Retired former UTU GS&T Dan Johnson dies

Retired former United Transportation Union (UTU) General Secretary & Treasurer Daniel E. Johnson III, 67, passed away early May 21, 2015, according to reports received by the SMART Transportation Division. Johnson, who retired in August 2007 and was living in Lincoln, Cal [...]

With rail traffic down, BNSF furloughs employees

BNSF Railway is furloughing employees in Northwest Montana and across its 32,000-mile system as freight traffic on America’s rails declines. According to the Association of American Railroads, the number of freight car loads moved during the first full-week of May was down 7. [...]

SMART TD, BLET Statement On Amtrak Derailment

(The following is a joint statement by John Previsich, President, SMART Transportation Division and Dennis R. Pierce, National President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, regarding questions that have arisen since the fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadel [...]

The price we pay for conservative scorn of Amtrak

On Tuesday night, an Amtrak train spectacularly derailed on its way through Philadelphia, killing at least seven people. On Wednesday morning, a House appropriations subcommittee voted to cut federal funding for Amtrak by about 20 percent. Those are two dots Republicans don’t [...]