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News Archive
Autumn brings nominations and elections for locals
SMART Transportation Division members are reminded that legislative representative and alternate legislative representative elections are scheduled to be held this autumn, with nominations to be taken in October and elections conducted in November. Locals must solicit for the [...]
Railroad unemployment and sickness benefits reduced again due to sequestration
Starting October 1, 2019, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will reduce railroad unemployment and sickness insurance benefits by 5.9%, down from the current 6.2% reduction, as required by law. The adjusted reduction is based on revised projections of benefit claims and [...]
Rail members: Online open enrollment in national health plans begins Oct. 1
Railroad employees covered under the National Railway Carriers/UTU Health and Welfare Plan or the Railroad Employees’ National Health and Welfare Plan are being mailed a notification of the online open enrollment period that begins Oct. 1, 2019, and ends Oct. 31, 2019, at mid [...]
NJT boss to Trains Magazine: Carrier has a way to go to meet PTC deadline
In an interview with Trains Magazine’s Ralph Spielman, New Jersey Transit (NJT) President and CEO Kevin Corbett said that the passenger carrier has much progress to make in its implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) in order to meet the deadline for full impleme [...]
Help needed for Local 1963 president’s daughter in her cancer fight
Britnee Griffin, daughter of Mike Griffin (a yardmaster, alternate vice chairperson of GCA 347 and the president of Local 1963 in Louisville, Ky.), has been battling aggressive cancer since the spring. The medical bills for her family are mounting, and an online fundraiser ha [...]
APTA reports U.S. rail ridership up in second quarter compared with 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Americans took more than 2.5 billion passenger trips on public transportation in the second quarter of 2019, according to the quarterly Transit Ridership Report released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), representing 11 million trips [...]
NTSB issues safety recommendation to Class I’s, short lines
As the National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate an accident in Wyoming that killed two SMART TD members out of Local 446, it issued a pair of safety recommendations to Class I railroads and a recommendation to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad [...]
Palmetto: Medicare ready to serve during disasters
When a severe weather event happens (such as a hurricane, typhoon, earthquake or wildfire), the last thing you or your healthcare provider are thinking about is Medicare. Concerns are about staying alive and what kind of home and property damage you will have. Your situation [...]