Edward Wytkind, president of TTD, AFL-CIO, submitted a letter to the U.S. Senate, urging them to support the Cantwell Amendment.
“This amendment expands the current law that protects airport security personnel from assaults to also protect airline customer service representatives, including gate and ticket agents,” said Wytkind.
Read the complete letter here.
Author: amyr
Just because Donald Trump has tapped into the “justifiable anger” of the working class, doesn’t mean he is, or ever will be, a champion of the working class, warns Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. “Trump isn’t interested in solving our problems,” said Trumka. Read the complete story here.
On April 3 the Star Tribune reported that a Metro Transit bus driver was assaulted by several teenagers in a noontime attack at the Southdale stop in Edina, Minn. According to authorities, the driver sustained potentially ‘life altering’ head injuries. Read the entire story here.
The Seattle Times reported that backers of a Seattle bylaw, which prohibits the use of city funds to finance sports venues, plan to push for a strengthened ballot measure to help block a proposed arena in Sodo District. SMART TD Washington State Legislative Director Herb Krohn, who is against the proposal because it could eradicate rail yards and manufacturing in the area, said the initiative needs to be strengthened, “…to protect the thousands of middle-class working people whose jobs rely on the Port of Seattle, the Burlington Northern, Union Pacific and AMTRAK rail yards, and the vast manufacturing and industrial businesses in Sodo.” Read the entire story here.
Fox 9 reports that a fatality that occurred last week during a crew change on Canadian Pacific may have been preventable.
In an interview with the news channel, Minnesota State Legislative Director Phil Qualy said that CP could have taken action to move the crew changes to a safer area, but took no action.
Qualy told SMART TD that he had submitted numerous letters to CP about the safety of having a crew change in the specific location where the engineer-trainee Jeffrey Harsh was killed but no action had been taken.
In a similar trajedy, CP railway worker Jamie Jijian died in 2013 as a result of a “combination of hazardous conditions acting together.” His death is also believed to have been preventable.
Rail workers are still performing crew changes in the area where Harsh lost his life last week.
“As a representative of the FRA’s Switching Operations Fatality Analysis (SOFA) working group, I would like to point to section 3.7 of SOFA’s 2011 report “Findings and Advisories of the SOFA Working Group Volume I: SOFA Report with Appendix A,” that warns of the dangers of crossing active rails, to all carriers, interested parties and members.”
Harsh’s case is still under investigation by the FRA.
Click here to read SOFA’s 2011 report.
Click here to read more from Fox 9.
Click here to read more about Jijian’s accident from CBC News.
The March 2016 issue of the SMART Transportation Division News is now available online only.Submissions for the May 2016 issue are being accepted now through April 15. Submissions can be emailed to news_td@smart-union.org.
Submissions are also accepted through U.S. mail:
SMART Transportation Division,
SMART TD News,
24950 Country Club Blvd., Ste 340,
North Olmsted, OH 44070
Benefits, Premiums stay the same!
On Friday, April 1, 2016, a new insurance administrator for Short Term Disability (STD) and a new insurance provider for Long Term Disability (LTD) will be in place for all Bus and Rail members.
Effective on and after April 1, 2016
- STD for Bus and Rail members will now be administered through Southern Benefit Administrators. LTD for Bus and Rail members will now be provided through MetLife.
- STD & LTD Bus forms, click here.
- STD & LTD Rail forms, click here.
Please Note:
- STD active claims that were filed prior to April 1: Anthem will continue to process those claims:
STD Bus forms, Anthem, click here.
STD Rail forms, Anthem, click here.
If you have additional questions, please contact your Regional Field Supervisor, here.
According to the Washington Post, Metro’s top officials warned that its transit system is in such great need of repair that entire rail lines may have to close for as long as six months. This could potentially impact thousands of daily commuters and worsen traffic congestion in the region. Read the entire article here.
The Washington Post reported that Metro’s top officials warned that its transit system is in such need of repair that entire rail lines might have to be shut down for maintenance, for as long as six months. This could potentially impact thousands of daily commuters and worsen traffic congestion in the region. Read the entire story here.