Legislative Representative Jordan Boone of Local 445 (Niota, Ill.) reports that National Legislative Director Greg Hynes will be speaking Sunday at a rally in support of the Safe Freight Act (H.R. 1748/S.1979) national two-person crew legislation.
The rally is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. local time at the Keokuk Labor Temple at 301 Blondeau St. in Keokuk, IA 52636. Members from the region are invited to attend to show their support for the legislation.
Representatives of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen also are expected to be in attendance to speak as are politicians including Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Iowa. Rep. Jeff Kurtz and Iowa House candidate Emiliano Vera.
Sanders is expected to publicly endorse S.1979 during an event at the Keokuk school complex, 2001 Orleans Ave., Keokuk, 52636, to take place at 12:30 p.m. local time.
H.R. 1748 currently has 133 co-sponsors while the Senate version of the bill has 15.

SMART Transportation Division President John Previsich recently conversed with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I – Vt.) about Sanders’ democratic candidacy for President of the United States and the positive impact that the voice of unionized labor can have on the outcome of the race. Sanders is well known for his record of voting for policies that help working families and against those policies that hurt the poor. On the issues such as wealth inequality, Sanders is outspoken about evening out the gap between the middle class and the wealthy.

If elected, Sanders has promised:Previsich and Sanders

  • To rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.
  • To reverse climate changes.
  • To create worker co-ops.
  • To grow the trade union movement.
  • To raise the minimum wage.
  • Pay equity for women workers.
  • To establish trade policies that benefit American workers.
  • To make college affordable for all.
  • To take on Wall Street and break up the big banks.
  • To make Health care a right for all.
  • To protect the most vulnerable Americans.
  • To reform the tax structure.

Senator Sanders is the longest-serving Independent in U.S. congressional history, having served 16 years in the House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He is currently serving his second term as a senator.