SMART News sits down with Greg Hynes, SMART-TD’s national director of the safety and legislative department, and Phil Qualy, retired Minnesota safety and legislative director to discuss the critical implications of proposed cuts within the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).
SMART TD is addressing the closure of seven Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Regional Offices, as announced by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which plans to cancel their leases. The RRB has requested an exemption to keep these offices open, and SMART-TD is actively working with lawmakers to highlight the importance of these services.
“Year after year, we hear about the tens of thousands of workers who want to organize for the pay, job security and safety protections they deserve — but were unable to do so because of our nation’s broken labor law. The PRO Act is the common sense, bipartisan legislation we need to fix our damaged system and empower American workers, from sheet metal shops to railyards, on buses and freight locomotives, in classrooms, hospitals and beyond."
On January 28, news broke that President Donald Trump fired National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox. SMART General President Michael Coleman issued the following statement in response: “From day one, General Counsel Jennif [...]
The SMART Transportation Division (SMART TD) congratulates Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-Nevada) on her selection to serve as the Ranking Minority Leader of the House Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee.
A collision between a Union Pacific train and a tractor-trailer in Pecos, Texas, on December 18 resulted in the deaths of two railroad workers. SMART-TD extends condolences to the victims' families and to Local 823 in their time of grieving.
SMART-TD responds to UP selling off our members' jobs to a nonunion short line: “Union Pacific’s move in Oregon is just the latest example of how our country is literally getting 'railroaded' by the sharks on Wall Street. The workers on the ground, the businesses, and the communities that rely on these services will pay the price for this callous disregard for safety.” TD President Jeremy Ferguson
On Sept. 23, 2024, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers, Transportation Division (SMART-TD), the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) jointly endorsed Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate.
SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson congratulates the American Train Dispatchers Association on their most recent accomplishment by organizing Genesee and Wyoming workers.
This past weekend, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) President Eddie Hall desperately attempted to attack SMART-TD. President Jeremy Ferguson has issued a response.