News Archive
Trump’s coal promises prove empty as two Ohio coal plants plan to shut down
Dayton Power & Light announced Monday, March 20, that it will shut down two coal-fired power plants in southern Ohio next year. An estimated 490 people will lose their jobs once the plants close, not to mention the jobs that will be lost in other coal-related industries a [...]
Rail coalition rallies; FRA denies CSX bid to remove track signals
A collective of rail unions and Michigan citizens lobbied the FRA to deny a CSX request that would discontinue use of vital safety signals along a busy freight rail line in Michigan – and won. SMART Transportation Division, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, B [...]
SMART TD’s Risch – DC Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies
WASHINGTON – John Risch, SMART TD National Legislative Director, participated in hearings as a member of the Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies on March 21, 2017. Discussion focused on new and emerging trends in railroad safety including train crew size, recen [...]
Partnerships Grow Female Interest in Apprenticeships
To those outside the industry, sheet metal work may seem like a man’s world. Internally, journeywomen are thriving, and although the percentage of female apprentices is at 4.2 percent, that’s double what it was only two years ago, according to the International Training Insti [...]
Young woman killed by train during photo shoot
NAVASOTA, Texas – Fredzania Thompson, a mother-to-be and an aspiring model, was tragically killed during a photo shoot on train tracks. Read the complete article here. According to John Risch, SMART TD national legislative director, there is a dangerous and growing tren [...]
Maryland House passes two-person crew bill
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On March 17, the Maryland House of Representatives voted in favor of HB 381, a measure that would require at least two crew members on all freight trains operating in the state of Maryland. The bi-partisan bill has moved to the Senate finance committee. [...]
Local 1704 mourns loss of two members
SMART TD Bus Vice President Calvin Studivant reports that Roshonda McIntosh, 41, died March 16, and Ira Fitzgerald, 53, died March 17. Both members had been ill. McIntosh and Fitzgerald were both members of Local 1704 in Kansas City, Mo., and had been long-time bus operators [...]
Tell your Representatives: Oppose President Trump’s budget cuts to Amtrak!
This week, President Donald Trump released his 2018 budget proposal, which includes severe funding cuts to Amtrak along with the elimination of federal support for Amtrak’s long distance train services. Despite criticisms by some in Congress, Amtrak served approximately 31.3 [...]