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On December 11, 2025, a federal judge ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from immigration detention. SMART General President Michael Coleman released the following statement in response:

“In August, Kilmar Abrego Garcia saw his family for the first time in months, after he was first illegally deported to El Salvador, and then held in custody after he returned to the United States. Days after he reunited with his wife and children, Kilmar followed the law and attended a mandatory check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement — and he was immediately detained.

“He has not been with his family since.

“It is almost impossible to imagine what Kilmar, his wife, Jennifer, and his young children have experienced over these months.

“But today, after even more months of separation, Kilmar and his family have finally been given the chance to see each other again. We are thankful that this family will finally be reunited.

“The fight for Kilmar has always been about due process. It is one of the pillars that this great country was founded on. A pillar that actually DOES make America great. We fight for this due process every day for our members, and we will continue to fight for it and every right that our members deserve.”

Construction has been booming in Washington, DC, in recent years — especially residential and mixed-use apartment buildings following the Covid-19 pandemic. But at several projects, workers were allegedly misclassified as independent contractors, depriving those workers of the pay and benefits that they deserve.

That’s according to the Washington, DC, Office of the Attorney General (OAG). On December 9, 2025, Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced that “Brothers Mechanical Inc., a construction company that has worked on large development projects in NoMa, Navy Yard, and other DC neighborhoods, will pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations that the company and its subcontractors misclassified hundreds of workers as independent contractors.”

As explained by Chuck Sewell, marketing director at SMART Local 100 (Washington, DC-area), worker misclassification doesn’t just affect the misclassified employees. It negatively impacts the union contractors that employ SMART members.

“When companies illegally label employees as independent contractors, or misclassify them to a lower standard, they avoid paying proper wages, benefits, workers’ compensation, and payroll taxes. This is all-too common in the construction industry, and creates an uneven playing field where law-abiding contractors, who invest in trained workers and follow all regulations, are undercut by those cutting corners,” Sewell said in the OAG press release. 

Previous coverage of the work of SMART Local 16 and SMART Local 100 to combat wage theft.

Brothers Mechanical specializes in the design, installation and service of HVAC, plumbing and control systems, the OAG release said, and has worked on a number of mixed-use and residential buildings in recent years. According to the OAG, from 2020 through 2025, evidence showed that “Brothers Mechanical entered into agreements with subcontractors to provide about 500 construction workers to staff its projects, and that these workers were illegally misclassified as independent contractors.”

As a consequence, the release explains, these workers were not paid overtime premiums when they worked over 40 hours a week, they didn’t get the paid sick leave they earned, and they were excluded from unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation, among other things.

To resolve the OAG’s wage theft investigation, Brothers Mechanical must pay $500,000 to workers; pay $1 million in penalties to the District; make significant changes to ensure compliance with DC wage and hour laws — requiring any subcontractors to submit certified weekly payroll information, randomly auditing subcontractor payrolls on DC projects and training workers to identify suspected wage and hour violations — and submit to three years of compliance monitoring by OAG.

“DC workers are the backbone of our economy, and especially at a time when the cost of living in DC continues to rise, I will continue to prioritize ensuring that workers receive the wages and benefits they have earned,” Attorney General Schwalb said in the press release. “This settlement puts money back in the pockets of hundreds of construction workers and sends a clear message that businesses will face consequences when they break the law, cheat workers, and undercut law-abiding competitors.”

“We thank Attorney General Schwalb and his team at the OAG’s office for working to ensure the industry is safe and fair for all contractors and workers in the District,” Sewell concluded.

In the construction industry, suicide is an urgent crisis — one that isn’t talked about nearly enough.  

“Suicide in construction makes up 40% of the suicide rates in the country, even though construction workers are only 7% of the workforce,” explained Local 85 (Atlanta, Ga.) third-year apprentice Dee Lee in a recent SMART News video.   

That’s why Lee and Nathan Allred, assistant shop foreman at RF Knox, decided to take action: organizing the first-ever Healing for Hardhats 5K event to raise money for suicide prevention.  

The 5K took place in early September to coincide with national Suicide Awareness Month. Money raised during the event went towards the United Suicide Survivors International and the 2026 Construction Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference. Specifically, funds went to scholarships for apprentices, students and individuals with lived experience who may not otherwise have the resources to attend the summit.   

For Allred, a seven-year member of Local 85, the mission is personal.  

“I’ve had family members and friends die by suicide, so it’s something that hits really close to my heart,” he said, noting that he “had brushes with suicide attempts” and is a “two-time survivor.” 

“The whole event is just tied around solidarity,” Allred added. “As construction workers, we try to take on a lot by ourselves … this shows that you don’t have to do it alone.” 

Lee
Allred

For Local 85 Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer Steve Langley, the event showed exactly what it means to be union.  

“Mental health was something [that] when I was a kid … nobody talked about,” he explained. “It was something you didn’t talk about, it was something you hid.” 

Today, he continued, attitudes have changed for the better. 

“It’s become, ‘don’t be scared of your mental health. Get help. We’re here to help you.’ And that’s what a union is.” 

Lee, who previously organized a Unions Unite community service project in the Atlanta area, emphasized how important it is for unions to collaborate on events like Healing for Hardhats — events designed to benefit all members and working families.  

“The community that we’re building between local unions here is about building solidarity amongst the trades in Atlanta,” she said. “Because overall, we’re stronger when we fight together.”  

Over the years, the North American workforce has changed, especially in the construction industry. In response, SMART locals across the United States and Canada have worked to build unions for all members, regardless of race, gender, place of origin, belief and beyond. 

Lisa DuPuis of Local 47 (Ottawa, Ontario) is a journeyperson, executive board member and local women’s committee chair. In a recent episode of SMART News, DuPuis looked back on when she first entered the sheet metal industry and spoke proudly about how the number of sisters in the trades has grown since then.

“When I first started in the trades, it was very uncommon to see women. I think when I started, it was about six in all of Eastern Ontario or for our Local 47. Now, I believe we have over 40.”  

Attending the Tradeswomen Build Nations (TWBN) conference in Washington, DC, in 2023 made this new reality even clearer for DuPuis.  

“It was a huge eye-opening experience for me,” she recalled. “I didn’t realize the magnitude of how many women were in trades, how big of a movement it is.”  

Marching through DC with hundreds of fellow SMART sisters reinforced what DuPuis already knew: “I’m not the only woman anymore. There’s pretty much a woman, if not more, in every different trade.”  

For SMART locals, that fact is more than just something to feel good about. It is a crucial part of our union’s work to organize, grow market share and take on projects like data centers, battery plants and beyond. Signatory contractors need the workforce required to take on demanding jobs; recruiting and retaining ALL members is how SMART locals can help make that happen.

Knowing how difficult it was for women in the trades back when she first started, DuPuis helped begin the Local 47 women’s committee to foster connection for her fellow sisters.  

“The whole purpose of starting the committee was to give women a chance to be able to talk, to be able to come together, to be able to approach me and other licensed journeywomen, to be able to approach us and ask us anything,” she said. “And I think that’s the whole purpose of having these women’s committees: to have a safe space where you can ask anything.” 

DuPuis also credits SMART for supporting this movement. Initiatives like Belonging and Excellence for All (BE4ALL) and SMART’s participation in TWBN make her feel the power of solidarity in our union, she said.  

“Every single person I have worked with has done nothing but encourage me, empower me. I’ve never felt like I couldn’t do the job. Ever.” 

On November 28, 2025, SMART-TD announced that members working on Union Pacific (UP) properties voted to ratify the recently negotiated 2025 tentative agreement. SMART General President Michael Coleman released the following statement in response:

“In this union, there’s a saying that defines our principles and our fight: ‘United we bargain, divided we beg.’ SMART-TD leaders and members working on Union Pacific properties proved that with their recently ratified tentative agreement. Standing together, UP railroaders made their voices heard for significant wage increases, strong benefits, and key protections that resolve issues with the carrier that had gone unaddressed for too long. And SMART-TD’s negotiating team refused to settle for anything less, presenting members with an agreement they can be proud of.

“The fact that more than 80% of votes were in favor of this agreement is a testament to the strength of this contract — and a demonstration of what it means to be in this union. I want to congratulate President Jeremy Ferguson and his team on this stellar agreement, and I want to thank UP railroaders for standing up for the pay, benefits and protections that you deserve. You make this country run every day, and I’m proud that you have a contract that recognizes that fact.”

Amber Czech was a Minnesota tradeswoman who was killed at work in November. While not a SMART member, this tragedy is reverberating across the trades community and far beyond. Read the SMART Women’s Committee’s statement:

Amber Czech was 20 years old. A welder. A daughter. A young woman who showed up for her shift at 6 a.m. on a Tuesday, hoping to build a career and make a living. She never made it home.

She was murdered at work. According to police charging documents, the colleague now charged in her death told investigators he “had been planning it for some time and didn’t like her.”

Because he did not like her.

There is no version of this tragedy that is acceptable. And while the full details remain under investigation, tradeswomen across North America recognize the pattern far too well. Violence like this rarely comes out of nowhere. It often follows a buildup that women in the trades know by heart: harassment shrugged off, bullying tolerated, intimidation minimized, warning signs dismissed, fear of backlash, comments ignored, jokes explained away, the stares of resentment, and behaviors everyone chooses not to see until they can no longer look away.

Right now, this tragedy is reverberating across the trades community and far beyond. So many tradeswomen and gender-diverse workers are carrying the weight of this news. For many, it has hit close to home. It reminds us of the comments we have tried to ignore, the jokes we have had to call out, the bullying we have pushed through, the jobs some left and the incidents that could not be escaped.

Tradeswomen everywhere are exhausted. Exhausted from explaining why women’s committees’ matter. Why women’s groups matter. Why the fight for safe, respectful job sites is not theoretical. It is survival. Tired of repeating the same reasons, the same statistics, the same lived experiences that all echo the same theme.

Yet even in that exhaustion, our voices keep rising. Stronger. Louder. More unified. We will not stop.

If Amber did not tell anyone she felt unsafe, that silence is something every tradeswoman understands. Fear often keeps workers from reporting. Fear of repercussion, fear of being dismissed, fear of nothing changing. And if she did speak up, it would not be the first time a woman’s concerns were minimized or quietly set aside. The investigation is ongoing, but what we already know reflects issues that women in the trades have been naming for decades.

This is why bystander silence is NOT an option. We cannot be people who “didn’t see anything.” We must create workplaces where concerns are raised safely, heard clearly, and acted on immediately.

To those impacted by this terrible news, you are not alone. Our community stands with you. We grieve with Amber’s family, with her co-workers, with every tradeswoman who saw herself in this story, and with every parent who already worried about the safety of their apprentice daughter. We share your grief. We share your anger. And we refuse to be silent.

We call on employers, contractors, supervisors and every person on a job site to confront the culture that allowed this to happen. Violence is not “part of the job” or “job site humor.” Intimidation and dismissal are not “just the trades.”

Amber deserved a full life and a long career. She deserved protection, respect and a workplace that valued her humanity. She deserved better.

We will honor her by pushing harder, demanding more and refusing to let her name fade. Exhausted or not, we will keep fighting to build a culture within an industry that was not built with us in mind.

Support and resources for SMART members

For SMART members who are struggling, need support or want to understand where to turn:

Code of Excellence

A SMART program that sets expectations for professional behavior, conduct, safety and respect on every job site. Members can access it through SMART’s website by visiting Resources → For Members → Code of Excellence.

Membership Assistance Program (MAP)

Confidential, free, 24/7 support for SMART members.

Mental health, substance use, suicide prevention and peer-support mentors.

MAP helpline: 1-877-884-6227.                                      

Rapid Response Protocol

The SMART Rapid Response Protocol is designed to help local leadership respond to incidents of bias, discrimination, and harassment. Members can speak with their local officers about the protocol and view it here. If you are a victim or a bystander of an incident, you can also fill out an incident form on the beforall.org website. If the situation is a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

In solidarity,

The SMART International Women’s Committee, BE4ALL and RISE Committee

Brothers, sisters and friends,

I want to wish you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is about gratitude. It is about the things that matter in life: Loved ones. Community. Our health, and our well-being.

As SMART members, these values are especially meaningful. We are part of the movement that fought to protect those things that matter to us — and so all of us could enjoy days like Thanksgiving. We continue to fight so that every single person gets the pay, the benefits and the respect they deserve.

And it’s not lost on any of us that we have many members working, even on Thanksgiving, keeping our nation moving. Thank you, brothers and sisters, for everything you do, and know we do not forget the sacrifice you made.

We all have different traditions on days like Thanksgiving. Some of us eat turkey. Some of us watch football. Others just take the opportunity to see family. But no matter what your tradition is, I hope we all take the chance to think about what we’re grateful for.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent all of you. And on behalf of the SMART General Executive Council, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the holiday, and please stay safe.

In solidarity,

During the week of November 17, 2025, new local union leaders gathered in St. Louis, Mo., for the SMART Education Department’s New Business Managers class.

Members elect business managers to steward their local unions and fight on their behalf across an incredibly wide range of areas, from bargaining to community coalition building and well beyond. For that reason, the class — extended to five days for 2025 — focused on management of a local union by looking at all its parts and functions: leadership, staff, representation, resources, trust funds, organizing and community relationships.

In addition to the Education Department staff, SMART House Counsel Luke Rebecchi, Chief International Representative Dave Bernett, International Representative Chris Griffey and Communications Director Paul Pimmentel taught attendees about topics within their departments’ purview.  

“Each of the five days of the class, participants created strategic action plans based on the topics covered in the training, and at the end of the week presented their top priorities and next steps,” said SMART Director of Education Eli Baccus. “Groups worked together throughout the week, and a point system was in place. Congratulations to Mike Owen of the Central States Regional Production Council, Jeff Hunley of Local 24, Anthony Fodiatis of Local 137 and Steve Davis of Local 280 for being recognized by their peers as the top group in the class!”

SMART has officially relaunched the Talking SMART podcast, newly focused on providing information, resources and stories that are relevant to members and their families.

“Relaunching the Talking SMART podcast is part of our work to make sure members are getting the information they need and hearing the stories that matter to them,” said SMART Director of Communications Paul Pimentel. “We are committed to meeting members wherever they are, whether that’s online, on social media, in print or on podcast platforms.”

As part of the new and improved Talking SMART, episodes will now be released in seasons, offering in-depth, comprehensive explorations of the topics that matter to members. The first season focuses on mental health, with episodes diving into the concept of mental wellness, what different types of mental illness look like, resources available to members and their families, and more. SMART Director of Wellness and Mental Health Support Chris Carlough was the featured guest on the season’s first episode, overviewing the basics of mental health and some of the resources available to SMART members and families.

“Really, all [that] people that are in pain want to have is to be heard, and to know that they’re not alone. And that’s what this whole thing really centers around: That you’re not alone,” Carlough said. 

Members can listen to Talking SMART by clicking here, and/or subscribing on their podcast platform of choice.

The newest episode of the Talking SMART podcast is LIVE NOW!

This is the first episode in the first-ever themed season of Talking SMART, which will focus on mental health. Over the course of the season, SMART members and guests will dive into the concept of mental wellness, what different types of mental illness can look like, the resources available to members and their families and much more. Listen to the first episode today, featuring SMART Director of Wellness and Mental Health Support Chris Carlough!

“Really, all [that] people that are in pain want to have is to be heard, and to know that they’re not alone. And that’s what this whole thing really centers around: That you’re not alone.”

Talking SMART brings listeners the voice, stories and power of SMART union members across North America. Members are invited to send feedback and questions to info@smart-union.org. 

Return to the Talking SMART index page.

Talking SMART is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network — working people’s voices, broadcasting worldwide 24 hours a day.