REEF Act to prevent rail jobless benefit cuts reintroduced

Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, and a subsequent sequestration order to implement mandated cuts, Railroad Retirement Board-administered unemployment and sickness insurance benefits were reduced by a set percentage that is subject to revision at the beginning of each fiscal year. In December 2020, in an effort to minimize the effects the COVID-19 pandemic […]

Washington SMART apprentice works to ensure indoor air quality in schools

As temperatures drop during cold and flu season, and Covid infections continue to pose public health challenges, it’s more important than ever to have proper ventilation in schools, offices and other buildings – and SMART sheet metal members are the highly skilled workers with the qualifications and expertise to perform that work. In Washington state, […]

Local 28 member showcases SMART members’ role in fight against climate change

SMART members across the United States and Canada are the frontline workers helping to build a sustainable future – from roofers installing green roofs to meet net zero goal in Canada, to transit workers helping reduce automobile emissions, to sheet metal workers constructing LEED-certified buildings across our two nations. In a recent interview with Climate […]

President Ferguson, union leaders attend Houston Solidarity Rally

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen President Dennis Pierce stood shoulder-to-shoulder as they answered direct questions from a standing-room-only crowd Oct. 18 at the annual Solidarity Rally for Rail Labor in Houston, Texas. Hundreds of members and officers from SMART-TD, BLET and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way […]

Elections matter: How your vote has helped workers since 2020 

The White House, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. The outlook for union labor and working families in America has improved drastically in the last 21 months.  From 2016–2020, workers fought against an onslaught of anti-labor policies, executive orders, personnel appointments and more: Anti-worker government actions, 2016–2020 1. The previous administration and Congress refused to include […]

SMART Army award winners exemplify union solidarity

The Joseph J. Nigro SMART Army Service Award — given each year to one sheet metal and one Transportation Division member — represents one of the highest honors a SMART worker can receive: a recognition of solidarity and dedication to their union, their SMART brothers and sisters and their community. This year’s winners — who […]

New Ford EV plant “a game-changer” for SMART Tenn. local

Rendering of the concept design of the all-new $5.6 billion Ford electric vehicle mega campus in Stanton, Tenn. Image courtesy of Ford Media Center. In new podcast episode, SMART Local 4 business manager details enormous amount of sheet metal work coming to Tenn. A new $5.6 billion Ford Motor Company electric vehicle plant in Stanton, […]

N.J. designates Oct. 15 as annual Railroad Workers Day

In a rare acknowledgment of the value railroaders bring to the table, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has named October 15 as “Railroad Workers Day”. Gov. Murphy went on the record saying, “Through extreme weather events and a global pandemic, our state’s railroad workers have demonstrated extraordinary bravery despite significant obstacles. Their courage, as […]

N.Y. Post reports Amtrak execs net big post-pandemic bonuses

The New York Post reported that Amtrak paid out over $2.3 million in annual bonuses to 10 executives in 2021, despite the carrier seeing its lowest revenues in a decade. In the article published by the Post on Oct. 5, the bonuses were reported by Amtrak to be “earned incentives,” but it’s hard to understand […]