Category: Washington
Biden administration joins union’s fight to protect bus and transit workforce
Phone: (216) 228-9400Department Email: news_td@smart-union.org INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (Dec. 27, 2023) – The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, and Rail Transportation Workers Transportation Division (SMART-TD) has been calling for years for the Federal Transit Adminis [...]
President Biden announces $6B to realize high-speed rail connecting Las Vegas and Southern California
As the expression goes, there is strength in numbers. The SMART Transportation Division is about to get a whole lot stronger thanks to yesterday’s announcement by President Joe Biden in Las Vegas, Nevada. On Dec. 8, President Biden and SMART-TD President Jer [...]
FTA announces random drug and alcohol testing rates for 2024
The calendar year 2024 drug and alcohol random testing rates for specific recipients of Federal Transit Administration financial assistance were published in the Federal Register on Nov. 30, 2023. The minimum random drug testing rate will remain at 50 percent, and the random [...]
Rail labor organizations urge Biden to renominate Bragg to RRB
The following letter was submitted by the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, of which the SMART Transportation Division and Mechanical Division are members, on behalf of SMART and a number of other labor unions to President Joe Biden earlier this week. November [...]
Transportation labor groups urge DOT and NHTSA to launch industry-wide investigation of driverless vehicles
The following letter was submitted by the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, on behalf of SMART, SMART Transportation Division and a number of other labor unions to the U.S. Department of Transportation and to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. [...]
House Republicans push back vote on Amtrak cuts
The SMART Transportation Division has been asking for help and advocacy from our members this week to reach out to Congress and let them know that it is not OK to gut the federal spending for Amtrak. Late Thursday, it appears that your voices have been heard loud and clear an [...]Rail labor collectively urges representatives to oppose House THUD bill
The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, of which the SMART Transportation and Mechanical Divisions are members, issued the following letter today, Oct. 31, on the Transportation Housing and Urban Development bill under consideration in the U.S. House. Dear Repres [...]
In labor victory, FRA alters conditions of UP variance, now requires U.S. crews
Since 1998, trains coming across the Mexican border to the United States in Laredo, Texas, have been run by non-FRA-certified foreign national crews from Mexico. These foreign crews have been taking trains into Port Laredo, where they receive an initial Class I inspection and [...]