Railroad Retirement Board Labor Member John Bragg released the following statement on July 18:
John Bragg
The Office of the Labor Member is pleased to announce that our 2023 Pre-Retirement Seminar presentation is now available to view online. This program is a modification of our Informational Conferences, which we began decades ago. We designed this program to help educate those nearing retirement about the benefits available to them, and what they can expect during the application process.
This popular program has become a critical resource to RRB customers and employees alike. It helps promote a better understanding within the railroad community of our benefit programs, and in turn, improves the effectiveness of our benefit program operations.
Unfortunately, we were limited to the number of in-person seminars we could schedule this year and are pleased to be able to again offer an online version of the program. The feedback we’ve received from those who have viewed the online version of the seminar has been very positive.
Because we cover several aspects of Railroad Retirement benefits in great detail, the entire video is over an hour long. View shorter segments of the program by selecting a seminar topic on the PRS web page. Available topics include: Retired Employee and Spouse Benefits, Spouse Annuities, Working After Retirement, Survivor Benefits, and Items Affecting All Retirement and Survivor Benefits.
The success of our educational programming is made possible with your long-standing partnership. We greatly appreciate your support in promoting this valuable program.
General Chairperson Gerald Wallace (GCA-261 — Canadian Pacific, Soo Line), a stalwart leader of our union and the husband of SMART Transportation Division Auxiliary Secretary & Treasurer Denise “Niki” Wallace, died July 16 after a long, courageous fight with cancer. He was 56.
SMART TD Auxiliary Secretary-Treasurer Denise “Niki” Wallace and General Chairperson Gerald Wallace are shown in this photo by the family. Brother Wallace passed away after a battle with cancer at age 56.
Brother Wallace joined our union in 2005 and after six years of membership began a period of 12 years of leadership, first as a vice local chairperson of LCA-261A (Milwaukee Road). Starting in 2011, he began eight years as a local chairperson.
He served three years as the trustee of Local 590 (Portage, Wis.), once as the local’s alternate delegate to the UTU Convention in 2011 and then as delegate to the SMART-TD Conventions in 2014 and 2019.
Concurrently, Brother Wallace worked his way up the leadership ladder in GCA-261 as well, serving as GCA secretary, vice chairperson and acting general chairperson before becoming general chairperson in 2019.
Local 590 Legislative Representative Steve James expressed his sadness at his union brother’s passing.
“A great man can now rest and be at peace,” James said. “He became one of my best friends ever.”
Brother Wallace and Niki frequently attended union functions and were often enthusiastic participants in the regional meetings.
He is survived by his wife, his children, Dustin A. Wallace, Sierra M. Hall and Dylon T. Hall; two grandchildren; his parents; his sister; his in-laws; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends
A Celebration of Life will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 29, 2023, at Big Spring Congregational Church, 373 Golden Ct., Wisconsin Dells, with a sharing of memories at noon with Chaplain Jessica Smith officiating.
SMART Transportation Division is shocked and saddened by this loss and sends our deepest condolences to Sister Wallace, the family and friends of GC Wallace, his brothers and sisters in GCA-261 and Local 590, and all who knew him.
Brother Richard Gulley, president of Local 1590 (Anaheim, Calif.) passed away on June 29, 2023.
Brother Richard Gulley, president of Local 1590 in Anaheim, Calif., passed away June 29.
“Brother Gulley was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend,” said Bus Department Vice President Alvy Hughes. “As local president, Brother Gulley was instrumental in assembling one of our newest bus locals that represents operators and maintenance employees.
Hughes said Brother Gulley was well-respected by the members of his local and had a way of putting a smile on everyone’s face.
“He will be greatly missed,” Hughes said.
The SMART Transportation Division offers its sincere condolences to all in Local 1590 who worked in solidarity with Brother Gulley, as well as his family and his friends in this difficult time.
At the scene of a derailment, there is no substitute for the knowledge and experience of conductors as well as firefighters. In our current national climate, government and media attention are on the topic of derailments and the emergency response to them.
SMART Transportation Division needs to hear from our members who have a background in both.
Many of our members are either currently volunteer firefighters or came to the railroad from a professional firefighter background. Having been trained in both crafts and having field experience in both makes these men and women uniquely qualified to be part of this national discussion.
SMART-TD wants to provide you the bullhorn to let your voices be heard in the halls of the United States Congress as well as in the board rooms of the nation’s rail carriers.
The SMART-TD National Legislative Department is preparing a short survey to help us identify our brothers and sisters with the necessary experience in firefighting to lend their expertise to this important conversation. Please keep an eye on your email inbox and respond to this survey that will be coming out in the coming days. Our union is the largest freight rail employee union in the country, and we are in a natural position of leadership when it comes to rail policy.
Our strength comes from our members, and right now is a prime example. We need our brothers and sisters to help us lead the policy-making process that will define safety standards for all of us for generations to come.
Please consider answering the survey questions when you see them in your inbox and be the difference now that safeguards your coworkers in the future.
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division (SMART-TD) is proud to announce a Tentative Agreement (TA) has been reached with the Union Pacific Railroad that, among other things, provides paid sick leave to about 6,000 of UP’s conductors and trainmen. SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson is calling this TA a win for the quality of life for thousands of railroaders on the frontline of America’s economy today and for generations to come.
The Union Pacific general chairpersons met in the SMART-TD board room during their negotiation sessions. On the left side of table are General Chairperson Scott Chelette (GO-927), General Chairperson Joey Cornelius (GO-569) and General Chairperson Gary Crest (GO-887). On the right side are General Chairperson Roy Davis (GO-577), and General Chairperson Luke Edington (GO-953).
“Our members made it very clear in 2022 that quality-of-life issues and the ability to provide stability for their families in times of medical crisis was of the utmost importance. On-demand sick days that do not amount to discipline from their employer are a historic step in the right direction for these men and women, and I am very proud of the effort that our General Chairmen on the UP properties put in to make this happen,” Ferguson said.
“In this industry, everything is earned, and nothing is given. These five GCs worked tirelessly to get this TA done for our SMART-TD rail members. This organization listens to our members and their voices guide our mission 100% of the time. Today is a great example of us being able to impose our conductors and trainmen’s will on the carriers to bring them a better quality of life and peace of mind for their families.”
“Union Pacific has been running freight trains in this country since Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act in 1862. Today for the first time they have agreed to provide their frontline employees with the dignity of paid sick leave. It’s a proud day for our men and women.”
SMART-TD President Jeremy R. Ferguson
UP, which is the largest freight railroad in the U.S., has 45,400 employees. The TA announced will affect upwards of 5,900 conductors and trainmen.
For his part in the TA negotiation, General Chairman Roy Davis of GO-557 said: “It took a lot of hard work to get here, but in the end, it all came together. All five of the UP General Chairs stuck together in these negotiations and it paid off with this great TA.” Brother Davis also added that “It only took UP about 160 years to figure out that people get sick and that it doesn’t make sense to fire them for it!”
Brother Scott Chelette, GC of GA-927, wanted it to be highlighted that: “The three medical occurrences we negotiated for in December’s contract didn’t help our members in assigned service. With this TA, we were able to convert them into on-demand sick days available to assigned and unassigned boards alike. Now our yardmen and all our road crews can benefit from these days without UP being able to deny the requests.” Chelette also wanted it known that this win wasn’t just accomplished by himself and the other four GCs.
“This truly was a team effort. Not only were we successful in having all 5 GCs stick together in the negotiations, but our legislative team was a big part of this,” he said. “The State Legislative Directors across UP’s territory as well as Greg Hynes and Jared Cassity in the National Legislative office worked behind the scenes to get Congress and state officials to apply pressure on UP to bargain with us in good faith. When you have the legislative team working hard and the membership amplifying their message every step of the way about our quality-of-life concerns, this TA is the kind of product we can achieve as a strong labor organization.”
Brother Luke Edington GC of GO-953, said: “All told, this TA provides our members with an unprecedented 8 days of on-demand paid leave for illness and well-being. This is the kind of achievement that makes the countless hours of work we put into this union movement worthwhile. This improvement to SMART-TD frontline workers’ lives is what makes it worthwhile answering the alarm clock every day of our careers.”
General Chairman Joe Cornelius of GCA 569 said: “We put a lot of time and thought in to make sure that everyone got cut in on this deal. The TA really is a win/win for our members. If they get sick, they can take a day off and not worry about losing that day’s pay, and for the first time, they won’t have to worry about being assigned any points toward discipline. One of the perks to this agreement that we insisted on is that it isn’t a ‘use-it or lose-it’ scenario. All unused sick days can be banked up to 60 days that keep rolling. If a member accumulates more than 60 unused days, UP will cut them a check to cash out the excess days. It’s a great parachute to have a 60-day buffer when things go wrong medically.”
Brother Gary Crest, GC of GO-887, said: “This TA has been a long time coming. It took 160 years to get here, but we aren’t done yet. There’s still a lot of work left to do to bring this railroad into the 21st century, and we are determined to do it.”
“I want to thank SMART-TD leadership for their support as we work together to create an environment where employees feel valued, supported and empowered to deliver exceptional service to our customers,” said Lance Fritz, Union Pacific chairman, president and CEO. “We are committed to continued collaboration with our labor partners and employees to further identify opportunities that support our best-in-class workforce.”
Please see the attached document to see the highlights of the tentative agreement. Local chairpersons will be receiving the verbiage soon and they will be providing it to the members for review as they consider ratification of the agreement.
Registration has opened for SMART Transportation Division’s Regional Training Seminar (RTS) to take place Oct. 3 through 6, 2023, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Toledo, Ohio.
Attendee check-in begins the morning of Oct 3, and those attending should plan to arrive then. Classes and workshops kick off the morning of Oct. 4.
Attending an RTS is an exciting opportunity for local leadership and members to engage one on one with union experts to help fulfill the need for live, in-person training from local leaders closer to home.
The cost for TD members to register to attend the seminar is $50.
The RTS includes classes for local governance, roles of a local president, secretary & treasurer, legislative representatives and local chairpersons in protecting members and on the SMART Constitution, among others.
The classes are taught by national officers and other subject matter experts associated with SMART-TD.
TD President Jeremy Ferguson and other union leaders are scheduled to appear to answer membership questions. To register for the seminar, visit https://register.smart-union.org/.
The deadline to register to attend is Saturday, Sept. 30.
Please note: Attendees are responsible for making their own hotel reservations.
A room block has been reserved at the site of the meeting, the Hilton Garden Inn, 101 N. Summit St., in Toledo. The SMART TD event rate is $129 per night with the hotel reservation deadline Saturday, September 2, 2023.
SKAGWAY, Alaska (July 6, 2023) — SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD) Local 1626, which represents operating personnel for the White Pass & Yukon Route (WPYR), authorized a strike late last week. The labor union and railroad have negotiated for nearly six years and have been unable to resolve disputes on wages, healthcare, workforce reduction and safety.
A strike will affect tens of thousands of vacationers visiting Alaska during the peak summer travel period.
SMART-TD is attempting to secure wages commensurate with cost-of-living increases seen over the past six years. Since the expiration of the previous agreement in 2017, workers’ wages have not changed, making it increasingly difficult for employees to cover basic living expenses. The railroad also wants to increase healthcare costs, further reducing employees’ take-home wages.
The carrier also seeks to reduce the workforce by a third by removing the brakeman from every train, a safety-critical position for trains that routinely carry 600 passengers. While engineers operate the controls of the locomotive, brakemen and conductors work from the train cars, where they can ensure the safe passage of those aboard. They also protect the public as the train travels through the busiest parts of town. Removing the brakeman and depending entirely on conductors to perform twice the work would endanger passengers and the public. Safety is the highest concern for SMART-TD, and we refuse to endorse or agree to carrier’s proposal that puts passengers, employees, and the public at risk.
The parties engaged in a marathon round of a mediation late into each night through the holiday weekend. The three-day session failed to break the logjam and ended with SMART-TD rejecting the railroad’s offer. The future of negotiations is in limbo as the parties did not agree to a future meeting date at the conclusion of the meetings this past weekend.
SMART-TD Vice President Brent Leonard, who joined the negotiations in the spring of 2023 and participated in the negotiations through the holiday weekend, stated: “I’m very proud of the resolve and commitment of the Local 1626 negotiating team. Six years is far too long for these families to go without normal raises, particularly when the costs of living have risen so sharply. Many of these men and women leave their homes and families for several months of the year in order to work for this railroad. They are dedicated employees who deserve a fair recognition of their work from their employer. SMART-TD is committed to whatever is necessary to achieve a fair resolution for these men & women and their families.”
Contract negotiations are in mediation in accordance with the Railway Labor Act. If SMART-TD and WPYR cannot resolve the dispute, they can be released from mediation and offered arbitration. If both parties do not agree to arbitration, a 30-day cooling-off period will occur after which a strike could occur. If a strike was to occur, complete carrier shutdown would happen. No trains would operate, and cruise ship passengers would be left without transport.
The SMART Transportation Division and Local 610 out of Baltimore are mourning the loss of a fallen brother who had his life and career ahead of him.
Derek Scott “D.S.” Little, a trainee due to join SMART-TD Local 610, was killed in a rail accident June 26.
Derek Scott “D.S.” Little, 28, was days away from marking up for the first time as a certified conductor with CSX and was slated to begin his career as a SMART-TD member on July 1st. Engaged to be married, he was two weeks away from the due date for his first child.
Derek was at a point in his life when everything was coming together perfectly. Tragically, it was all taken away from him the evening of June 26th while working at Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore.
Brother Little was involved in an accident while riding on equipment. He didn’t survive to see the birth of his son Logan Matthew Little, or to be married to his fiancée, Kaytee Burns. Well-liked in the crew room, he had a promising career ahead of him in Local 610. More importantly, as his obituary states, “Derek was a kindhearted, goofy, lovable young man who never missed a chance to make you laugh. He loved his family and friends and was looking forward to being a dad.” Beyond his love for his family, he also enjoyed learning about Civil War history and playing golf.
Railroaders know the financial significance of Derek having passed away four days before being marked up, and the financial significance to his fiancée and mother of his unborn son that comes with the fact that he passed away prior to them being married. His family will not receive the same level of support from the carrier and the insurance companies as they would have under different circumstances.
For that reason, SMART-TD is asking all who can to close ranks around this young railroad family in their worst moment and show what it means to be part of this union.
The potential for a work stoppage on the White Pass & Yukon (WP&Y) Route, a tourist railroad that operates between Alaska and Canada, has drawn the attention of media in Alaska as the results of a strike authorization vote are awaited.
SMART Transportation Division members in Local 1626 who work for the carrier and General Chairperson Jason Guiler have been negotiating a new contract with WP&Y since November 2017.
Union members want wages that keep pace with the inflation-fueled increases in the cost of living as well as retroactive pay for the nearly six-year period that the contract has been stagnant.
Meanwhile, the carrier is seeking to hike healthcare costs for its workers and to eliminate the brakeman position, thus reducing its workforce by one third and giving the conductor double the duties.
“Safety is the highest concern for SMART-TD, and we refuse to endorse or agree to the carrier’s proposal that puts passengers, employees and the public at risk,” Guiler said.
The ongoing strike vote has drawn the attention of regional media outlets in the area. Both KHNS and KTOO have reported on the potential of a work stoppage. Results are of the authorization vote are expected on Friday.
WP&Y is the largest private employer in Skagway, with a population of close to 1,200 people in southeast Alaska. The carrier is owned by an investment group that includes the Carnival Corp. cruise line.
June 26, 2023, was the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) deadline for the public to respond to their Notice of Public Rule Making (NPRM) on forming new Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASPs.)
FTA requested public comments on how to keep bus operators safe on the job, and as a union SMART Transportation Division answered the bell.
The National Legislative Department would like to thank all of our bus members for their time, efforts, and the quality of the ideas shared while we were putting together our response. SMART-TD reached out to you, and you answered. We truly are an organization that can only be as strong as our members and your assistance was highly appreciated.
As a result of the feedback we received from multiple bus members, Bus Vice Presidents Calvin Studivant and Alvy Hughes, as well as Anthony Petty, representing our members from SEPTA in Philadelphia, Pa., SMART-TD’s team submitted a strong response.
Unlike many responses they received, ours was fueled by information and creativity that came straight from the front lines.
Thank you all for your efforts to keep yourself as well as your union brothers and sisters safe at work and both represented as well as respected in the PTASP development process.
