SMART TD AND BLET: CALL CONGRESS for 2-PERSON CREW, NOW!

CLEVELAND, Jan. 20—The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Rail Air and Transportation Workers (SMART TD) are urging their respective memberships to contact members of the House of Representatives about co-sponsoring The Safe Freight Act of 2017 (H.R. 233), a bill that would…


January 20th 2017
AAR describes rail job decline as “being flexible, efficient”

Trains.com reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing that railroad jobs dropped by 3.8 percent in 2016 – reflecting the elimination of approximately 8,600 railroad jobs. In 2015, the drop in railroad jobs was reported at at sharper decline of  6.8 percent. Read the complete article here.  


January 18th 2017
SMART TD announces introduction of two-person train crew legislation

Rep. Young Washington, D.C. (Jan. 17, 2017) – SMART Transportation Division announced the re-introduction of the Safe Freight Act (H.R. 233) by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and former Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, which would require two crew members — one certified locomotive engineer and one certified conductor — on all freight…


January 17th 2017
North Dakota member dies in BNSF crew van accident

Robert W. Vann IV, 54, was killed Tuesday, Jan. 10 when the BNSF crew van that he was riding in was involved in a head-on collision with a pick-up truck near Wolf Point, Mont. Vann served his country in the U.S. Air Force before hiring out as a conductor with BNSF in Minot, N.D. He…


January 13th 2017
Remembering Dr. King

Dr. King On Monday, January 16, 2017, every member of the SMART union will stand with our entire nation in honor, solidarity and remembrance of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s brilliance, vision, leadership and ultimate personal sacrifice shifted the course of American history forever by shedding light and…