Former UTU DLC Frank Burge dies

Former UTU Designated Legal Counsel Frank O. Burge Jr., 87, passed away June 13. A native of Birmingham, Burge graduated from Ramsay High School. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Tulane University. After college, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps and later th [...]

Long Island Railroad Workers To Take A Stand This Saturday

The International Association of Sheet, Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) and its allied unions on the Long Island Rail Road urge all members, friends and supporters of organized labor to a “LIRR Labor Rally” on Saturday, June 21, at 11 a.m. at the Massapequ [...]

Riders relieved Philadelphia rail strike is over

PHILADELPHIA – Passengers expressed relief Sunday that Philadelphia-area commuter trains were back on track after a one-day strike threatened to disrupt work schedules for tens of thousands of commuters in the coming week. Employees ended their walkout after President Barack [...]

LIRR, SMART heading back to bargaining table

Long Island Rail Road union leaders and MTA managers will meet Friday for their first face-to-face contract negotiation session in nearly two months, five weeks before a possible strike that could strand 300,000 daily commuters, a key union official and an MTA source said. &# [...]

Organizing is good for SMART and good for America

By John Previsich, SMART Transportation Division President –  Organizing – it is good for you, for our members, for our union and also for America. Those of us who enjoy the benefits of working as organized labor are acutely aware of the value that our membership in the union [...]

Judge orders early voting hours be restored in Ohio

Judge Peter Economus of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled Wednesday, June 11 in favor of a motion for summary judgment to permanently maintain the final three days of early voting. “In-person early voting is restored on the three days immed [...]

Railroads want to hit brakes on oil train safeguards

The railroad industry is warning the White House against some potential safety rules for trains carrying explosive crude oil, saying freight and passenger rail traffic could be disrupted for years if companies must obey 30 mph speed limits, install more sophisticated brakes a [...]

House votes against California high speed rail

WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans this week are trying to drive another spike, or two, into the heart of California’s high-speed rail program. Daring a presidential veto, GOP lawmakers are deploying a Fiscal 2015 transportation funding bill to effectively block the [...]