The Defense Production Act (DPA) was invoked April 2 by President Donald Trump to expedite the manufacture and eventual distribution of supplies, especially ventilators, necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The first step in getting the products — including surgical mask [...]
April 8, 2020 The Honorable K. Jane Williams Acting Administrator Federal Transit Administration U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Acting Administrator Williams: First, we want to thank you and your staff for your hard work en [...]
With the latest information from the CDC now suggesting that the general public use homemade masks or scarfs when going out in public, we wanted to provide you with information on using them to protect you and your families during the current pandemic. The Difference Between [...]
Joseph Hansen, a conductor out of Local 60 (Newark, N.J.) who worked for New Jersey Transit (NJT), passed away recently to become the first reported active SMART Transportation Division member to succumb to COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Hansen was 62 years old and had been [...]
SMART sheet metal members stand ready to produce free metal nose pieces for the millions of masks being made by volunteers across the US and Canada. If you are a member of a volunteer group providing masks to first responders and hospitals, please fill out the order form. We [...]
Below is a letter from Joe Delacrus, a Local 40 SMART Sheet Metal Worker in Groton, CT. His employer was asked by a local nurse to make the aluminum strips used on N95 masks so they could sew them in the cotton masks being made by volunteers around the Country. They are loo [...]
From Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Labor Member John Bragg: As the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) works its way through this pandemic, I will continue to reach out to you, my fellow brothers and sisters, to keep you informed on the status of the RRB and the benefits we adm [...]
At the end of last month, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), an alliance that includes SMART and 13 other unions, announced a partnership with National Nurses United (NNU) to donate N-95 respirator masks and other protective equipment to nurses around the count [...]
In a letter to the North American Building Trades, the National Red Cross from across North America are in urgent need of blood and plasma. According to the letter: “At this moment, the Red Cross is having a difficult time in finding places to set up and perform collec [...]