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John Previsich, President, SMART TD On Wednesday, June 15, SMART Transportation Division and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) submitted their joint comments on the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) proposed two-person crew rule. While both unions strongly support the proposed rule, they suggested in their comments that the rule be made stronger before…

Each year, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) prepares a “Certificate of Service Months and Compensation” (Form BA-6) for every railroad employee who had creditable railroad compensation in the previous calendar year. The RRB will mail the forms to employees during the first half of June. While every effort has been made to maintain current…

John Risch, National Legislative Director with SMART TD, submitted comments to Cowlitz County and the Washington State Department  of Ecology, in concern over the state’s possible efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from major construction projects, and the negative impact on rail that would follow.  “The release of the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for…

The question? May an employee wear a device like a “Garmin Vivofit” or “Fitbit” wristband that acts like a watch, and counts the steps that an individual takes each day?  The devices are not searching for the internet, or Wifi, to do this and must be synchronized with Bluetooth on a separate device. The devices…

The nydailynews.com reported that, after a seven-week Verizon strike, collective bargaining and the middle class came out on top. Read the entire story here.