Category: Legal updates
Vaccine cases consolidated in Illinois court
On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge John Lee consolidated multiple lawsuits that had been filed in the Illinois federal court, including ones by SMART Transportation Division and two other railroad unions challenging two Class I carriers’ implementation of coronavirus vac [...]Unions counter Norfolk Southern COVID vaccine mandate
CLEVELAND, Ohio, (Oct. 29, 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) have responded to the suit Norfolk Southern Railway [...]Unions file for injunctions against Norfolk Southern
CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct. 28, 2021) — The SMART Transportation Division (SMART–TD) and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) escalated their fight against Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) to stop the railroad from forcing locomotive engineers to work as conductors, [...]
SMART-TD arbitrates crew-consist dispute
On June 15 and 16, 2021, the simmering dispute between the SMART Transportation Division and carriers over crew consist finally reached arbitration before neutral party John LaRocca in Sacramento, Calif. Class I railroads BNSF, UP, NS and KCS initiated a claim in October 2019 [...]
Ninth Circuit Ruling Favors Unions and States, Rejects FRA’s Attempt to Preempt State Crew Law
CLEVELAND, Ohio (Feb. 23, 2021) — Two of the country’s largest freight railroad unions achieved a favorable decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday regarding an attempt by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to preempt legislation passed by a number of [...]
SMART-TD Wins Another Victory in the Crew Consist Battle
On January 8, 2021, Arbitrator Wendell Bell issued his arbitration award regarding the process and procedure in arbitrating the Carriers’ (UP, BNSF, NS & KCS) attack on the Crew Consist Moratoria. The arbitration, known as a “Procedural Public Law Board,” had the pu [...]President Ferguson: Setting record straight on anti-labor articles
Brothers and Sisters, It’s time to set the record straight. I am certain many of you have seen the recent anti-labor articles that have been published regarding our recent win in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. That win has apparently struck a raw nerve with th [...]