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Brother Aaron Hatter of SMART-TD Local 1594 (Upper Darby, Pa.) has only been a member of SMART-TD since June.

Aaron was operating his bus on the South East Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) 108 Route from Upper Darby to the airport in southwest Philadelphia when a passenger got on the bus and informed him that he didn’t have enough money to cover his fare.

Hatter, who had received new-hire training from SMART-TD General Chairperson Anthony Petty knew he wasn’t supposed to put himself in harm’s way by arguing a fare with a passenger.

He took the correct course of action by not engaging and allowing the passenger to ride. As he was getting close to completing his run, he stopped to let this passenger off the bus at the corner of Church Lane and Connell Road in Yeadon about 1 p.m.

Member hurt in unprovoked confrontation

As the man exited the bus, he stopped and, without being provoked, stabbed Aaron twice, first in his face and then in his stomach.

Brother Hatter had to be rushed into surgery because doctors believed the knife had damaged his intestine. Fortunately, they were incorrect, and our brother is expected to recover fully.

“Aaron is a good new operator who does his job well,” GC Petty said of Hatter. “You hate to see any of our operators put in this situation, but in this case in particular, Brother Hatter did everything right and still ended up being violently assaulted.”

Recovery progressing, but frustration mounts for SMART bus union leader

Petty’s frustration was evident. He said when he went to talk to Hatter following the surgery, he was encouraged to hear that he is recovering well.

“I was glad to see Aaron is going to be all right, but this never should have happened.” Petty said. “Our operators know to file reports of physical assaults and altercations, but there is no mechanism to report verbal assault. A handful of our operators have had negative experiences with this particular passenger. Up to now, he has never become violent. He would make insulting comments and walk away, but it never escalated. We need to start documenting these verbal assaults and have a way to address these problems before they grow into situations like this with our member fighting for his life.”

SMART bus union taking action, to roll out reporting tool

SMART-TD agrees with Brother Petty 100%. An assault report designed by SMART-TD’s internal Bus/Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) committee will soon be made available on the SMART app and our website. This form will get this information into the hands of our local officers and BTAPS members.

With actionable information, these local officers will be better-equipped to ensure our brothers and sisters like Aaron are not caught off guard and unnecessarily put in harm’s way.

After three years without a revised contract, SMART-TD Local 1704 ratified a tentative agreement (TA) in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday with First Student. The 66-member local’s refreshed contract secured significant raises, the addition of one paid holiday and made it so that six years of seniority raised their members to the top of the pay scale, rather than the 16 years required in past contracts.

Preparation from SMART-TD bus union empowered Local 1704 leaders

Local 1704 negotiators General Chairperson Darryl Redmon, President Ethel Maze and Trustee Carol Johnson poses with Bus Department Vice President James Sandoval.

After months of negotiation, Local President Ethel Maze was quick to credit the preparation she and her team, including General Chairperson Darryl Redmon and Trustee Carol Johnson, received from Bus Department Vice President James Sandoval for their success. Maze said that in past negotiations, she had been in the room but wasn’t able to take the lead in getting her people what they needed. This time around, she could rise to meet the moment.

“James (VP Sandoval) spent an entire day with a group of four local officers and taught us things we never knew about how to advocate for our members,” she said. “Not only did this help in negotiating this agreement, but it also made me more effective in representing my members on the property in day-to-day operations.

Know your contract and stand firm

“Through my conversations with James, I found things in our agreement First Student has never honored. It empowered me to go into the office and stand firm, insisting on improvements to which we are contractually entitled. All in all, our team, along with VP Sandoval, put Local 1704 on a better track, and we provided a quality of life for our men and women that is better than our managers wanted us to believe was possible,” Maze continued.

SMART-TD succeeds in tense negotiations

Some of the members of Local 1704 pose for a photo after ratification of a contract July 20 that brought a three-year negotiation process to an end.

Negotiations came to a head when management called for an all-day closed-door session.

Sandoval attended the meeting and had high praise for the efforts and professionalism of 1704’s local officers.

“Maze, Redmond, and Johnson were an impressive team. It was obvious to everyone in the room that they had done their homework,” he said. “Sister Maze took the lead in the negotiations, and she left no doubt that she knew the contract, the rights of her people, and most importantly, that she had her finger on the pulse of what her brothers and sisters needed to achieve in this agreement.”

Preparation and hard work results in overwhelming support

The proud, 66-member local had not received a significant raise or a revised contract in three years. Their local negotiating team received overwhelming support by their brothers and sisters.  The July 20th vote ratified the tentative agreement with a resounding 97% approval.

LACMTA, SEPTA, CATS, Montebello, California, and other properties have won strong agreements, increased member safety, and operators and mechanics were brought back to work. While these large properties get large headlines, SMART-TD believes that, whether a local has 60 or 600 members, every member deserves the same training, representation and resources.

That’s how we fight, and why we win.

CLEVELAND — The closing session of the SMART Transportation Division 2024 National Training Seminar highlighted an eventful year in terms of bus and transit safety. By continuing to communicate safety concerns at all levels SMART-TD can continue to lead the charge for member safety. Union leadership shared several victories and outlined the road ahead.

Bus Day on the Hill

For the first time, members of the SMART-TD Bus Department engaged legislators and representatives from federal agencies in our nation’s capital.

To raise awareness about members’ issues, National Legislative Director Greg Hynes, Bus Vice Presidents Alvy Hughes and James Sandoval and the Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) Committee made 15 visits to members of Congress and to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

“We’d never done that before for bus and transit,” President Jeremy Ferguson said. “The assaults have to stop. We’re done with it. Our operators have to be protected.”

By all accounts, the event got the attention of Capitol Hill and the FTA.

“I was getting reports all day and the second day, they rolled into FTA — the first time FTA has heard from SMART,” President Ferguson said.  “My hat’s off to all of you to what you accomplished on that day.”

FTA Chief Safety Officer: Communication is key

Joe DeLorenzo, one of the chief safety officers of the FTA, addressed transit union officers at the seminar. He stressed that there are practical steps to improve safety across the board — but the key first step is to share information with the union and with the watchdog agencies.

The FTA’s Joe DeLorenzo addresses the third and final day of the National Training Seminar in Cleveland. Behind DeLorenzo is FRA’s Liz Gross.

“There’s a lot of good information out there,” he said. “But we still need more.”

The kind of safety information the FTA needs from our members has broadened. Transit union officers and their members give the real picture of what’s happening. Their reports are crucial, he said.

Bus operators: Don’t accept problems as just “part of the day”

“The more information that I have, the easier it is for me to try and navigate all of the challenges to try to get something done, something that can be helpful to you all in Washington, D.C.” DeLorenzo said. “For a lot of bus operators, a lot of the things that have happened over the years have just come to be ‘part of the day’ and not even things to be reported, but they are, and we need to kind of move forward to doing that.”

DeLorenzo stressed that individual union members have the power to change things to be safer for operators and for their ridership.

“Safety is really driven by the people implementing it, and that’s where those ideas and communications need to come from,” he said.

SMART-TD transit union provides safety reporting tools

SMART-TD has a universal Safety Condition Report that any member can use to report safety concerns on their properties.

The union’s BTAPS committee is developing a new form to report transit assaults.

Similar tools provide a way to report technology failures on freight locomotives and rail hours of service violations. Union leadership uses evidence from member reports to confront management, and to support negotiations for stronger contracts and better legislation.

Union-issued public comments make a difference

SMART-TD’s National Legislative Department frequently issues comments that help shape federal policy. A comment directed to the FTA by SMART-TD helped craft a provision that the representatives on bus/transit safety committees have to be split 50/50, rather than be tilted toward management.

That couldn’t have been done without open communication between SMART-TD transit union members, international officers and the FTA. Our work makes a difference.

“There’s no silver bullet for safety culture,” DeLorenzo said. “It’s been a challenging time for transit agencies, which makes it more and more important to focus on safety.”

SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director Greg Hynes and his department led the charge in our nation’s capital to get bus and transit members’ safety concerns in front of members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.

This union, our Bus Department and the Bus/Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) committee have been advocating for Congress to act to end the startling growth of violent assaults on the nation’s public transit workforce.

President Biden’s administration and the Federal Transit Administration have begun to make moves to address shortcomings in security. SMART-TD and BTAPS are now taking our issues directly to Congress urging them to act on transit safety, which is a life-and-death issue for our brothers and sisters.

Hynes said he’s “fired up about how his team represented this union and the potential results of their great work.”

TD directly engages U.S. Congress and agency directors

“Our new BTAPS committee had a fantastic showing. All six members from across the country made the trip. Along with Bus Department VPs (Alvy) Hughes and (James) Sandoval, they brought the realities of the roads and rails with them into the halls of Congress today. Their message hit home with these officials because they were undeniably authentic.” Hynes said.

Hynes’ team, along with Christine Ivey, chairperson of BTAPS, and her team of bus and transit rail safety advocates met with the offices of 13 members of the House of Representatives, 2 U.S. senators, and the staff director of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

“I’m proud of the effort this union put forward today, and I have high expectations for the results. I want to thank Christine and the BTAPS members for making an important contribution to this union today and to the safety and well-being of our membership,” Hynes said.

Bus Department Vice Presidents Alvy Hughes, left, and James Sandoval, right, visit Capitol Hill at the Bus/Transit Day on the Hill.

In addition to our BTAPS members, SMART-TD was represented by Bus Department Vice Presidents Hughes and Sandoval, plus New Jersey State Legislative Director Ron Sabol as well as SMART-TD Auxiliary’s Monica Sandoval.

“We took a powerful step forward, but this is just the beginning,” VP Sandoval said. “We will not take our foot off the pedal until every transit worker is safe and secure. Only together will we make sure our voices and stories continue to echo through Capitol Hill.”

On a second day of meetings, Hynes led a team of SMART-TD leaders in a highly successful meeting with acting FTA Administrator Veronica Vanterpool. Administrator Vanterpool was highly receptive to the message and perspective SMART-TD had to share with her.

Administrator Vanterpool, who has a commercial driver’s license and four years of experience as a bus operator on her resume, quickly identified with the realities SMART-TD presented in their meeting. She is hoping FTA can partner with SMART-TD and our BTAPS committee in an effort to collect data on future assaults directly from our membership rather than depending on the transit agencies to self-report the information.

SMART-TD Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity had this to say: “In talking with acting Administrator Vanterpool, it immediately became clear that she is eager to address the same safety issues as this union. She went into detail on the new property-specific safety committees that she and the Biden administration are instituting for our bus members and was engaged in dialogue with our people about how SMART-TD can play an active role in the success of their mission.”

Bus Department Vice President Alvy Hughes added, “I’ve been involved in this union and this Bus Department for a long time now. I can tell you that the meeting we had with Administrator Vanterpool and the work we put in on Capitol Hill the day before has been one of the most-productive projects I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in. This organization is stronger, and our members will be made safer through what we accomplished during this first-of-its-kind Bus/Transit Day on the Hill.”

Companies and public transit authorities are often hesitant to give our members pay raises. This is especially true when they are dealing with men and women who are new to the job. Recently, SMART-TD’s general chairperson of GCA-020, Justin Schrock, found out that sometimes these employers will agree to a pay increase for new hires and then simply not pay it!

This happened to members of SMART-TD Local 1707 working for First Transit in Perris, California.

In 2022, Brother Schrock and the local leadership team for Local 1707 along with SMART-TD Bus Department Vice President Alvy Hughes, negotiated an increase in the pay for newly hired bus operators who were on the first step of compensation with First Transit. Being that they were all new employees, these brothers and sisters had very little track record to compare their paystubs to and were under the assumption that they were all being paid correctly per the new agreement.

They were not.

At left, Bus Department Vice President James Sandoval, Local Chairperson Rickey Davis, TD President Jeremy Ferguson and General Chairperson Justin Schrock, right.

First Transit was more than happy that no one had forced this issue until the local chairperson of LCA-020U for SMART-TD, Rickey Davis, caught the error. Davis was looking into a different dispute surrounding the steps in pay rates when he discovered that his members with the lowest seniority were being shorted in their pay. 

Upon this discovery, Brother Davis got a hold of GC Schrock. Together the two pushed First Transit to do the right thing and make the pay for these men and women whole. Predictably, they did not.

Earlier this month, the combination of Davis, Schrock, and VP Hughes reached a settlement with First Transit. They are now paying our members a combined $30,850.19 in back pay!

As Schrock told SMART News, “This is the largest grievance amount he has recovered for members in my career. The money being recovered goes back to July 1st, 2023. In total, First Transit had shorted 75 of our members. Rickey, Alvy, and I weren’t about to let that happen. It goes to show you that in this organization, we don’t just concentrate on protecting our senior members. We look out for bus members starting at day one!”

The 75 brothers and sisters that are receiving this back pay represent all the different crafts in Local 1707 including customer service representatives, operators, dispatchers, trip edits, and vaulters. All members of Local 1707 will also be receiving their next scheduled pay increase starting in July of this year as well.

SMART-TD wants to thank Brother Davis and all of the hard-working people in our Bus Department.

This $30,850 will help our members and their families and also shows our members’ employers that SMART-TD will always hold to them to the letter of their agreements!

GCA-875 represents workers for both Los Angeles County Metro Transportation Authority’s bus and train services and stands as the SMART Transportation Division’s largest bus/transit property.

Saying that the thousands of people in those five locals represented by General Chairperson John Ellis and his team have been through things that people should not have to go through while on the job would be an understatement.

In recent months, a LACMTA bus operator has been held at gunpoint by a hijacker, with the incident ending with the bus hitting multiple vehicles and a downtown hotel.

Members have been stabbed while in service. Passengers have been killed aboard LACMTA buses and trains. Neither rider nor worker could deny that getting from here to there was an experience not without apprehension.

Enough was enough.

Union effort brings true security back for our members

SMART-TD officers attend the board meeting June 27 when the LACMTA board approved the creation of a Transit Community Safety Department. From left are: Local 1563 Chairperson Jaime Delgadillo; Local Chairperson 1607/GCA-875 Secretary Julio Mejia; GCA-875 General Chairperson John M. Ellis; Vice General Chairperson and Local 1565 Chairperson Quintin Wormley; Local 1564 Chairperson Andy Carter and Local 1605 Chairperson Juan Gonzalez, who represents rail members. (Not pictured is Edgar Menendez, Local 1608 chairperson.)

The media publicity and outrage surrounding the violent events aboard LACMTA and the outspokenness of our union members and leadership finally helped to turn the tide with the people who could do the most.

On June 27, the Los Angeles County MTA’s board voted unanimously to create an “in-house” police agency called the Transit Community Safety Department to serve and protect SMART-TD members and the people who use LACMTA.

“It’s a victorious day,” GC Ellis said in a letter to members announcing the board’s actions. “Too often incidents aboard Metro vehicles have compromised your lives and dissuaded residents from riding the bus and rail services. Maintaining the status quo was NOT an option.” 

Meetings by union leaders with L.A. County Superintendent Janice Hahn and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spelled out precisely what the union’s stance was — that a dedicated department focused on security was needed to ensure safety for everyone aboard LACMTA, which serves 900,000 passengers daily and is the third-largest transit agency in the U.S.

Change will take time and collaboration between union and LACMTA

To that end, rather than LACMTA being dependent on support from the LAPD and county Sheriff’s Department, the Transit Community Safety Department would fully control safety priorities and better commit resources to where our members, in conjunction with agency leadership, say they are needed the most. More than 400 sworn-in transit safety officers would be in the department and collaborate with LACMTA’s transit ambassadors, as well as with specialists in crisis intervention and homeless outreach.

A unanimous vote by board members present at the meeting created a security force for LACMTA on June 27.

While the action taken by the board June 27, along with the prior approval of barriers to protect operators, is a definitive path toward a safer direction, GC Ellis stressed to members that the change will need time to take effect — at least three to five years, according to agency estimates.

“We look forward to working with CEO Stephanie Wiggins and management to make this proposal a reality,” Ellis said. “We understand that establishing your own police agency will take years to ensure it works effectively and as swiftly as possible.

“Nevertheless, we will continue to campaign to keep our members — Metro’s frontline heroes — as safe as possible. The union wishes to express our sincere appreciation for the forward steps the board took today to create a safer environment for our members and for the riding public.”

An example other agencies and unions can follow

Transportation Division President Jeremy R. Ferguson congratulated GCA-875 on their success. But the need to improve safety in Los Angeles or at the other bus and transit properties the union represents isn’t going to disappear.

“LACMTA is a huge property with a lot going on and a lot to track — there are only two others in the country that are bigger operations,” he said. “The headlines that we’ve seen coming out of Los Angeles have been hard to stomach, and sadly the violent incidents that have happened there aren’t exclusive to there. They happen all around the country on multiple properties we represent. It’s why we’ve had to create an internal Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety committee.

“John Ellis and his team have shown that our union gets things done for our bus and transit members. We all know that it’s not going to get better for our people unless we as a union lead the way and make it better. I congratulate GCA-875 on this accomplishment and being an example of great leadership.”

Cecilia Lopez, the general chairperson representing Local 1701, announced that 28 months of uncertainty for her brothers and sisters have officially ended. The city of Montebello and SMART-TD have come to an agreement that has been ratified by a nearly unanimous vote by Local 1701 members. Lopez said the contract includes the largest pay increase she has seen in her career working for the city.

A fresh start for Montebello

GC Lopez made it clear that the city has turned a significant corner in how they treat our union members and its employees since they hired Raul Alvarez as city manager.

“It is hard to explain the difference in morale for our bus department since Alvarez came to Montebello,” she said. “Montebello’s Bus Department is now the place where people want to work.”

SMART-TD averts a crisis

Members of the SMART Transportation Division ratified a new agreement with the city of Montebello after more than two years of negotiations.

Since December 2021, the men and women of SMART-TD Local 1701 in Montebello, California, had been working without a contract. The team of Local Chairperson Betty Vasquez, GC Lopez and SMART-TD Vice Presidents Alvy Hughes and James Sandoval saw negotiations going down a dangerous path. At one point, 27 of our members were placed on administrative leave and faced termination, including Lopez and Vasquez.

 Thanks in part to their training and experience and with the help of a new administration in Montebello City Hall, the SMART-TD negotiating team was able to put both the city and Local 1701 on the road to a much brighter future.

Progress based on teamwork and mutual respect

When the dust settled, the Bus Department and SMART-TD Local 1701 stood together.

As GC Lopez put it, “Without Montebello Bus, there is no Montebello. This isn’t just a victory for us; it is a win for the people of this community.”

She said she’s very appreciative of the aid she received in this process from VPs Sandoval and Hughes, as well as the support her local received from Alternate Vice President Markeisha Hayes.  More than anything, she wanted to thank the men and women of Local 1701 for their continued support throughout this multi-year fight for a good contract.

“These men and women stuck together as a family, and they filled City Hall every time I asked them to,” she said. “I couldn’t be prouder to represent the people of Montebello’s Bus Department.”

Solidarity brings success

The success in Montebello is one example of the power of union solidarity. By working together, focusing on results and holding employers accountable, SMART-TD creates better lives and more secure futures for workers across the country.


Phone: (216) 228-9400
Department Email: news_td@smart-union.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (May 7, 2024) — The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) announced today that it will be installing protective barriers in all of its buses by the end of the year.

The step taken by LACMTA will make it the first urban bus system with this safety measure fully installed. Consistent with the Federal Transit Administration’s mandated safety plans, the barriers are designed to protect bus operators from potential assault and will be installed two years ahead of a previous schedule.

Jeremy Ferguson, the president of the SMART Transportation Division labor union (SMART-TD), which represents more than 6,000 LACMTA workers, issued the following statement today:

“Thanks to the L.A. County Metro board and CEO Stephanie Wiggins for their commitment to this groundbreaking safety feat and their willingness to collaborate with SMART. Led by Los Angeles Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation Division Chairperson, John Ellis and his officers, this accelerated initiative for bus barriers on the entire fleet was strongly advocated for by the union. It represents a huge step forward in addressing SMART’s members safety concerns and demonstrates how much can be accomplished when labor and management work together on issues of mutual concern.

“Hopefully this will be a catalyst for many more such improvements for the safety and well-being of SMART members across the nation.”

On April 25, LACMTA’s board initiated emergency procurement procedures to speed up the barrier installations after attacks on workers made headlines.

“This action will make LACMTA a safer transportation system for the workers I am proud to represent and for the passengers we all are happy to serve,” GC Ellis said. “We thank CEO Wiggins and the LACMTA leadership for putting these protections into high gear.”

As of June 2023, LACMTA has 1,888 buses in service. Its system has 11,980 bus stops and serves a 1,447-square-mile region with 120 routes. The LACMTA provides nearly 1 million rides on its bus and rail system every weekday and an average of 580,000 rides per day on weekends.

In March, the agency provided more than 7.6 million miles of bus and rail passenger service for the country’s most-populous county.

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SMART Transportation Division is comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members who work in a variety of different crafts in the transportation industry. These crafts include employees on every Class I railroad, Amtrak, many shortline railroads, bus and mass transit employees and airport personnel.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Board activated emergency procurement procedures this week to expedite the installation of protective barriers for bus operators.

John Ellis, general chairperson of GO 875, which represents our members who work on LACMTA, issued the following statement April 25:

General Chairperson John Ellis of GO 875, which represents LACMTA workers.

“We have reached a critical milestone! After countless hurdles, on Thursday, April 18, 2024, I viewed the completed prototype enclosure and requested the execution and mass production of the implementation of the driver enclosures. I drove the bus for 35 years and I understand what our members are all up against daily.

“No one can begin to comprehend what an operator faces during these unpredictable times. Rest assured, I will continue to advocate the safety that is owed to our members. I will not stop fighting until all enclosures are on all the buses. Metro, law enforcement and the union as a whole must remain vigilant to this plague affecting our brothers and sisters. Their physical well being and mental stability is of the upmost priority to our members and their families.

“At today’s (April 25) Board of Directors meeting, the board approved and authorized the emergency procurement designation to expedite the completion of the installation of the retrofit barriers on Metro’s fleet by the end of December. I anxiously await the retrofit buses to start making headway for the safety of our transportation heroes — it can’t happen fast enough.

“Furthermore, more new assaults have been reported. When it’s not a valued member, it’s an innocent patron being attacked. The current contracted agencies of law enforcement are not sufficient! We need a dedicated Metro police system for transportation.

“This is a vital and legitimate request I am proposing to Metro. It will create a better safety transportation system, dedicated police taking care of nothing BUT transit! No ifs, ands or buts about it. Everyone’s life matters.

“I’d like to recognize Metro’s CEO Stephanie Wiggins for working collaboratively with me and taking action during these unprecedented times. The union thanks our members for their continuous service.”

Phone: (216) 228-9400
Department email: news_td@smart-union.org

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (April 10, 2024) — President Jeremy Ferguson of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers’ Transportation Division (SMART-TD) released the following statement in response to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) final rule on a National Public Transportation Safety Plan and the formation of Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASPs).

Read FTA’s release on the final rule on the action plans

“SMART-TD has been calling for federal action to protect our bus and transit members for years. Today, we have been given action, rather than promises and further studies to determine what our men and women know too well. Assault in public transportation is an epidemic that is only getting worse, and they need protection! I applaud DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the FTA, and the Biden administration for having the courage to act to contend with this situation rather than delay.”

“When the notice of proposed rule making for these PTASPs was introduced, this organization wasn’t happy with what we saw. SMART-TD and Bus Department Vice Presidents Alvy Hughes, Calvin Studivant and then-Alternate Vice President James Sandoval rolled up our sleeves and dedicated ourselves to making the voices of our bus and transit members heard. Our union is proud to announce today that they were.”

“The final rule out last night reflected and addressed many concerns we’d expressed in our public comments on this matter and what our National Legislative Department, our Bus Department, and our Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) committee wanted fixed. Most importantly, our men and women will have seats at the table, making decisions on safety measures being taken at their respective workplaces. They will have a level playing field. Employers or managers will not be able to dominate on matters of safety, and if their bosses don’t follow through on the plans our members help form, FTA will step in and enforce them or take away their federal funding!”

Bus Department Vice President Alvy Hughes commented: “When Calvin (retired SMART-TD Bus Vice President Studivant) and I started working on this, the formation and the fairness of these committees was a major concern of ours. I’m pleased to see this issue has been addressed. Now, we need SMART-TD members to step up into leadership roles on these safety committees. It is up to our members to be willing to get on these committees and go head-to-head with the managers to fight for the protections we all deserve of the job.”

“SMART-TD leadership has done the job of making sure the playing field is level on these property-specific safety committees. Our members need to get involved and take up the fight — to bring their frontline experience to the negotiating table and make sure they advocate for every safety feature and every ounce of security and respect our members earn, day in and day out.”

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If you’re interested in speaking more about FTA’s decision, we’d be happy to connect you with:

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson

President Jeremy Ferguson, a member of Local 313 in Grand Rapids, Mich., was elected president of SMART’s Transportation Division in 2019.

President Ferguson, an Army veteran, started railroading in 1994 as a conductor on CSX at Grand Rapids, Mich., and was promoted to engineer in 1995. Ferguson headed the recent national rail negotiations for the Union with the nation’s rail carriers.

SMART Transportation Division Bus Department Sr. Vice President Alvy Hughes

Vice President Hughes, a member of Local 1596 out of Charlotte, N.C., began his career in transportation with the Charlotte Area Transportation System in 1999 and has been a SMART-TD member ever since. Hughes was an Alternate Vice President at SMART-TD from 2014 through 2019, when he was elevated to his current role as Vice President.

SMART Transportation Division Bus Department Vice President James Sandoval

VP Sandoval has been a bus operator at the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District for more than a decade. Brother Sandoval has been intensely engaged with labor efforts after joining SMART-TD as a member of Local 23 in Santa Cruz, first as a local officer and then at a national level.

In August 2022, he became alternate vice president of the Bus Department serving the western portion of the nation. On Oct. 1, 2023, he was elevated to the position of Bus Department vice president.