Transportation News

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

TD Local 759 president meets DOT head

Local 759 (Paramus, N.J.) President and Legislative Representative Rafael Becerra met with Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Tom Carper and Gov. John Carney on Friday, March 4, in Wilmington, Del., as part of an event promoting the Bipartisan Infrast [...]

Transportation labor reacts to the State of the Union Address

The AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department, of which the SMART Transportation Division is a proud member, released the following statement on March 1 after President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, president and secretary-tre [...]

SMART TD has launched a new website!

Attention SMART TD members! On Feb. 28, SMART is launching its new website. This site offers SMART TD and its members a greater level of security and utility compared with the older design. Important union information will now be secured behind a login and the news and resour [...]

SMART-TD, BLET presidents’ statement on Hi-Viz ruling

To receive text messages and the latest alerts regarding the BNSF Hi-Viz policy, please text HiViz to 67336. Today the judge considering the case between BNSF and the SMART-TD and BLET unions over the carrier’s new “Hi-Viz” attendance policy ruled that the dispute was “minor” [...]

Transportation bills limiting train length gain traction in Iowa

A pair of bills limiting train length have been introduced in the Iowa House and Senate and have gained some traction. House File 2339 and Senate File 2286 both contain language that would limit the length of any freight train to 8,500 feet. House File 278 (now renumbered as [...]

Suspect in robbery of Metra conductor in police custody

A suspected robber who attacked an on-duty Metra conductor at Van Buren station in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon was taken into custody Wednesday by Metra police in Calumet City, the carrier reports. Police said the robber brandished a handgun and took an undisclosed amount of [...]

Local 202 member dies in yard accident

SMART Transportation Division member Jeff Jones of Local 202 (Denver, Colo.) passed away on Feb. 9, 2022, after a switching accident in Globeville rail yard in Denver. Brother Jones, of Northglenn, Colo., was a member of our union for more than a decade, joining in August 201 [...]