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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.

Last week’s hijacking of a Los Angeles County MTA bus reinforces the SMART Transportation Division’s demands that bus and transit carriers from coast-to-coast speed up efforts to protect their workers.

“I would say everything is on the table right now,” SMART-TD Vice President James Sandoval told KTLA while discussing the incident. “We need to try every single thing we can to make it safer.”

Watch the story on KTLA ►

One of our union brothers was hurt in the March 21 incident, where he was held at gunpoint. The incident also led to at least one bystander being injured and the bus crashing into the Ritz-Carlton Hotel downtown. While he has been treated and released, our member’s experience has put him through physical and mental trauma. adds him to the list of recent victims of senseless violence while using our nation’s transit systems.

SMART-TD is closely monitoring the situation throughout the country and has formed a group to propose practical safety measures. The union will call for the adoption of their recommendations nationwide.

Learn about the BTAPS Committee, which leads union efforts to end assaults on the nation’s bus and transit workers ►

Read SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson’s reaction to the hijacking ►

Independence, Ohio (March 25, 2024) — The union representing the transit operator involved in the Los Angeles bus hijacking demands immediate measures to protect their men and women, and the people they transport, from violence. The LACMTA incident, which hospitalized a union member, is the latest in a long series of incidents that expose the urgent need for our nation to rethink and prioritize the safety of public transit employees.

The Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) represents bus and transit agencies from coast to coast. Late Wednesday, March 20, a man pulled a weapon on our member. He forced the bus operator to ignore traffic lights and oncoming vehicles. The result of the hijacker’s actions included injuries to the driver of another vehicle and the bus slamming into and damaging the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Thankfully, our member was treated and released from a local hospital, and no one was killed.

 “This is unacceptable. SMART-TD and I, personally, have been told repeatedly that our bus operators’ lives matter. We have been shown plans to form safety committees on bus properties, and directives straight from the Oval Office have demanded the Federal Transit Administration safeguard these men and women,” SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson said. “Our members are on the ground getting guns in their faces and putting their lives on the line. The time to ‘plan’ has long passed. We know what these professionals need, and that list is publicly available to the FTA and every bus and transit agency CEO and board. Employers must act now to protect their workers.”

In recent weeks, in addition to the Los Angeles incident, violence has been perpetuated on transportation workers serving SEPTA in Philadelphia, the New York City MTA and elsewhere.

FTA has solicited suggestions and opinions from SMART-TD and other labor organizations multiple times to prevent these nightmarish scenarios. SMART-TD has called for:

  • Providing operators with full enclosure in bullet-proof, glare-resistant glass.
  • Armed police or security officers on these buses.
  • Felony-level charges and punishments with a long, nonnegotiable jail sentence to anyone who assaults bus operators or transit workers.
  • Making fare payments and monetary transactions cashless and not incumbent on the bus operator.
  • Giving the bus operator an emergency exit on the left side of the bus.
  • Providing drivers with silent alarms allowing them to alert police of live shooters.

“Our position has always been consistent. We are facing a national epidemic of bus and transit assaults, and the only way we can address it is through immediate action by transportation agencies on these common-sense measures insisted upon by SMART-TD and the Biden/Harris administration,” President Ferguson said. “Our drivers should never have to worry about a physical confrontation over control of their steering wheel, as happened in the Los Angeles incident.

“These requests are non-negotiable, nor are they property-specific. They need to be universal and federally mandated. They need to happen NOW,” Ferguson said.

“As the president of this union, I’m entrusted to protect the well-being of our members. My options are limited. If the workplace this nation’s transit agencies provide is not safe, the one thing I can do is call for a safety standdown on all SMART-TD bus properties. A decision to keep our operators home is not one I take lightly, but neither is calling the mother, father, child, or spouse of one of my members to inform them their loved one was the victim of a violent incident that was preventable with simple safety measures. SMART-TD will not allow our brothers and sisters to work in what we know are unsafe circumstances.”

“If the leaders in the public transportation sector of this nation refuse or prove incapable of protecting our men and women, in the wake of what we saw in Los Angeles, make no mistake. This union will.”

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If you’re interested in speaking more about transit worker safety, and the changes SMART-TD is calling for, 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. 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 2019 national rail negotiations for the union.

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

Vice President Sandoval began his career as a bus operator at the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District for more than a decade. He assumed his first officer roles as general chairperson of GCA-SCM, alternate legislative representative, and local chairperson of LCA-SCM in January 2019. In February 2022, he assumed the position of Local 23’s legislative representative. In August 2022, Sandoval 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 TD Bus Department vice president.

SMART continues to place the needs of transit workers front and center with a first-of-its-kind exclusive training session. Bus and transit officers shared strategies and learned new techniques at the Transportation Division Albuquerque Regional Training Seminar (RTS) that wrapped up March 7.

Bus Department Vice President James Sandoval (Local 23, Santa Cruz, Calif.) led the class.

“We went over all the basics,” VP Sandoval said. “Empowering our officers to stand up and protect their contracts, defending our members from employer overreach, effective communications, transparency.” All things union officers need to know to help SMART-TD members thrive.

The regional training model was established in 2021 to widen training opportunities across the union. Officers who participate report substantial boosts in members’ win rates on claims against the carriers.

By focusing on bus and transit, SMART-TD is able to emphasize and address the hazards faced by the thousands of our members who work in passenger transport.

Christine Ivey, chair of SMART-TD’s newly formed Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) Committee said the focus on how the union functions will be essential going forward. Ivey also serves as vice local chairperson of Local 1785.

[More about BTAPS]

“It was insightful and really showed how all the units work together in the organization – how we work together but at times have our own separate individual concerns on our properties,” Ivey said. “I enjoyed it immensely.”

“People are super happy with what they learned,” VP Sandoval said. “As long as we have enough participants, this will continue at other RTS and the National Training Seminar. It’s a great foundation for local officers.”

Bus Department Alt. Vice President Markeisha Haynes and General Chairperson Justin Schrock also presented in Albuquerque.

SMART-TD represents numerous bus and transit properties in Los Angeles, other locations across California, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Chicago, among others. The next National Training Seminar will be held in the union’s home base of Cleveland, Ohio, July 9-11, 2024.

Members may register or learn more about the event on the RTS Information Page.

Independence, Ohio — The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division (SMART-TD) has announced the members who will participate in the Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) Committee.

This committee, which was voted on at the SMART Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this year, is known as the Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) Committee. BTAPS is being chaired by Christine Ivey who is a bus member of SMART-TD Local 1785 and works as a bus operator for the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines.

In addition to Sister Ivey, the eight members of the BTAPS Committee will be the following:

Bus members

  • Russ Gaillard, Local 1582 Adirondack Transit Lines, Albany, New York
  • Sandra Pineda, Local 1563 LACMTA, El Monte, California
  • Bruce Cheatham, Local 1594 SEPTA, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
  • Pedro (Pete) Lara Jr., Local 1563 LACMTA, El Monte, California

Transit/commuter members

  • Cole Czub, Local 898 KEOLIS, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Scott Carey, Local 95 Amtrak, Rensselaer, New York
  • Ernest Higgerson, Local 1525 Amtrak, Carbondale, Illinois
  • Joseph Williams, Local 800 New Jersey Transit, Newark, New Jersey

The committee is composed of 4 bus members, and 4 representatives of our transit and commuter rail membership. This committee will be lobbying both at the state level and in Washington D.C. to promote bills that ensure the best demonstrated practices for transit worker safety and bring down the alarming rate of assaults on our brothers and sisters. Our BTAPS members will also be working with carriers, the FTA and other federal agencies to promote the best practices to make our members safer on the job.

“I want to thank all our bus and transit members who volunteered to serve on this important committee. After careful consideration, we have chosen eight members that represent a geographically diverse cross section of our bus, transit, and commuter service workforce,” SMART-TD President Jeremy R. Ferguson said. “We are lucky to have many talented people in our union and we look forward to the progress this BTAPS Committee will make. Under Christine Ivey’s leadership, I am sure they will make an immediate impact on the safety of our bus and transit rail members.”

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If you’re interested in speaking more about transit worker safety, and the changes SMART-TD is calling for, 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 BTAPS COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON CHRISTINE IVEY

Christine Ivey, a member of Local 1785 in Santa Monica, California, was appointed as the chairperson of the BTAPS committee in the summer of 2023 and has been pivotal in the committee’s founding. Sister Ivey has been a bus operator for 30 years and has been working for the City of Santa Monica’s Municipal Bus Lines (Big Blue Bus) since 2014.

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 elected to his current role as vice president.