INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, (Nov. 3, 2022) — The BLET and SMART-TD will host a joint town hall meeting next week to discuss the tentative national rail agreement. Members of both unions from all involved railroads are welcome to attend.

Details are as follows:

Time: 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 9

Location: BLET National Division Headquarters, 7061 E. Pleasant Valley Road, Independence, OH 44131

SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET National President Dennis Pierce will be in attendance to answer membership questions.

A flyer for the November 9 Town Hall meeting is available.

For those who cannot attend, a video recording of the Town Hall meeting will be made available in the members’-only areas of the unions’ respective websites following the event.

Dates and locations of additional meetings will be announced as available.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (April 21, 2020) – Unfortunately, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the state of Ohio’s orders regarding distancing and banning meetings, we have had to cancel the 2020 SMART Transportation Division Regional Meeting.
Accordingly, please disregard the registration information printed in the February/March SMART Transportation Division News. That particular edition of the News was published prior to the decision to cancel.
For anyone who has already registered, you will be receiving a refund of the registration fees. Those who had registered electronically will have a full refund automatically returned to the card that was used to make their registration. If you paid for the registration by a method other than credit card, you will also receive a refund in the near future.
As a reminder, please note that members are responsible for the cancellation of their personal travel and hotel reservations.


 
Registration is now open for the 2020 SMART Transportation Division Regional Meeting to take place August 24 to 26, 2020, in the heart of rock n roll, Cleveland, Ohio, at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown.
Members can expect a full slate of informative workshops and many chances to build camaraderie with fellow union brothers and sisters over the three-day meeting. Registration fees will increase this year for the first time since 2004 to encourage early registration which aids in our pre-meeting planning and ensures accurate counts for meal functions.
The pre-registration fee is now $200 per member, spouse or child over 11. Registrations received after Friday, July 24, 2020, will be $250 per member, spouse or child over 11. Onsite registrations will be $300 per member, spouse or child over 11. Registration for children ages 11 and under remains complimentary.
Registration fees cover all workshop materials, a welcome reception, three lunches and a group event on Tuesday, Aug. 25, where the Transportation Division takes over the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Food and beverages will be provided at various levels of the museum and attendees will get a chance to explore the museum’s seven levels of interactive rock memorabilia throughout the night.

The Monday tour, sponsored and hosted by the SMART TD Auxiliary, will be a voyage on the Nautica Queen.
Additional fees apply for the group tour, a cruise of the Cuyahoga River and of Lake Erie scheduled for Monday, Aug 24, sponsored by the SMART TD Auxiliary. For registered attendees the fee is $35 and for unregistered attendees the fee is $75.
Visit this link to register online.
Visit this link for the mail-in registration form./strong>
Discounted hotel reservations are available. Guests are welcome to make reservations using this link or by calling 1-855-871-6943 and mentioning the group code “SMART – Transportation Division.” The cutoff date to make discounted reservations at the hotel is July 30, 2020.
Additional details will be updated on the Regional Meeting page of the SMART Transportation Division website.


Picture credits from photo collage – left to right
Top Row: East 4th Street – © Cody York for ThisIsCleveland.com, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – © Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland History Center – © Cody York for ThisIsCleveland.com, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad – © Fred Stuckmann; 2nd Row: Great Lakes Science Center – © Destination Cleveland, Playhouse Square – © Destination Cleveland, Christmas Story House – © Kayla Lupean for ThisIsCleveland.com; 3rd Row: Progressive Field – © Cody York for ThisIsCleveland.com, Lolly the Trolley – © Kayla Lupean, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo – © Destination Cleveland; Center: Cleveland Script Sign at Edgewater Park – © Cody York for ThisIsCleveland.com; 4th Row: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – © Cody York for ThisIsCleveland.com, Flats East Bank – © ThisIsCleveland.com, Hard Rock Rocksino – © Hard Rock Rocksino, West Side Market – © Destination Cleveland

Because of continued demand, a workshop has been scheduled in March to help local treasurers learn how to use TD Connect, the new eBilling system that also manages member records. Numerous workshops scheduled in late 2018 and early this year filled to capacity. Follow the link below to register.
Register online for the March 19-21 TD Connect workshop in Cleveland.
The workshop registration deadline is March 13, 2019.
A flier is available with additional information about accommodations and the workshops (PDF).
Attendees are responsible for arranging their own travel and hotel rooms. Visit this link for a list of discounts available in the area.
The workshop sessions will run from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on all three days in the first-floor training room at the SMART Transportation Division office, 24950 Country Club Blvd., North Olmsted, Ohio.
For any additional information about the workshop, please call Alyssa Patchin at 216-227-5281 or email apatchin@smart-union.org.

Railroad bridge, ClevelandCLEVELAND –- Norfolk Southern owns the Conrail vertical lift railroad bridge, which is near the river’s mouth at Lake Erie, northeast of Willow Bridge.

This operational bridge, which fell under a Corps of Engineers bridge-replacement project in the 1940s, replaced an old, bulky swing bridge. Its span is 265 feet, and it stretches 98 feet above the Cuyahoga River. It remains a main rail-traffic thoroughfare.

Read more from Cleveland.com.