(The following is a joint statement by Dennis R. Pierce, National President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and John Previsich, President, SMART Transportation Division, regarding questions that have arisen since the fatal Amtrak derailment in Philade [...]
Washington, D.C. – Earlier today, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced its final rule for rail shipments of flammable liquids. The rule calls for enhanced safety standards for High-Hazard Flammable Trains (HHFT), including stricter tank car construction standards, [...]
By John Risch, National Legislative Director – What do we want? What do you want? What does your union want? What does labor want? The most common question I get when working Capitol Hill here in Washington, D.C., is – “What’s the ask?” – meaning, what is it you’re going to [...]
By John Previsich, SMART Transportation Division President – Today, people who work in a unionized environment are facing challenges unlike any that have come before. The current political climate is fostering attacks not only on organized labor, but also on the rights and e [...]
By John Previsich, SMART Transportation Division President – On behalf of the officers and staff of the SMART Transportation Division, I will take this opportunity to thank our members and their families for all of their efforts in 2014 and to extend our best wishes for a sa [...]
By Joe Nigro, SMART General President – By In the spirit of the holiday season, I want to focus on what we have to be thankful for as we leave 2014 behind. For one, our First SMART General Convention will go down as the seminal moment when our two former organizations merged [...]
A SMART Transportation Division officer and a general chairperson have been elevated to new Transportation Division positions following the retirement of Alternate Vice President R.W. “Red” Dare Nov. 30. The Transportation Division Board of Directors Dec. 19 elevated Executiv [...]
By John Risch, National Legislative Director – “So this is Christmas, And what have you done, Another year over, And a new one just begun,” so sang John Lennon. The holidays are a good time for all of us to ponder what we have done to make life better for our families, our b [...]
By Joseph Sellers Jr., SMART?General Secretary-Treasurer – With the midterm elections over, we now have an impression of what the next two years will look like for legislation affecting working families in the United States. Overall, anti-worker politicians will now control [...]
SMART Transportation Division Washington State Legislative Director Herb Krohn Nov. 7 appeared on Northwest Now, a Public Broadcasting System program that airs in Washington on Television Station KBTC. Northwest Now is an Emmy®-award winning weekly public affairs show that go [...]