Category: Washington
Oberman to TD: Vote for your own future
In a letter to SMART-TD members, Marty Oberman, retired chair of the Surface Transportation Board, details the progress and policies at risk in this election. “The protections of rail workers … depends a lot on whether these important offices are filled by a worker-oriented administration. We will need an Administration that will appoint officials who care about rail workers and continue the aggressive oversight [provided] by the current Democratic-led STB and FRA.”
RRB operating on temporary funding
Like other federal agencies, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) has been operating under a continuing resolution since October 1, 2024, the start of fiscal year (FY) 2025.
Leaders in D.C. to Canadian Class Is: Get to work on sick leave … NOW!
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su express frustration with CN and CPKC railroads' lack of progress on negotiating paid sick leave.
SMART-TD Transit Union welcomes FTA’s historic directive to combat operator assaults
Our multi-year effort to protect our bus and transit membership takes a significant step ahead when FTA announces its first directive to stop operator assaults.
SMART-TD, ATDA & BLET jointly endorse Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio
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.
Endorsed by SMART-TD, Sherrod Brown stands for rail safety
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Cleveland is up for re-election in November, and the SMART Transportation Division PAC has sponsored a video showing his bipartisan work on rail safety. Brown has been endorsed by the SMART Transportation Division, the largest rail union in the U.S.
If Musk becomes the head government spending slasher, will he bring automation along for the ride?
Presidential nominee Donald Trump restated his plan to appoint tech innovator Elon Musk to the head of a government efficiency commission. With a history of automation, harsh working conditions and thinly veiled union busting, will a push for self-driving buses or robot trains be far behind?
FRA discovers Big Orange has a big disconnect on safety
BNSF’s managers had a consistently high opinion of how safe the workplace is that they oversee. The more closely an employee works with an actual train, however, the lower their estimation of how safely the organization runs. The FRA report provides a reality check.