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SMART Transportation Division President Mike Futhey and Assistant President John Previsich this week joined the leaders of other AFL-CIO affiliate unions at the organization’s annual winter meeting.

They also meet separately with members of the organization’s Transportation Trades Department to roll out a 2013 transportation investment and jobs agenda, stake out an aggressive stance against irresponsible liberalization of aviation trade and to condemn damaging cuts to transportation programs and jobs that are threatened by sequestration.

“It is the height of irresponsibility for extremists in Congress to use the sequestration battle to tank our economy and use public and private sector working men and women as pawns in their partisan games,” said Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO following the annual winter meeting of its 33-member Executive Committee. “It is time for Congress to end this senseless sequestration stalemate and finally start focusing on an agenda to modernize our failing transportation system and create middle-class jobs.”



The TTD Executive Committee was joined by new House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) who said, “I appreciate today’s opportunity to meet with the Transportation Trades Department’s Executive Committee, and look forward to working with them and all parties interested in a stronger transportation network for our nation. By listening to a diverse set of opinions and working together to build consensus, we can improve America’s infrastructure, make us more competitive, and strengthen our economy.”



U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), ranking minority member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Water Resources Subcommittee, also joined the meeting and said, “Investments in infrastructure put skilled laborers to work now and lay the foundation for a growing economy in the future. I am proud to partner with TTD in advocating for a 21st Century American transportation network and fighting back against destructive budget cuts like sequestration that will undermine vital programs. I am also proud of my work with TTD to extend [Family and Medical Leave Act] protections to airline flight crews, protect fair wages for transportation workers, and ensure our roads, rails, transit operations, ports and aviation system are safe and well funded for the future.” 



The Executive Committee also heard from U.S. Department of Transportation Undersecretary for Policy Polly Trottenberg, who said, “Transportation workers are our partners in safety, who build, operate and maintain the roads, rails and runways that every American depends on. The Obama Administration will continue investing in good transportation projects that keep our economy and the traveling public moving forward.”



The Executive Committee adopted several policy statements during the meeting that offer detailed, substantive policy prescriptions on behalf of the workers who operate, maintain and build the world’s largest transportation network.



On the eve of possible federal spending cuts due to sequestration, the Executive Committee condemned threatened draconian cuts to vital transportation programs that form the backbone of our system of commerce. The “ravages of sequestration,” they said, must be avoided and federal workers “should not be made scapegoats” in this dangerous political game.
To end the stalemate on long-term investments in public transit and highways, transportation unions offer a bipartisan solution to the “broken and outdated funding system,” noting that the purchasing power of these funds has fallen 33 percent in two decades.

TTD affiliates support an increase in the gas tax indexed to inflation, as well as possibly replacing the current excise tax with a sales tax.



On the globalization of aviation, TTD opposes the European Union’s push to hollow out U.S. airline ownership and control laws, and impose its heavy-handed agenda in talks with the U.S. and in the upcoming meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization.



As for a long-term plan for Amtrak, TTD laments, “Too many politicians fail to understand the enormous economic benefits of modernizing passenger and freight rail.” Transportation unions will push for a long-term funding plan for Amtrak and oppose “risky” privatization schemes.

Transportation union leaders also vow to preserve a strong maritime industry. TTD unions sharply criticize congressional action to weaken cargo preference laws that ensure most federal government-generated cargo travels on U.S.-flagged ships crewed by U.S. maritime workers.



TTD affiliates will also join the battle to stop the use of “our own transportation system” as a “haven for predatory criminals” that engage in human trafficking.



The affiliates of TTD also pledge their support for the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) campaign against the sinister efforts of Patriot Coal, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal to exploit our bankruptcy code at the expense of “hard-working mine workers, retirees, and their families.”

Amtrak Logo
ORLANDO, Fla. – As lawmakers prepare to debate passenger rail reauthorization, leaders of AFL-CIO transportation unions are calling on Congress to set a long-term future for Amtrak that meets the demands of a growing ridership, invests in the railroad’s decaying equipment and network, protects the rights and jobs of workers and rejects “risky” privatization of key routes and services.



“While Americans are clamoring for more transportation options, Congress must ensure that Amtrak and its employees have the resources necessary to meet the nation’s growing rail transportation needs,” said Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD). “Inaction and neglect in Washington have left Amtrak with an enormous backlog of critical upgrades to its infrastructure and rail cars.”



In 2013 both the House and Senate will draft legislation to provide funding and structure to our nation’s passenger rail network. A policy statement adopted by TTD’s Executive Committee urges Congress to replace the current policy of “underinvestment and disrepair” with a long-term plan that modernizes our passenger and freight rail infrastructure and discards proposals to “sell-off the carrier’s most prized routes and assets, and hollow out the remainder of the network.”



Transportation unions emphasized Amtrak’s readiness to lead the nation’s expansion into both higher speed and conventional passenger rail services.



Amtrak has “an extensive reservation system, mature relationships with the freight railroads, the physical infrastructure needed to support high-speed rail initiatives and decades of demonstrated compliance with all federal rail laws,” the Executive Committee declared, adding that as billions in new public investments are rolled out in the rewrite of federal rail policy, “the reauthorization must safeguard the rights, jobs and wages of front-line workers.”



Wytkind added: “We will mobilize behind this sensible plan to rewrite our passenger rail laws and give our government the tools it needs to execute a national rail policy.”

The engineer of one of two ore trains that crashed head-on just outside of Two Harbors, Minn., in 2010 is taking issue with the National Transportation Safety Board report on the accident, disputing that cell phone use by the train crews was a relevant factor.

In an exclusive interview with the News-Chronicle Feb. 20, Dan Murphy, engineer of the northbound train, conceded that he had used his phone on the day of the Sept. 30, 2010, accident, but that the call was less than a minute and in no way interfered with his duties.

Read the complete story at Lake County News Chronicle.

The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a new report on the status of fatigue among railroad industry employees.

In 2001, the FRA began examining the fatigue status of safety-critical railroad employees by using logbooks to collect work and sleep data over a period of two weeks from a representative sample of employees in each group.

The research in this report was conducted prior to implementation of the Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA), which made significant changes to limitations on hours of work for railroad employees. Consequently, the information in this report can serve as a baseline for examining the adequacy of existing statutory or regulatory limitations on hours of work to prevent worker fatigue.

This report draws on the results of several prior studies, all conducted with similar methodology, to characterize the prevalence of employee fatigue in the U.S. railroad industry.

Data from logbook surveys of signalmen, maintenance of way workers, dispatchers, and train and engine service employees were combined to examine the relationship between work schedules and sleep patterns.

Railroaders make up for lack of sleep on workdays by sleeping longer on rest days. This strategy is used to a greater extent among by certain groups such as signalmen working four 10-hour days, first shift dispatchers, and train and engine service workers on jobs with a fixed start time.

T&E workers in passenger service with a split assignment have a shorter primary sleep period than those working straight through or working extra board assignments, but they have similar total daily sleep because they sleep during their interim release.

Overall, U.S. railroad workers are more likely than U.S. working adults to get less than seven hours of total sleep on workdays, but railroad workers average more total sleep when sleep on workdays and rest days are combined.

Logbook data for work and sleep indicates that T&E workers and third shift dispatchers have the most fatigue exposure and passenger T&E workers have the least. Railroad workers in all groups had less fatigue exposure than those involved in human factors accidents.

The key findings of this report are as follows:

•The risk of a human factors accident is elevated 11 to 65 percent above chance by exposure to fatigue.

•The economic cost of a human factors accident when an employee is very fatigued is approximately $1,600,000, compared to $400,000 in the absence of fatigue.

•Amount of sleep and the time of day when sleep occurs account for 85 to 96 percent of fatigue exposure. Work schedules determine the amount and time of day of sleep.

•Dispatchers and T&E workers have the highest exposure to fatigue. They are also the groups that have the longest work hours and work at night.

•T&E as a group has significant fatigue exposure, but passenger T&E is the group with the least fatigue exposure. The predictability of passenger T&E schedules and less nighttime work explains this difference.

•The fatigue exposure of all groups is less than that of employees involved in human factors accidents, which indicates a relationship between fatigue and accidents.

•Significant differences resulting from job type and schedule exist in the sleep patterns of railroad workers. Analysis of data collected through a logbook study allows for identification of the differences that are not otherwise apparent.

•The sleep pattern of railroad workers differs from that of U.S. working adults. Railroad workers are more likely to get less than seven hours of total sleep on workdays, which puts them at risk of fatigue. On average, however, they obtain more total sleep than U.S. working adults, when total sleep hours on workdays and rest days are combined.

•Railroad workers in all groups reported sleep disorders that exceed U.S. norms for working adults. Of these, all but 2.4 percent were receiving treatment.

•The FRA fatigue model (FAST) provides a valid method of assessing fatigue exposure as a function of work schedule and sleep pattern.

These findings suggest that strategies for reducing railroad worker fatigue include improving the predictability of schedules and educating workers about human fatigue and sleep disorders.

To view the complete report, click here.

James Stem

By James Stem, 
National Legislative Director – 

As a new Congress begins its largely partisan struggles, which are sometimes difficult to understand and frequently disturbing, the job of the National Legislative Office is to convince lawmakers that the legislative agenda of SMART members is the ideal recipe.

The education process itself can be brutal, as evidenced by these numbers: In this Congress there are 84 new House members, 11 new senators and 17 new members of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, where air, bus, rail and transit legislation often has its beginning.

The job of the National Legislative Office and the state legislative directors is to provide members of Congress with facts and be available as a resource when they have questions or are approached with different points of view by others.

High on the list of issues important to SMART members is a stable and sufficient source of funding for Amtrak and mass transit, which are carrying record numbers of riders and which are expected to swell further with demands from budget travelers, seniors and those frustrated with airline delays and increasing highway congestion.

Of importance to the safety of rail members is preventing further delay in implementation of positive train control, and refining some of the language in the hours-of-service law passed by Congress in 2008.

As discussions proceed on how to deal with America’s substantial debt and deficit spending, we are working with other labor organizations to ensure that middle-class Americans don’t face the brunt of the problem. For example, it is imperative we preserve the home mortgage-interest tax deduction and that Congress does not attempt to require employees to pay income taxes on their health care benefits.

Preserving the financial integrity of Social Security is another issue. Also, we expect conservative lawmakers, who don’t understand that Railroad Retirement is entirely funded by the taxes of rail workers and railroads, to seek again to fold Railroad Retirement into Social Security.

Returning to hours-of-service regulations, among our objectives is to gain new legislative language providing predictable and defined work/rest periods, a 10-hour call for all those in unassigned road service, and a mandate that the 10-hour undisturbed rest period be immediately prior to performing covered service instead of immediately following service. We also want all yardmaster assignments to be covered under hours-of-service regulations and that there be a two-hour limit on limbo time per tour of duty.

Our plate is full, but we are heartened that much, if not all, of the anti-labor conservative agenda expected to be proposed will be defeated either by a more sober-thinking House majority or in the Senate, where the labor-friendly majority was increased in the November elections.

In 2012, UTU PAC played a meaningful role in reducing the anti-worker majority in the House and increasing the labor-friendly majority in the Senate.

Your UTU PAC contributions continue to be a great tool in facilitating face-to-face conversations with members of Congress and helping keep our friends in office.

I urge you to become a PAC member if you are not yet one, or increase your PAC contributions to a minimum of a dollar-a-day level. UTU PAC contributions are one of the most effective investments you can make in job security, improved wages and benefits.

Dr. Norman Brown

By Dr. Norman K. Brown
UTU Medical Consultant

We have known for a long time that inadequate oxygen from poor heart or lung function, or poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide carried from breathing into our lungs, can injure our brains.

Recent studies of women exposed to second hand smoke showed statistical increases in dementia over time as compared to unexposed women. Similarly, particulate air pollution exposure appears to increase the chance of dementia in later years.

People with periodontal gum disease have a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. However, brushing your teeth and seeing your dentist for a cleaning regularly will help greatly to prevent gum disease.

Recently, it has been found that two major components of our so-called Western diet, namely saturated fatty foods – think French fries – and simple carbohydrates such as sugar in soda pop, can alter brain cell function.

Most interestingly, it is theorized that one result of this impaired hippocampus is a tendency to overeat, leading to a vicious cycle of ongoing weight gain.

Although it seems paradoxical, our brains depend upon sugar for all their energy; yet, sugar surges in the blood stream from high sugar foods can apparently be difficult for the brain. Our brains need a steady, continuous flow of the sugar glucose from our blood, such as from complex carbohydrates like starch in fruits and vegetables, but jolts such as after drinking soda may be not so good.

There is some consensus that the following food items may help our brains to function better longer:

• Complex sugars (e.g., vegetables, fruits) that are embedded with fiber so the payout of sugar to our bloodstreams is slow and steady.

• Antioxidant-containing foods: berries, especially blueberries, spinach, and tomatoes.

• Omega 3 containing fish, especially salmon, flax seed oil, cod liver oil, or fish oil pills.

• Bananas for potassium.

• Avocados and nuts, raw or dry roasted, which contain unsaturated fat.

Please also think about some of the conditions in your family such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, for which a double effort to prevent these conditions will in turn benefit your general health, including your brain.

I believe in the concept that in future years there will be more tests available to detect a genetic tendency a toward particular condition and, furthermore, that there will be some biochemical interventions to help certain patterns.

But before that time, please work on the basics: good diet, weight control, supplements and exercise, which we know are good for all of us.

“First Student bus drivers and mechanics from Local 1908 are so much more than just people who get your children to and from school,” said Local Secretary Joann Ehrhardt.
If you need proof, just ask some of those children.
After a Buffalo, N.Y., School District family of six lost everything to a Dec. 1 house fire, the members of Local 1908 set their holiday wheels in motion.
It all started when Pam Przybylak, the manager at First Student’s Gruner Road Terminal, posted a flyer looking for donations for the family.
Local 1908 members, along with management employees and Buffalo Board of Education bus aides, were suddenly transformed into Santa’s elves.
“Pam gave us a list of the children’s ages and clothes sizes, and people just went shopping,” Ehrhardt said. “We collected presents for the whole family, along with non-perishable food items.”
“Some people collected food from a local food bank, some donated cash and others picked up donated items from one member’s church.”
On Dec. 21, the presents, food, blankets, towels and more were delivered to the family.
“One of the bus aides even bought a Christmas tree, and another bought ornaments, and they actually decorated the tree for them,” Ehrhardt said.
“This truly was collaborative effort,” Ehrhardt added. “Everybody in our terminal contributed.
It’s really nothing new at Local 1908. First Student employees also adopted a family, whose father had recently lost his job, and delivered gifts and food to them. “We usually call Catholic Charities and get the name of a family in need, along with children’s clothing sizes and whether they have boys or girls,” Ehrhardt said. “We do that every year.”
The local also represents drivers in the communities of Cheektowaga and Williamsville and bus mechanics in Rochester.
Ehrhardt said that at a recent local meeting, one of the Local 1908 members asked why their local was never in the UTU News, “so I thought I would send this in.”

First Student employees at Buffalo, N.Y., load the sports utility vehicle that served as Santa’s sleigh
after they decided to deliver Christmas to a family that lost everything in a house fire.

The following message was sent to the UTU National Legislative Office from Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo:

In his State of the Union Address last week, President Obama spoke about the importance of investing in our infrastructure as a path to create new jobs and lay a foundation for America’s economic success.

Joe Szabo

In the last three years, American businesses have added 6 million new jobs, including a half-million in manufacturing. But there’s more to be done. And while construction jobs are often the most visible, our investments can continue remaking America as a magnet for manufacturing.

In a new report, the Environmental Law and Policy Center highlights the scope of the railway supply industry in the Midwest.

The report found 122 suppliers in Ohio, 99 in Indiana, 49 in Michigan, 84 in Illinois, 73 in Wisconsin, 26 in Minnesota and seven in Iowa. The Midwest is not alone. Railway suppliers are located in 49 out of 50 states and employ 94,000 people.

Manufacturers like Cleveland Track Material in Ohio are benefiting from the $12 billion the U.S. DOT has invested in passenger rail over the last four years. Started by Vietnam Veteran Bill Willoughby in 1984 in an impoverished section of Cleveland, the company was one of 53 across 20 states that received an order from Maine’s Downeaster service expansion project. Last year, Cleveland Track invested over $5 million in new production equipment at their plant. The company employs 300 people in Ohio, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. 

Manufacturers are opening new plants in the United States. Recently, the state of California awarded the newly-opened Nippon Sharyo plant in Illinois with a contract to build 130 rail cars that will run on the state’s existing corridors.

Amtrak and California High Speed Rail Authority have answered our call to work together to explore a bundled procurement for the next generation of high-speed rail equipment – equipment designed to reach up to 220 mph. Combining orders will provide incentives to high-speed rail manufacturers to build factories domestically, creating new high-quality jobs and tremendous opportunities for suppliers.

Investments in freight rail will also mean new jobs at suppliers. Last week, the Association of American Railroads announced the industry would invest more than $24 billion this year in its network.

President Obama also recently signed into law the Shortline and Regional Railroad 45G Tax Credit. The Railway Tie Association estimates that when the 45G credit is in effect, between 500,000 and 1,500,000 additional railroad ties will be installed each year.

For the first time in more than a decade, America is adding new manufacturing jobs. Continued investment in our rail network will put Americans to work in factories today, and lead to economic expansion over the next generation.

In their final approach for union representation, the pilots of Avantair, Inc., successfully touched down on the SMART Transportation Division runway.

The Feb. 14 vote brought 224 Avantair pilots under the SMART umbrella. Among the pilots who participated in the representation election, 77 percent voted in favor of SMART.

“Our ability to represent transportation employees was one of the key factors in their choice of UTU/SMART,” said SMART Transportation Division Director of Organizing Rich Ross. “They had specific questions and wanted answers about union representation and we were able to accommodate their needs. Now we have to get down to business to get them a contract.”

“These pilots fly everywhere and anywhere at any time of the day. We set up a lot of conferences calls at all hours of the day in this campaign,” Ross said. “Some of these guys are working 80 hours a week.”

“I once again extend my sincere appreciation to International organizers James “Mike” Lewis and Calvin Studivant, and to International staff member Cara McGinty,” Ross said.

“I also want to thank the pilots’ group that initially approached us. They were the key to making this a successful campaign.”

Avantair is an aircraft fractional ownership company, headquartered at Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A.

With fractional jets, some customers may buy a share of a plane rather than an entire plane. Their fee is pro-rated and the cost of an aircraft is spread among a number of investors. They then have access to a plane for a specified number of hours or days per year on short notice.

The company operates of fleet of Piaggio Avanti P180 aircraft.

Local 240, Los Angeles, Calif.
Local Chairperson Harry J. Garvin Jr. reports that the local’s 2013 monthly meetings will be held at Ozzie’s Diner at 7780 E. Slauson Ave. in Los Angeles off 5 FWY between 710 FWY and 605 FWY. The diner’s telephone number is (323) 726-0300. Meetings will be held the second Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. during odd-numbered months and at 7 p.m. during even-numbered months.
Local 219, Hannibal, Mo.

Members of this BNSF local again voted to make a generous food donation to the Salvation Army branches in Hannibal, Quincy, Ill., and Keokuk, Iowa, Secretary & Treasurer Buddy Strieker reports. “We would like to thank the membership of Local 219 for voting to help the less fortunate in our communities so everyone could have a nice dinner during the holidays,” Strieker said. “We were able to purchase 2,600 pounds of food for distribution at the Salvation Army.”

Pictured, from left, are Vice Local Chairperson Jeff Willis, Local Chairperson Lance Sonnenburg
and Local Chairperson Virgil Peters as they make a delivery to the Salvation Army.

Local 286, North Platte, Neb.

North Platte Locals 7, 200 and 286 annually sponsor a little league baseball team,
and a picture of their billboard at Legion Baseball Field has appeared in the UTU News.
When Vice Local Chairperson Kevin Winder asked Local 286 to sponsor his daughter’s
traveling basketball team, the local jumped at the chance, Legislative Rep. Steve Coleman reports.
Above is Local 286’s new favorite team, with Ashtyn Winder at far left.

Local 582, Stevens Point, Wis.
Canadian National conductor James E. Stewart and engineer Steve Polanski were awarded Chippewa Falls Community Service Awards Dec. 4 by Mayor Greg Hoffman, according to a report in the Leader-Telegram, for “heroic actions in helping to save the life of a citizen in need.” The two were riding an eastbound train and saw what appeared to be someone on the ground waving a hat. They notified their dispatcher, who immediately called police. Shortly thereafter, police and EMT personnel found Don Shilts, 86, lying near the tracks. Shilts had suffered a stroke while raking leaves in his yard and fell down a hill near the tracks. He had been on the ground for more than four hours and his body temperature was down to 88 degrees. He then suffered a heart attack in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, but has recovered.
Local 626, McCook, Neb.
Conductor Chris Corbett, 29, was severely injured while working near Hudson, Colo., on the BNSF Brush Subdivision Jan. 1, and was airlifted to a Denver area hospital, Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith reports. Corbett suffered multiple fractions of his pelvis. “Chris and his wife are expecting a child in two months and they will have some obvious hardships. We are asking anyone that can to help our brother and his family during this difficult time,” Smith said. Contributions may be sent c/o Chris Corbett to UTU, 3222 Tejon St., Unit B., Denver, CO 80211-3471.
Local 662, Richmond, Va.
At this local’s Jan. 9 meeting, Cecil L. Pinner was sworn in as local secretary & treasurer following the retirement of former Secretary & Treasurer James Galbraith. Pinner ran unopposed in a special election and was elected by acclamation. In other news, Galbraith reports that retired former Local Chairperson Howard Knight, 73, died Dec. 28. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn.
Locals 262, 1462, Boston, Mass.
The members of Amtrak Locals 262 and 1462 turned their annual holiday party in December into a fundraiser for conductor John Newman, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a November automobile accident. Following their lead, Local 1462 Treasurer Dave Bowe reports, Newman’s sister, Jeannie Nocera, opened a bank account in Newman’s name for anyone wishing to assist him financially. Contributions may be sent to Liberty Bank, Attn.: Cindi Whitehouse, John Newman Charitable Fund, 315 Main St., Middletown, CT 06457. “Rehabilitation has been slow, but Newman is improving,” Bowe said.
Local 1608, Chatsworth, Calif.
Local Secretary Jack Dedrick and the members of this bus local representing employees of Los Angeles Metro congratulate the following brothers and sisters who retired in 2012 and wish them health, happiness and success: James C. Sherman (35 yrs.), Martin Crespi (33), Norma Uribe (31), Cynthia De Gruy (30), James Johnson (25), Walter W. Brady (24), Robert Anderson (23), Harry Fradejas (23), Estelle Plasencia (23), Victor Granillo (23), Luis Lopez (23), Mary Montgomery (10) and Nelson Duncan (10).
Local 1741, San Francisco, Calif.

Local members in the drivers’ room at the San Francisco bus yard on Sept. 21, 2012,
were watching on television as the space shuttle Endeavour was flying piggyback
over the Golden Gate Bridge to its final destination at the California Science Center in Los Angeles when,
everyone in the bus yard started jumping and shouting, member Judith Hoff reports.
The space shuttle was flying directly overhead at about 1,500 feet.
Everyone ran out of the drivers’ room to see lead mechanic Alex Ageev take this picture.

UTU Day at Fonner Park
UTU locals from Nebraska and surrounding states will be holding their third UTU Blanket Day at Fonner Park in Grand Island, Neb., April 12, beginning at 3 p.m., GO 953 Vice General Chairperson Rich Mohr reports. Last year, more than 75 UTU members representing different UTU locals attended the event. A blanket adorned with the SMART logo, sponsored by Local 1503 at Marysville, Kan., will be presented to the owner of the horse that wins the UTU/SMART race. Last year’s blanket sponsor was Local 367 at Omaha. Admission to the park is free. For more information and to confirm attendance, contact Local 7 Vice Local Chairperson Cliff Gordon by calling (308) 530-5766 or at cgordonutue@hotmail.com, or Local 286 member Ed Mueller by calling (308) 530-6711 or at meeko@kdsi.net. Reduced room rates are available at the Midtown Holiday Inn in Grand Island. Mention code “United Transportation Union” or “SMART” when making a reservation at (308) 384-1330.