Business executives, especially those who reach the top rung becoming president and CEO of Fortune 500 corporate railroads, do not get told what to do all that often.
That is exactly what happened today when the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg and Acting Secretary of the Department of Labor Julie Su dropped a couple of letters on the desks of CN CEO Tracy Robinson and CPKC CEO Keith Creel!
Most railroaders are familiar with that unique pit in your stomach you get when you see that you have registered mail you need to sign for. At the CN and CPKC railroads, the top execs got to experience that special feeling today. The Biden-Harris administration called them out for not giving rail workers the paid sick days they were told to!
The letters, which you can read below, pointed out that Buttigieg, Su, and, by extension, the president, are angry that our men and women have not been given the dignity of having the same paid sick leave protections as 80% of the workers in our country.
Su and Buttigieg discussed the fact that the other four U.S.-based Class I railroads have all begun working with rail labor to provide this sick time. Some of them have paid sick leave in place for every organized craft in their companies. They also looked to cut off the line of excuses they anticipated hearing from the railroads.
“As illness is not bound by any season, including national bargaining cycles, we encourage you to engage in these discussions today. This does not have to wait for national negotiations; your railroad should come to terms immediately with your labor unions.”
The secretaries pointed out that the lack of sick days was not only inconsistent with the rest of our industry and working population but also is not in the best interest of rail safety overall, saying, “ In an industry where workers’ constant attention is required to keep themselves and others safe, not providing workers sick days presents unnecessary risk that your company can fix.”
If the letter hadn’t already succeeded in getting the rail executives’ attention, it probably accomplished that goal by ending with, “As our administration has noted, we are not satisfied with the current trajectory of railroad safety in America and see no reason for the delay in making the rail industry safer.”
The final shot over the bow that let Creel and Robinson know that Buttigieg and Su meant business is that under their signature line, the hits kept coming. That is where SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson, along with the presidents of other rail labor organizations were cc’d. So not only did they know they were in the crosshairs of the U.S. president, but that his administration let the biggest rail union in the country and our brothers and sisters across rail labor in on their communication.
On behalf of our CN and CPKC members, SMART-TD would like to thank Secretary Buttigieg and Acting Secretary Su for their continued support and that of President Biden.
We can’t agree any more with the contents of your letter and appreciate your willingness to press for fair treatment of rail professionals and our safety.
This is an overview of day three of the Third SMART General Convention. More details will be included in the Fall Members’ Journal.
Delegates to the Third SMART General Convention reelected Michael Coleman of Local 33 (Cleveland, Ohio) as the union’s general president on Wednesday, August 14, by acclamation.
“I nominate a person I respect, a person who puts the advancement of SMART before himself,” said SMART General President Emeritus Joseph Sellers Jr., whose nomination was seconded by delegates from across the SMART sheet metal and Transportation Divisions.
General President Emeritus Sellers nominates Coleman, surrounded by delegates from SMART-TD.
Delegates also elected John Daniel of Local 265 (Carol Stream, Ill.) as general secretary-treasurer, by acclamation, and voted 11 general vice presidents onto the SMART General Executive Council (GEC).
Local 265 Business Manager Matt Gugala nominated Daniel for general secretary-treasurer, touting his leadership, open-mindedness, collaborative attitude and success at Local 265. Daniel also received seconds from across the union and from all corners of North America.
“I’m not advocating for John because he deserves it. I’m advocating for John because we, this union, deserve John Daniel as our GST,” Gugala said.
Coleman and Daniel were joined by SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson, who was reelected on Sunday during the Third Transportation Division Convention.
Coleman dedicated his acceptance speech to giving thanks. Along with Local 33, its members and leaders, he paid tribute to Assistants to the General President Darrell Robert and Tom Wiant, as well as General President Emeritus Sellers — for his leadership, for how he positioned SMART, for his friendship and for his mentorship. He also thanked General Secretary-Treasurer Daniel and Transportation Division President Ferguson, who he hailed as trailblazing leaders and even better friends, along with a variety of other union members, leaders, and sisters and brothers.
He ended by giving heartfelt thanks to his family, including his son, Nick, and his wife, Liz, before expressing his gratitude for the delegates gathered at the convention.
“I want you to know how humbled and honored I am to have your vote,” Coleman said. “I will never back down from anybody, and I will fight tooth and nail for each and every single one of you and your members.”
Daniel thanked his home local, Local 265, and gave his sincere thanks to the many union members and leaders — retired officers, current members and beyond – who molded the man he is today. He also declared his unwavering commitment to serving every member, in every craft, in every industry that our union represents. Reiterating a recurring convention theme, he vowed to fight on members’ behalf to grow and strengthen SMART and the labor movement.
“Together, we are unstoppable,” he concluded. “Let us build a union that stands for every member.”
Transportation Division President Ferguson used his acceptance speech to thank his wife and family, TD office staff in Cleveland, UTUIA staff, retiring TD General Counsel Kevin Brodar and Ferguson’s deceased mentor, former Local 313 Chair Herm Boruta. He also remarked on the incredible solidarity on display:
“I will never forget General President Emeritus Joseph Sellers making the nomination for Mike Coleman, with all those TD local numbers behind him,” he said.
Like Coleman, Ferguson concluded his remarks by thanking convention delegates.
“The greatest honor I have is to give a thank you to each and every one of you delegates. Thank you for your dedication and your love of this union.”
SMART General President Emeritus Sellers swore in the newly elected officers. Wednesday’s elected general vice presidents are: Derek Evans, first GVP; Arthur Tolentino, second GVP; Rick Werner, third GVP; Bill Kenyon, fourth GVP; Robert Butler, fifth GVP; Ray Reasons, sixth GVP; Lance Deyette, seventh GVP; Thomas De Bartolo, eighth GVP; Jason Pedersen, ninth GVP; Stephen Langley, 10th GVP and Matthew Fairbanks, 11th GVP.
From the elections that took place Sunday, Sellers swore in TD President-elect Jeremy Ferguson, National Legislative Director Greg Hynes and Rail Vice Presidents Brent Leonard, Chad Adams, Jamie Modesitt and Alvy Hughes.
The terms of all the newly elected officers begin on October 1, 2024.
This is an overview of day two of the Third SMART General Convention. More details will be included in the Fall Members’ Journal.
Committees, department directors and delegates to the Third SMART General Convention continued their work on Tuesday, August 17. With guest speakers paying tribute to our union’s strength and resolutions aimed at securing our collective future, the day demonstrated the commitment of delegates to seize this pivotal moment of opportunity.
McGarvey to delegates: “What we do will impact future generations”
North America’s Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey has spent decades working alongside SMART members and leaders to win progress for workers in the legislative, organizing and economic development arenas. In his Monday speech to delegates at the Third SMART General Convention, McGarvey took time to note the victories we have won together — and emphasized that we cannot stop pushing.
“With these wins and significant investments coming online, we must capture as much work as possible,” he declared. “We must be intentional about recruiting and retaining the next generation of unionized building trades workers and growing our contractor base.”
SMART members made incredible progress in the last several years. Under the Biden-Harris administration, McGarvey said, labor standards in pro-union laws and unprecedented investment in the United States’ core infrastructure created opportunities for building trades workers that once seemed unthinkable — not to mention the administration’s actions to strengthen Davis-Bacon prevailing wages and pension reform in the American Rescue Plan Act.
In turn, he added, unions like SMART have been able to expand their focus on organizing, recruiting and retaining workers from all communities and bring our neighbors — people of color, the justice-involved, veterans and more — into our best-of-class apprenticeship programs. He specifically credited the SMART Belonging and Excellence for All (BE4ALL) initiative, Women’s Committee and director of special projects Louise Medina for their work to make the building trades welcoming to all, especially in this crucial moment.
Now, as election 2024 approaches, the rubber meets the road, McGarvey said. Our ability to build, organize, grow and keep members on the jobsite rests largely on who takes office in November. Referencing Project 2025 and the ABC-endorsed Trump administration’s previous efforts to gut building trades unions — with Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs being just one example — he highlighted the importance of putting pro-union lawmakers in office.
“We are on the cusp of an Infrastructure Decade,” McGarvey told delegates. “You helped us get here, and we need you more than ever between now and November to prevent a hostile administration from taking away all of the gains we made by meeting the challenges placed in front of us.”
Nevada Rep. Lee pledges continued partnership with SMART
On the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 13, delegates heard from Congresswoman Susie Lee of Nevada’s Third District — a pro-union legislator whose votes have benefited SMART members in Nevada and beyond.
“It’s always great to be with my brothers and sisters in the house of labor — in the city of labor,” Lee told delegates. “Las Vegas is known as entertainment capital of the world, but what we also should be known as is a town built by labor, run by labor, and because of labor we will continue to be strong.”
As she explained to delegates, it’s been a crazy five years for everyone in the United States — including SMART.
“We won some tough fights,” she said.
Lee grew up in a steel town — Canton, Ohio — where she witnessed first-hand the life-changing power of a union job, as well as the devastating effects of offshoring, attacks on the labor movement and divestment in American manufacturing.
“When I fight for worker protections, for PLAs, for pensions, for worker safety, for two-person train crews, let me tell you — it’s personal to me,” she said.
That’s why Lee cast major votes for the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act in Congress, she explained. Those laws have funded projects like the Brightline West high-speed rail line, set to create 140,000 new, good-paying union jobs, putting SMART sheet metal and transportation members to work.
Rep. Susie Lee with Nevada SMART members
But, she emphasized again and again, our work together isn’t finished. We need to pass the Railway Safety Act, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and the No Tax Breaks for Union-Busting Act
“What are we doing subsidizing companies that are trying to be union-busters?” Lee said. “I don’t get it.”
Lee concluded by vowing to continue partnering with SMART to win for workers, from Southern Nevada to the rest of our country.
“The fight is never over,” she declared.
USA’s Ingram touts solidarity, service and the great outdoors
Across the United States, SMART sheet metal and Transportation Division members have worked with the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) to conserve wildlife, connect with local communities and, of course, enjoy the great outdoors — whether hunting, fishing or hiking.
In remarks to delegates, USA Executive Director and CEO Walt Ingram expounded on the important relationships that the USA-SMART partnership helps create — and how it helps SMART take on a variety of challenges. Foremost among those is bringing members together in true solidarity.
“We’re a member engagement for you at your local unions, and I want to encourage you to take advantage of that,” Ingram said.
SMART is one of the largest union affiliates in the USA. And when SMART members work with the USA to engage their communities, via clay shoots, service projects, Take Kids Fishing Day events and the like, communities start to see the true meaning of union solidarity in real time. Ingram spotlighted SMART’s work on conservation projects, specifically recent ones involving Local 55 in Burbank, Washington; Local 85 at Lake Allatoona in Atlanta, Georgia; and an all-tradeswomen event at Tradeswomen Build Nations 2023.
Those conservation projects, Ingram said, change members’ lives, change local communities and change some members’ perceptions of their union.
“I urge you to get involved,” he concluded.
TruHearing’s Rosander-Powell presents on keeping members healthy
Thirty percent of workers exposed to loud noises at work have hearing loss, according to Michelle Rosander-Powell, TruHearing national sales director for labor. Rosander presented to SMART convention delegates on Tuesday, August 13, on how SMART and TruHearing have partnered — and can continue to partner — to offer members lower-cost treatment options for hearing loss.
“Your union benefits make a huge difference — you provide allowances to your members to help them get hearing aids — but we want to stretch your dollars to help your members get the best hearing aid technology for the lowest price,” she said.
Cecilia Lopez (TD Local 1701) presents the Transit and Bus Committee report.
Committees and directors continue their reports
Delegates heard reports from a variety of committees throughout the day, such as the Constitution, Resolutions, Credentials, Wellness and Mental Health Resources, Rail and Airline, Compensation, Transit and Bus, Apprenticeship, Grievances and Appeals and the Rules Committees. SMART department directors also presented to delegates, overviewing progress made in the department of wellness and mental health support, the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust, pension funds and the Canadian Affairs Department. Finally, delegates heard, discussed and voted on proposed amendments and resolutions.
Compensation Committee Chair Tom De BartoloCompensation Committee Sec. Matt FairbanksDirector of Wellness and Mental Health Support Chris Carlough
BE4ALL, RISE, Women’s Committees meet to forge a stronger union
Following the first day of proceedings at SMART’s Third General Convention, members of the SMART Belonging and Excellence for All (BE4ALL); Representation, Integrity, Support, Empowerment (RISE); and Women’s Committees came together for a celebration of progress and comradery — and a recommitment to their important work moving forward.
While differing in their specific missions, each of the committees broadly focus on strengthening SMART by making our union a more welcoming and inclusive place for all members. Each committee works with current members, local union and regional council officers, International staff and potential new members on recruitment, retention, empowerment and solidarity within SMART, all of which are key to our continued success.
In Las Vegas, members arrived from the furthest reaches of our union — everywhere from Vancouver to Ontario, San Francisco to Atlanta — to engage in this important committee work. General President Michael Coleman and General Secretary-Treasurer John Daniel met with committee members for an open question-and-answer session; attendees also had the chance to open up to one another and forge deeper bonds of comradery.
This is an overview of day one of the Third SMART General Convention. More details will be included in the Fall Members’ Journal.
On Monday, August 12, SMART General President Michael Coleman officially commenced the Third SMART General Convention, bringing delegates to order to set the course for the future of our union. Starting today and continuing through Friday, delegates heard from guest speakers, convention committees and SMART directors, and debated resolutions and amendments to the SMART Constitution.
GP Coleman to delegates: “We are not done.”
After SMART Local 88 (Las Vegas, Nev.) Business Manager Geremiah Robnett and TD GCA-953 General Chairperson Luke Edington delivered remarks welcoming delegates and guests to Las Vegas, SMART General President Michael Coleman took the stage to outline our union’s journey – from yesterday, to today, and until tomorrow.
“Today, we see the fruits of our predecessors’ hard work. Today, we are a strong union. Today, we are a forward-thinking union. And today, we are a united union,” he said.
He also looked back on the last five years — some of the most extraordinary and eventful that our two nations, let alone our union, have ever faced.
Sheet metal locals were confronted with a potentially devastating attack on union apprenticeships when the Trump administration proposed its anti-worker Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) rule. Meanwhile, the transportation industry faced an anti-worker administration that — among other things — conducted an all-out offensive on freight railroaders, withdrawing a proposed federal two-person crew regulation and attempting to pre-empt state 2PC laws. On top of that, there was the 2020 United States election, pitting a stridently pro-worker challenger against an anti-worker incumbent, plus provincial battles against anti-labour laws in Canada. Not to mention, Coleman added, the world-altering COVID-19 pandemic.
“But we not only met those challenges, we exceeded all expectations,” he declared. “It took all of us. Rowing in the same direction. As General President Sellers used to say, pulling on the same rope. Working together as ONE UNION.”
SMART members mobilized to defeat the IRAPs initiative. We elected pro-union legislators who passed transformative laws that saved union pensions, created union sheet metal jobs, funded transportation infrastructure and gave Canadian members the ability to more effectively travel for work. We staffed megaprojects that spurred incredible growth at local unions across North America. And we finally won a two-person freight train crew regulation, putting rail safety and union jobs ahead of shareholder greed.
We achieved all of that, Coleman told delegates, because we know our “why” — our reason for doing what we do. That “why” is each other: the members of this great union. And it’s because of that “why” that we aren’t finished winning for SMART members across North America.
“General President Emeritus Sellers set us up for this moment. We MUST seize it,” Coleman said. “It is our obligation to him, it is our obligation to this organization, it is our obligation to our members, and it is our obligation to ourselves.”
Delegates to the Third SMART General ConventionLuke Edington
Whether it’s legislation that protects our bus and transit members from assaults or aggressive organizing to staff megaprojects, handle manufacturing demands and ensure a just transition to a green economy, Coleman emphasized the importance of keeping SMART members’ future in mind as, collectively, the convention body maps the direction our organization will take for the next five years.
SMART is resurgent, Coleman continued. Now, we need to seize this moment. Because make no mistake, he said: Our enemies are ruthless, and they won’t stop attacking SMART members.
“Think about why they hate us,” Coleman said. “Think about what crime they think we commit. They hate us because we fight for safety in the workplace. They hate us because we fight for the ability to live and raise our families with dignity. They hate us because we fight for the ability to retire with dignity. And when it comes time to leave this place, we fight for the ability to do that with dignity.”
“It is going to be a fight,” he told delegates. “A fight that we didn’t choose. But if it is a fight they want, it is a fight they are going to get. But this time, we will tell them when the fight is over.”
GST Daniel: “How will we be remembered?”
SMART General Secretary-Treasurer John Daniel knows well the challenges faced by union workers across North America – over the last five years, and over the last several decades.
SMART GST John Daniel
“I’ve been a sheet metal installer, a fabricator, an instructor, an organizer, a business representative and – above all – a proud union member for over 33 years,” he told attendees. “I stand before you not just as your SMART general secretary-treasurer, but as a fellow worker – one who has walked the same paths, faced the same struggles and fought the same battles.”
Daniel was there when the railroads sued to pre-empt Illinois’ two-person crew law, he explained. He was business manager when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shutting the world down and casting the world into total chaos.
“But I can say from firsthand experience, those challenges didn’t stop us in Illinois. And I know it didn’t stop anyone in this room,” he said.
After paying tribute to his predecessor as general secretary-treasurer, SMART Director of Megaprojects Joseph Powell, Daniel detailed some of the challenges SMART members have met since 2019: “Together, we’ve stood strong and unified, proving time and again that we will not be pushed around.”
SMART Canada has worked hard to win jobs and strong labor standards in the transition to a green economy up north, representing workers in not only sheet metal but roofing and various production sectors. Meanwhile, internal organizing and a focus on training have helped the Transportation Division both organize and retain members in the face of adverse conditions, while investments in recruitment and retention will help SMART sustain its growth.
The financial health of the organization is stellar, Daniel said. And on the back of megaprojects and strong representation across sheet metal and transportation, SMART’s membership has increased from a little over 203,000 to 230,000.
“Now, it is our time to decide who we are,” he declared.
Diversity in the production and bus industries provides a model for SMART to follow as we strengthen our union through organizing and inclusion. We need to keep reaching out to people of all backgrounds in every community, Daniel said, and ensure that anyone who carries a dues receipt gets the representation they deserve.
He also argued that SMART needs to continue investing in ourselves if we want to build on the success we have achieved. Subsidized organizers, legislative staff and programs aimed at recruiting and retaining members have been key to recent victories, Daniel told attendees – and such investment needs to continue.
Jose Manso (Local 30) presents during the Roofing Committee’s reportA delegate stands at the mic during debate
He closed by reminding attendees exactly why we are gathered in Las Vegas this week.
“Whether it’s your first convention or your fifth, we’re all here for the same reason,” Daniel concluded. “This truly is our time. This truly is our moment. What we do now will define us.
“How will we — how will each of you — be remembered?”
TD President Ferguson: “We’ve weathered attacks, accomplished much and are a stronger union.”
Newly reelected Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson addressed the union during the first day of the third SMART General Convention.
He reflected on the challenges from his first term. There was work needed to be done to strengthen SMART by aligning the Transportation Division more closely with the sheet metal part of the union, as envisioned when the two joined forces in 2014.
“We accomplished that, and so much more,” he said.
The nation’s largest railroads deployed what Ferguson termed a “nuclear option” in 2019 on his second day in office. They attacked rail contracts and tried to eliminate conductors.
“We were all united… We were ready for that fight, and, coincidentally, we were all convened in Cleveland, Ohio,” Ferguson said. “The railroads fought the round and guess what? It took a little while, but they found out they were going to lose that battle.
“As of today, our crew-consist agreements are intact, not one conductor is off a train, and, unbelievably, we have a two-person crew regulation!”
The Transportation Division stayed on offense. Rail workers gained a historic pay raise during the last national negotiation. For the first time in history, railroaders can claim paid sick leave. Ferguson’s administration also created visibility on Capitol Hill for issues faced by our bus and rail members.
“Our officers, including myself, our national legislative director, and some of our state legislative directors have been called to testify — for all crafts — at the federal level including the Surface Transportation Board, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, at any number of meetings.”
“We are getting the word out there every way we can about the issues that face us,” Ferguson continued.
One example was the recent Bus/Transit Day on the Hill, where the Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) Committee and other officers met with Congress.
One result of the visibility we’ve gained was the key role SMART-TD’s recommendation played in the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans. The plans give unions equal footing with management while handling worker and passenger safety.
“You know those things that you know where you were when it happened in that moment?” Ferguson said. “This was a big deal for me.”
On Ferguson’s watch, SMART-TD became the first transportation union to obtain a CRISI grant, which will be used to provide safety training for union members.
“In addition to that, we doubled down on what we are going to do and what we have done for our bus and transit members,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson recognized the work of General Chairperson John Ellis of GO 875, and his efforts to protect his members at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA). Through Ellis’ and other TD leaders’ efforts, operators at SMART’s largest bus property will be protected by barriers and soon by a dedicated transit police force.
Members across the transportation union are also supported on a more personal level. Plan trustees began extending Voluntary Short-Term Disability (VSTD) benefits to TD members coping with the COVID-19 virus during the pandemic.
Following the pandemic, investment advice from SMART leadership improved the plan’s finances to the point where members are now covered for certified voluntary drug and alcohol treatment programs from day 1.
“That is what this union is about — taking care of one another when you have hard times,” he said. “This union is more united than ever, we are stronger than ever, and we aren’t done. We are only going to keep getting better.”
Delegates vote to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president
Delegates to the Third SMART General Convention voted to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president and Minn. Gov. Tim Walz for vice president in the 2024 election on Monday morning, following United States President Joe Biden’s July 21 announcement that he would end his reelection campaign.
The resolution detailed Vice President Harris’s consistent partnership and support for union members across the U.S., including her meetings with SMART members at local union halls in Philadelphia and Boston.
As part of the Biden-Harris administration, the vice president has been an ally in SMART’s efforts to fund public transportation, implement a two-person federal train crew regulation and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure. Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, helping create union clean-energy jobs, and helped lobby for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act – two pieces of legislation that have put SMART members to work from coast to coast.
Together with President Biden, the resolution noted, Vice President Harris has led an administration whose actions have helped spark union organizing in the last several years, with pro-labor National Labor Relations Board appointments and the creation of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing – an initiative Harris chaired. And with the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, Harris and Biden helped protect more than one million union pensions. This included saving 1,600 Ohio sheet metal workers’ pensions from cuts and restoring their full benefits with back pay.
Walz, meanwhile, has signed a laundry list of pro-labor laws as governor, including a state two-person crew law, a bill to put sheet metal workers on jobs improving ventilation in public schools, a huge expansion of paid family and medical leave, the largest increase in state history to the Minnesota work compensation system’s permanent partial disability fund, and much more.
Following floor debate, delegates voted to endorse the Harris ticket by a voice vote – a testament to the vice president’s stellar record of support for SMART’s sheet metal and transportation workers.
“Throughout her term as vice president, Kamala Harris has been laser-focused on pursuing the Biden-Harris agenda, enacting and implementing laws that prioritize the interests of union members and workers, and Governor Walz’s actions for workers and families speak for themselves,” said SMART General President Michael Coleman after the resolution vote. “Faced with the existential, anti-worker threat of another Trump presidential term, all of us at SMART know that Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are the right choices for working families – and we proved it today.”
“This endorsement is a full-throated commitment to sending pro-labor leaders back to the White House this November,” he concluded. “I can’t wait to get started.”
Buttigieg receives warm welcome from SMART
United States Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had a very specific message for SMART when he spoke at our organization’s Third General Convention.
“Union jobs change the trajectory of generations.”
Buttigieg received a warm welcome from SMART delegates, and he matched their enthusiasm with an exciting message that the continued success of America is tied directly to empowering our union workforce.
He spoke in detail about the megaprojects he and the Biden-Harris administration have put in place in every state in the country that are keeping our sheet metal members working. On the transportation side, he discussed the Federal Railroad Administration regulation enacted this spring mandating two-person crews on freight trains in our country as well as the new Brightline West high-speed rail project.
The project links Las Vegas, Nevada, to Los Angeles, California. It will provide sheet metal work for building and maintaining the tracks, stations, and infrastructure and bring jobs to the TD side with SMART crews operating the trains.
Speaking directly to SMART-TD’s bus operators, Buttigieg pointed out that one of the things he is proud of in his three-plus years at the DOT is that his administration worked with SMART and the Federal Transit Administration to finalize a rule forming safety committees on bus properties around the country. He pointed out that our bus operators will be on these safety committees and that they will control the safety programs that come out of them.
But, he and even the Biden-Harris administration could not have accomplished these things on their own. He gestured to the delegates on the convention floor: “You drove that! That is what the power of organizing can do!”
That Buttigieg made the time to address the convention of this union was exciting. To hear his message thanking our members for the vital role they play daily in the successes of his department and the Biden-Harris administration as a whole took that excitement to a new level and garnered a standing ovation.
Union jobs and SMART jobs not only “change the trajectory of generations,” but also empower each of us to “shape a future your kids can be proud of,” he said.
SMART is grateful Secretary Buttigieg again took his time to address our union, and it is safe to say that his message will not be forgotten to those lucky enough to have been here to hear it!
Guest speakers praise unionists, encourage continued progress
Throughout the day, delegates and leaders heard from various guest speakers, who offered insight, praise and motivation as SMART looks to the future.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler fired up delegates with a rousing speech that connected SMART members’ fights to the ongoing resurgence of the labor movement, telling SMART members and leaders:
“Whether you’re a sheet metal worker, a bus operator, a service technician, a railroad engineer, a sign worker, a welder, a production employee — if you’re a part of this union, North America does not work without you.”
In her remarks, Shuler discussed the still-enormous fight that working people face across the United States, recounting the experiences of workers struggling for dignity and living wages — and contrasting those experiences with the exorbitant payrolls of America’s executive class. Those executives, she explained, are the people who stand to benefit if Donald Trump gets reelected and implements his Project 2025 agenda.
But thanks to the labor movement, Shuler said, workers across the U.S. are seeing that another way exists. Specifically shouting out the work and achievements of Local 435 in Gainesville, Florida, TD Local 1704 in Kansas City and Local 480 in Faribault, Minn. — plus victories at the national level, like the federal two-person freight train crew regulation, the work of the SMART Women’s Committee and the BE4ALL Rapid Response Protocol — she praised SMART’s work to empower the working class in the face of profit-flation and corporate greed.
“You are setting the standard,” she declared.
Shuler ended with a request: As November approaches, delegates, officers, families and people across the labor movement need to hit the jobsite, the phone banks and the doors to spread the word about what’s at stake in this presidential election.
“We can be the ones who make history,” Shuler concluded. “We have the momentum. … Are you ready? Let’s do this.”
Nev. AFL-CIO Exec. Secretary-Treasurer Susie Martinez with Al Lopez, Local 88
Nevada AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Susie Martinez, a lifelong unionist and former Nevada Assembly member who helped win a state two-person crew law and job-creating indoor air quality legislation, also spoke to delegates. In her remarks recounting her run for Nevada state office, she noted the importance of having the labor movement on her side — both during her campaign, and as a legislator. Working closely with SMART-TD and Local 88, including Al Lopez, who she brought on stage, Martinez noted the victories she was able to win and the importance of union members running for office.
“That two-man crew bill, they tried to pass that for many years. … We passed that bill! I was so proud.”
And Representative Steve Horsford, an ally of SMART members and working families in Congress, delivered remarks that reiterated his support for union workers and pledged continued partnership. Horsford, who represents SMART members and working families in Nevada’s Fourth Congressional District and is also the co-chair and founder of the Congressional Labor Caucus, received a warm welcome for his stellar support for organized labor while in office.
Horsford voted for the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, a package of legislation that saved SMART members’ pensions; created jobs building the United States’ critical infrastructure; invested in American railroads and public transit; put union sheet metal workers on clean energy jobs and much more. He also worked to fund the Brightline West high-speed rail line, creating work for SMART sheet metal and railroad workers, and has helped local unions in Nevada and beyond win funding for their training centers.
“Thanks to the work of my colleagues and I, especially the Congressional Labor Caucus, and the advocacy of SMART, this [Brightline West] funding requires an organized workforce,” Horsford said.
Throughout the day, delegates also heard reports from the Rules Committee, Credentials Committee, Production Committee, Roofing Committee, HVAC Service Committee and General Executive Council Committee.
Derek Evans, Local 540Art Tolentino, Local 293Ray Reasons, Local 36Steve Langley, Local 85Joe Cook, Local 219Russell Bartash, SMART NERC
The 2024 calendar lists Monday, April 22, as Earth Day, but with the groundbreaking ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, for what will become 218 miles of new high-speed rail line, SMART Transportation Division and the rest of rail labor can see today as Jobs Day!
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during the groundbreaking of Brightline West.The audience watched the Brightline West groundbreaking event in Las Vegas.Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others attend Brightline West’s groundbreaking ceremony.
Brightline West broke ground on a state-of-the-art high-speed rail line today that will link Southern California with Las Vegas. The line will run from the southern end of the famous strip in Las Vegas and run to Rancho Cucamonga, California, just outside of Los Angeles.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others participate in the ground-breaking ceremony for Brightline West in Las Vegas.
This rail line will run with a fleet of electric locomotives, so there are obvious benefits to the environment, but the most important thing for the SMART-TD is that Brightline West is partnering with our union to staff their trains. As of today, rail labor is getting an immediate shot in the arm by this project. Thousands of jobs in multiple crafts will be created by the building and maintaining of these lines.
The United States has long been the only industrialized country without viable high-speed rail service and the completion of Brightline West would end that.
A large portion of the funding for this project came from the Biden administration through the bipartisan infrastructure legislation commonly referred to as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
As a stipulation of receiving the federal dollars, it was agreed that Brightline West would use an entirely union workforce to build the infrastructure and to staff the trains, putting other union brothers and sisters, as well as our members, to work. With trains planned to originate every 30 minutes in both directions, there will be a significant amount of SMART-TD jobs gained in this project.
SMART-TD’s National Legislative Director Greg Hynes and SMART Rail-Mechanical Department Director Peter Kennedy were at the groundbreaking ceremony today as was U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. This project is scheduled to be ready for passenger service in 2028. The trains will travel up to 200 miles per hour and will get people between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in about two hours — less than half the time it currently takes to drive between the two cities.
