperating Railway Labor Organizations (CRLO) and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) convened to review and renew the payment rates for the nationally negotiated health & welfare plans including medical, dental, vision, and life/accidental death & […]

VSTD premium reset and benefit changes announced

Several changes regarding the SMART Voluntary Short-Term Disability (VSTD) Plan for bus and rail members will take effect Jan. 1, 2023. The temporary reduction of premiums for Plan participants announced Oct. 21, 2020, will expire Dec. 31, 2022. VSTD premiums will be reset to the standard rates of bus members paying $26.00 and rail members […]

Ultimately, decision about tentative agreement is in members’ hands

For the first time in more than 30 years, this Union has taken the Railway Labor Act (RLA) to its limits. We negotiated. We mediated. We cooled off. We went all the way to a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) and then back into a cooling-off period again. The coordinated bargaining group was tasked with obtaining […]

LU 10 Holds Working Minds Suicide Prevention Workshops

SMART SM Local 10 held a series of suicide prevention workshops for members through the Construction Working Minds Program. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) men in construction die by suicide at a rate four times higher than the general adult population along with similar figures in the transportation industry. Rather […]

New SMOHIT Safety Guide Available

SMOHIT has released the latest version of its safety handbook. Focused on workplace safety, the handbook covers a variety of workplace hazards, scaffold and ladder safety, shop safety, ventilation and fire safety, among a multitude of other possible dangers faced by sheet metal workers.   The handbook is packed with illustrations and easy-to-read guides. There […]

RRB: Medicare Part B premiums for 2022

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the standard monthly Part B premium will be $170.10 in 2022, an increase of $21.60 from $148.50 in 2021. Some Medicare beneficiaries may pay less than this amount because, by law, Part B premiums for current enrollees cannot increase by more than the amount […]

ERMA LIFETIME MAXIMUM BENEFIT TO INCREASE IN 2022

The lifetime maximum benefit for the Railroad Employees National Early Retirement Major Medical Benefit (ERMA or GA-46000) Plan will increase from $175,700 to $182,700 beginning Jan. 1, 2022. At the end of 2001, labor and management had agreed on various procedures to administer the annual changes in the amount of the lifetime maximum benefit under […]