Sister Robin Smith Shows What Solidarity Really Means

When Robin Smith (Local 830, Harrisburg, Pa.) was first approached about potentially working on the railroad, she laughed.

In the span of a few years, she moved from Michigan to Pennsylvania, got divorced, and was looking for a way to support her kids.

Her friend’s husband suggested that she put in an application to work with him on the railroad, which she decided to do after doing her research and learning more from him about what that would be like.

She was hired as a conductor for Norfolk Southern in 2010, became the first female officer of her local just two years later, and has never looked back while holding multiple leadership positions and becoming the go-to for new hires.

A Local Officer Who’s an Unofficial Mentor

Now an engineer who is currently both the Treasurer and Safety & Legislative Representative for Local 830, Sister Smith says that it was important to her to stay with both SMART-TD and her local for one big reason: ensuring the membership has a constant, dependable presence, especially when it comes to her union sisters.

“I feel like we’ve had so many changes in our local,” she explained. “Women communicate differently than men. I want them to know things. I want them to know their contract. I want them to know why we do certain things, and a lot of that stuff wasn’t getting out. So that kind of became my role.”

Over time, she’s also assumed the de facto role as a mentor to other females when they’re hired.

“As a female officer, when females are hired, I always try to reach out to them, make sure they have my number if they need anything, if they have questions,” she said. “It can be very lonely out there when you’re new.”

You don’t need to take Sister Smith’s word for it: her actions alone do the talking.

Smith Brings Solidarity and Sisterhood to Recent Hearing 

When a recent disciplinary incident involving another female working for Norfolk Southern led to a formal hearing, Robin knew she couldn’t let her union sister sit in that room alone.

“As a female, those environments [hearings] and the investigation environment can be very intimidating,” she explained. “It’s uncomfortable, and anything can happen in that room. And as a female, we need to be there to support each other and to make sure that we’re not put in uncomfortable situations.”

In this case, it was one woman in a room with eight men. Sister Smith explains that even though some of those eight men present were supportive, they couldn’t necessarily relate to or understand what the female member was experiencing in that room.

“If you’re going to get emotional and you want to cry, then you need to have that person sit next to you that’s like ‘It’s okay, let’s take a break,’” she said. “You don’t have to keep going, because sometimes they just want to push through and get it done, and sometimes you need a break. So, I felt that she needed that person to be there to give her that break.”

“I feel like she felt like she was supported in her investigation and that she had people there to back her up and hear her, believe her, listen to her.”

General Chairperson of GCA 898 Tommy Gholson noticed that subtle but powerful solidarity in action from Sister Smith.

“During the hearing and recesses, [Robin provided a] shoulder and motherly care for the younger member,” he said. “It was very obvious to us that she is a role model to the female and membership alike in this area.”

Education and Knowledge Can’t Be Taken for Granted

Sister Smith explains that while the railroad industry is starting to change somewhat to bring more women into the fold, she’s optimistic that even more can be done.

“I think visibility is a big thing,” she said. “It’s not a physical job. It’s knowledge. We need to educate people and make women more visible and actively promote hiring more women.”

That goal is especially personal since her daughter, who is a single mom, just put in an application herself.

“It’s a good career with good benefits, with good retirement, and the ability to provide for your children on your own.”

But regardless of whether a new hire is male or female, Sister Smith emphasizes one thing above all else: education.

“Everybody needs to be educated,” she explained. They need to know who to contact, who to communicate with when they have incidents and when things happen, and they need to make sure they get their documentation and get everything in writing.”

As she’s learned firsthand, that knowledge makes all the difference.

“[I used to think] I’m just grateful to have the job,” she said. “I am grateful to have the job. But you know what? I’m grateful to help you and help me protect my job, because that’s the important part. You have to protect the job.”

Railroading hasn’t always been an industry full of women, but our sisters who are here today are making sure it won’t always be that way. In crew rooms, on locomotives, and in heated hearing rooms, sisters like Robin Smith are writing the story of women in railroading in real time. When union sisters show up for each other, support each other, and share the knowledge that keeps us all protected, they’re not just recognizing women’s history: they’re forging it.