Category: Transportation
The TRUTH about the railroad supply chain and labor negotiations
SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) would like to take a few moments to update the thousands of essential rail workers whom we proudly represent, the rail shippers and customers, as well as the public at large on the real status of labor negotiations and about the seriou [...]
Local 1420 mourns death of Local Chairperson Kevin Spragg
Robert Kevin Spragg, 59, passed away Monday, June 20, 2022. An active member of Local 1420 (Memphis, Tenn.) since August 1998, Spragg served as the local chairperson for LCA-001A (BNSF) since 2012 and as a delegate at the 2014 and 2019 conventions. He was a dedicated union ma [...]
Watch the Skies — It’s National Lightning Safety Week!
Each year, about 20 million bolts of lightning strike the earth’s surface, and each can carry upwards of 300 million volts and 30,000 amps. While being struck by lightning is a rare event, over the past 10 years around 250 Americans have died this way, and thousands have been [...]Former VP Robert Earley passes away
Former Vice President Robert “Bob” W. Earley, who served our union’s membership for decades, died June 7, 2022, at Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville, N.Y., after a short illness. Brother Earley, a member of Local 610 (Baltimore, Md.), began his railroad career in 1963 sta [...]
NMB proffers arbitration to United Rail Unions
The United Rail Unions issued the following statement on June 15, 2022: Following the conclusion of our third week of compulsory mediation conducted by the National Mediation Board (NMB), the rail unions who are bargaining as part of the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC) [...]
Ferguson to House subcommittee: ‘I’m screaming into the bullhorn’ for help
WASHINGTON, D.C. — SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson told members of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials June 14 that freight railroads’ unchecked lust for profits is placing the safety of workers and the public at [...]Third week of NMB sessions concludes; unions again call for proffer of arbitration
The United Rail Unions issued the following statement June 9, 2022: The rail unions who are bargaining as part of the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way/SMART Mechanical Coalition concluded their third week of compulsory joint Nat [...]
TD President Ferguson to testify before House rail subcommittee
SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy R. Ferguson is scheduled to be a featured witness testifying next week in a hearing before the U.S. House Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee. The hearing on freight rail safety is scheduled 10 a.m. June 14 [...]