In a letter to SMART-TD members, Marty Oberman, retired chair of the Surface Transportation Board, details the progress and policies at risk in this election. “The protections of rail workers … depends a lot on whether these important offices are filled by a worker-oriented administration. We will need an Administration that will appoint officials who care about rail workers and continue the aggressive oversight [provided] by the current Democratic-led STB and FRA.”
The Canadian National Railroad (CN) sent their crews rolling through communities without access to essential safety documents after a failed software upgrade. SMART-TD Alternate SLD Eric Stanger told SMART News that “The idea that there is not an adequate contingency plan in place for this is mind-blowing.” If you work for CN, fill out the safety condition report for every incident. The form is available on the SMART App and SMART-TD website.
SMART-TD, speaking for the operating crafts alongside agency chiefs Amit Bose (FRA), Jennifer Homendy (NTSB) and others, discussed the consequences of East Palestine and the dire need for new rail safety legislation in the United States. Bottom line: Railroads are not to be trusted.
SMART-TD succeeded yet again in their fight for the Colorado Rail Safety Act, a comprehensive rail safety package that will provide protection for our members in the Mile High State.
SMART-TD’s Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity was featured on an episode of America’s Workforce Union Podcast, covering a wide range of rail industry topics.
Phone: (216) 228-9400Department email: news_td@smart-union.org INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (April 10, 2024) — President Jeremy Ferguson of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers’ Transportation Division (SMART-TD) released the following stat [...]
Railroad history was made the first week of April 2024. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a final rule stating that freight trains in this country cannot be safely run with fewer than two certified railroaders in a locomotive cab. History could not have been made w [...]
Phone: (216) 228-9400 Fax: (216) 228-0411 Department Email: news_td@smart-union.org “I would like to start off by saying that this decision by President Biden’s administration is historic for SMART-TD members and all rail labor. Today’s ruling codifying the two-person freight [...]
SMART-TD voiced concerns about Parallel Systems' automated cars to the FRA. The nation's largest freight rail union encourages members to comment on this attempt to run fully automated containers.