Transportation News

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

FRA admin: Train length a factor in considering crew-size rule

Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose last week addressed a shippers’ conference and said that part of his agency’s rationale in approaching a minimum crew size rulemaking will be taking into consideration the carriers’ use of longer trains, Trains Magazine reported April [...]

Calendar for national contract mediation sessions

The negotiating team is scheduled to engage in mediation for the latest national railroad contract on the following days: March 31, 2022 April 6, 2022 April 11, 2022 April 20, 2022 May 4, 2022 May 5, 2022 We were released from mediation by the NMB on June 15. A proffer of arb [...]

Bill’s passage would place Santa Cruz Metro under PERB

A bill under consideration in the California Legislature would place employees of the Santa Cruz Metro under the umbrella of the state’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to foster improved relations between public employees and management. S.B. 957 was introduced in t [...]

STB announces hearing regarding rail service

Class I railroad officials have a two-day-long hearing before the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) to prepare for later this month. Reports from shippers to STB regarding poor service — the latest being a letter directly from the National Grain and Feed Association, [...]

SMART-TD announces 2022 Leadership Conference

The SMART Transportation Division is pleased to announce the first joint SMART Union Annual Leadership Conference. The event will replace the former TD Regional Meetings, which have had a two-year pandemic disruption. Please pay close attention to the following details as sev [...]

SMART-TD, BLET gather allies at TTD Executive Committee meeting

CLEVELAND, Ohio (April 6, 2022) — The nation’s two largest railroad unions continue to gather allies and momentum as they oppose the imposition of precision scheduled railroading (PSR) tactics by Class I carriers that put safety and the health and lives of working people at r [...]

GOP reps encourage BNSF to re-think Hi-Viz

CLEVELAND, Ohio (April 5) — Five Republican U.S. representatives have contacted the BNSF Railway and encouraged its CEO to reengage with its operating unions to alter the highly-restrictive and punitive “Hi-Viz” attendance policy. In a letter to Brotherhood of Loc [...]

UMWA marks year since initiating strike

A large rally is planned in support of the United Mine Workers on Wednesday, April 6, in McCalla, Ala., to demand justice for the UMWA miners who have been on strike with Warrior Met Coal for an entire year. “This strike MUST END NOW and we are going to remind Warrior M [...]