Several changes regarding the SMART Voluntary Short-Term Disability (VSTD) Plan for bus and rail members will take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

The temporary reduction of premiums for Plan participants announced Oct. 21, 2020, will expire Dec. 31, 2022. VSTD premiums will be reset to the standard rates of bus members paying $26.00 and rail members paying $34.50. 

The maximum weekly benefit available to bus members participating in the plan will be reduced from $240 to $210. For rail members, the maximum weekly benefit will be reduced from $450 to $402.  

Additional details, including notifications from the VSTD Board of Trustees and the full Summary of Material Modifications (SMM), are available in the respective pages in the SMART Member Portal:

For bus members

For rail members

Plan participants with questions or who need more information should contact VSTD plan administrator Southern Benefit Administrators directly at (844) 880-1071.

The incident last month in East St. Paul, Minn., where a two-person crew alertly stopped their train and rescued a 5-year-old girl who was wandering in the snow is just a single instance where having two on the crew has made a difference to the public.
There are more instances out there that have not been told. As the carriers continue to make their argument that the conductor role in the cab is superfluous and replaceable by technology, we need to prove to the public that this is simply not true.
If you are a railroader and you have a story to tell when having two on the crew made a difference, we would like you to share it with us.
Please follow this link, fill out the form and help us prove that on America’s rails we need to keep two on the crew.