Transportation News

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Conductor, engineer rescue wandering 5-year-old girl in Minnesota

The efforts of a two-person crew in East St. Paul, Minn., helped to save a wandering five-year-old girl and reunite her with her family. Near midnight Saturday, Feb. 1, SMART Transportation Division Local 1293 member Jarrod Campbell and BLET member Angela Knutson were operati [...]

Alt. VP Scott Chelette speaks on two-person crews

SMART Transportation Division Alternate Vice President J. Scott Chelette, general chairperson of GO 927, was featured in a television news report about the rail industry’s intention to eliminate the conductor from the cab of freight trains in the wake of Class I freight [...]

Newsday article remembers retired member Brzozinski

Richard Brzozinski, 78, is remembered as a compassionate man and model employee of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in a recent story by Newsday. “A veteran Long Island Rail Road conductor on the Babylon line, Brzozinski made a habit of learning the names of all of his regula [...]

SMART-TD files suit challenging NMB’s decision regarding crew consist

On January 23, 2020, SMART Transportation Division and nearly two dozen General Committees brought suit against the National Mediation Board (NMB) challenging its 2-1 decision which granted a National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) request to appoint an arbitration board mem [...]

Federal agencies announce random testing rates for 2020

Federal agencies have announced their random drug testing rates for the new calendar year. In December, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a test rate increase from 25 percent to 50 percent of the average number of driver positions because of an [...]

Virginia state two-person crew bill passes in House, Senate is next

Virginia’s House of Delegates on Wednesday passed H.B. 440, a two-person freight crew bill, by a 61-37 vote, with one delegate abstaining. The bill now moves on to the state’s Senate. “We’ve hit third base,” SMART TD Virginia Legislative Director Ronnie Hobbs said. “It’s goin [...]

Remembering Martin Luther King’s legacy

Today, every member of the SMART union will take time, in conjunction with our entire nation, to honor and remember the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. King’s brilliance, vision, leadership and ultimate personal sacrifice shifted the course of the history o [...]

Two-person crew bill passes Va. House committee

Virginia’s full House of Delegates soon will be considering H.B. 440, a two-person freight crew bill, after it passed the body’s Committee on Commerce and Labor Jan. 16 by a 13-8 vote. “This is a big win — a huge win today,” said Virginia State Legislative Director Ronnie Hob [...]