SMART leaders urge full initiation of Defense Production Act

The Defense Production Act (DPA) was invoked April 2 by President Donald Trump to expedite the manufacture and eventual distribution of supplies, especially ventilators, necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The first step in getting the products — including surgical masks, disinfecting agents and medical devices — to those who need them is to create […]

Cloth Masks and Respirator Uses

With the latest information from the CDC now suggesting that the general public use homemade masks or scarfs when going out in public, we wanted to provide you with information on using them to protect you and your families during the current pandemic. The Difference Between Respirators and Surgical Masks Use of Cloth Face Coverings […]

Louisiana latest state to introduce two-person crew bill

Louisiana State Legislative Director Chris Christianson reports that legislators in his state have introduced a two-person crew bill – HB-776 – March 31 in the state House of Representatives. The bill, as currently written, requires two persons on all freight trains with the exception of hostler service or utility employees. The bill also provides for […]

Breaking: Grass Roots Effort to Assist First Responders

Below is a letter from Joe Delacrus, a Local 40 SMART Sheet Metal Worker in Groton, CT.  His employer was asked by a local nurse to make the aluminum strips used on N95 masks so they could sew them in the cotton masks being made by volunteers around the Country.  They are looking to separate […]

Suggestion to our members: Keep track of who you’ve come in contact with

As more people are being diagnosed with COVID-19 or coronavirus, it is important to know who you have come into contact with on a daily basis. State health departments, employers and the infected themselves have been having a difficult time in determining and/or remembering who the infected person may have come into contact with in […]

SMART Coordinates with Building Trades, Nurses Union to Donate Masks and Protective Gear 

  At the end of last month, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), an alliance that includes SMART and 13 other unions, announced a partnership with National Nurses United (NNU) to donate N-95 respirator masks and other protective equipment to nurses around the country. “The health and safety of our members and their families is […]

RRB: Coronavirus Relief Act impacts railroad workers

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, signed into law March 27, boosts unemployment and sickness benefits for railroad workers impacted by the pandemic. Under the CARES Act, the 1-week waiting period required before railroad workers can receive unemployment or sickness benefits is temporarily eliminated. This applies to an employee’s first […]

Union leaders demand clarification from FRA on waivers

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy R. Ferguson and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) President Dennis Pierce sought clarification today from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) after the agency granted 60-day emergency waiver requests to railroads on March 25, ostensibly to maintain their operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. “As you are already aware, SMART […]