Category: Alumni Association
Members rally to save their jobs at Amtrak
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, members of SMART Transportation Division led the way, along with members of the BLET and TCU/IAM, uniting in cities across America to spread awareness about cuts coming to Amtrak if the Senate fails to act now. On Sept. 9, Amtrak President and CEO Wil [...]
Retired GC Gary Babiarz passes away
Gary F. Babiarz, a member of SMART Transportation Division for more than 45 years and retired general chairperson of GCA-449 (Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, passed away Sept. 23, 2020, at age 66. Brother Babiarz joined the union in January 1974 and was a GC from 2015 to 2019. [...]Retired UTU vice presidents Patsouras, Easley and Pearl pass away
The union has received notification in recent weeks of the deaths of three former vice presidents of the United Transportation Union. Five-term UTU Vice President Peter Patsouras passed away on Thursday, Sept. 10. He was 76 years old. Joining the union in August 1965, he was [...]
UPDATED: Former President G. Thomas DuBose passes away
G. Thomas DuBose, who served one term as president of the SMART Transportation Division’s immediate predecessor union, passed away on Aug. 20, 2020, after a short illness. DuBose, United Transportation Union (UTU) president from 1991 to 1995, had experienced health complicati [...]
Local 1741 San Francisco school bus drivers plan protest after district announces mass layoff
In reaction to the San Francisco Unified School District’s (SFUSD) decision to lay off about 260 school bus drivers effective Aug. 31 on the cusp of the new school year, SMART-TD Local 1741 plans a massive protest in front of City Hall this week. Drivers, dispatchers an [...]
Video in DNC’s first night highlights relationship between Biden, SMART retiree
Gregg B. Weaver, a retired member of SMART-TD Local 898 who rode with former Vice President Joe Biden many times during the longtime senator’s commute from Delaware to Washington D.C., was featured in a video presented Monday, Aug. 17, during the first night of the Demo [...]
Update from RRB Labor member on NRRIT investments
Railroad Retirement Board Labor Member John Bragg released the following message on Aug. 4: Brothers and Sisters: In my last update on July 9, 2020, I informed you of correspondence that the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) received from the White House alleging that the Natio [...]
Kansas DOT proposes two-person crew regulation
Another state is making a two-person freight crew the law of their land. On July 27, the Kansas State Department of Transportation proposed a regulation that requires railroads that operate in the state to maintain a two-person crew in the lead locomotive. “Kansas now joins a [...]