News Archive
Officers are here to help, membership comes first
By Adhi Reddy, Transportation Division Vice President – Bus – The year 2015 is a special one for our organization because we left our First SMART Convention as a united membership. Together, with one voice, we are a stronger body throughout the nation. All of our newly [...]Previsich: 'We achieved great things in 2014'
By John Previsich, SMART Transportation Division President – On behalf of the officers and staff of the SMART Transportation Division, I will take this opportunity to thank our members and their families for all of their efforts in 2014 and to extend our best wishes for a sa [...]Utah bill to regulate rail crew vans draws fans, foes
SALT LAKE CITY – Legislation to give the Utah Department of Transportation oversight of companies entrusted with transporting railroad crews between jobs barely advanced to a third Senate reading with a 15-12 vote. At issue in SB127 is a loophole in the law that does not requ [...]Railroad Retirement explain survivor benefits
Monthly benefits may be payable under the Railroad Retirement Act to the surviving widow(er), children, and certain other dependents of a railroad employee if the employee was “insured” under that act at the time of death. Lump-sum death benefits may also be payable to qualif [...]Want a raise? Join a union
Union membership still pays…at least in terms of higher wages. The typical union worker made $970 a week in 2014, compared to $763 for non-union workers, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That 27 percent spread has remained relatively constant at [...]Metrolink train hits truck, derails in Calif.
A Metrolink train derailed early Tuesday, Feb. 24, in Oxnard, Calif., after slamming into a truck that was in flames. Twenty-eight people were injured, four critically. The driver of the truck fled the scene and was taken into custody, officials said. The train was going 79 m [...]Oil trains are taking high-stakes risks with lives
Five hundred and ninety one days have passed since a train carrying crude oil derailed and incinerated the town of Lac Megantic in Quebec. In that time, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has still not finalized new safety rules on tank car standards and operational [...]