Local 1594: Our brothers and sisters working on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) recently won a new level of job security.
SEPTA is the only property where SMART-TD members operate commuter rail, bus, and trollies. These three classifications have different job duties, each with unique challenges. Unfortunately, our men and women working for SEPTA could be reassigned to any of the three crafts without a say in the matter.
If they didn’t pass the tests after being trained for a new job, the employee got fired. Even if you were a great employee for two years in the bus department, if you didn’t pass the exam after training to operate rail or a trolley, you got let go.
There is no justice in this practice. Until now, General Chairperson Anthony Petty of Local 1594, which represents our SEPTA members, set out to change this.
GC Petty and Bus Department Vice President James Sandoval were aware that the contract was not under negotiation, but they were determined to change the policy. They refused to let this problem fester until the following contract was hashed out, and neither wanted to tie the outcome of this request to the conditions of a larger negotiation.
They took the fight directly to SEPTA as a stand-alone issue and got the win they were after! SEPTA sent GC Petty a formal side letter on March 18 informing him that language had been added to Local 1594’s contract stating that any employee outside of their initial training who “fails the rail portion of training will be permitted to transfer to bus operations.”
This might sound minor, but this is a victory for our Bus Department that will directly preserve our men and women’s careers. Our SEPTA bus operators now have a safety net ready to catch them when their boss orders them to learn how to be railroaders in the middle of their careers as bus operators. Now there’s a safety net courtesy of Brothers Sandoval, Petty and the amazing team at Local 1594.
SMART-TD honors the work, creativity, and persistence demonstrated by our officers in solving this problem for their fellow members. If your manager introduces a policy that seems unjust or threatens the security of your livelihood contact your local union officers. Together we can reverse unfair decisions and defend your right to a just and secure workplace.
Working on the railroad is a very accurate metaphor for life. Nothing is predictable; everything is earned rather than given. When something breaks down, it’s on each of us to fix it by ourselves, no matter what.
The way we feel walking a train in the middle of nowhere at 3 a.m., two miles from the head end, armed with nothing but a lantern, is similar to the way we feel when we realize that our streak broke in the hotel. We aren’t going to be off for the 48 hours we thought we were. Those plans we had with our family are in jeopardy — we won’t get to our kid’s concert or wrestling match like we promised without a miracle.
We feel alone.
In these moments, we need to remember that we are not alone. Much like a wrestler standing on the mat facing down an opponent, we might be by ourselves, but we have a team supporting us. Railroaders are alone on the job, but we are alone together. This is the foundation of our union.
When you walk that train in the 3 a.m. darkness, your lantern is with you. You can use your lantern to get the information you need to do your job well, like to see car numbers in the pitch-black darkness or shed light on a mechanical issue. It is invaluable in keeping you safe by lighting the way when you are trying not to step in the wrong place and fall down an embankment into an icy creek. Sometimes, your lantern proves to be a serviceable tool when you have a stuck handbrake on an auto rack and you need to extend your reach. When it really hits the fan, that lantern is the only weapon you have to fight off coyotes or transients.
SMART-TD is also with you to light your path, extend your reach, and help ward off harm. Carry your union, and your union will carry you. Our union provides educational tools through regional training and SMART University. The support staff provides the information we need to be successful in our railroad careers. Our local chairs are there with us during investigations, ensuring we don’t say the wrong thing and go sliding down the ballast into that icy creek of discipline points and lost wages.
When there is a problem with local managers, our general committees and chairs extend our reach. They smack down contract violations or unfair disciplinary actions, just like our lanterns smack that stuck brake in just the right spot to let the slack come out of the chain.
When the railroads send their lawyers and lobbyists to claw back our benefits or jeopardize our careers, the international becomes that lantern we swing and hit them right between the eyes.
Much like our lanterns, this union cannot run without energy. Our lanterns are at their best when we are vigilant about making sure the battery is charged. It’s no help if, in the darkness, you don’t hit that button to turn it on. SMART-TD is ready to be of service. If we don’t turn it on, don’t know how it can be used, or forget to bring it with us, it won’t do any good. With the “walking conditions” we are all faced with right now, our lantern is more important to us than ever.
We all get busy and sometimes forget to keep our lanterns charged. I haven’t been to as many local meetings as I should have. I haven’t reread my contract for way too long. That’s on me. The union has always been there for me when I needed it, and I’m going to do the same for SMART-TD.
If you’ve been distant and haven’t checked in lately, please reengage and start coming to local meetings. Get comfortable knowing the ins and outs of our agreement, so these railroads can’t take advantage of us or our families. Find a SMART-TD Regional Training Seminar to attend that sharpens your skills and adds a few watts to that lantern in your hand. Get the energy flowing and report when things concerning safety or technology aren’t right and file claims if management is abusing your time.
As far as keeping the battery charged, now is a great time to consider becoming a contributor to SMART-TD’s Political Action Committee. If you think the progress we’ve made in 2PC and elsewhere isn’t a direct result of the efforts by SMART-TD’s state and national legislative efforts funded by PAC, you are lying to yourself. But just like your lantern after a 12-hour shift, SMART-TD PAC’s battery is running low after this fight.
So please take a few minutes to jump on the SMART app or talk to your local officers to get signed up for PAC. We all know the railroads well enough to say that the 2PC fight isn’t over. They always have another trick up their sleeve. For now, the train is back together, and the air is getting to the rear, but we’re all qualified on this territory. We know the recrew hasn’t been ordered. We know we’re going to have to put this pig away when we get it to the other end. It’s time to break out that extra battery for that lantern because there is still work to be done.
Time is running out for Transportation Division local leaders and members to take advantage of reduced registration fees for the 2024 National Training Seminar (NTS). The registration fee for the NTS, scheduled from July 9 to July 11, 2024, at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown in Cleveland, Ohio, will increase from the “early bird” rate of $200 per person to $250 per person on May 1.
Important Topics and Agenda
Educational sessions will cover critical topics such as the new Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), bus and transit worker assault prevention, rail safety, and transportation cyber threats. Sessions will also focus on leadership at the local level, with specialized courses for chairpersons, secretaries, treasurers, and presidents. A full agenda is now available on the SMART app. Download the app here.
Group Events
A welcome reception is planned for the evening of Monday, July 8, followed by full-day training on Tuesday, July 9, through Wednesday, July 10. The event will conclude with a half-day of training on Thursday, July 11. A group event is scheduled at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for all registered attendees on the evening of Wednesday, July 10th.
Note: The Local Secretary & Treasurer training will conclude on the afternoon of Friday, July 12.
Registration and Cancellation
The registration fee will increase to $250 on May 1, and onsite registration will be $290 to cover last-minute additional costs associated with meeting planning. Children 11 and under are complimentary. You may cancel your meeting registration up to 5 days before the first day of the meetings without penalty.
April 30th update: The Hilton room block has reached capacity. Additional lodging options are being arranged by the union at nearby hotels. Details will follow.
Stay Updated
Additional details will be updated on the SMART website and SMART app as they become available.
SMART Transportation Division’s Indiana State Legislative Board’s Executive Committee announced this week that it has unanimously voted to support U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s run for governor in Indiana. This is no surprise to railroaders, who have followed Braun’s advocacy for our issues in Washington.
SMART-TD has endorsed U.S. Sen. Mike Braun in the Indiana governor’s race.
Sen. Mike Braun stands with us. He has proven this through his actions, not just his words. Now is our opportunity to stand with him. Braun has proven himself worthy of SMART-TD’s support in Indiana’s primary election May 7, as well as in the general election this November. Please consider giving his campaign your personal support as well.
Braun stood up for us. He pushed for us to get the dignity of paid sick leave before the press had made it a national issue and before any of the carriers had begun to consider it as an option. He and Sanders made our sick leave a national issue, and less than two years later, 86% of us now work under agreements that include the paid sick days Sen. Braun envisioned.
As if that were not enough reason for this union and all of rail labor to rally around him, Sen. Braun also co-sponsored the Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act and the Railway Safety Act, which seeks to codify two-person crews into federal law and provide us with many other common-sense safety initiatives, like regulating defect detectors and limiting train length.
“The decision to endorse Mike Braun for governor was an easy one to make. It is based on one of our core values — we support those who support us! Mike Braun is a consistent supporter of rail safety and rail workers. We look forward to joining with Mike Braun in 2025 to continue the work of strengthening rail safety here in Indiana at the state capitol.” — Indiana SLD K.O. Edwards
In his official endorsement, SMART-TD Indiana State Legislative Director Kenny Edwards said: “The decision to endorse Mike Braun for governor was an easy one to make. It is based on one of our core values — we support those who support us! Mike Braun is a consistent supporter of rail safety and rail workers. We look forward to joining with Mike Braun in 2025 to continue the work of strengthening rail safety here in Indiana at the state capitol.”
Phone: (216) 228-9400 Department email: news_td@smart-union.org
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (April 10, 2024) — President Jeremy Ferguson of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers’ Transportation Division (SMART-TD) released the following statement in response to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) final rule on a National Public Transportation Safety Plan and the formation of Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASPs).
“SMART-TD has been calling for federal action to protect our bus and transit members for years. Today, we have been given action, rather than promises and further studies to determine what our men and women know too well. Assault in public transportation is an epidemic that is only getting worse, and they need protection! I applaud DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the FTA, and the Biden administration for having the courage to act to contend with this situation rather than delay.”
“When the notice of proposed rule making for these PTASPs was introduced, this organization wasn’t happy with what we saw. SMART-TD and Bus Department Vice Presidents Alvy Hughes, Calvin Studivant and then-Alternate Vice President James Sandoval rolled up our sleeves and dedicated ourselves to making the voices of our bus and transit members heard. Our union is proud to announce today that they were.”
“The final rule out last night reflected and addressed many concerns we’d expressed in our public comments on this matter and what our National Legislative Department, our Bus Department, and our Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) committee wanted fixed. Most importantly, our men and women will have seats at the table, making decisions on safety measures being taken at their respective workplaces. They will have a level playing field. Employers or managers will not be able to dominate on matters of safety, and if their bosses don’t follow through on the plans our members help form, FTA will step in and enforce them or take away their federal funding!”
Bus Department Vice President Alvy Hughes commented: “When Calvin (retired SMART-TD Bus Vice President Studivant) and I started working on this, the formation and the fairness of these committees was a major concern of ours. I’m pleased to see this issue has been addressed. Now, we need SMART-TD members to step up into leadership roles on these safety committees. It is up to our members to be willing to get on these committees and go head-to-head with the managers to fight for the protections we all deserve of the job.”
“SMART-TD leadership has done the job of making sure the playing field is level on these property-specific safety committees. Our members need to get involved and take up the fight — to bring their frontline experience to the negotiating table and make sure they advocate for every safety feature and every ounce of security and respect our members earn, day in and day out.”
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If you’re interested in speaking more about FTA’s decision, we’d be happy to connect you with:
President Jeremy Ferguson, a member of Local 313 in Grand Rapids, Mich., was elected president of SMART’s Transportation Division in 2019.
President Ferguson, an Army veteran, started railroading in 1994 as a conductor on CSX at Grand Rapids, Mich., and was promoted to engineer in 1995. Ferguson headed the recent national rail negotiations for the Union with the nation’s rail carriers.
Vice President Hughes, a member of Local 1596 out of Charlotte, N.C., began his career in transportation with the Charlotte Area Transportation System in 1999 and has been a SMART-TD member ever since. Hughes was an Alternate Vice President at SMART-TD from 2014 through 2019, when he was elevated to his current role as Vice President.
VP Sandoval has been a bus operator at the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District for more than a decade. Brother Sandoval has been intensely engaged with labor efforts after joining SMART-TD as a member of Local 23 in Santa Cruz, first as a local officer and then at a national level.
In August 2022, he became alternate vice president of the Bus Department serving the western portion of the nation. On Oct. 1, 2023, he was elevated to the position of Bus Department vice president.
Local 1701: There are very few moments in someone’s career when the power of a union comes into play more than when they have been targeted and fired as a result of private, union-protected conversations about a pending contract.
This is exactly what happened to 27 bus operators and mechanics out of Local 1701 in Montebello, California, this year. With a bus department made up of roughly 100 operators, service workers and mechanics combined, the city of Montebello has so far failed to negotiate a new contract with SMART-TD. Because of this, our members in Local 1701 have been working without a contract since December 21, 2021.
UNION-BUSTING INTERROGATIONS
Obviously, this is a cause of concern for all our brothers and sisters on the property. Our members have been discussing the matter among themselves at local meetings and have been reaching out to their local officers. In early 2023, the city of Montebello, nervous about what was being said, resorted to an old-school union-busting technique straight from the 1800s and brought in private investigators to aggressively interview many of Local 1701’s members.
After allowing five months or more to go by, they brought the investigators back to the property to re-interview the same men and women they had harassed last fall. They interrogated our members with the same questions as the first round, and if any of their answers didn’t match up exactly, they put them on administrative leave pending termination for dishonesty and insubordination.
SMART MEMBERS PUT ON LEAVE, PENDING TERMINATION
All in all, TWENTY-SEVEN of our brothers and sisters were put on administrative leave, and not coincidentally, they outright terminated Betty Vasquez, who is the local chairperson and vice general committee chair, along with placing General Chairperson Cecilia Lopez on administrative leave and serving her with intent-to-terminate paperwork.
All this was put in place as they and SMART-TD Vice President Alvy Hughes were fighting the city to get a fair contract that Montebello officials weren’t willing to sign.
SMART-TD FILES CHARGES, CONFRONTS CITY
When VP Hughes found out about Montebello’s blatant bullying and illegal tactics, he didn’t hesitate to get the TD office involved. VP Hughes filed an unfair labor practice charge against the city and assigned recently elevated fellow SMART-TD Bus Department Vice President James Sandoval to go to Montebello to represent and defend the members who were being interrogated by the private investigator and the city.
Once on the ground, Sandoval got into the details of the interviews and intimidation the city was using, and he also filed a separate unfair labor practice charge against Montebello, which stopped the interviews from continuing. General Chairperson Lopez and Vice Chairperson Vasquez, who have remained heavily involved in this fight even while facing their terminations, filed three additional charges of their own.
All told, SMART-TD officials levied five charges of unfair labor practices against the city and its leadership. In addition, they filed multiple information requests and reached out to many local politicians as well as the local labor council in Los Angeles for help.
VP Sandoval took one of the charges to a Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) hearing, which resulted in a settlement agreement where the city agreed to not violate our members’ right to protected activity moving forward.
27 members are reinstated and contract negotiations resume, marking another victory for SMART-TD.
ALL CHARGES DROPPED
Apparently, the points made in these charges hit home with the city. After SMART-TD’s show of support for Local 1701, they dropped the ridiculous charges on all 27 of our members and brought them all back to work. For the record, all were paid for the time they were out on the bogus charges. The city also requested a meeting with our union to settle the rest of the unfair labor practice charges, which resulted in a larger settlement agreement.
ALL WE WANT IS A FAIR CONTRACT
SMART-TD is grateful for the hard work and persistence of the men and women of Local 1701. We are beyond excited that everyone came back and nobody lost pay. But there is work left to be done. These 27 members and all their co-workers are still working with no contract!
These men and women were on the front lines, pulling the city through the COVID-19 pandemic. They continue to move their local economy despite the ongoing surge of violent assaults on public transit.
It is not acceptable that they bear this burden without the respect and peace of mind that comes with a ratified contract.
OUR WORK CONTINUES
After the city was forced to do the right thing by our people and brought them back to work, they may have thought they were done hearing from SMART-TD for a while. THEY WERE WRONG.
At a recent Montebello City Council meeting, Local 1701 had a great show of force when many of their members came together at City Hall to demand good-faith negotiation of their contract. Joining them in their demonstration was VP Sandoval, as well as SMART-TD Bus Department Alternate Vice President of the Bus Department Markeisha Hayes.
Local 1701 has stood together throughout this multi-year ordeal, and absolutely nothing has or will change that. If Montebello wants SMART-TD to back off and stop stepping to the microphone in their boardroom, they need to negotiate a fair contract that reflects the hard work our members of Local 1701 have put in and give them the respect they deserve.
SMART-TD’s office thanks our members in Local 1701, especially GC Lopez and Vice Chairperson Vasquez, for continuing this fight. We want you to know that we are with you for the long haul. Keep standing up for this union, and most importantly, keep standing up for one another. Together, we will prevail.
Railroad history was made the first week of April 2024. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a final rule stating that freight trains in this country cannot be safely run with fewer than two certified railroaders in a locomotive cab.
History could not have been made without you. SMART-TD has been leading this fight for more than two decades. The FRA received over 13,000 public comments on this rule. Only 64 of those were against it. That is an amazing, concerted effort on the part of our members and allies that shows the power of solidarity. YOU beat the railroad executives and their deep pockets. It wasn’t even close.
The rule was announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose on behalf of the Biden administration. SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson then spoke of the efforts of rail families, concerned members of the public and, most importantly, the experiences of our union members inside the rail cab.
The quality of what you wrote, not just the raw number of responses, is what truly moved the needle. Your personal experiences opened the eyes of the FRA to the lives that were saved and the potential disasters averted by the presence of a second person in the cab. Your experiences could not be denied. Thank you, from your union brothers and sisters, and on behalf of every American who lives, works or plays near a set of tracks.
We also would like to thank Wes Ekstedt, out of Local 445 in Galesburg, Illinois, who formed the “Fight For 2-Person Crews” Facebook page and website. Justin Wolters, from Local 1381 and general chairperson of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, and Nick Greficz, local chairperson from Local 278, were among the leaders of a page called “We the Union” that helped coalesce union efforts.
These leaders never missed an opportunity to advocate to the public and protect safety. They helped create a movement.
It is no secret that the 2PC effort helped unite all 12 rail labor organizations under the umbrella of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. The message was also echoed by our friends in other labor unions outside of the rail industry. The rule announcement was introduced by David Hoagland, President of the District of Columbia Fire Fighters Association. Experienced first responders know who to rely on when there is a rail-related accident. The International Association of Fire Fighters strongly advocated for this ruling, and we express gratitude for their assistance.
Thanks also to The National League of Cities who provided unwavering support and advocacy for safe rail operations in our country.
It would be remiss not to thank the state legislative directors in every state who have pushed for 2PC legislation. As we all know and have celebrated, 12 states achieved the governor’s signature on legislation or had regulations on minimum crew size on the books before the FRA’s historic announcement. Unquestionably, whether a bill passed or not, the efforts made in the state houses were instrumental in the national push. Every time one of our SLDs presented legislation on the matter, it created public discussion and awareness of the critical role conductors play in protecting their communities. For all the state directors who fought the good fight for rail safety, we thank you and congratulate you on winning the war.
All in all, there are too many people to thank to have any hope of mentioning everyone. Our union is stronger than ever, the community we have built around us is active and engaged, and together we put the rail bosses on notice. We are watching, and we will use our collective strength to protect public and worker safety however inconvenient that becomes for the profit-at-all-cost railroads and their owners.
We thank all of our members and advocates for everything they did to bring the fight this far. Your efforts have been seen, and we have seen the results, but there is work left to do. Every new administration brings the risk of new regulations. We need to protect the progress that we have made. Now that the FRA’s 2PC rule is a reality it is time to focus on passing the Railway Safety Act.
“I would like to start off by saying that this decision by President Biden’s administration is historic for SMART-TD members and all rail labor. Today’s ruling codifying the two-person freight crew not only demonstrates this administration’s dedication to the safety of this country and our workforce, but it also shows their respect and acknowledgment of our men and women and the work they do. They see our value to this nation’s economy and security. Every railroad professional should take pride in this accomplishment and recognition. We are too often undervalued. Today is a day we should all remember. When this rule came open for public comments, SMART members stood up and spoke with over 13,000 responses to the FRA. Today, we all celebrate the result and the essential proof of the value of the labor of the people aboard the nation’s freight trains. This effort defines what it is to be a union and the power of workers to stand as one. We did it together as a SMART-TD family, and I am unbelievably proud to be the president of this union in what is a defining moment for our industry where safety finally and deservedly came first.”
— SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (April 2, 2024) — After a multi-year effort by SMART-TD members and leadership, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced today that there will be a minimum of TWO certified rail crew members assigned to the cab of freight trains in the nation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) ruling on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) finally puts safety first for our industry. With this action, President Joe Biden’s Department of Transportation (DOT) delivered on a promise made in 2020, which supports our ongoing struggle to force railroads to responsibly operate their trains.
SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson speaks during the announcement of the FRA’s two-person crew regulation on April 2.
Today’s announcement solidifies the role of freight conductors in this country. It comes after a long fight between SMART-TD and the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the railroad companies it represents and the hedge fund operators who own many of the nation’s railroads. SMART’s members participated by sending 13,000 comments to the FRA on the regulation. TD President Jeremy Ferguson and our union’s national and state legislative officers relentlessly pushed lawmakers and government officials to understand the safety ramifications of a nation with single-person freight train crews. President Ferguson attended and testified at the FRA’s public hearing on this regulation in December 2022 and delivered 20 minutes of firsthand accounts to FRA officials demanding they take this step to protect the country from the railroad companies’ greed.
Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose speaks as SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg listen in Washington D.C. on April 2.
National Legislative Director Greg Hynes and Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity orchestrated outreach to every state in the U.S., mobilizing our members to stand up and take part in the public comment period, resulting in our record-setting number of submissions.
Cassity had this to say: “It is no secret that the railroads in this country have been relentlessly pursuing a way to cut our rail crews down to one person. They have poured millions of dollars into pursuing technology that allows them to do this. These corporations are open with the fact they see more value in the trajectory of their stock prices than the safety of this country or the well-being of the conductors and engineers who are the bedrock of our economy. This fight raged for years and, as a union family, we stood toe to toe with the railroads. I want to thank our members for staying engaged in this fight.”
The announcement of this new regulation comes as a relief to all rail workers and to all concerned with rail safety in America. SMART-TD National Legislative Director Greg Hynes gives credit for this win to the collective effort of railroad workers and the state legislative committees throughout SMART’s organization.
“This announcement didn’t come out of thin air. It came from the hard work and dedication of SMART-TD’s men and women!” Hynes said. “Two-person crew regulations have been discussed for years through multiple presidencies and even more sessions of Congress. The men and women of this union have never relented or allowed this issue to get pushed to the side. Our state legislative directors have taken up this fight state after state. Our members have made their voices heard from coast to coast on this issue. Today we reach a place where our vigilance and persistence have paid off. This administration got it done.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announces FRA’s two-person crew ruling on April 2 in Washington, D.C.
The regulation, often mired in partisan struggles, was not a certainty. SMART-TD state legislative committees worked relentlessly to get a dozen states to set a minimum crew size. Our work would continue should the regulation change under a future administration.
Cassity continues, “We have every right to celebrate today’s ruling from the Biden administration, but we cannot for one second think this fight is over. We must stay informed, involved, and on offense. These railroads aren’t used to losing. They will come out swinging to argue against the reality that our people matter, and we have got to be ready for it. SMART-TD remains vigilant, and we ask you to continue to stand with us.”
Attendees at the announcement of the two-person crew freight regulation take a group photo April 2, 2024.
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If you’re interested in speaking more about the ruling on two-person freight rail crews, we’d be happy to connect you with:
SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson
President Jeremy Ferguson, a member of Local 313 in Grand Rapids, Mich., was elected president of SMART’s Transportation Division in 2019.
President Ferguson, an Army veteran, started railroading in 1994 as a conductor on CSX at Grand Rapids, Mich., and was promoted to engineer in 1995. Ferguson headed the 2019 national rail negotiations for the union.
SMART Transportation Division National Legislative Director Gregory Hynes
Greg Hynes is a fifth-generation railroader and was elected national legislative director in 2019.
Hynes served on the SMART Transportation Division National Safety Team that assists the National Transportation Safety Board with accident investigations, from 2007-2014.
In 2014, he was appointed to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), which develops new railroad regulatory standards.
Hynes was appointed the first chairperson of the United Transportation Union’s Rail Safety Task Force in 2009 and served in that capacity until being elected SMART Transportation Division alternate national legislative director at the Transportation Division’s 2014 convention.
SMART Transportation Division Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity
Jared Cassity, a member of Local 1377 (Russell, Ky.), was elected to the office of alternate national legislative director at the Second SMART Transportation Division Convention in August 2019 and became director of the union’s National Safety Team in June 2021.
Cassity started his railroad career with CSX in September 2005 and was promoted to engineer in 2008.
In addition to his elected roles, he has been a member of the National Safety Team since 2014, where he was subsequently elected to the position of Alternate Director (East) for the NST in 2016. Likewise, he was elected by his fellow peers of state directors to serve as the directors’ representative on the CSX Safety Model Executive Board in 2013.
Last week’s hijacking of a Los Angeles County MTA bus reinforces the SMART Transportation Division’s demands that bus and transit carriers from coast-to-coast speed up efforts to protect their workers.
“I would say everything is on the table right now,” SMART-TD Vice President James Sandoval told KTLA while discussing the incident. “We need to try every single thing we can to make it safer.”
One of our union brothers was hurt in the March 21 incident, where he was held at gunpoint. The incident also led to at least one bystander being injured and the bus crashing into the Ritz-Carlton Hotel downtown. While he has been treated and released, our member’s experience has put him through physical and mental trauma. adds him to the list of recent victims of senseless violence while using our nation’s transit systems.
SMART-TD is closely monitoring the situation throughout the country and has formed a group to propose practical safety measures. The union will call for the adoption of their recommendations nationwide.
Independence, Ohio (March 25, 2024) — The union representing the transit operator involved in the Los Angeles bus hijacking demands immediate measures to protect their men and women, and the people they transport, from violence. The LACMTA incident, which hospitalized a union member, is the latest in a long series of incidents that expose the urgent need for our nation to rethink and prioritize the safety of public transit employees.
The Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) represents bus and transit agencies from coast to coast. Late Wednesday, March 20, a man pulled a weapon on our member. He forced the bus operator to ignore traffic lights and oncoming vehicles. The result of the hijacker’s actions included injuries to the driver of another vehicle and the bus slamming into and damaging the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Thankfully, our member was treated and released from a local hospital, and no one was killed.
“This is unacceptable. SMART-TD and I, personally, have been told repeatedly that our bus operators’ lives matter. We have been shown plans to form safety committees on bus properties, and directives straight from the Oval Office have demanded the Federal Transit Administration safeguard these men and women,” SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson said. “Our members are on the ground getting guns in their faces and putting their lives on the line. The time to ‘plan’ has long passed. We know what these professionals need, and that list is publicly available to the FTA and every bus and transit agency CEO and board. Employers must act now to protect their workers.”
In recent weeks, in addition to the Los Angeles incident, violence has been perpetuated on transportation workers serving SEPTA in Philadelphia, the New York City MTA and elsewhere.
FTA has solicited suggestions and opinions from SMART-TD and other labor organizations multiple times to prevent these nightmarish scenarios. SMART-TD has called for:
Providing operators with full enclosure in bullet-proof, glare-resistant glass.
Armed police or security officers on these buses.
Felony-level charges and punishments with a long, nonnegotiable jail sentence to anyone who assaults bus operators or transit workers.
Making fare payments and monetary transactions cashless and not incumbent on the bus operator.
Giving the bus operator an emergency exit on the left side of the bus.
Providing drivers with silent alarms allowing them to alert police of live shooters.
“Our position has always been consistent. We are facing a national epidemic of bus and transit assaults, and the only way we can address it is through immediate action by transportation agencies on these common-sense measures insisted upon by SMART-TD and the Biden/Harris administration,” President Ferguson said. “Our drivers should never have to worry about a physical confrontation over control of their steering wheel, as happened in the Los Angeles incident.
“These requests are non-negotiable, nor are they property-specific. They need to be universal and federally mandated. They need to happen NOW,” Ferguson said.
“As the president of this union, I’m entrusted to protect the well-being of our members. My options are limited. If the workplace this nation’s transit agencies provide is not safe, the one thing I can do is call for a safety standdown on all SMART-TD bus properties. A decision to keep our operators home is not one I take lightly, but neither is calling the mother, father, child, or spouse of one of my members to inform them their loved one was the victim of a violent incident that was preventable with simple safety measures. SMART-TD will not allow our brothers and sisters to work in what we know are unsafe circumstances.”
“If the leaders in the public transportation sector of this nation refuse or prove incapable of protecting our men and women, in the wake of what we saw in Los Angeles, make no mistake. This union will.”
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If you’re interested in speaking more about transit worker safety, and the changes SMART-TD is calling for, we’d be happy to connect you with:
SMART Transportation Division President, Jeremy Ferguson
President Jeremy Ferguson, a member of Local 313 in Grand Rapids, Mich., was elected president of SMART’s Transportation Division in 2019. Ferguson, an Army veteran, started railroading in 1994 as a conductor on CSX at Grand Rapids, Mich., and was promoted to engineer in 1995. Ferguson headed the 2019 national rail negotiations for the union.
SMART Transportation Division Bus Department Sr. Vice President, Alvy Hughes
Vice President Hughes, a member of Local 1596 out of Charlotte, N.C., began his career in transportation with the Charlotte Area Transportation System in 1999 and has been a SMART-TD member ever since. Hughes was an Alternate Vice President at SMART-TD from 2014 through 2019, when he was elevated to his current role as Vice President.
SMART Transportation Division Bus Department Vice President, James Sandoval
Vice President Sandoval began his career as a bus operator at the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District for more than a decade. He assumed his first officer roles as general chairperson of GCA-SCM, alternate legislative representative, and local chairperson of LCA-SCM in January 2019. In February 2022, he assumed the position of Local 23’s legislative representative. In August 2022, Sandoval became alternate vice president of the Bus Department, serving the western portion of the nation. On Oct. 1, 2023, he was elevated to the position of TD Bus Department vice president.
