Category: Washington
SMART-TD, BLET reach tentative agreement with railroads
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 15, 2022 CONTACT: Jamie Horwitz, 202-549-4921, jhdcpr@starpower.net Statement by Jeremy Ferguson, President SMART Transportation Division and Dennis Pierce, President, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen On Tentative Agreement Reached Early This Morning Between Unions Representing Conductors and Engineers and the Nation’s Class I Railroads Early this morning following nearly three years […]
Commenting on Rule of 2 a call to action for our members, allies
Most topics divide our organization to varying degrees. It’s a healthy debate that assists SMART to formulate majority-based positions on the many issues for which they advocate on our membership’s behalf. The belief that there should be a minimum of two persons on a train crew is not one of those topics. Overwhelmingly, the most-common […]
SMART-TD, BLET joint statement on Labor Day 2022
The following is a statement from SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET President Dennis Pierce. CLEVELAND, (September 2) — As we approach Labor Day 2022, our Unions stand at a crossroads. While our normal messages heading into one of the most important days for Organized Labor would be about Labor’s proud history of improving the […]
PEB a.m. update: Aug. 17, 2022
SMART Transportation Division leaders have multiple discussions scheduled today as they continue to evaluate the recommendations made by Presidential Emergency Board 250. As the release of the PEB recommendations is the first step in the final stage of the Railway Labor Act process, SMART-TD will act judiciously as the PEB’s findings are examined. While other […]
FRA Administrator Bose: Safety is first
SAN FRANCISCO — Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose didn’t elaborate on the Rule of 2 that his agency recently put forth for the public to weigh in on, but he made it clear as he spoke on the second day of the SMART Leadership Conference that the lines of communication at his agency are open. […]
Oberman addresses SMART General Session
As part of the first SMART Leadership Conference in San Francisco on Aug. 8, Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin Oberman appeared remotely to address the general session. The STB, which is tasked with the economic regulation of various modes of surface transportation, primarily freight rail, heard the concerns of SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson […]
House leaders introduce bill reauthorizing STB and to assist rail customers
A bill introduced by leaders in the U.S. House on Aug. 2 and endorsed by the SMART Transportation Division seeks to address complaints levied against the Class I rail carriers brought by customers and echoed by rail unions in hearings in the spring before the Surface Transportation Board (STB). See a recap of that testimony […]
SMART-TD, BLET presidents update members following PEB 250
Brothers and Sisters of our unions: Presidential Emergency Board (“PEB” or “the Board”) 250 conducted hearings in Washington, D.C. this past week, concluding on July 28th. We both were honored to represent our unions and, by extension, the memberships of the dozen strong United Rail Unions as we presented and testified in support of our unified […]