Transportation News

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SMART TD member killed in Amtrak crash

A current SMART Transportation Division conductor and a former member were killed when Amtrak Train 91 traveling from New York to Miami collided early Feb. 4 with a stationary CSX freight train east of Columbia, S.C. Brother Michael Cella, 36, of Orange Park, Fla., was a cond [...]

Right to Work for Less stopped in Colorado

SMART Transportation Division Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith reports that efforts by some state legislators to advance a Right to Work For Less bill were stopped in committee. By a 6-3 vote, members of the state House’s Colorado House State, Veterans & Mil [...]

SMART TD announces two-person crew bill has been introduced in U.S. Senate

Washington, D.C. (January 31, 2018) – SMART Transportation Division announced today the introduction of the Safe Freight Act (S.2360) by U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota), which would require two crew members — one certified locomotive engineer and one certified co [...]

Amtrak train carrying GOP lawmakers hits garbage truck

A privately chartered Amtrak train carrying dozens of Republican members of the House and Senate crashed into a garbage truck just south of Charlottsville, Va. So far, only minor injuries have been reported amongst the train passengers. One out of the three passengers on the [...]

Secretary & Treasurer page expanded

SMART Transportation Division has completed a reorganization and expansion of its webpage dedicated to assisting secretaries & treasurers of Locals. The page is at https://www.smart-union.org/td/secretary-and-treasurer-tools/. It features guidance for new secretaries & [...]

Consultation being offered for those targeted by CSX FMLA investigations

The office of Designated Legal Counsel Willard J. Moody, Esq., based in Portsmouth, Va., has extended an offer of service to SMART Transportation Division members who may have been unjustly fired for alleged Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) violations. Television station WNYT [...]

Class I’s release 4th quarter & 2017 annual earnings reports

4th Quarter 2017 Net Earnings: $552 million or $5.33 per diluted share, compared with 2016’s $130 million or $1.21 per diluted share Revenue: 4th quarter record of $660 million, a 10 percent increase Operating Income: 4th quarter record of $238 million, a 13 percent increase [...]

Real-life Rosie the Riveter dead at 96

Real-life Rosie the Riveter, Naomi Parker Fraley, died Saturday, Jan. 20. The iconic World War II “We Can Do It!” posters were based on a 1942 photo of Parker taken while standing at a lathe. A waitress, turned lathe operator, Fraley and her sister Ada joined the [...]

Ohio reps seek to change Ohio constitution to include right-to-work laws

CBS affiliate WKBN reports that two Republican Ohio lawmakers want to try once again to make Ohio a right-to-work state. Representatives John Becker (Dist. 65) and Craig Reiden (Dist. 82) are proposing six different right-to-work measures for the 2020 ballot. This comes just [...]