Category: Local Corner

WE Have the Power to Protect Jobs in Santa Cruz

May 14, 2026 5,500 more signatures are needed to protect Santa Cruz METRO funding, preserve more than 100 union jobs, and maintain critical transit services for working families. Read on to learn how SMART-TD members can help keep the campaign moving forward.

Rail Safety Becomes Public Safety Real Quick

April 23, 2026 Rigby Yard in South Portland, Maine features unmonitored RCO’s and Amtrak’s Downeaster service sharing its yard limits. Read on to see how in Maine, Rail Safety, and Public Safety go hand in hand.

Strong Team Smooths Transition for New Local 406

June 6, 2025 SMART-TD welcomes our newest property, Local 406, out of Missoula, Montana. Faced with daunting changes after their short line was taken over by BNSF, SMART-TD organizer Pete Trotta created a team to help everyone in 406 get up to speed. “These guys might not have known the BNSF systems yet, and they might have been BLE members, but they were railroaders just like us. Helping them was just the right thing to do.”

Fundraiser established for survivors of member who died on the job

September 9, 2024 Joshua Bates, a member of Local 496 in Ohio, died while on the job of a heart attack. A fundraiser has been established by his union family for his wife and three children.

Tags Local 496, online fundraiser

K.C. bus agreement follows SMART-TD’s focus on coaching local officers

July 23, 2024 A Kansas City transit union secures massive raises after a negotiation bootcamp with a SMART-TD vice president. “Not only did this help in negotiating this agreement, but it’s also made me more effective in representing my members on the property in day-to-day operations” – Ethel Maze, Local 1704 president

Tags contract ratification, First Student, Local 1704, School Bus Drivers

Chairperson ensures that new bus members get what’s owed to them

July 1, 2024 One of SMART-TD’s newest locals, led by one of our newest local officers, scores a big win for some of our newest bus members!

Tags First Transit, General Chairperson Justin Schrock, Local 1707

Louisville & Indiana members say change in representation like ‘night and day’

June 20, 2024 Members from a new property share the day-to-day changes after joining the SMART railroad union. “The access to the information our guys need has been remarkable. I’m not an officer in this local, just a member, but that doesn’t seem to matter to these guys. They really want us all to have what we need to be successful.”

Tags Louisville & Indiana Railroad

SMART-TD welcomes members of the Louisville & Indiana

June 18, 2024 The SMART Transportation Division achieved an organizing win May 1 with the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) certification of representation for the Louisville & Indiana Railroad.