In a joint letter, SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director John Risch and Brotherhood of Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) National Legislative Representative John P. Tolman, submitted a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) withdrawing their pre [...]
The Associated Press reports that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has ordered Amtrak to retrain employees on basic safety rules after an Amtrak train slammed into a backhoe last week, killing two maintenance-of-way (MOW) employees and injuring dozens of passengers. [...]
Ed Wytkind, President of TTD, AFL-CIO, John Previsich, President of SMART Transportation Division and other union leaders have released a joint letter to Anthony Foxx, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), urging the DOT to issue a rule “to protect bus dri [...]
Edward Wytkind, president of TTD, AFL-CIO, submitted a letter to the U.S. Senate, urging them to support the Cantwell Amendment. “This amendment expands the current law that protects airport security personnel from assaults to also protect airline customer service repre [...]
Fox 9 reports that a fatality that occurred last week during a crew change on Canadian Pacific may have been preventable. In an interview with the news channel, Minnesota State Legislative Director Phil Qualy said that CP could have taken action to move the crew changes to a [...]
Amtrak train 89 struck a backhoe this morning in Chester, Pa., just south of Philadelphia. Of the 341 passengers on board around 35 were injured. The two that died were the backhoe operator and a supervisor. Family members of those on board can call 800-523-9101 to inquire ab [...]
The March 2016 issue of the SMART Transportation Division News is now available online only. Submissions for the May 2016 issue are being accepted now through April 15. Submissions can be emailed to news_td@smart-union.org. Submissions are also accepted through U.S. mail: [...]
Benefits, Premiums stay the same! On Friday, April 1, 2016, a new insurance administrator for Short Term Disability (STD) and a new insurance provider for Long Term Disability (LTD) will be in place for all Bus and Rail members. Effective on and after April 1, 2016 STD for B [...]
According to the Washington Post, Metro’s top officials warned that its transit system is in such great need of repair that entire rail lines may have to close for as long as six months. This could potentially impact thousands of daily commuters and worsen traffic congestion [...]
In their morning transportation tip sheet, POLITICO mentioned a poll recently conducted by DFM Research and SMART Transportation Division. The poll was conducted in Missouri and asked Missourians how they feel about issues in the transportation industry. Click here to read th [...]
