A suspected robber who attacked an on-duty Metra conductor at Van Buren station in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon was taken into custody Wednesday by Metra police in Calumet City, the carrier reports.
Police said the robber brandished a handgun and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the SMART Transportation Division member. Video surveillance captured images of the suspect and he was arrested hours after the incident with charges pending.
Illinois State Legislative Director Bob Guy says that the incident “saddened and infuriated” him and that the crime should be dealt with using the fullest extent of the law.
“We are very happy there wasn’t a more tragic outcome,” Guy said. “Thanks again for the work of everyone involved in the arrest of this offender, but work remains to be done to protect workers and passengers alike from individuals who seek to harm or cause chaos on board trains, and we stand ready to assist in any way we can.”
He urged Metra leadership to take a strong stance in ensuring the safety of passengers and workers alike. One such solution, in addition to prosecution by police, would be a lifetime prohibition for the perpetrator from using Metra, Guy said.
SMART Transportation Division member Jeff Jones of Local 202 (Denver, Colo.) passed away on Feb. 9, 2022, after a switching accident in Globeville rail yard in Denver.
Jones
Brother Jones, of Northglenn, Colo., was a member of our union for more than a decade, joining in August 2011, and worked as a conductor for BNSF. In addition to Local 202, he previously was a member of Locals 945 (La Junta, Colo.) and 113 (Winslow, Ariz.).
Services for Brother Jones will take place March 5 at Heritage Arrowhead Funeral Center, 7545 W. Rose Garden Lane in Glendale, Ariz., with visitation at 2 p.m. and funeral at 3. KN95 masks will be provided.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and SMART-TD National Safety Team both are investigating the circumstances of the accident that claimed Brother Jones’ life.
Brother Jones was the second TD rail member who has lost their life while in service this year.
On Jan. 15, Emily Anne Herrera (nee Purcell), 26, a Local 262 (Boston, Mass.) member and an Amtrak conductor, passed away after falling at Westerly Station in Rhode Island.
She is survived by her husband, Christopher, a member of Local 1462 in Boston who also is an Amtrak conductor; two stepsons, Chris and Noah Herrera; and two daughters-in-law, Brenda and Arianna.
Her death also is being investigated by the NTSB.
SMART Transportation Division expresses its sincere condolences to the families and friends of both Brother Jones and Sister Herrera as well as their brothers and sisters in Locals 202 and 262.
A member of Local 1715 (Charlotte, N.C.) lost his life over the weekend in a senseless act of gun violence after he was shot Friday while operating his bus in Charlotte, N.C.
Rivera
Ethan Rivera, 41, a member of our union since May 2021, died Saturday while being treated at a Charlotte hospital. Police continue to investigate the homicide, which happened on West Trade Street near South Graham Street around 9:35 p.m., according to media reports.
Rivera had four passengers aboard his Charlotte Area Transit System bus when shots came from an SUV, police said. Rivera was hit by the gunfire, and he was taken to a hospital for treatment. No injuries to passengers were mentioned in media reports about the incident, and police continue to investigate the crime.
“Ethan was a native New Yorker who grew up in Brooklyn. When he came to work for Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), co-workers bonded immediately to his good spirit,” said General Chairperson Joseph Paglia (GCA-TMD). “Ethan was well-liked and respected and you could not find anyone to say a negative word about him.
“He was a fun-loving man who always had a smile on his face. Ethan Rivera will be sorely missed and never forgotten. Rest in peace our friend and brother.”
“This is an absolutely heartbreaking situation that we are struggling to understand,” Bus Department Vice President Alvy Hughes said. “No one should have to deal with violence while trying to make a living doing their job. My heart and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time, and we mourn with all who knew Brother Rivera.
“He will be missed, and we hope and pray that police are able to quickly bring the perpetrators of this absolutely inexplicable crime to justice to bring solace to both his family and to his union brothers and sisters.”
SMART Transportation Division offers its sincere condolences to Brother Rivera’s family, his friends, Local 1715 and all who knew him.
This article will be updated as additional information is received.
The Federal Railroad Administration is asking T&E rail members of the SMART Transportation Division to participate in a wide-reaching survey of T&E personnel on the topic of fatigue.
“It’s an opportunity to provide any feedback about fatigue, work schedules and work/life balance,” FRA officials said.
Topics include typical work schedules over a period of days, weeks and months, members’ sleep cycles and their commute times, i.e. “the time (or distance) from home to work and vice versa, with ‘work’ referring to the location where crews start/finish their shift. ‘Home’ may also include away sites where crew members rest/sleep away from their personal home.”
CLEVELAND, Ohio, (February 8, 2022) — Yesterday, SMART-TD and the BLET filed their oppositions to BNSF’s request for the court to convert the January 25, 2022, Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) into a preliminary injunction. The unions each filed for their own preliminary injunctions against BNSF’s implementation of its new Hi Viz attendance policy last week on February 2.
SMART-TD and BLET continue to maintain that BNSF’s policy, issued in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and continuing supply chain issues caused in significant part by the nation’s railroads’ own cost-cutting measures, represents the epitome of corporate greed. This new policy will require employees to choose between going to work sick and spreading the COVID-19 virus to their co-workers and those co-workers’ families or face termination by BNSF, once more proving there is no shame amongst the modern-day robber barons like BNSF.
While SMART-TD and BLET will continue to abide by the court’s TRO, it will continue to use every legal means available to prevent BNSF from carrying on its unconscionable and illegal attendance policy. Additional information will be forthcoming as it is available.
The SMART Transportation Division is comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members of the former United Transportation Union, who work in a variety of crafts in the transportation industry.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen represents nearly 57,000 professional locomotive engineers and trainmen throughout the United States. The BLET is the founding member of the Rail Conference, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Kansas State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo (Local 1503, Marysville, Kan.) accepted an invitation from the federal Department of Transportation to introduce DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids at a Jan. 28 event discussing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in Kansas City.
“It’s no accident when federal agencies call on our state directors to be at the table when these events happen,” said Dragoo, who has been Kansas SLD since January 2010. “Our legislative team is second to none in D.C. National Legislative Director Greg Hynes and Alt. National Legislative Director Jared Cassity are making great connections and advancing our cause.
“It’s proof when we get these calls. SMART-TD is a key stakeholder in D.C. and throughout the country.”
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas’s third district speaks at an event promoting the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on Jan. 28 with DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg and SMART-TD Kansas State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo to her right.
Accompanied by Kansas Assistant State Legislative Director Chad Henton (Local 506, Herington, Kan.) and Kansas SLB Secretary & Treasurer Dan Bonawitz (Local 1409, Kansas City, Kan.), Secretary Buttigieg, Rep. Davids and SLD Dragoo took part in a roundtable discussion at the University of Kansas Medical Center campus with local elected officials, labor leaders and community members.
“The bipartisan infrastructure law is innovative legislation that will bring thousands of jobs to the state of Kansas,” Dragoo said in his introduction of DOT Secretary Buttigieg and Rep. Davids. “My organization is uniquely qualified to reap its benefits because we are the men and women that physically transport the products created by our great unions and building trades. We are moving from the Great Resignation to the Great Innovation. From SMART members building new HVAC systems for our nation’s schools and hospitals to SMART members transporting the much-needed resources to build and innovate this country. We get it done!
“Representative Davids was there when this much-needed legislation was drafted, and she voted to pass it into law. I am proud of both her and Secretary Buttigieg’s work to highlight the new law’s benefits.”
The event also spotlighted how, when implemented, the IIJA will create local jobs and spur economic growth across the third district of Kansas that Davids represents, including in communities that are traditionally overlooked, Dragoo said.
Buttigieg described the funds coming to invest in the nation’s infrastructure as being of historic levels and said that good-paying union jobs would be created in the state of Kansas and nationwide because of the bipartisan legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden last year.
“We are preparing to deploy historic levels of funding to help modernize transportation across the country thanks to this law,” he said. “This law is going to do so much in every part of the United States, and certainly here. It’s going to help us build more electric buses, to help kids get to school without being exposed to toxic fumes. It’s going to help us expand public transit to make commutes faster and traffic lighter.”
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, right, meets with Kansas State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo and his family at an event Jan. 28 in Kansas City, Kan.A portion of the day’s events took place during an outdoor press conference at the Rock Island and Cesar Chavez bridges, and Secretary Buttigieg, Rep. Davids and the SMART-TD contingent were joined by Kansas DOT Secretary Julie Lorenz and Kansas City, Kan., Mayor Tyrone Garner. The event highlighted the bridges for their complementary purposes as infrastructure and economic projects in Davids’ district:
Among the attendees were local labor and business community leaders, elected officials and transportation authorities. Dragoo’s family — Jessica, Kennedy, Quinn, Savannah and Jax — also attended some of the day’s activities.
“This was an amazing opportunity and one that our members in Kansas can be proud of,” Dragoo said.
CLEVELAND, Ohio, (February 1, 2022) — By letter dated January 31, 2022, SMART-TD and the BLET are seeking review by both the Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Transportation of all Class I attendance policies. In a joint letter to Labor Secretary Martin Walsh and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET President Dennis Pierce ask the secretaries to immediately investigate all carrier attendance policies that refuse to provide exceptions for fatigue-related absences, as well as those that refuse to provide exceptions for illness-related absences.
Referencing the most recent “Hi-Viz” policy on BNSF set to go into effect today, the presidents said: “The new policy also potentially subjects employees to disciplinary action when they request time off because they are ill or when they need to tend to sick family members. This includes time off under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as this policy disincentivizes employees from utilizing this protected leave by prohibiting ‘Good Attendance Credit’ from ever being gained because of its use.”
Addressing fatigue concerns, the presidents said: “The only tool these engineers and trainmen have to prepare for their unscheduled work shifts are so-called ‘train lineups,’ which are managed solely by the railroad. Moreover, BNSF has openly admitted that the quality of these lineups and the related predictability for the on-duty times is far from adequate. As a result, engineers and trainmen are routinely called for duty without having any knowledge or awareness of the potential for work (at that particular time), thus subsequently preventing them from the ability to be physically rested prior to their being called to work. For example, it is commonplace for these employees to be suddenly called into work for an evening shift when they didn’t expect to be called in until the morning according to the available train lineups. Under BNSF’s new Hi-Viz policy, even though they may be fatigued, they are not allowed to refuse the unpredicted call for duty without potentially being subjected to employer discipline, up to and including dismissal. Forcing these employees to choose between their job or their safety in the workplace is in complete contradiction to BNSF’s obligation to protect public safety and to provide a safe workplace environment.”
The presidents said the harsh policies fly in the face of railroad safety laws and government regulations. The policies also would negatively impact already-diminished workforce staffing and would contribute to an increase in the “already historic levels of mid-career resignations.”
President Ferguson and President Pierce concluded: “It is imperative that the Department of Transportation and Department of Labor act to address this most egregious railroad policy, as well as those implemented by NS, CSX, Union Pacific, and any other railroad with similar policies. The safety and health of the engineers and trainmen who are employed at BNSF, and the safety of the general public, stands in the balance.”
The SMART Transportation Division is comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members of the former United Transportation Union, who work in a variety of crafts in the transportation industry.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen represents nearly 57,000 professional locomotive engineers and trainmen throughout the United States. The BLET is the founding member of the Rail Conference, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Vice Chairperson Debria L. Bradford (GCA-STU), 56, a longtime officer of SMART Transportation Division Local 1704 (Kansas City, Mo.), passed away Jan. 26, 2022.
“She served numerous positions in our local — sergeant of arms, trustee,” said General Chairperson Sharon Harris (GCA-STU). “Debria was instrumental in helping negotiate our last contract. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.”
Services for Sister Bradford will be Feb. 4, 2022, beginning with a 10 to 11 a.m. viewing. Services will immediately follow at Memorial Missionary Baptist Church, 11424 Hickman Mills Dr., Kansas City, Mo., 64134
“Our union mourns her passing,” said Bus Department Vice President Calvin Studivant. “May her memory always be a blessing.”
SMART Transportation Division expresses its condolences to Sister Bradford’s family, friends and her brothers and sisters in Local 1704 whom she proudly served for many years.
In related events, SMART-TD and BLET on January 27 filed answers and counterclaims in the District Court seeking a Preliminary Injunction and Permanent Injunction against implementation of the BNSF’s Hi-Viz policy. SMART-TD and BLET will continue to use every legal means available to prevent the implementation of the proposed policy. Additional information will be forthcoming as it is available.
The SMART Transportation Division is comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members of the former United Transportation Union, who work in a variety of crafts in the transportation industry.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen represents nearly 57,000 professional locomotive engineers and trainmen throughout the United States. The BLET is the founding member of the Rail Conference, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Washington, D.C. – The National Mediation Board (NMB) is pleased to announce the arrival of new Board Member, Deirdre Hamilton. Ms. Hamilton was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 7, 2021. She was sworn in and assumed her position with the NMB on January 25, 2022.
Prior to becoming a Member, Ms. Hamilton worked as a staff attorney at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), working exclusively with the IBT’s Airline Division. At the IBT she represented most of the crafts or classes within the airline industry — including pilots, flight attendants, technicians, and aircraft cleaners — at both commercial and cargo air carriers. Before that, Ms. Hamilton was a staff attorney at the Association of Flight Attendants. In her career, she has handled a wide range of legal matters including National Mediation Board elections and mediation, collective bargaining support, contract enforcement, and litigation of Railway Labor Act issues. Ms. Hamilton began her career as a legal fellow in the General Counsel’s office at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Ms. Hamilton has been an active member of the Railway Labor Act legal community. She has served as a panelist at meetings of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee and the Railway and Airline Labor Law Committee. She has also served as a Senior Editor for the ABA Railway Labor Act Treatise.
Ms. Hamilton is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Michigan Law School.
The National Mediation Board (NMB) is an independent agency created by the Railway Labor Act, which governs labor management relations in the railroad and airline industries. To avoid serious disruptions to the Nation’s economy and protect the public interest, the Act imposes on carriers and their employees the duty of settling disputes through negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. The NMB, headed by three Presidential appointees, has as its chief statutory responsibilities: (1) mediation of collective bargaining disputes; (2) determination of employee representation for collective bargaining processes; and (3) administration of a grievance arbitration system.
