Member Type: TD - All

Home>News>TD - All

On Sept. 9, SMART General President Joseph Sellers and a delegation of union officials including SM Local 28 (NYC & Long Island- BT) Business Manager Eric Meslin, Business Manager Dante Dano from Local 137 (NYC Sign) and Alt. Vice President/General Chairperson Anthony Simon from SMART TD GCA-505 (LIRR) traveled to the UBS Arena project to tour and meet members working on that project.

UBS Arena is a $1.5 billion multipurpose arena under construction in Elmont, N.Y., next to the historic Belmont Park racetrack. Thanks to the work of SMART members from SM Local 28 (Building Trades, NYC & Long Island ), SM Local 137 (Sign) in NYC and TD members affiliated with GCA-505 (Long Island), the arena is set to open this November.
The groundbreaking for the arena was held Sept. 23, 2019, and was attended by the governor of New York along with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and officials, alumni and current players from the NY Islanders, who will call the arena their home.

Unique to this project is the presence of SMART members from across the union, including Local 137 sign members who installed the giant center ice board as well as signage across the arena and in the train station newly built to handle the swarm of fans from across Long Island and the NY metropolitan area.

Much as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted work and events across the world, this arena project was no different. On March 27, 2020, construction was paused due to a state order to stop non-essential construction work until April 21. That pause was further extended several times to May 27, 2020, when construction was finally able to resume.
Unique to this project is the presence of SMART members from across the union, including Local 137 sign members who installed the giant center ice board as well as signage across the arena and in the train station newly built to handle the swarm of fans from across Long Island and the NY metropolitan area. SMART-TD members led the way in constructing the Long Island Rail Road track leading to the new station. SMART Local 28 sheet metal workers were instrumental in seeing various critical pieces come together across the facility, installing all parts of the HVAC system, including ductwork, units, fans, fire dampers and smoke purge systems. SMART members also installed architectural features, including roofing and decking, and specialty work such as kitchen equipment, lockers and toilet partitions.
Beneath the brick façade of the building is one of the most ultramodern spectator venues in the world, with large air shafts designed to safely handle the indoor air and lines of sight that allow even fans at the highest levels to feel close to the on-ice action. The concourses at the spacious arena are twice the size of those at the old Nassau Coliseum, whose dimensions this new arena replicates to preserve the feel of the old facility. The Islanders played in the previous arena from 1972 to their elimination during last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The Islanders’ dressing room area, built in large part by Local 28 building trades and Local 137 sign members, is a replica of the facilities at their training site, at the request of the team.
In keeping with new innovations started by other franchises in places like Foxboro, Mass., where entire sports villages were built around stadium complexes, the Islanders plan on turning the arena into a destination where fans can not only go to cheer on their local team, but also to eat, shop and find multiple sources of entertainment.

Adjacent to the arena is the first new train stop built for the Long Island RailRoad in over 50 years, thanks to the work of SMART-TD members. The new train station will be located between the Queens Village and Bellerose stations on the LIRR’s main line, straddling the Cross Island Parkway. Electric shuttle buses will serve LIRR riders traveling to games, as well as to the Belmont Park grandstand and retail village planned for the area surrounding the arena complex. The new full-time station will relieve pressure on the existing Belmont spur station during major events like the Belmont Stakes and Islander regular-season games.

In addition to providing regular service to and from the new arena and surrounding sites, the station will also serve as a commuter hub for area residents, meeting the urgent need of taking cars off the road during intense periods of rushhour travel. The parking lot north of the Belmont racetrack, which has 2,860 spaces, will be shared by commuters and arena patrons.
. 
Building the new station required upgrades to the existing LIRR Belmont spur, including the installation of automated track switches. These upgrades will allow trains leaving the spur after an event to serve stations both east and west of Belmont – providing another post-event public transit option for attendees and facilitating the efficient flow of attendees to and from events.

Road conductors are providing all of the roadway worker protection for the third-party contractors being used to support the project.
SMART-TD track workers from Local 29 are providing all of the switch and track work to support the infrastructure around the new station, as well as the interlockings that will manipulate trains to the location. Once the project is complete, train crews and maintenance of equipment members will run and support service operations at the station.

SMART-TD track workers from Local 29 are providing all of the switch and track work to support the infrastructure around the new station.

Currently, 60 SMART Local 28 sheet metal workers are employed at the location. This includes members working at Triple S Air Systems and Eastern Metal Works performing HVAC work around the facility, including work on ducts, units, fans, fire dampers and smoke purge systems. Architectural work onsite was performed by Local 28 members working for JC Steel Corp, L Martone and Sons and Metropolitan Roof Systems. The work includes decking, metal roofing, and coping. Specialty work onsite is performed by Donco Inc., Cross Country Kitchens and A.LISS & Company. This work includes installation of toilet partitions, lockers, walk-in boxes, kitchen hoods and kitchen equipment. Testing and balancing onsite is currently being performed by All City Testing & Balancing. All of the above contractors are signatory to Local 28.
SMART Local 137 sheet metal workers fabricated and installed the massive jumbotron hoisted above center ice, thanks to members employed at Northshore Neon who also installed the center hung led display, sign letters as well the LED ribbons. The LED ribbons surrounding two levels of the stadium will be used for advertisements and keeping spectators abreast during the game. Exterior lights and signage were also installed exclusively by Local 137 sign members as well as signage across the facility.


The day after the visit to members at the UBS Arena, SMART General President Sellers spoke as the keynote speaker at the LaborPress annual celebration in the Bronx.

LaborPress is one of the largest labor news organizations in the nation. It was founded in August 2009 by LaborPress President Neal Tepel to provide a media outlet for unions and workers. Their articles regularly appear in the New York Daily News and on their website. iHeart radio’s WOR radio station features their daily reports.

LaborPress.org regularly has features on the construction and transportation industries. Most notably, LaborPress recently posted spotlight features on members from Locals 28, 137 and SMART-TD GCA-505. This also includes an op-ed in the NY Daily News from General President Sellers that called for passage of the entire infrastructure package, as well as the importance of keeping schoolchildren safe by addressing indoor air quality in schools.

During his lunchtime speech in front of an audience that included NY building trades and elected public officials, Sellers doubled down on his infrastructure points as he discussed the issues important to SMART SM and TD members, as well as other issues like the PRO Act, essential to all of labor.


“We are honored to have our general president attend this event as the keynote speaker. This event takes place in New York, where many labor leaders throughout the state will join us to hear Joe’s opinions on the labor movement and the infrastructure bills that we are fighting for in Washington,” Local 28’s Meslin said. Dano added that “this event shows that when we all stand together across the labor movement, our voices and actions are stronger than ever.” Simon summarized that “SMART has a history here in New York of standing with one another when we need each other.” Simon concluded that, “when SMART has each other’s backs in NY, it’s not just in words but in our actions.”

From the National Mediation Board:

Washington, D.C. – The National Mediation Board (NMB) is pleased to announce the arrival of new Board Member, Deirdre Hamilton. Ms. Hamilton was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 7, 2021. She was sworn in and assumed her position with the NMB on January 25, 2022.

Prior to becoming a Member, Ms. Hamilton worked as a staff attorney at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), working exclusively with the IBT’s Airline Division. At the IBT she represented most of the crafts or classes within the airline industry — including pilots, flight attendants, technicians, and aircraft cleaners — at both commercial and cargo air carriers. Before that, Ms. Hamilton was a staff attorney at the Association of Flight Attendants. In her career, she has handled a wide range of legal matters including National Mediation Board elections and mediation, collective bargaining support, contract enforcement, and litigation of Railway Labor Act issues. Ms. Hamilton began her career as a legal fellow in the General Counsel’s office at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Ms. Hamilton has been an active member of the Railway Labor Act legal community. She has served as a panelist at meetings of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee and the Railway and Airline Labor Law Committee. She has also served as a Senior Editor for the ABA Railway Labor Act Treatise.

Ms. Hamilton is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Michigan Law School.

The National Mediation Board (NMB) is an independent agency created by the Railway Labor Act, which governs labor management relations in the railroad and airline industries. To avoid serious disruptions to the Nation’s economy and protect the public interest, the Act imposes on carriers and their employees the duty of settling disputes through negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. The NMB, headed by three Presidential appointees, has as its chief statutory responsibilities: (1) mediation of collective bargaining disputes; (2) determination of employee representation for collective bargaining processes; and (3) administration of a grievance arbitration system.

Amit Bose, who has been serving the Biden administration as acting administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) since February 2021, was confirmed Jan. 12 by the U.S. Senate to become full administrator. This was a bipartisan vote, 68-29.

FRA Administrator Amit Bose

Bose’s nomination by President Joe Biden had been put on hold by Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida after it had cleared the U.S. Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Oct. 20, 2021.

“We are pleased and excited to continue our collaboration with Administrator Bose and the FRA as we press ahead on important safety issues such as regulating freight crew size,” SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson said. “Our National Legislative Department and other members of our legislative team have had numerous conversations with Administrator Bose while serving in an acting capacity. We look to build upon the positive relationship that’s been established and on the progress that has been made already, and we congratulate him on his overdue confirmation.”

From left, SMART Transportation Division Minnesota State Legislative Director Nick Katich, Michigan SLD Don Roach, Amtrak employee Stefan Schweitzer, then-FRA Deputy Administrator Amit Bose, TD Local 168 (Chicago, Ill.) member Keisha Hamb-Grover and Illinois State Legislative Director Bob Guy stand at Chicago’s Union Station on Oct. 13. Bose was confirmed Jan. 12 as full administrator of the FRA.

During his tenure, Bose already has shown that rail labor’s input will be sought, rather than disregarded by FRA. Under the Biden administration, FRA has publicly announced that it plans to reopen the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the regulation of a minimum freight crew size.

Bose was a guest during the October call of SMART-TD state legislative directors and made it clear that the agency will prioritize cooperative efforts between labor and the federal government such as the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), the newly rechartered Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) and Fatality Analysis of Maintenance-of-way Employees and Signalmen group.

“The lines of communication between labor and FRA have been open ever since his nomination,” National Legislative Director Gregory Hynes said. “We’ve had productive dialogue from the start with Administrator Bose — rail safety is back on the table.”

Bose has years of experience serving in the public sector. He has served two stints as FRA deputy administrator, and has served as FRA chief counsel, USDOT associate general counsel and USDOT deputy assistant secretary for governmental affairs including with former Federal Railroad Administrator and SMART-TD Illinois State Legislative Director Joe Szabo of Local 1290 (Chicago).

In addition to living along the Northeast Corridor in West Windsor, N.J., and working for New Jersey Transit, Bose helped establish and later served on the Northeast Corridor Commission. He also participated in structuring the commission’s cost allocation policy, helped the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) deliver a $2.5 billion Railroad Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Financing (RRIF) loan to Amtrak for its next generation of Acela rail cars, and worked on the environmental review of a number of projects.

SMART Transportation Division Bus Department Vice President Calvin Studivant and New Jersey State Legislative Director Ron Sabol spent a significant time brainstorming ways to protect members in Sabol’s state last year.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic had added even more potential risk to our members working on New Jersey Transit (NJT) and other carriers. Beyond their daily duties of keeping things moving, the need for workers to enforce COVID safety measures increased the potential for conflict and violent incidents with dangerous outcomes for workers, riders and even the public.

Two assaults on NJT workers drew headlines through the autumn. A union tracking violence against NJT workers reported more than 130 instances of workers being attacked. Something needed to be done.

In response, Studivant and Sabol, in conjunction with SMART-TD legislative and legal leadership, developed and presented what became the Motorbus and Passenger Rail Service Employee Violence Prevention Act.

On Jan. 10, that legislation was signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy.

“I’m very proud of what this law accomplishes in protecting transportation workers in our state,” Sabol said. “It took the help of many people on both our side, including National Legislative Director Greg Hynes and TD Designated Legal Counsel Safety Coordinator Larry Mann, the persistence of other labor organizations, and a receptive, bipartisan group of legislators to get this done.”

Assemblyman Daniel R. Benson (D-Dist. 14) and state Sen. Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. (D-Dist. 18) were the driving forces behind the versions of the Motorbus and Passenger Rail Service Employee Violence Prevention Act that ran concurrently in rapid fashion through both chambers of the New Jersey Legislature. On the Republican side, State Sen. Robert R. Singer (R-Dist. 30) also championed the bill that gained massive support from both parties in the Senate.

The Senate version, S-4071, passed unanimously Dec. 20 on a 39-0 vote. The Assembly version, A-6013, passed unanimously with a 76-0 vote the same day.

“We cannot thank Assemblyman Benson enough for his diligence and his amazing effort in putting in the time to make this legislation succeed,” Sabol said after the bill’s signing. “He spent hours engaging fellow legislators with in-depth discussions as he proposed and helped to advance the legislation. The same goes again with state Sens. Diegnan and Singer, who were instrumental in initiating and retaining the overwhelming bipartisan support the law gained, and, of course, Gov. Murphy.”

The Motorbus and Passenger Rail Service Employee Violence Prevention Act upgrades the penalty for all assaults on a motorbus or autobus operator, the operator’s supervisor and a rail passenger employee. It also empowers NJT, motorbus companies and all rail passenger service providers to ban riders from their transportation services for up to one year if the person commits an assault on a motorbus operator, the operator’s supervisor or a rail passenger employee.

If a deadly weapon was used during the assault, the rider may be banned for life.

“Transportation workers are far too often subjected to vicious attacks by irate passengers for simply doing their jobs,” said Benson, who serves as chairperson of the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee. “Our bus and rail employees must be protected as they fulfill their critical duties on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of commuters in our state.”

“This bill, while long overdue, is right on time,” Vice President Studivant said. “The collaborative efforts to secure this piece of legislation is a testament to the men and women who face adverse conditions on a daily basis for simply doing their jobs of moving the people of N.J.”

“Congratulations to Vice President Studivant, SLD Sabol and the New Jersey State Legislative Board for their outstanding work, and thanks to Larry Mann for his guidance in this victory,” National Legislative Director Greg Hynes said. “This legislation could be a great blueprint for other states to follow suit.”

Of note, Gov. Murphy also signed S.771, a second piece of legislation expanding workers’ compensation coverage to include injuries that occurs in employer parking lots. Both SMART-TD and the New Jersey Council of Safety and Health (COSH) supported the bill.

The SMART Transportation Division has been shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden passing of General Chairperson Danny Young (GO-017), a longtime leader in our union and member of Local 1081 (Glendale, Ariz.), on Dec. 31, 2021.

TD General Chairperson Danny Young of GO-017 passed away Dec. 31, 2021.

Brother Young was born and raised in Winslow, Arizona. He was an avid athlete, winning a gold medal as a Junior Olympic wrestler and playing college football at Mesa Community College. He went on to graduate from Grand Canyon University with a Bachelor of Science in finance. He followed in his father’s footsteps to have a career with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF) and joined the union in April 1995. He was promoted to engineer in 1998.

Young became interested in unionism and became trustee for Local 1081 in 1999, then local chairperson the same year. In 2003, he was elected secretary of BNSF Railway General Committee GO-017 and then re-elected to the post in 2007. Young was elected second alternate vice president-West by delegates at the UTU Convention in 2007 and later was elevated to alternate vice president-West in 2009, the same year that he became a general chairperson. He continued as an alternate vice president for the union until Sept. 30, 2019 and served as a general chairperson for more than 12 years. He was a member of the SMART-TD team in the 2017 national contract negotiations and was a frequent presenter at regional meetings regarding first response in the event of transportation emergencies.

He is survived by his wife, Julie; his mother, Carol Young; his mother-in-law, Kathy Ball; his brother, Mike (Lisa) Young; his brother-in-law, Bobby Ball; his nephews Danny, Jordan, Nathan and Garrett; his great nephew Jace and his dogs Hank and Jake. Preceding him in death was his father, William “Butch” Young, who himself was a general chairperson.

Danny loved to fish and travel the world. He was a lifelong, dedicated fan of the Arizona Cardinals. He was fun-loving, had the biggest personality and a laugh that was one-of-a-kind. He will be missed dearly by his family, friends and colleagues.

Private memorial services for the family will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Brother Young may be made to The Humane Society of the United States.

SMART Transportation Division offers its most sincere and heart-felt condolences to Brother Young’s family, friends and his brother and sisters in Local 1081 and GO-017.