Recently, you may have received (or may receive) a letter from Amalgamated stating that you can keep your coverage with Amalgamated on an individual basis by setting up “a direct payment arrangement through your checking account” with them. While you may stay covered by Amalgamated if you prefer, you will automatically remain covered by the SMART-TD Voluntary Disability Plan with Sun Life. SMART-TD will continue payroll-deducting your monthly VLTD premium and will remit those premiums to Sun Life on your behalf, so nothing is required of you to remain covered.
Below is important information for your reference:
Enrolled SMART-TD members have been covered by Sun Life since March 1, 2023.
Your monthly payroll deducted premiums have been paid to Sun Life and your coverage is current.
Members covered by the new Sun Life plan do not owe Amalgamated any premiums.
If you are currently on a claim with Amalgamated, you will maintain your monthly benefits through Amalgamated for the duration of your claim.
If you have any questions, please contact the SMART TD Customer Service Center at 224-770-5328.
Many members miss opportunities when their address and contact information on file is not current. To keep things up to date, this can be accomplished through the SMART mobile app, via the SMART Member Portal on the SMART website or the old-fashioned way — by just letting your TD Local secretary know.
It’s no secret that we and the carriers do not often see eye to eye and there is a false narrative that we share member/employee information with each other. The carriers have zero obligation to voluntarily share any change in your personal information with your union. Even in this age of easy communication, maintaining good labor relations isn’t the strong suit of many carriers, and that includes notifying the union when one of our members has moved or changed their contact information.
Truthfully, if you update information with the carrier, it might not even be in their best interest to share that info — they may prefer that the bad information stays in our system as it means one more member is left in the dark. It makes SMART-TD one member weaker as they wonder why the union is perceived as being silent and inactive, never trying to share information or contact them but collect their dues anyway.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. The union sends out daily emails that share the latest union and transportation industry news via the SMART-TD Newswire. Communication is absolutely essential with our membership, whether it be through social media, our website, email or other ways of connecting. For instance, information about military veterans’ service is used so that your service may be honored with an annual gift. We are also in the process of targeting craft-specific information out to the membership, so it important to have that properly listed on your member profile as well.
To avoid missing out, please fulfill your SMART constitutional duty (Article 21B, Section 49) and make your union one member stronger through the app, website or contacting your local leadership to ensure that your address, phone number and email, as well as your craft, military service and emergency contact info are current. Together we are stronger!
WATCH: SMART-TD Ohio State Legislative Director Clyde Whitaker testified about rail safety issues before a U.S. Senate committee in March 2023.
Last week’s much-anticipated hearing of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works featured a discussion of the Norfolk Southern derailment and the subsequent release of chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. The spectacle of seeing NS CEO Alan Shaw fend off questions from the senators was clearly the main event of the day; however the undercard of the hearing was well worth the price of the ticket.
The hearing’s opening panel featured a robust discussion of the new bipartisan legislation being considered in the Senate known as the Railway Safety Act of 2023. Three out of the four title sponsors of the bill were in the hearing and testified about the goals they seek to achieve through the Safety Act.
Testimony started off with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat. Last December, Casey not only voted for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ legislation to guarantee seven paid sick days for railroad employees, but he also spoke at the SMART Transportation Division-led rally Dec. 13 outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. in support of ending Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR).
With the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment and subsequent aftermath unfolding mere feet from Sen. Casey’s state, it makes sense that he would be among the group of legislators trying to rein in the effects PSR is having on our industry.
In discussing the Railway Safety Act of 2023, Casey said, “The future has to be about passing the Railway Safety Act that Senator Brown, Senator Vance, Senator Fetterman and I and others are leading. It’s bipartisan. That never happens around here on big bills, or rarely, I should say. It would be a good start by Norfolk Southern to tell us here today in addition to what more they are going to do for the people of Ohio and Pennsylvania, to tell us today that they support the bill! That would help.” Casey continued, “That’s what the people of both states deserve.”
Following Sen. Casey’s testimony, the spotlight went to the two Ohio senators. Sherrod Brown and JD Vance are on very different ends of the political spectrum, but they both did solid work discussing the strengths of and the need for the legislation.
“Lobbyists for the railroad companies have spent years fighting every effort to strengthen rules to make our trains and our rail lines safer. Now Ohioans are paying the price.”
– Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown
In discussing Norfolk Southern’s large derailment in Ohio on March 4th, Sen. Brown said, “Another NS train derailed in Springfield, Ohio. This time the cars that derailed weren’t carrying hazardous chemicals, but other cars on that 200-plus-car train were. The only thing that saved Ohioans from another disaster was luck. But we need more than that. That is why Senator Vance and I have come together to introduce our bipartisan Railway Safety Act.”
He went on to say that “lobbyists for the railroad companies have spent years fighting every effort to strengthen rules to make our trains and our rail lines safer. Now Ohioans are paying the price.”
Sen. Vance came out swinging pretty hard at the railroads, especially considering he is just months into his first term in Congress. For his part, Vance pointed out that, “This is an industry that enjoys special subsidies that almost no industry enjoys. This is an industry that enjoys special carveouts that almost no industry enjoys. This is an industry that just three months ago had the federal government come in and save them from a labor dispute. It was effectively a bailout. And now they’re claiming before the Senate and House that our reasonable legislation is somehow a violation of the free market? Well pot, meet the kettle, because that doesn’t make an ounce of sense. You cannot claim special government privileges, you cannot ask the government to bail you out and then resist basic public safety.”
In reference to his colleagues in Congress, Vance offered this: “We have a choice. Are we for big business and big government, or are we for the people of East Palestine? It’s a time for choosing. Let’s make the right one.”
It’s hard to put a finer point on it than that. SMART-TD is happy to have the combination of these three legislators along with Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), pushing this bill in Washington. We applaud their interest in safeguarding the rail industry and look forward to helping them as we get the Railway Safety Act of 2023 over the finish line.
The state of Michigan is a great microcosm of the United States as a whole. It has major metropolitan areas, heavy industry, expansive agriculture and a diverse transportation network.
Train tracks crisscross “The Big Mitten,” moving people to and from the state and getting products to both national and international markets. Belying their role in the supply chain, Norfolk Southern, CSX and a large number of shortlines have loomed large over the State House in Lansing for decades, peddling the kind of influence that reflects their role in the state’s economy as well as their bottomless lobbying budgets.
Unfortunately for the carriers, another thing Michigan is known for is a hard-nosed and organized workforce. The most-recent demonstration of this has come from SMART Transportation Division’s own Don Roach — our state legislative director (SLD) in Michigan. Despite being outspent and outmanned in Lansing during his more than three years as SLD, Brother Roach and everyone on the State Legislative Board have not been outworked. This is being made readily apparent by the early results in this year’s legislative cycle with four pieces of legislation introduced and carrying momentum.
First on the agenda is SB 100, Michigan’s two-person crew bill. With state Sen. Erika Geis as primary sponsor (she’s also chair of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee), it also has the additional push of nine cosponsors. With these 10 backers, the bill is already halfway to the total number of votes needed to get through the senior chamber.
In addition to the 2PC bill, Michigan’s Senate is also looking at SB 139 to legislation limiting freight trains in the state to 7,500 feet with fines to carriers of up to $5,000 per infraction. With the number of auto rack trains rolling out of Detroit, having this law in their state of origin will help train crews up and down the Midwest and eastern seaboard. When the rack trains start coming out of Michigan with 75 cars rather than the 200-car monsters we’ve been wrestling with during Precision Scheduled Railroading, Michigan’s crew bases won’t be the only ones who benefit from this new law. Both rail congestion and road traffic congestion due to blocked crossings should see improvement.
A third bill Michigan’s legislative team has in the works aims to defend our brothers and sisters in passenger rail and bus service. This bill that is ready to be dropped in Lansing seeks to make it a felony in Michigan for anyone to assault an employee of a commuter or passenger train or a bus driver. In addition to upping the level of criminal classification for such actions, the bill also seeks to strengthen the fines for these crimes, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per conviction.
Finally, our Michigan contingent have their eyes on SMART-TD’s national goals. The most-recent legislation put on the state’s agenda is a resolution stating support from Michigan’s Legislature for the Railway Safety Act of 2023 introduced in the U.S. Senate by a bipartisan collaboration. State resolutions of support will play a large role in garnering support from Michigan’s members of Congress as well as serve as a lead for other states to follow.
To sum it up, our union is leading by example in labor’s war against PSR. All of us at SMART are excited to see the progress being made in Michigan and elsewhere and look forward to what comes next.
SMART-TD, behind the leadership of National Legislative Director Greg Hynes and Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity, have unprecedented positive momentum in the halls of state legislatures across the country. Our legislative directors currently have bills in front of 17 state legislatures and many are showing signs of being successful. SMART-TD is very proud of the progress that the SLDs are making in all of these states and would like to share some of the highlights.
· Washington HB 1839 — SLD Herb Krohn’s train-length bill is scheduled for a vote in the Washington House Transportation Committee at noon Feb. 23.
· Arizona HB 2531—SLD Robert Jones has a train length bill limiting trains to 8,500 feet. It was passed through committee and is heading to the floor of the Arizona House.
· Arizona HB 2531—SLD Robert Jones has a train length bill limiting trains to 8,500 feet. It was passed through committee and is heading to the floor of the Arizona House.
· Iowa SF 184 —SLD Chris Smith has a train length bill limiting trains to 8,500 feet. It has been passed through committee in the Iowa Senate and is heading to the Senate floor.
· New Mexico HB 105—SLD Don Gallegos has a two-person crew bill that passed the floor of the New Mexico House of Representatives and is heading to the Senate.
· Minnesota SF 1417—SLD Nicholas Katich has a two-person crew bill that is currently in committee.
· Ohio HB 23—SLD Clyde Whitaker has a two-person crew bill that includes provisions for regulating adherence to wayside defect detectors that is currently in committee.
In the 17 states where SMART-TD’s legislative team is pushing legislation in this cycle, we have 49 combined bills currently in play. These pieces of legislation have the potential to bring about a tremendous amount of progress in our industry and make your day-to-day lives better while holding rail carriers accountable. Your support is needed!
The SMART Transportation Division and its Public Relations Department are looking to better serve you, our members. We are responding to feedback that the stories we put out should be more focused on what is happening at the ballast and road levels and within the crew bases that we aim to serve.
Over the winter, members of SMART-TD Local 195 in Galesburg, Ill., served breakfast to members of the community at VFW Post 2257 in Galesburg. (Photo courtesy Local Chairperson Jerrod Sammons)
To that end, we are humbly requesting your assistance in this goal. If you are a trainman or bus member who has a story lead about a co-worker with an accomplishment you would like to see highlighted, please reach out to us so that we can give you a voice in your union.
If you have information about your carrier changing a policy that is concerning or a TD member that has gone above the call of duty, we are asking you to email the Public Relations Department of SMART-TD at news_TD@smart-union.org.
We would love to hear from you about your brothers’ and sisters’ accomplishments and celebrations of careers as well as your perspectives on industry trends or changes that should be discussed in a large-scale forum.
In your emails, please leave your contact information so that we can discuss the topics with you further in order to give the story its just due and get it right for all involved.
SMART-TD’s Public Relations Department would like to thank you in advance for your participation, and we look forward to bringing you the stories that make a difference to all of us.
SMART Transportation Division members now have the chance to get up to five times the guaranteed coverage in the Union’s new VLTD plan.
Beginning March 1, 2023, Sun Life Financial will administer the VLTD Plan and provide the 24-hour coverage plan participants enjoy now, with up to $5,000 of guaranteed approved tax-free coverage.
In the coming days, members with the current Amalgamated plan will be receiving a detailed summary of benefits & rates, which will outline the new plan design and provide updates on premiums, to be effective March 1, 2023. If you have any questions, please direct them to the SMART VLTD customer service hotline at (224) 770-5328.
As information, disability claims filed prior to March 1, 2023, will continue to be handled and underwritten by Amalgamated.
Sun Life VLTD Plan Highlights(Current Amalgamated enrollees)
• Guaranteed continuation of coverage at existing amount
• 12-month pre-existing condition clause is being transferred to Sun Life (time on Amalgamated plan will be honored).
• 2-year and 5-year benefit durations will be offered by Sun Life. – Maximum Monthly Benefit ranges from $1,000 to $5,000.
• 24-hour coverage (members are covered for both on- and off-duty incidents)
• Stackable with other benefits (including RRB sickness benefits) for up to 80% of pre-disability earnings
• Benefits are not subject to repayment upon receipt of FELA and/or personal injury settlements.
• Benefits paid are tax-free.
• Benefits begin after 238 days (Rail) & 365 days (Bus), matching the duration of the SMART Voluntary Short Term Disability (VSTD) plan, so there is no gap in coverage for members who are enrolled in both plans.
• Premiums will increase as members age.
• Benefits are not portable (SMART-TD members-only benefit).
• Mental illness & substance use benefits are increased to 12 months (previously limited to 3 months for mental illness, and 15 days for substance use).
For members who are not currently enrolled, an Open Enrollment is planned in the coming months. Additional details will be announced once those dates are confirmed.
Sun Life VLTD Plan Highlights(New enrollees)
• Sun Life will offer two open enrollments per year – First open enrollment planned for spring 2023 and another in fall.
• 2-year benefit duration – Guaranteed approved enrollment for up to $2,000 in monthly benefits – Maximum monthly benefit of $2,000
• 5-year benefit duration – Guaranteed approved enrollment for up to $5,000 in monthly benefits – Maximum monthly benefit of $5,000
• 24-hour coverage (members are covered for both on- and off-duty incidents)
• Stackable with other benefits (including RRB sickness benefits) for up to 70% of pre-disability earnings
• Benefits are not subject to repayment upon receipt of FELA and/or personal injury settlements.
• Benefits paid are tax-free.
• Benefits begin after 238 days (Rail) & 365 days (Bus), matching the duration of the SMART Voluntary Short Term Disability (VSTD) plan, so there is no gap in coverage for members who are enrolled in both plans.
• Premiums will increase as members age.
• Benefits are not portable (SMART-TD members-only benefit).
• Mental illness & substance use benefits are increased to 12 months (previously limited to 3 months for mental illness, and 15 days for substance use).
• Pre-existing conditions covered after 12 months of enrollment in the plan.
Major disasters can occur anytime and anywhere to our union Brothers and Sisters, and the SMART Transportation Division Disaster Relief Fund is primed to assist members in their times of need.
In recent memory, the fund has helped during disastrous cold in Texas, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and fires. Our members’ touching and steadfast generosity never fails to provide hope when the sense of devastation takes hold — when homes are damaged and lives are upended such as what has occurred with recent storms in the South and in California.
To help members struck by these and future crises 2023 may present, the Disaster Relief Fund asks that the TD family heed this call to give what you can. With your help, the difficult task of starting over and rebuilding can become easier for members who find themselves affected in times of trouble.
Any donations will help lessen the struggle and bring real hope and relief to SMART-TD members who are suffering after this great loss. SMART-TD will administer donations sent to the SMART TD Disaster Relief Fund when the need arises.
Contributions may be sent and made payable to:
SMART TD Disaster Relief Fund 6060 Rockside Woods Blvd., N., Suite 325 Independence, OH 44131-2378
Questions? Please call the Transportation Division office at 216-228-9400 referencing the SMART TD Disaster Relief Fund.
With the new year in full swing, it’s time to begin applying for scholarships for the 2023-24 school year. If you have a child or grandchild in college or about to attend college, now is the time to do your research and apply.
Some scholarships you might consider applying for are administered by the SMART-TD Auxiliary, UTUIA and Union Plus.
The Auxiliary of the United Transportation Union Scholarship by the SMART-TD Auxiliary is available to members of the SMART-TD Auxiliary who are in good standing, their children, step-children, grandchildren or step-grandchildren aged 25 or younger. This $1,000 scholarship is renewable for up to four years (for a total of $4,000) and the application period is January 1 – March 31. See the SMART-TD Auxiliary website for official rules and requirements and for instructions on how to apply.
The UTUIA administers a number of different scholarships. Of note is their college scholarship and trade school scholarship programs. Each kind of scholarship is available to UTUIA insurance policyholders, their children or grandchildren and offers 50 $2,000 scholarships. The college scholarship is renewable up to four years and the trade school scholarship is renewable up to two years. See the UTUIA website for official rules and requirements and instructions on how to apply to these and other scholarships offered by the UTUIA. The application period is Jan. 16 –March 31.
Union Plus awards $500 – $4,000 scholarships to members of participating unions, their spouses and their dependent children. Applications are due by January 31 each year. Visit the Union Plus scholarship page to learn more. Below is a list of SMART members who won scholarships from Union Plus last year.
Name of Scholarship Winner & Amount
SMART Local
Affiliated SMART Member
Dalton Altimus – $500
TD Local 426
Scott Altimus
Katelyn Bale – $1,000
SM Local 73
Raymond Bale
Ethan Beightol – $500
TD Local 631
Aaron Beightol
Maya Garcia – $1,000
SM Local 104
Angelo Garcia
Zachary Palazzotto – $1,000
TD Local 645
Andrew Palazzotto
Erin Robinson – $2,000
SM Local 17
William Robinson
Marissa Ward – $550
SM Local 486
James Ward
SMART-TD features 16 scholarship programs on our scholarship webpage from our affiliates and other outside organizations within the rail, bus and airline industries that you, your children or grandchildren may be eligible for. At the bottom of the page are links to free scholarship databases that also may be of interest.
SMART-TD does not maintain its own scholarship program, nor does it oversee or otherwise play any role in the administration of any scholarships listed on our website. The scholarship programs listed on our website are solely responsible for the administration of their own scholarships. Any questions about these scholarships should be directed to the individual program and not SMART-TD.
If you know of a transportation-related scholarship that is not listed and that our members or their children or grandchildren may be eligible for, please let us know by emailing news_td@smart-union.org. Please include the sponsor, name of scholarship and the web address where more information can be found.
The Sheet Metal Division of SMART maintains its own scholarship page exclusively for Sheet Metal members and their families.
In today’s age of economics driven by corporate greed, there are many trade unions in our country at odds with the so-called “captains” of their industries and the profit-obsessed mindset of upper management. Few unions, however, share such similar struggles as the members of the SMART Transportation Division and those that represent airline crews.
Currently, as our freight rail members await the results of an FRA ruling on the sanctity of the two-person crew in the locomotive cab, the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is defending that exact same safety measure in the air. As flight crews cope with an epidemic of aggressive and often-violent behavior, our commuter rail and bus members are right there with them fighting that same battle on the nation’s roads and rails.
In light of these parallels, SMART-TD would like to state with clarity that we support ALPA in their efforts to legislate a two-pilot flight crew. Just as with our rail members, task overload, menu diving into screens/gauges, as well as fatigue are common distractions for pilots and impede safe operations. SMART-TD members know that reality all too well. We also know that redundancy and the second pair of eyes of an experienced fellow crew member are far better for safety than any computer software Silicon Valley can sell our industries on as they look to cut headcount and costs.
On Monday, January 16th ALPA is celebrating the 14-year anniversary of the “Miracle on the Hudson” when the highly skilled crew of Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and F/O Jeffrey Skiles worked together to save the lives of 155 passengers and the crew of Flight 1549 famously taking the plane with two dead engines to a safe and heroic landing on the Hudson River.
As our brothers and sisters in ALPA make their arguments to the FAA regarding the vital importance of having two trained pilots in the cockpit during the agency’s reauthorization, we need to be on the right side of this fight. Corporate and shareholder profits must not be allowed to be placed above the safety in either the airline or freight rail industries.
SMART-TD commemorates the actions of that two-person crew on that cold January day in 2009 and stands in absolute and unyielding support of ALPA’s efforts in keeping two pilots in America’s cockpits.
Efforts of the airline industry to lobby Congress to amend part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations to allow single-pilot crews are dangerous, short-sighted and would threaten to disrupt the current period of safe operations by the air carriers in our nation. We encourage our members to contact their congressional representatives and tell them to not entertain the thought of disobeying airlines’ Rule of 2.
