- Tags funds, ICB, Journal, Members Journal, NEMI, Winter 2023-24
News Archive
SMART-TD sets attendance record at Toledo Regional Training Seminar
SMART-TD’s shift to Regional Training Seminars (RTS) has been gaining momentum throughout 2022 and 2023. In early October, roughly 200 SMART-TD members gathered in Toledo, Ohio, and received intense, hands-on training on current trends and changes we are seeing from the Feder [...]
Local 20 hosts Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, Congressman Andre Carson, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler
SMART Local 20 (Indianapolis, Ind.) hosted United States Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Indiana Congressman Andre Carson and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler at its training center on August 31, 2023, where members demonstrated the top-notch training curre [...]
SMART members across sheet metal and transportation stand with UAW strikers
On September 15, 2023, members of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) working for the “Big Three” vehicle manufacturers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) — began their “stand up” strike, the first simultaneous strike against all Big Three companies in [...]
In labor victory, FRA alters conditions of UP variance, now requires U.S. crews
Since 1998, trains coming across the Mexican border to the United States in Laredo, Texas, have been run by crews from Mexico that are not certified by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). These crews have been taking trains into Port Laredo, where they receive an initi [...]
New Production Institute training helps local leaders better serve production workers
SMART Production Department leaders from across the United States and Canada met in Indianapolis at the end of August for the first-ever Production Institute training. The week-long class, part of a three-year program tailored to production locals, featured sessions on bargai [...]
FRA awards SMART-TD over $600,000 to fill void in rail carriers’ training programs
In September, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded SMART-TD $602,227.35 to get members the training they need to safely perform their duties as railroad professionals. The award was granted through FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (C [...]
Hughes and Modesitt appointed to SMART General Executive Council
Following the retirement of Bus Vice President Calvin Studivant and the passing of Transportation Division Vice President John Whitaker, Alvy Hughes and Jamie Modesitt have been appointed to the SMART General Executive Council as general vice presidents. Alvy Hughes was born [...]
Tom Wiant moves from International rep. to assistant to the general president
On October 1, 2023, Tom Wiant moved from his position as SMART Region 3 International representative to become assistant to the general president — the latest step in a 30-plus-year career in the unionized sheet metal industry. Wiant began his journey in the trade as a produc [...]