On January 23, 2020, SMART Transportation Division and nearly two dozen General Committees brought suit against the National Mediation Board (NMB) challenging its 2-1 decision which granted a National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) request to appoint an arbitration board mem [...]
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in a 41-page report released Jan. 13th by its Office of Research, Development and Technology said what railroaders already know. Researchers at the Volpe Center over a period of years performed cognitive task analyses (CTAs) that exam [...]
A two-person crew bill has been introduced in the Missouri Legislature, and we’ll need the support of SMART members in the region to help get the legislation passed. H.B. 2229 was introduced January 16 by state Rep. Jim Neely (District 8), a Republican who is also a medical d [...]
Virginia’s House of Delegates on Wednesday passed H.B. 440, a two-person freight crew bill, by a 61-37 vote, with one delegate abstaining. The bill now moves on to the state’s Senate. “We’ve hit third base,” SMART TD Virginia Legislative Director Ronnie Hobbs said. “It’s goin [...]
Virginia’s full House of Delegates soon will be considering H.B. 440, a two-person freight crew bill, after it passed the body’s Committee on Commerce and Labor Jan. 16 by a 13-8 vote. “This is a big win — a huge win today,” said Virginia State Legislative Director Ronnie Hob [...]
A two-person crew bill is headed to the Virginia House of Delegates’ Commerce and Labor Committee and SMART-TD members in the region are asked to come show their support for the legislation. H.B. 440 is scheduled for a first hearing in the House Committee Room in the afternoo [...]
His hands are rough. His boots are dirty. He has the resume to prove it. Vance Snider is a SMART Transportation Division member out of Local 1313 in Amarillo, Texas, a veteran of the U.S. Army, a father of two and a BNSF conductor. He’s also running for Congress to represent [...]
Ohio State Legislative Director Stuart Gardner reports that we need some activism to push H.B. 186, which is comprehensive railroad safety legislation, over the line and out of the Ohio House Transportation and Public Safety Committee. First, he is seeking photos of example o [...]
When an accident occurs and one of our members is on site — be it a bus operator or rail conductor — it often falls on that SMART Transportation Division member to provide assistance as the FIRST responder to the situation. The member must assess and relay information about t [...]
Legislative Representative Jordan Boone of Local 445 (Niota, Ill.) reports that National Legislative Director Greg Hynes will be speaking Sunday at a rally in support of the Safe Freight Act (H.R. 1748/S.1979) national two-person crew legislation. The rally is scheduled to be [...]