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SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson appeared with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in Cleveland on Monday morning to discuss the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023 as momentum for legislative action on railroad safety continues to build on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Brown and fellow Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Pennsylvania Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Josh Hawley all are initial sponsors of the bill introduced March 1 intended to counter the negative impact Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) has had on public and worker safety.

Sen. Brown started off the press conference by discussing how the rail industry has gotten itself into its current state of disrepair. He came out of the gates dropping uncomfortable realities such as, “Here’s the story. The rail lobbyists have fought against rail safety for a hundred years.”  

Brown went on to lay out a list of parallels he sees between the current scenarios in the rail and banking industries. “When I first heard about Silicon Valley Bank, the first thing I thought was this is the same story. Corporate lobbyists with banks and railroads for 100 years have fought for weaker rules, weaker safety requirements. That’s what Norfolk Southern and the rail companies do. They lobby Congress. They too often get their way with the railroad’s regulators, and we see trains that derail much more frequently.” 

He went on to say, “We know what we need to do. That’s why I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation with my colleague, the new senator from Ohio. (Senator J.D. Vance) We want to address the number of (operators) on this train. The railroads, believe it or not, want a two- or three-mile train with 150 or 200 cars, with only one engineer on that train with no conductor. One engineer to drive a train that’s two to two and a half miles long with 150 to 200 cars. That makes no sense for the public interest.” 

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson addresses the attendees at the press conference Monday, March 20, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Following Sen. Brown, SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson made a statement of support for the bill as well as his vision for the future of the rail industry.  

“Sen. Brown has seen firsthand what the devastation looks like when we let profits dictate the safest course of action to take when moving America’s freight by rail,” President Ferguson said. “We look forward to working tirelessly with Sen. Brown and his team to realize his vision for a safer and stronger rail industry. This bill offers a chance for the nation to require the highly profitable rail corporations to take rational measures to get the industry to do what it’s designated to do. Which is move freight through our nation safely and efficiently.” 

Ferguson then spoke directly to those in power, saying, “We owe it to the people of East Palestine, Ohio, and to all the communities that have railroad tracks running through them to have the members of Congress do the right thing. Take back control of our nation’s supply chain from Wall Street’s profit-at-any-cost mentality.” 

President Ferguson rounded out his public statement offering this endorsement for the Railway Safety Act of 2023. “This bill has the potential to put safe operations into its rightful place as the gold standard for railroading, and not what the next quarterly report can bring.” 

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson shake hands following the press event Monday, March 20, in Cleveland Ohio.

This statement summed up what rail labor has been saying since Hunter Harrison brought PSR to CSX in 2017. Our safety and our ability to provide a reasonable work-life balance for our loved ones does matter. The time is now to end the industry’s experiment with PSR and get back to safe, sensible and efficient railroading that preserves the safety of general public and of worker alike.  

SMART-TD is very grateful to Sens. Brown, Vance and their colleagues who have sponsored this legislation for their leadership. We also are appreciative for the opportunity to make SMART-TD part of the discussion. The light they have shed on our issues and the amplification of our concerns has been incredibly helpful in our fight against PSR. 

Brown plans additional appearances around the state this week to discuss the legislation. The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will be holding a hearing March 22 on “Improving Rail Safety in Response to the East Palestine Derailment.”  The hearing will start at approximately 10:45 am ET, following a 10 a.m. mark-up.

SMART-TD Ohio State Legislative Director Clyde Whitaker will be among those testifying at the hearing along with Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, a local first-responder from East Palestine and two carrier representatives. 

Brothers and sisters,

2022 was a historic year for our movement. Our resolve was tested, and we proved stronger than anyone outside of this organization expected. As you can see by this latest edition of the SMART Members’ Journal, our collective efforts have served to put the world on notice.

Many events have defined this past year. The imposition of a national rail contract by Congress, a win in Los Angeles for the contract of one of our largest bus properties, a nationwide effort to rally for two-person crews through a record-setting number of comments to the FRA and through the coordination of nationwide informational rallies to raise awareness about crew size and the need for the dignity of sick leave — these have all put SMART-TD in the spotlight of our country’s news cycles.

These issues have resulted in an unprecedented amount of media attention from outlets all over the nation and the world. I made appearances on a number of cable networks, and it’s not an exaggeration when I say that thousands of news articles put our union and our efforts in the public eye.

This past year, our union took many steps and built necessary momentum to lead the way down a strong path in 2023, and I thank all of you for your support and continued engagement. Many of you took the risk of speaking out against the powerful. It’s going to be crucial to regroup and consider the next steps our opposition will take.

Together we all can work toward justice in the workplace and get what is deserved, even in the face of corporate greed. Our work and success in 2022 has taught us two things for certain. They will bend, and WE WILL NOT BREAK.

One tactic the rail carriers have already engaged in is that they are packaging new cost-cutting proposals to the rail industry and labeling these ideas as “safety” and “quality-of-life improvements” for our men and women on the front lines. I say proposals because they are simply that. As most of you all know, a number of general committees are in mediation over crew-consist agreement issues as a result of the court battles that began in 2019. More specifically, Union Pacific rolled out a video at December’s FRA public hearing on the proposed two-person crew regulation highlighting what they referred to as an “expeditor position,” claiming they had an agreement with “labor” to do so. This position may have been proposed and discussed in mediation, however, to this date there is no such agreement and was merely another attempt to mislead the FRA.

Regarding bus negotiations, we stand in concert with our brothers and sisters who work on the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). It is important to continue to support them as they fight for a fair, equitable contract as we did with our members in Los Angeles on the LACMTA.

For rail workers, we will continue to focus our efforts on the quality-of-life improvements you have so clearly earned. These will be delivered through the negotiation of on-property agreements that our highly experienced general chairpersons will be leading the way on. We will strive to ensure that the hard-fought victories won by exhausting the Railway Labor Act in the national negotiations translate to real and tangible changes in your work schedules while not compromising your pay and healthcare expenses.

We will continue to protect the physical well-being of our commuter and passenger rail members by working with our State Legislative Directors (SLDs) to enact and enforce state laws banning riders who perpetrate violence against our members. It is crucial that we work together in order to make the workplace a safe, secure environment for these trainmen. Our SLDs and general chairpersons will follow the lead of those in New York and New Jersey to recreate the progress made this year in their precedent-setting ban of a rider from the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) system. The epidemic of disrespect and violence toward our transit and bus members needs to end.

In 2023, let us remain strong and united for the greater good. Together we all can work toward justice in the workplace and get what is deserved, even in the face of corporate greed. Our work and success in 2022, has taught us two things for certain. They will bend, and WE WILL NOT BREAK.

This year, let us stand united and learn from the battles we fought and what was accomplished in 2022. We must renew our commitment to staying in the fight and advancing our movement with resilience and solidarity.

Brothers and sisters, I say this to tell you that our work is not done – it never is – and we will continue forward with our progress in 2023.

Thank you for all that you do in your workplace, in your local union, and in your community.

God bless you and your families in 2023, and please stay safe and look out for one another!

Fraternally,

Jeremy R. Ferguson
President, Transportation Division

BLET members vote to ratify national rail agreement with the nation’s Class I railroads; operating craft (Train & Engine service) members of SMART-TD have voted to reject it, while TD yardmasters have voted to ratify their national agreement.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Voting concluded midnight Sunday for members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) as well as the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) on proposed new five-year collective bargaining agreements with the nation’s Class I railroads. BLET members voted to accept a tentative agreement reached on September 15; SMART-TD train and engine service members have voted to reject their proposed contract, while SMART-TD yardmaster members voted to accept. BLET and SMART-TD are the two largest rail unions, accounting for half of the unionized workforce on the nation’s largest freight railroads.

The five-year agreement ratified by BLET members and SMART TD yardmaster members addresses rates of pay, health & welfare, and other fringe benefits for approximately 24,000 locomotive engineers and other rail workers represented by the union who are employed by the nation’s Class I railroads.

A record number of eligible BLET members participated in the ratification vote with 53.5% voting in favor and 46.5% voting against.

Turnout among the more than 28,000 eligible SMART-TD members was also a record high. 50.87% of train and engine service members represented by SMART-TD voted to reject the TA, while 62.48% of SMART-TD-represented Yardmasters voted to ratify.  Representatives from SMART-TD will now head back to the bargaining table with the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents railroad management, to negotiate new terms for the affected train and engine service members.

“BLET is a membership-driven union.  In September, our National Wage Committee and our General Chairmen who represent freight rail workers unanimously agreed that the time had come for the membership to have a say on their contract,” said BLET President Dennis Pierce.  “Since then, we have worked to ensure that all of our members fully understand the wins and losses in the Presidential Emergency Board recommendations and how those recommendations were improved upon leading to the tentative agreement sent out for their consideration. In every communication we stressed that we were there to explain the tentative agreement, not to tell any member how to vote. Our goal was to get all involved members to cast a ballot — no matter how they voted.  With over two-thirds of eligible BLET members returning a ballot, a true majority of the membership has spoken and I want to thank them all for participating.  Rank and file member ratification of contracts is one of the core democratic principles of our Union.”

Under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, the labor law for workers employed by railroads and airlines, contracts don’t generally expire, they become amendable. After the unions filed their Section 6 notices with the NCCC in November 2019, talks began in January 2020.

 “SMART-TD members with their votes have spoken, it’s now back to the bargaining table for our operating craft members,” said SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson. “This can all be settled through negotiations and without a strike. A settlement would be in the best interests of the workers, the railroads, shippers and the American people.”

A status quo agreement between SMART TD and management is in effect until December 8. Beginning on December 9, SMART-TD would be allowed to go on strike or the rail carriers would be permitted to lock out workers — unless Congress intervenes.

“The ball is now in the railroads’ court. Let’s see what they do. They can settle this at the bargaining table,” said Ferguson. “But, the railroad executives who constantly complain about government interference and regularly bad-mouth regulators and Congress now want Congress to do the bargaining for them.”

If there is a strike by SMART-TD or any of the other three rail unions that have rejected proposed contracts with the carriers, BLET and the other eight rail unions that have ratified agreements have pledged to lawfully honor their picket lines.

“We stood shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in SMART-TD and others in rail labor throughout this process, and we will continue to stand in solidarity with them as we approach the finish line in this round of negotiations,” said Pierce.

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The SMART Transportation Division is comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members of the former United Transportation Union, who work in a variety of crafts in the transportation industry. Find out more at the SMART-TD site: https://www.smart-union.org.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen represents nearly 57,000 professional locomotive engineers and trainmen throughout the United States. The BLET is the founding member of the Rail Conference, International Brotherhood of Teamsters. More information can be found on the BLET website: https://ble-t.org/

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, November 11 — At a November 9 Town Hall meeting, SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen President Dennis Pierce discussed the tentative National Rail Agreement with dozens of members from both unions.

A video recording of the Town Hall (approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes) is available on the BLET and SMART TD websites.

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.

BLET President Dennis Pierce (center, in black) and SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson at right, in blue, speak with the hundreds of attendees at the Houston Solidarity Rally on Oct. 17.

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen President Dennis Pierce stood shoulder-to-shoulder as they answered direct questions from a standing-room-only crowd Oct. 18 at the annual Solidarity Rally for Rail Labor in Houston, Texas.

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson speaks during the Houston Solidarity Rally Oct. 17.

Hundreds of members and officers from SMART-TD, BLET and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) — the nation’s three largest freight rail labor unions — gathered to address hot-button issues in the industry, including the tentative National Rail Agreement (TA), to be voted upon soon by TD members.

“It was a great opportunity again to collaborate with BLET President Pierce, to get the facts out there at a face-to-face event about what’s going on in our industry,” President Ferguson said. “SMART-TD, BLET and other unions went through more than two and a half years of negotiations. There’s a lot to unpack about where the industry is right now, and it was good for us to have a factual presentation about the PEB and how the tentative agreement was constructed.

“This was a very lively event, and one where we were able to get right down to an honest discussion about our members’ upcoming ratification process and the decisions that lie ahead,” he said. “Years ago, I don’t know if the degree of solidarity among these different unions would have existed. It’s open dialogue like this that’s a healthy way to combat some of the untruths that’s been floating out there regarding the tentative agreement. Both President Pierce and I are absolutely committed to working together as we continue to move forward, in solidarity.”

Along with President Ferguson, SMART General President Joseph Sellers and other officers enjoyed the hospitality of the Houston rally’s organizers. Special recognition goes out to General Chairperson Roy Davis and GCA Secretary Buddy Piland (GO 577) for putting the event together. As always, Local 1892 out of Houston was heavily involved in the hometown event, including Vice Local Chairperson Keith Green (LCA-577), Local Secretary & Treasurer Robert Maldonado, Legislative Representative Butch Boggess and retiree Dan Holak. General Chairperson Chris Alston (GCA-803) out of Local 1686, GCA Secretary Buddy Piland (GCA-577) out of Local 1205 and Darvin Scott of Local 524 also put in hard work at getting things rolling at the headquarters of SPJST Lodge 88.

Representatives from the SMART-TD Auxiliary, AFL-CIO, UTUIA, Railroad Retirement Board and NARVRE as well as United Healthcare, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and a number of SMART-TD Designated Legal Counsel attended as well.

Local 1892’s Maldonado estimated that there were anywhere from 250 to 300 people in attendance, giving it the air of a “mini-regional” meeting, even after a two-year hiatus because of the COVID pandemic.

“GC Davis was telling me that 30 to 40 general chairpersons from throughout the country were in attendance and are looking forward to this event next year already,” Maldonado said. “Quite a few BLET GCs from the Texas/Gulf Coast area were in attendance as well. This rally is a multi-craft and multi-railroad (UP/BNSF/KCS/PORT TERMINAL RR) and from what I’ve been told, the biggest and best one held throughout the country.”

Maldonado said nine SMART locals participated as well as four BLET lodges and BMWED Lodge 1058.

“A big thank-you goes to the Houston-area Designated Legal Counsel Marc Zito, Sara Youngdahl and Clint McGuire for their continued support and sponsorship of this huge event. I don’t want to forget to thank SMART-TD Auxiliary 281 for their help with the decorations and SMART-TD Texas State Legislative director Kamron Saunders for sponsorship and support as well,” he said.

“I was told that this year’s rally was the best one yet and that having Presidents Ferguson and Pierce attend was a home run,” Maldonado said. “So we will start prepping for the 2023 Solidarity Rally next year. Everything is BIGGER in TEXAS.”

Next on President Ferguson’s schedule is a discussion at the Tacoma Regional Training Seminar occurring this week.

Brothers and Sisters,

It’s no secret that Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) has devastated this industry. And it’s no secret that safety and service have suffered, but now the most vulnerable among us are being threatened. In the carriers’ pursuit to remove themselves from the limelight of regulatory authorities and neglected shippers, they are now blindly rushing new-hire trainees through unilaterally expedited training courses that have slashed educational curriculums in the hopes of being able to reflect an inflated headcount to remove the proverbial wolves from off their backs.

Today, in far too many Class I training courses, newly hired employees are receiving less than half of the standard training times that existed little more than a year ago. Without so much as an improved educational mechanism, the railroads are falsely claiming the ability to train in less time with less on-the-job experience. The material has not changed. The way in which the education is delivered has not changed. The only thing different is the abbreviated time frame, which is unacceptable and a danger to us all.

Exacerbating this issue is the fact that the railroads are not adequately staffed for on-the-job training. Currently, a concerning number of complaints have been received by our National Legislative Office pertaining to trainees being trained by newly promoted conductors. This practice is reckless, irresponsible, and a violation of the applicable regulations. A carrier should never task a recently promoted conductor with the training of another new hire employee unless it has received explicit approval from the union, and only in very limited circumstances. Permitting an employee with less than 12 months of service to train a new hire employee is not only a violation of the regulations, but it has resulted in injuries and fatalities in the past and we cannot allow it to continue.

Additionally, accidents and incidents involving newly promoted conductors (those which have graduated from these shortened training programs) are occurring. It is critical that we be made aware of these mishaps so that we can follow-up with the employee to offer assistance, where needed, and to ascertain that the carriers are reporting in compliance with the regulations and/or their internal operating rules and procedures. As you are aware, the FRA relies on the carriers to self-report or self-police, so it is vitally important that we can verify their compliance in order to ensure proper accountability.

Lastly, we are asking you to please be on the lookout for your new brothers and sisters. Keep a watchful eye over them, but also encourage them to report the concerns and shortcomings they have experienced both in the classroom and in the field to the Unsafe Condition Report on our website or the SMART-TD app. Let them know that it is OK to bring these issues to us, and that their reports will be kept confidential. If you see a wrongdoing, please let us know. For example, if they are assigned to an employee with less than 12 months of service, or if they are involved in an incident that could serve as an indicator for a lack of training, please report that to your local representative as soon as possible.

Local officers, if you receive a report of this nature, please promptly pass it up to your General Chairperson and State Legislative Director for further handling. We are all in this together, and we have to have each other’s back, but we also have to hold the carriers accountable and to ensure they meet their mandate to provide a safe working environment.

In solidarity,
Jeremy R. Ferguson
President, Transportation Division

The New York Post reported that Amtrak paid out over $2.3 million in annual bonuses to 10 executives in 2021, despite the carrier seeing its lowest revenues in a decade.

In the article published by the Post on Oct. 5, the bonuses were reported by Amtrak to be “earned incentives,” but it’s hard to understand the structure of an incentive program that paid an average 58.12% bonus to 10 executives in a year when the company was hemorrhaging money post-pandemic.

It’s also unclear what criteria these bonuses were based upon; The New York Post referenced a Freedom of Information Act request as the source of the salary data.

In regard to this report, SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson commented: “Amtrak has received an influx of COVID-19-related government funds the past two years, and this is how they chose to use our tax dollars. Meanwhile, our members were the ones moving trains and the nation’s passengers daily in the face of a deadly pandemic. We will remember the value Amtrak puts on such ‘earned incentives’ when we negotiate the next contract for our Amtrak conductors and other members who worked on the front lines.”

According to the N.Y. Post report, Amtrak Deputy General Counsel William Herrmann’s base salary of $352,898 was compounded by an astonishing bonus of 85.29% for a total of $653,879. This bonus of over $300,000 was only enough to rank Mr. Herrmann fourth in overall compensation at Amtrak, but he did net the highest percentage of his salary in the bonuses, the Post reported.

In the same year these executives were apparently crushing their performance metrics to earn these bonuses, while in all probability working from isolation, the popular employment website Indeed.com put the average salary of an Amtrak conductor at $71,916 over the past 36 months.

Had the average conductor received the same 58.12% bonus these executives made on average, they would have received $41,797. At least one Amtrak general chairperson who was contacted and other Amtrak employees reported 0% in bonuses were received. In addition to not receiving bonuses, the Amtrak rank and file had a much different 2021 than their bosses. These men and women faced large-scale furloughs, and those who stayed working often were forced to chase work to terminals hours away from their homes. This led to distinct declines in their home time and their quality of life. Many of these conductors used Amtrak trains to deadhead themselves to work at their new terminals, which racked up an incalculable amount of uncompensated hours and indirectly allowed Amtrak to skirt federal Hours of Service regulations.

This blatant disregard for safety comes as no surprise when we look at the Section 6 notices that Amtrak has put forward in advance of the next contract negotiation. In these notices, the only item listed under the heading of “Safety” on the company’s vast wish list is that they expand random testing for drugs and alcohol. Apparently, that is the only safety concern facing Amtrak’s workforce in their view.

The executive bonuses might seem par for the course and typical for our day, but even by the standard we have come to expect in corporate bonuses, the Amtrak executives’ windfalls are exorbitant.

The New York Post pointed out in their article that in 2016, 2017 and 2018, Amtrak executives received much smaller bonuses and received no bonuses in 2015 and 2020. With the company ending the year in the red for the 51st consecutive time, it is difficult to imagine what spurred this windfall for the brass of this heavily taxpayer-subsidized company.

To put a bow on it, when asked about bonuses for conductors in 2021, one manager told his crews that, “Our bonus to you is that you kept your job.” It’s hard to encapsulate Amtrak’s view any better than that.

Read the New York Post article and an accompanying graphic breaking down the Amtrak executive pay and bonuses for the 10 executives.

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson, right, appears on Episode 5 of the Between the Rails podcast with host Jon Chaffin of Local 1313, left.

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson appeared in a joint video with Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen President Dennis Pierce on Oct. 7 with both presenting facts regarding the Tentative Agreement (TA) being considered by rail labor.

President Ferguson also answered additional questions regarding the TA on a pair of episodes of the Between the Rails podcast over the weekend as well.

The joint video with the BLET can be seen here.

The first episode of Between the Rails that President Ferguson appeared on is available here.

The second episode of Between the Rails featuring President Ferguson is available here.

As of 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Oct. 7, the 15-day question-and-answer submission period concluded. The next steps in the process of considering the agreement will consist of meetings between legal representatives of both SMART-TD and the carriers that will address the questions posed by members and their General Chairpersons, and then coming to agreed-upon interpretations to answer these questions.

The completed Q&A document will be released in conjunction with the full text of the TA prior to the start of the 21-day TA balloting period toward the end of October.

A must-watch for all involved members of the SMART-TD and the BLET, SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET President Dennis Pierce have published a joint video regarding the tentative national freight agreement. The presidents describe the challenging political environment surrounding the negotiating process and outline the wages, work rules, and health & welfare benefits secured in the tentative deal.