SMART TD delegates must attend both conventions

In the March issue of the SMART Transportation Division News, we celebrate the 100th birthday of former President Al Chesser, the very first elected president of the United Transportation Union. This is a remarkable achievement for a remarkable man! Brother Chesser’s history [...]

Let’s work together to put Fast Track on slow track

By Joe Nigro, SMART General President – Recent news reports have been bleak when it comes to the status of working families in the United States. While much of the news focuses on unemployment, and rightly so, there’s a relatively unknown, legal way that corporations are goin [...]

SMART Constitution complete, we are moving forward

By John Previsich, SMART Transportation Division President –  2014 is shaping up to be a remarkable year in the history of our union. The SMART constitution is now finalized and we are moving forward with the ongoing effort to merge our two organizations into one. For those w [...]

My goal is to keep the membership aware, informed

(John Previsich’s column below was reprinted from the November 2013 SMART Transportation Division News. See page 4.) In this communication, my first to you as president of this great organization, I will begin by saying that I am honored by the opportunity to serve in t [...]

Cooperation will bring stronger, brighter future for all

By Joe Nigro, SMART General President – Last month, delegates from both the SMART Transportation and Sheet Metal Divisions stood together united as one on the floor of the AFL-CIO convention. SMART’s message to our brothers and sisters in the labor movement was simple. We dem [...]

Americans' appetite for Amtrak service growing

While politicians can’t agree on much, Iowans and the majority of Americans surely agree on one thing: They want more Amtrak service, not less. On the heaviest traveled passenger rail corridor in the nation, the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak keeps breaking ridership records. But [...]

Commonality of interests will lead to safer workplaces

By John Previsich, SMART Transportation Division President –  Employment for our members in the transportation industry is distinguished in many respects. Regardless of mode – air, bus or rail – it is primarily an industry that operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week, [...]

Statement from Nigro on government shutdown

SMART General President Joseph Nigro has issued the following statement on the Oct. 1 shutdown of the federal government: “It has become frustrating to see that the U.S. House of Representatives has become so dysfunctional that it can no longer do its job and pass legis [...]

After a 42-year career, God’s blessings be upon you

By Mike Futhey, SMART Transportation Division President –   After a rewarding career of working a combination of 42 years on the railroad and as a union representative, my wife, April, and I look forward to a productive post retirement in Memphis, Tenn. The career journey beg [...]