Category: Operator safety
Los Angeles County MTA announces it will have protective barriers installed in all its buses by year’s end
Los Angeles County MTA announced today that it was accelerating its timeline and would have protective barriers installed on all its buses to protect our members two years ahead of schedule.
SMART GC Ellis issues statement on LACMTA’s emergency procurement declaration to acquire barriers
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Board activated emergency procurement procedures this week to expedite the installation of protective barriers for bus operators. John Ellis, general chairperson of GO 875, which represents our members who [...]
ALERT for L.A.-area members — operator stabbing suspect at large
At 8:30 p.m. April 13, one of our SMART Transportation Division members was brutally attacked on the job. As of now, the suspected attacker has not been arrested and is still on the loose.
FTA action on bus, transit safety plans praised by SMART-TD
Phone: (216) 228-9400Department email: news_td@smart-union.org INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (April 10, 2024) — President Jeremy Ferguson of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers’ Transportation Division (SMART-TD) released the following stat [...]
TD to transit agencies: Let’s try “every single thing” to protect our operators
SMART-TD members who work in public transit need protection. We saw what happened in L.A. How many more headlines need to be written before something’s done? TD says “none.” We should act now.
SMART-TD Union Demands Action in Wake of Los Angeles Bus Hijacking
Independence, Ohio (March 25, 2024) — The union representing the transit operator involved in the Los Angeles bus hijacking demands immediate measures to protect their men and women, and the people they transport, from violence. The LACMTA incident, which hospitalized a union [...]
New report blows the whistle on railroads who cover up injuries and death
Investigative journalist Topher Sanders released a report on ProPublica today where he reveals how multiple injuries and fatalities were swept under the rug by Class I carriers BNSF, Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern.
SMART-TD provides focused training for bus and transit officers
SMART continues to place the needs of transit workers front and center with a first-of-its-kind exclusive training session. Bus and transit officers shared strategies and learned new techniques at the Transportation Division Albuquerque Regional Training Seminar (RTS) that wrapped up March 7.