Transportation News

Visit the digital archive of the SMART-TD News (PDFs)

Rep. Rahall Says Unions Good For Business

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall told West Virginia union leaders on Tuesday that people who believe cheaper, non-union labor is good for American business are “short-sighted.” “Union labor also helps increase corporate America’s bottom lin [...]

Stem: FMCSA denies bus company's CDL exemption

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied an application by motorcoach tours company Miami Nice Tours to operate bus tours in the United States by drivers who would be exempt from the commercial driver’s license (CDL) provisions of part 383 of the Federal Mot [...]

Addition of new members brings additional responsibility

I hope this edition of the SMART Transportation Division News finds that all our members enjoyed a safe and happy holiday season. The SMART TD has been successful in recent organizing campaigns, adding new members to our union in general, and the bus department in particular. [...]

When Railroad Medicare pays first or second

When Medicare began in the 1960s, it was the primary payer for all services except those covered by workers compensation. In 1980, Congress enacted provisions to shift costs from the Medicare program to private insurers, when possible. This legislation stopped Medicare from m [...]

NTSB: We need automatic braking on all trains

Last month, a Metro-North Railroad train plunged off the track while taking a sharp curve at 82 miles per hour, killing four and seriously injuring 20. In the aftermath, some experts said the disastrous results could have been prevented by positive train control (PTC). An aut [...]

Supreme Court case has big implications for NLRB

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heard oral arguments in a case that could invalidate hundreds of National Labor Relations Board rulings and set the agency back more than a year in its workload if it loses. The dispute could also determine when presidents can use so-called “r [...]

Retired general chairperson L.L. Nelson dies

Lewis Lavon Nelson, 74, retired general chairperson of former Union Pacific General Committee of Adjustment GO 957 (Northwest District), died Jan. 10 from complications related to lung cancer. A member of SMART Transportation Division Local 1574 at Portland, Ore., Nelson reti [...]

MTA rejects PEB's proposed raises for LIRR workers

The Long Island Railroad rolled closer to a possible summer strike Jan. 15 when transit executives rejected a proposed series of raises for workers. MTA Labor Relations Director Anita Miller notified the National Mediation Board that the authority would not enact a contract s [...]

TTD addresses FTA regarding MAP 21 requirements

With the support of the SMART Transportation Division, AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Edward Wytkind has written a letter to Administrator Peter Rogoff of the Federal Transit Administration. The letter, on behalf of the 32 member union’s that make up the T [...]

House committee hears from transportation advocates

U.S. governors and mayors are pushing Congress to quickly reauthorize long-term legislation to fund transportation projects across the country, fearing that any lapse in funding could disrupt existing projects and hurt local economies. Testifying at a Tuesday hearing before t [...]