Category: Uncategorized
Oil train spills hit record level in 2014
American oil trains spilled crude oil more often in 2014 than in any year since the federal government began collecting data on such incidents in 1975, an NBC News analysis shows. The record number of spills sparked a fireball in Virginia, polluted groundwater in Colorado, an [...]
Bargaining Update for Sheet Metal Mechanical and Engineering Members
The BMWED/SMART-Mechanical bargaining coalition met for the first time with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) yesterday at the NCCC’s offices in Crystal City, Virginia. The parties reviewed and discussed in general terms their respective “Section 6 notices” s [...]Texas Short Line Workers Vote to Join SMART
Train and engine-service employees at the Alliance Terminal Railroad LLC have voted in favor of being represented by SMART. The National Mediation Board certified the election results on December 30. Owned by OmniTRAX Inc. and based in Haslet, Texas, Alliance Terminal Railroa [...]
NLRB Takes Steps to Level Playing Field for Workers
In the biggest policy boost to Union organizing in decades, the National Labor Relations Board issued a long-awaited final rule speeding up the union election process. This rule comes after years of legal challenges to the Obama Administrations attempts at leveling the play8 [...]Consumer Alert: CFPB Sues Fake Union Credit Card Company for Deceptive Practices
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ) is suing a Texas-based company, Union Workers Credit Services, for deceiving consumers into paying fees to sign up for a sham credit card. The Bureau alleges that the company falsely advertises a general-use credit card that, [...]
Ohio Agreement Allows Sheet Metal Apprentices to Transfer Credits
An articulation agreement between the Ohio Board of Regents and the seven unionized sheet metal training centers in the state will make it easier for new apprenticeship graduates to earn their associate’s degrees. The first state-wide agreement of its kind in the nation, it a [...]
Local 137 Members Light Up Times Square
Members of Sheet Metal Local 137 in New York City are known for their expertise when it comes to keeping the city lit up—dazzling generations of tourists and New Yorkers with the Big Apple’s bright lights and giant billboards. Now they can add another notch to their belt with [...]
Previsich testifies before senators on passenger rail
SMART Transportation Division President John Previsich testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Dec. 10 at the Russell Senate Office Bui [...]