We need your help brothers and sisters!

SMART Transportation Division members and retirees are always welcome and encouraged to contribute pictures, videos, stories and article leads, and with the ever-changing social media formats, we’re ready for them now more than ever.

Our staff is productive yet small, with many team members wearing more than one hat, collaborating among multiple departments. We truly appreciate what is shared with us. Our in-house Public Relations Department consists of one full-time member, Ben Nagy, with others chipping in to assist when not working on other assigned duties. This includes the frequent postings on the website, social media, print publications, TD-related segments featured on the SMART News, and the daily NewsWire.

We have heard loud and clear that our members want more information that highlights what SMART-TD is doing for them as well as other dynamic stories that relate to or impact all of us. We aim to provide that; however, this creates a never-ending need for content. Fortunately, this union is built from the ground up. The SMART-TD represents roughly 100,000 active members and retirees, and we need the talents of all of you to be successful.

The feedback we’ve received not only stated that they want more information, but also on different formats and beyond the written word, with platforms such as TikTok and Instagram specifically named. There is a large national audience we can reach through these avenues and a diverse membership base with compelling stories of the realities of working in the transportation industry that need to be shared and heard.

We want our members who work on carriers of any size from the Bus Department, commuter, passenger and freight rail, to send in links or videos that are craft- or union-related so we may share them on our TikTok and Instagram accounts.

This is a great way to express to outsiders the stress and complexity of our work schedules, availability demands and safety concerns that you come across as a transportation worker. We also want to share our successes and feel-good news. So please send anything you feel compelled to share with your fellow brothers and sisters of SMART-TD directly to SMART-TD’s PR Department at td_info@smart-union.org.

Please keep in mind that some of the platforms have limits of 90 seconds, and that we cannot share videos that include trademarked or copyrighted songs or images.

Please be sure to observe all rules governing the use of electronic devices that your employer and the federal government has. We don’t know all the carrier-specific rules and don’t want to post something that may create issues for our members, so please use your best judgment.

And if your local already had a thriving social media presence, we need to know that as well so we can keep an eye out for posts and photos so we can amplify what our members have accomplished.

SMART has heard loud and clear that you want to see us engage on all the rapidly changing platforms available on social media. We plan on trying to do just that, but it will take all of us to make it happen. SO please send in as much relevant and timely content as possible and help to be the change you are calling for while spreading the word to your fellow brothers and sisters and to the public!

Please send in your videos and photos, and we’ll start providing a larger platform for our brothers and sisters to be heard!

The June 2014 issue of the SMART Transportation Division News will be published following the proceedings of the First SMART Transportation Division Convention June 30-July 2.

Publishing the newspaper after the convention will allow the Transportation Division to provide its members and readers with fresh and updated coverage of the convention proceedings.

The combined July/August issue of the newspaper will be published following the proceedings of the First SMART Convention in August.