A bill under consideration in the California Legislature would place employees of the Santa Cruz Metro under the umbrella of the state’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to foster improved relations between public employees and management. S.B. 957 was introduced in t [...]
New Jersey State Legislative Director Ron Sabol received a big honor March 2 after being elected to lead the influential New Jersey Society for Environmental, Economic Development (NJ SEED) coalition by the group’s trustees and members. N.J. Sen. Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., chair [...]
Local 759 (Paramus, N.J.) President and Legislative Representative Rafael Becerra met with Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Tom Carper and Gov. John Carney on Friday, March 4, in Wilmington, Del., as part of an event promoting the Bipartisan Infrast [...]
A pair of bills limiting train length have been introduced in the Iowa House and Senate and have gained some traction. House File 2339 and Senate File 2286 both contain language that would limit the length of any freight train to 8,500 feet. House File 278 (now renumbered as [...]
A suspected robber who attacked an on-duty Metra conductor at Van Buren station in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon was taken into custody Wednesday by Metra police in Calumet City, the carrier reports. Police said the robber brandished a handgun and took an undisclosed amount of [...]
Vice Chairperson Debria L. Bradford (GCA-STU), 56, a longtime officer of SMART Transportation Division Local 1704 (Kansas City, Mo.), passed away Jan. 26, 2022. “She served numerous positions in our local — sergeant of arms, trustee,” said General Chairperson Sharon Harris (G [...]
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 & Tre [...]
An online fundraiser has been established for the family of Local 1730 (Richmond, Calif.) member Charles F. “Chuck” Reiring, who passed away suddenly Dec. 14 at age 41. Brother Reiring joined our union in January 2018 and worked as a conductor for BNSF. Fellow SMA [...]
August 31st was a day that would forever change the lives of member David Mitchell (Local 937 in Mart, Texas) and his family. It was the day that he would come home with a diagnosis of COVID-19. By September 7, Mitchell’s wife, Michelle, would begin to show symptoms, and on S [...]
A union sister is trying to help the most important woman in her life receive the care she needs after two devastating strokes. Member Jenell Rose of Local 1558 (Bergenfield, N.J.) has started an online fundraiser after her mother Kecia Jordan, the president of Local 1558, ha [...]