The Defense Production Act (DPA) was invoked April 2 by President Donald Trump to expedite the manufacture and eventual distribution of supplies, especially ventilators, necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The first step in getting the products — including surgical mask [...]
April 8, 2020 The Honorable K. Jane Williams Acting Administrator Federal Transit Administration U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Acting Administrator Williams: First, we want to thank you and your staff for your hard work en [...]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is reminding employers that it is illegal to retaliate against workers because they report unsafe and unhealthful working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic. Acts of [...]
With the latest information from the CDC now suggesting that the general public use homemade masks or scarfs when going out in public, we wanted to provide you with information on using them to protect you and your families during the current pandemic. The Difference Between [...]
Joseph Hansen, a conductor out of Local 60 (Newark, N.J.) who worked for New Jersey Transit (NJT), passed away recently to become the first reported active SMART Transportation Division member to succumb to COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Hansen was 62 years old and had been [...]
Louisiana State Legislative Director Chris Christianson reports that legislators in his state have introduced a two-person crew bill – HB-776 – March 31 in the state House of Representatives. The bill, as currently written, requires two persons on all freight trains with the [...]
SMART sheet metal members stand ready to produce free metal nose pieces for the millions of masks being made by volunteers across the US and Canada. If you are a member of a volunteer group providing masks to first responders and hospitals, please fill out the order form. We [...]
Below is a letter from Joe Delacrus, a Local 40 SMART Sheet Metal Worker in Groton, CT. His employer was asked by a local nurse to make the aluminum strips used on N95 masks so they could sew them in the cotton masks being made by volunteers around the Country. They are loo [...]
As more people are being diagnosed with COVID-19 or coronavirus, it is important to know who you have come into contact with on a daily basis. State health departments, employers and the infected themselves have been having a difficult time in determining and/or remembering w [...]