Category: Transportation
Two members lost in accidents
Our union is in mourning after losing two of its active members this week: one in a work-related fatality and one in a traffic accident. Ryan Sandy, 37, a member of Local 662 (Richmond, Va.) and a former local chairperson of LCA-201C, was killed in an on-the-job accident at 2 [...]
District court rules Batory’s declaration of preemption stops Illinois 2PC law
In yet another example that elections have consequences, the Trump-appointed FRA administrator’s actions have potentially minimized both public and employee safety on the railroad. In September 2019, after the State of Illinois enacted a law requiring that trains operated in [...]
TD veterans: We need your help
Oct. 5, 2020 Brothers and Sisters: Shortly before I joined the union in the mid 1990s, I served with the U.S. Army for three years in service to our country. I know I am not alone in this distinction as many of our union brothers and sisters in the SMART Transportation Divisi [...]
Members rally to save their jobs at Amtrak
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, members of SMART Transportation Division led the way, along with members of the BLET and TCU/IAM, uniting in cities across America to spread awareness about cuts coming to Amtrak if the Senate fails to act now. On Sept. 9, Amtrak President and CEO Wil [...]
Local 1741 leadership says workers reaching “point of no return”
In a letter Sept. 28, Local 1741 President Sharon Chappill and General Chairperson Jadier Castano told the San Francisco Unified Schools and First Student that they are courting a school bus driver shortage whenever district schools reopen if they go through a plan to cut off [...]
Amtrak Workers’ Rallies Call on Congress to Preserve Jobs, Fund Service
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 28, 2020) — Unionized Amtrak workers, led by members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD), Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and Transportation [...]
RRB: Sequestration hits unemployment and sickness benefits
Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Benefits Will See Slight Decrease in New Sequestration Reduction Rate Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, and a subsequent sequestration order to implement mandated cuts, railroad unemployment and sickness insurance benefits are reduced by [...]Retired GC Gary Babiarz passes away
Gary F. Babiarz, a member of SMART Transportation Division for more than 45 years and retired general chairperson of GCA-449 (Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, passed away Sept. 23, 2020, at age 66. Brother Babiarz joined the union in January 1974 and was a GC from 2015 to 2019. [...]