Category: Washington
SMART TD comments to FRA in support of discretionary sounding of train horns
In comments to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), SMART TD’s National Legislative Director John Risch wrote in support of allowing train crews to sound train horns at their discretion when traveling through rural America. The comments were written in response to [...]
Canada Takes Stand Against Right to Work During NAFTA Talks
Canada is formally demanding, in talks on a new NAFTA agreement, that any such pact force the U.S. to eliminate so-called right-to-work laws. During the 2016 U.S. campaign, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump labeled NAFTA “the worst trade pact ever signed” and vowed to dum [...]
Trains could be the next target for terrorists
NJ.com reports that despite legislation requiring strengthened security procedures for railroads having passed a decade ago, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has yet to put any new security measures in place. Both the House Homeland Security Committee and the [...]
Amtrak win: defunding amendment rejected
In a 128-293 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Sept. 6 to reject an amendment introduced by Rep. Mo Brooks (R – Ala.) to eliminate $1.1 billion of federal subsidies for Amtrak for 2018. Click here to read more from Railway Age.
Labor Day – Thank your Union day
By John Risch, National Legislative Director, SMART Transportation Division Enjoy yourself this Labor Day weekend, provided you’re lucky enough to get the weekend off. In my 30 plus years working freight rail, I worked many a Labor Day weekend, but I am lucky to get this one [...]
Ohio’s SLD Gardner explains why two-person crews are necessary on The Union Edge: Labor’s Talk Radio
Ohio’s State Legislative Director Stuart Gardner went on The Union Edge: Labor’s Talk Radio to discuss with Host Charles Showalter why two-person crews are necessary for the safety of all. https://static.smart-union.org/worksite/Video/Aug_8_Stuart_Gardner.m [...]
EEOC sues CSX for company-wide sex discrimination
Railroad subjected class of female workers to unlawful physical abilities testing, federal agency charges HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – CSX Transportation, Inc., a provider of rail-based transportation services with operations throughout the eastern half of the United States, vio [...]SMART TD refutes Hunter Harrison claim that CSX service disruptions fault of workers
Reuters posted on August 1, 2017, that in an email last week to his customers, CSX CEO Hunter Harrison addressed service delays and disruptions by placing blame squarely on his employees, stating that they have been “resistant to change.” John Risch, SMART TD nati [...]