Category: White House
DOGE to close seven RRB Regional Offices
SMART TD is addressing the closure of seven Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) Regional Offices, as announced by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which plans to cancel their leases. The RRB has requested an exemption to keep these offices open, and SMART-TD is actively working with lawmakers to highlight the importance of these services.
Railroad Retirement Board Announces Enactment of Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness Act (REEF)
The RRB formally announces changes to railroaders' unemployment benefits. This announcement is the culmination of years of effort by SMART-TD's Safety and Legislative Department and will put money directly back into the hands of our hardworking SMART TD rail members.
Full slate of SMART-TD endorsements released
These selections were made by SMART Transportation Division state legislative boards and national leadership with careful consideration as to the candidates' track record regarding issues affecting your workplace. In short — who is with us and who is against us.
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.”
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.
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?
SMART-TD endorses Vice President Kamala Harris for President: A commitment to two-person crews and worker safety
SMART Transportation Division made major progress during the first term of the Biden-Harris administration. The union endorses Kamala Harris in the November election.