SMART honors and mourns Thomas DeBartolo

SMART mourns the passing of recently retired General Vice President and Local 27 (Southern New Jersey) President and Business Manager Thomas DeBartolo — a lifelong labor leader, brother and dear friend to all who knew him. DeBartolo spent his life working to improve the lives of SMART members and working families, both in New Jersey and across North America, and he was unani­mously recognized within our union as a great leader and an even better friend.

DeBartolo was a second-generation Local 27 sheet metal worker. After attending Rutgers University — graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and urban communications — DeBartolo began his four-year apprenticeship, becoming a journeyperson in 1989. DeBartolo served his local union in various capacities during his time with the tools, including shop steward, foreman and general foreman for union contractors. In 1999, he was elected to the Executive Board of his local, where he sat for almost five years, and he was appointed as a full-time organizer in 2002 — signing multiple sheet metal shops to Local 27 in a two-year period.

In 2004, DeBartolo was elected a business agent of Local 27, a position he held until 2021. During his time as an agent, he was also a trustee on various funds and aided in negotiating multiple collective bargaining agreements. DeBartolo became president and business manager of Local 27 in March 2021.

In addition to his local union service, DeBartolo was elected president of the Monmouth & Ocean Counties Building and Construction Trades Council in 2010.

Prior to becoming president of the council, he was its secretary-treasurer from 2006–2010. In 2024, DeBartolo was elected president of the Metropolitan Association of Presidents & Business Representatives. He became a member of the SMART General Executive Council the same year.

DeBartolo’s labor leadership was recognized through the years by organizations such as the Monmouth County Workforce Investment Board, Monmouth County Democrats, Ocean County Democrats and the New Jersey Alliance for Action. In 2023, he was honored as Labor Person of the Year by the Middlesex & Somerset Counties AFL-CIO Labor Council.

DeBartolo and his wife, Suzanne, were married for more than 25 years; along with Suzanne, DeBartolo is survived by his mother-in-law, Gail; his children, Olivia DeBartolo, Tyler Quarantiello and Tyler’s wife, Caitlin; his grandchildren, Peyton and Knox; and his brother, John DeBartolo, and John’s wife, Carol.