On April 15, employees of Denver Transit Operators (DTO) voted to join SMART TD Local 202 at Denver. This vote adds 51 engineers to the local, with growth to a possible 75.
Local 202 Secretary Jeff Maxfield said, “We are proud to represent the operators at DTO and look forward to signing an agreement that not only protects health and welfare, but provides job protection and livable wages.”
Maxfield said that unfair treatment and labor practices led engineers of DTO to organize. Safety concerns also led the new members to look for representation.
Currently, DTO engineers are paid roughly 50 percent of the national average, an issue that SMART TD hopes to rectify.
The addition of these members to the local is thanks to a collaborative effort by Maxfield, Director of Organizing Rich Ross, Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith and SMART Sheet Metal Local 9 Organizer Tim Moran.
“This would not have been accomplished without the help of our sheet metal brother Moran,” Maxfield said. “This is a great example of every side working together in unison. This is also a great example of thinking outside the box for organizing opportunities.
DTO is a private company with a 29-year contract to operate and maintain the new commuter rail system currently under construction in and around Denver for the Regional Transportation District (RTD).
They are part of the Eagle P3 Project, which will provide service to over 36 miles of track with electric rail cars.
Tag: Local 202
In a heroic show of foresight and bravery, SMART Transportation Division Vice Local Chairperson Rob Forrest (Local 202 at Denver) saved the life of a pedestrian Wednesday, July 20.
Forrest, who – according to SMART TD Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith – carries a tourniquet for his personal belief of being prepared, used the tourniquet to save a 22-year-old man’s life after being hit and dragged by a BNSF train that Forrest was on.
First responders credited Forrest’s application of the tourniquet to saving the man’s life.
Read more about the accident from CBS Denver.
Now that the holiday season is upon us, we can expect that Santa Claus is very busy. So much so, that he has given in to the digital age by making himself available online.
Our Santa – and there really is only one true Santa – is none other than BNSF Railway conductor and SMART Transportation Division Local 202 (Denver) member Tommy L. Casey.
In his spare time, Casey is working with TalktoSanta.com. For a nominal fee, Casey and others appear in live-streaming, interactive video for children around the world. There, they can interact with Santa, tell him what they would like for Christmas and hear his reassuring response. Although they cannot sit on his lap or tug at his beard, the magic of seeing and hearing Santa Claus talk to them from very far away adds to the mystique and the joy they experience.
The children and grandchildren of SMART members can now visit with Santa in the comfort of their own home if they have a computer with a webcam. By visiting www.talktosanta.com/vipsanta and entering Casey’s VIP code of 175, families can reserve a date and time for an in-house visit with Santa Claus.
Casey notes that Toys-For-Tots receives 15 percent of the proceeds for every live chat purchased on this site.
He said that he simply does it for the love of Christmas and his SMART brothers and sisters think his portrayal is great.
This is the first year that he has been Santa Claus professionally, but he has thought about it for years. The beard is real and has been growing whiter with each passing year. The few dark hairs that remained have been bleached white to match the rest.
In costume and on video, Casey portrays a strikingly convincing resemblance to good ole’ Saint Nicholas. In fact, when the lighting is just right and the Christmas spirit and good cheer are upon him, who’s to say that Casey isn’t the real thing?
Local 202 member Tommy L. Casey, also known as Santa Claus, is making a list and checking it twice.
A SMART Transportation Division member was killed on the job Wednesday (Oct. 9) afternoon in a railroad switching accident at a Colorado Springs, Colo., industrial complex.
According to media reports, BNSF Railway conductor Dawn Trettenero, 42, was trapped between two rail cars. Firefighters told Television Station KKTV that they arrived within minutes of being notified of the accident, but Trettenero was already dead when they arrived.
“There were other employees present when this occurred, so we have witnesses that we are talking to,” said police spokesperson Lt. Catherine Buckley.
Trettenero was a member of Transportation Division Local 202 at Denver. She joined the union in December 2011. She is the second Transportation Division member to die on the job this year
Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith, a member of the SMART Transportation Division’s Transportation Safety Team, has been assigned to assist the National Transportation Safety Board with its accident investigation.
Local 202 Chairperson Brent Conlin reports that a memorial service for Trettenero will be held from 2-4 p.m., Wednesday Oct. 15, at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary and Cemetery. It is located at 7777 W. 29th Ave. in Wheatridge, Colo.