Category: Legislation
REEF Act to prevent rail jobless benefit cuts reintroduced
Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, and a subsequent sequestration order to implement mandated cuts, Railroad Retirement Board-administered unemployment and sickness insurance benefits were reduced by a set percentage that is subject to revision at the beginning of each fis [...]
Michigan Legislature takes up rail safety
State Senate has rail safety bills regarding two-person crews and train length before it Michigan State Legislative Director Donald Roach served as a primary source as The Detroit News published articles this week (subscription required to read) centering on two pieces of rai [...]
Colo. mobile billboard campaign puts PSR in CEO’s face
Lance Fritz, president and chief executive officer of the Union Pacific Railroad, is on his way out the door after announcing in late February that he will vacate his office by the end of 2023. Though there is no publicly announced date for his departure, his hand is on the r [...]
Washington members: Rail sick leave bill needs support!
Quality of life has been front of mind for railroad employees and SMART Transportation Division for years. It was the heart of the most contentious fights in last year’s national rail negotiations and continues to be the ultimate goal for everything your union is working to a [...]
UPDATED: President Ferguson appears with U.S. Sen. Brown to discuss Railway Safety Act
SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson appeared with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in Cleveland on Monday morning to discuss the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023 as momentum for legislative action on railroad safety continues to build on Capitol Hill. Sen. Bro [...]
Kansas rail safety legislation needs support
Kansas is a state with a population of only 2.94 million people — ranking as the 35th largest state in the country, population-wise. In contrast to that number, according to the American Association of Railroads’ website, Kansas ranks sixth in the nation for distance of rail [...]
Railway Safety Act top of mind at Senate’s NS hearing
Last week’s much-anticipated hearing of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works featured a discussion of the Norfolk Southern derailment and the subsequent release of chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. The spectacle of seeing NS CEO Alan Shaw fend off ques [...]
Utah rail safety bill awaits signature of governor
As has been documented, we’ve been pushing quite a few pieces of rail safety legislation in many states. Of all the places SMART has legislation, Utah State Legislative Director Dan Brewer may have had the most-ambitious agenda this cycle especially considering his state has [...]