The Federal Railroad Administration’s Switching Operations Fatality Analysis working group (SOFA) – which has three SMART TD representatives – has released its switching fatality and severe injury update for the fourth quarter of 2018. SOFA reported a total of 17 severe [...]
According to an analysis done by northjersey.com, Metro-North, New Jersey Transit (NJT) and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2013. Before the companies’ lawyers negotiated for lower fines, Metro-North had been assessed mo [...]
Amtrak as we know it is in the budget crosshairs again, and if proposed cuts go through, it could have a lasting effect on not only our nation’s communities, but Railroad Retirement benefits as well. President Donald Trump’s budget request proposes a $1.06 billion reduction i [...]
The SMART TD Wyoming State Legislative Board, led by State Director Stan Blake, recently donated $1,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Sweetwater County, reported Wyo 4 News. “We are so grateful for Representative Blake for helping us secure this donation. He has been a huge [...]
Alaska Railroad could get an extension into Canada, pending the approval of a permit from President Donald Trump, reports the Anchorage Daily News. In the proposed project by the Alberta to Alaska Railway Development Corporation (A2A), 1,700 miles of track would be built in a [...]
Willard James Moody, Sr., a well-regarded attorney and former state legislator who served as a longtime Designated Legal Counsel (DLC) for the United Transportation Union (UTU) and advocated on behalf of railroad workers in the court of law throughout his life, passed away Ma [...]
Illinois commuter carrier Metra, in conjunction with Operation Lifesaver, has embarked on a series of educational safety blitzes to raise awareness of the importance of safe behavior around its trains and tracks. The carrier reported in a March 26 news release that the state [...]
An article published March 28 on the website of the Sightline Institute follows up on an Associated Press report from over the winter about the Department of Transportation’s repeal of the Federal Railroad Administration’s electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) [...]
In a win for labor, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 85 into law, prohibiting counties and other local entities from enacting their own right-to-work laws. Sponsored by Democratic Reps. Daymon Ely and Andrea Romero, the bill-turned-law invalidates righ [...]
David Rasmussen, legislative representative for SMART Transportation Division Local 60 (Newark, N.J.), has been nominated as the rail labor representative on the New Jersey Transit (NJT) board by Gov. Phil Murphy. “A strong NJ TRANSIT Board is critical to ensuring a leadershi [...]
