When a passenger boards a Metro-North train, there is every expectation to arrive at the destination safely. Yet Congress is considering easing a year-end deadline for railroads to install a technology — called Positive Train Control — that will prevent accidents like those d [...]
SMART Transportation Division-represented trainmen (Local 556 of Tacoma, Wash.) employed by Tacoma Rail have ratified a new six and one-half (6.5) year agreement by an overwhelming majority. The agreement provides for true parity for all trainmen, with the elimination of entr [...]
WASHINGTON, DC – Operation Lifesaver, Inc.(OLI), in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), announced that $205,000 in grants will be awarded to 13 state Operation Lifesaver programs for a variety of rail crossing safety and anti-trespassing public educati [...]
Trenton, N.J. – While admitting that their hands are largely tied, New Jersey lawmakers on Monday, June 15, took steps to better prepare the state in the event of a catastrophic oil train accident. “There is not a whole lot we can do to regulate rails going throug [...]
Flight attendants in the United States are calling for the government to step up action against human trafficking by funding mandatory training to help them spot victims in the air. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), the world’s largest flight attendant uni [...]
Dale W. McClain, 59, of Buffalo, N.Y. died of cancer June 11 at a nursing home in Buffalo, N.Y. McClain hired out with First Student Inc., and was a member of Local 1908 (Buffalo, N.Y.) since 1990. McClain served her union in various positions since 2011 when she was voted in [...]
The National Mediation Board yesterday released from further mediation every commuter union on New Jersey Transit (NJT). The unions, working together in the New Jersey Transit Rail Labor Coalition, immediately announced their intention to invoke a Presidential Emer [...]
By John Previsich, SMART Transportation Division President We are all aware of the recent incident that occurred on Amtrak Train 188 in Philadelphia. Three of our conductor Brothers and Sisters from Local 1370 in New York City and the engineer operating the locomotive have ha [...]
The White House on Thursday, June 4, endorsed a requirement that U.S. railroads install new safety equipment (Positive Train Control – PTC) by the end of 2015, despite bipartisan efforts in Congress to give passenger and freight rail companies extra time to comply. Admi [...]
Donald L. Allard, 55, of Minot, N.D. died Tuesday, June 9 in a Minot hospital. Allard (L-1059 of Minot, N.D.) was a BNSF brakeman and long-time local chairperson and delegate. He also served as assistant general chairperson for GO 386 from 2003 to 2015. He originally hired ou [...]
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