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News Archive
Watch: Local sheet metal unions win back pay for wage theft and worker misclassification
Wage theft and worker misclassification are forms of exploitation that litter the construction industry, where unscrupulous employers take advantage of employees to pay them less than what they are owed. A recent Economic Policy Institute (EPI) study found that construction w [...]
Union launches rail hours of service violation report, updates safety condition and rail technology event report
As kids all over the world know, railroaders tend to work “all the live-long day.” This is baked into the cake and explained at hiring sessions of all the major railroads, but the hours-of-service (HOS) laws in place say, in no uncertain terms, that 12 hours is the extent of [...]
Rail Safety Act of 2023 (RSA) passes committee hearing, clears first legislative hurdle
The RSA, which was born from the East Palestine derailment and contains two-person crew language, cleared its first major hurdle today when it passed through the Senate’s Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. The bill’s passage through committee was not without con [...]
In memoriam: David Colelli, Local 206
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Brother David Colelli of Local 206 (Peru, Indiana), who passed away on May 5, 2023, at the age of 46. Brother Colelli lived in the service of his family, both at work and in his personal life. Colelli, an 18-year member o [...]
Will Ferryville derailment be enough to change Van Orden’s tone on rail safety?
By Andy Hauck, Wisconsin SMART Transportation Division State Legislative Director On February 1 in Washington, DC, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee held its first meeting of the 118th congressional session, and one member in particular wast [...]
Series of coalition building meetings has successful kick-off in Cleveland
Brother Arin Johnson of SMART Local 194 (Elkhart, Indiana) kicked off his series of coalition building meetings in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday, May 3rd. Johnson’s vision of bringing members from multiple carriers together to discuss best practices and form a clear idea of wh [...]
ProPublica reports: “As Rail Profits Soar, Blocked Crossings Force Kids to Crawl Under Trains to Get to School”
For ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom, Topher Sanders and Dan Schwartz (ProPublica), Joce Sterman (Gray Television/InvestigateTV), Scotty Smith (Gray Television/InvestigateTV) (video) and Jamie Kelter (ProPublica) (photography) recently reported: “Jeremiah Johnson couldn [...]
Defense of our bus operators is needed
SMART–TD is proud to represent the men and women driving the buses in America. The vast majority of our bus operators are assigned to fixed routes and drive 40–50-foot buses which require a Commercial Driver’s License, (CDL). These norms are and always have been the sta [...]