Category: Leadership
Merger Delay Does NOT Impact Jobs for Life Agreement
In September of 2025, SMART-TD announced a groundbreaking Jobs for Life agreement that protects our members from furloughs or downsizing after the merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. Six months and a brief delay in the merger process later, these safeguards are still worth fighting for. Read on to learn what happens next in the process and how SMART-TD is continuing to advocate for long-term job security for our brothers and sisters.
Railroads Have Short Memories: East Palestine 3 Years Later
Ohio State Safety & Legislative Director Clyde Whitaker reflects on the 3rd anniversary of the East Palestine derailment with a powerful commentary. Despite new laws and promises, the railroads are still playing the same dangerous games with safety. Read on to see how crews are still being pressured to ignore defect detector warnings and keep trains moving, proving that profits continue to come before people.
Rail Safety Is Too Important For Corporate Discretion
A veteran Louisiana railroader dismantles the myth that safety mandates hurt efficiency, arguing from lived experience that federal rail safety rules exist because companies repeatedly choose profit over people when left to police themselves. Read on to see why rail workers, not think tanks or lobbyists, are the true experts on what it takes to keep crews and communities safe, and why the Rail Safety Act deserves a full vote in Congress.
“The Safety Program That Works — And Why Railroads Won’t Use It”
The constant drive to climb the ladder (and to avoid being fired) felt by railroad managers almost always translates into scare tactics that keep workers silent and the big bosses oblivious to reality. The FRA had a solution. Read on to learn why it was scrapped, and how things are probably going to get much worse before they get any better.
Value of Unions
Unions provide the stability and protection that non-union workers increasingly lack in an economy defined by mass layoffs. This reality is underscored by decades of job cuts in sectors like technology, finance, and manufacturing. Read one to see how our recent job-security gains prove that union solidarity is still the strongest defense against becoming a labor department statistic.
SMART General President Michael Coleman praises SMART-TD agreement with Union Pacific, congratulates members on ratification
SMART General President Michael Coleman's statement on the agreement ratified by SMART-TD members working on Union Pacific properties.
General President Coleman’s Thanksgiving message to U.S. members
"Thanksgiving is about gratitude. It is about the things that matter in life: Loved ones. Community. Our health, and our well-being. "As SMART members, these values are especially meaningful. We are part of the movement that fought to protect those things that matter to us — and so all of us could enjoy days like Thanksgiving. We continue to fight so that every single person gets the pay, the benefits and the respect they deserve."
Honoring Our Members Who Have Served: A Veterans Day Message from President Ferguson
As our nation honors the men and women who have served our country this Veterans Day, SMART-TD would like to recognize our brothers and sisters who have worn the uniform of the United States and the lessons of service and solidarity that they bring to our union. Read on for a special message from SMART-TD President and U.S. Army Veteran Jeremy Ferguson.