lpoling, Author at SMART Union

“The project peaked at over 500 [Local 20] sheet metal workers. It’s still hard to wrap my hands around that.”

That’s Local 20 (Indiana) Business Manager Trent Todd, discussing a Stellantis engine plant megaproject in Kokomo, Ind. — the largest project in the local’s history — in a recent episode of SMART News.

The key to taking on the work? Organizing.

“It was a total team effort, state-wide,” Todd said. “Hats off to the local business rep. in that area; I can’t say enough.”

The Kokomo megaproject began in spring of 2023. Even before the peak of 500 sheet metal workers, Todd and Local 20 knew that immense workforce demands would be placed on their signatory contractors.

So, using a broad range of organizing tactics, the local got to work early.

“We started months ahead of time with our Youth-to-Youth organizers, mapping out nonunion jobsites before we conducted the blitzes that we had,” Todd explained, referring to several union organizing blitzes in the area that the local conducted, in conjunction with the SMART International Organizing Department, to recruit unorganized workers. “We basically blitzed several areas. We were efficient when the International organizers came in, because we had the projects already documented that had nonunion workers on them.”

Organizers used methods both innovative and tried-and-true to get their message to nonunion workers. They handed out cards with QR codes linking to information on the union difference at jobsites and local businesses. The local ran social media advertisements. Officers visited community colleges and adult education centers, handing out cards and spreading the word about fulfilling careers in the sheet metal industry, and continued their practice of visiting job fairs and community outreach.

“[We did] some new stuff as well as some of the traditional, boots-on-the-ground … fighting and combating the nonunion, and monitoring jobsites in the area,” Todd explained.

Local 20’s intentional focus on organizing will serve union sheet metal workers in Indiana for years to come. Even now, in the wake of the Stellantis megaproject, members are at work on a $4 billion hospital project in Indianapolis and will soon take on an upcoming 26-story high rise. Not only that, Todd added: The rigorous organizing conducted by the local is helping union contractors retain their “core work” market share, maintaining the unionized sector’s hold on elements of our industry that stay constant through the fluctuations that define construction.

In other words, whether staffing record-breaking megaprojects or ensuring union members continue taking on the everyday projects that keep communities running, organizing is key.

“All in all — with new SMART members, seasoned SMART members, the help from our International Association — SMART Local 20 delivered [its] largest project to date,” Todd concluded.

Tags Local 20, megaproject, organizing, Youth to Youth

Since mid-March, SMART has continued to fight for Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return home and his right to due process. Abrego Garcia, a sheet metal apprentice with SMART Local 100 in Maryland, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador nearly two months ago.

The latest episode of SMART News featured coverage of the ongoing case, including footage of a press conference featuring SMART General President Michael Coleman and Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer; an interview with SMART House Counsel Luke Rebecchi; and General President Coleman’s appearance on CNN’s The Situation Room.

“The principle of due process is one of the fundamental values our nation is founded upon. Every single person in America has the right to due process, the right to face one’s accusers — the guarantee that no one shall be ‘deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law,’” General President Coleman said on April 4. “When Kilmar Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, he was denied his right to due process, and we at SMART are fighting to ensure he receives the treatment he is granted under law — just like we would, and we always will, fight for the rights of every single SMART member.”

“In the blink of an eye, our three children lost their father, and I lost the love of my life,” Jennifer Vasquez Sura said during the April press conference. “His mother lost a son, his siblings lost their brother. Our entire family is broken by what, in ICE’s words, was an error.”

“We all need to imagine if this were to happen to us,” said General President Coleman during the same press conference. “One of our family members, one of our friends. Taken into custody, illegally deported and not being able to reach out to your loved ones.

“It’s just not enough to admit that you made a mistake — you need to fix it.”

On Thursday, April 10, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision that backed a federal judge’s order requiring the government to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. Members are encouraged to send a letter to their representative and senators demanding action.

Tags Kilmar Abrego Garcia, SMART News, video

As industry, politics and economic landscapes shift, SMART representatives are constantly called upon to adapt accordingly, ensuring union members are represented to the best of their abilities. It’s a daunting task — but thanks to the SMART Education Department, local union officers across our union have access to an always-evolving lineup of courses designed to strengthen their representation.

That includes the department’s New Representatives II course, held in Rosemont, Ill., during the week of April 14th, 2025.

New Representatives II, which was completely redesigned for 2025 and delivered in-person instead of online, focused on improving representational and leadership skills beyond the day-to-day tasks that a representative would face. Participants worked in groups in several role-playing exercises throughout the week that covered topics such as time management, identifying leaders in local union memberships, building strategic relationships, lobbying, pre-jobs and conflict resolution. This class also marked the first time the Education Department implemented its new peer-based scoring system.

“Congratulations to Michael Thomas, Wayne Petty and James May for finishing as the top three participants in the class!” the department wrote.

Tags education, Education Department

On Thursday, April 10, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision that backed a federal judge’s order requiring the government to facilitate the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States. SMART General President Michael Coleman issued the following statement in response:

“Since last week, our demand has been a simple one — one that echoed the calls of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia’s family, community and allies: Bring Kilmar home and give him the due process that is his right.

“It’s been weeks since Kilmar, a sheet metal apprentice working hard to pursue the American dream, was mistakenly deported. Over those weeks, in what has been a heartbreaking and terrifying time for Kilmar’s family, we have seen Americans from coast to coast raise their voices against Kilmar’s deportation. And in the midst of that outcry, the United States justice system instructed the government, again and again, to bring Kilmar back to the U.S.

“In court last Friday, U.S. Department of Justice attorney Erez Reuveni admitted that there was nothing in the record to support ICE apprehending and deporting Abrego Garcia. The federal district court judge who heard Kilmar’s case stated she ‘[hadn’t] been given any evidence’ to support the government’s allegation of gang affiliation and ordered the government to bring Kilmar home. On Monday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously denied the government’s request for a stay. And yesterday, the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the government’s responsibility to facilitate Kilmar’s return from El Salvador.

“Our call is unchanged, and it is now backed by the Supreme Court: The government must bring Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia home and grant him due process. We are overjoyed for Kilmar and his family, and we look forward to the Trump administration taking immediate steps to bring him back to the U.S.”

Tags General President Michael Coleman, GP Coleman, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, statement

Following Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ decision to temporarily stay a federal district court order to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States by 11:59pm tonight, SMART General President Michael Coleman issued the following statement:

“In court Friday, U.S. Department of Justice attorney Erez Reuveni admitted that there was nothing in the record to support ICE apprehending and deporting Abrego Garcia. The federal district court judge who heard Kilmar’s case stated she ‘[hadn’t] been given any evidence’ to support the government’s allegation of gang affiliation and ordered the government to bring Kilmar home by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, April 7. And earlier today, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously denied the government’s request for a stay. Circuit Judge Thacker aptly described what is at stake in Kilmar’s case, writing that:

‘The United States Government has no legal authority to snatch a person who is lawfully present in the United States off the street and remove him from the country without due process. The Government’s contention otherwise, and its argument that the federal courts are powerless to intervene, are unconscionable.’

“Now, instead of fixing the error the federal government has acknowledged making by bringing Kilmar home, the government has taken the matter to the Supreme Court. Today, Chief Justice Roberts temporarily stayed the order.

“We are devastated for Kilmar and his family that his return has been delayed. But our call remains unchanged: The Trump administration must bring Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia home and grant him the due process that is his right.”

Tags General President Coleman, General President Michael Coleman, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Michael Coleman, statement

When SMART Local 5 (East Tennessee and North Carolina) member Steven Ruger became an organizer in April 2023, the local had around 1,100 members — the majority in Tennessee — with 500 sheet metal workers needed to take on several approaching megaprojects.

“I wanted to become an organizer to help build and grow Local 5,” said Ruger, who first joined the trade in July 2011 with SMART Local 112 (Elmira, N.Y.) before moving to North Carolina years later. “To give others the opportunity I had and build solidarity in North Carolina.”

By all conventional measures, he’s succeeding. Today, thanks in large part to aggressive organizing conducted by Local 5 and spearheaded by Ruger, the local has more than 1,500 members, and the size of Local 5’s North Carolina membership has increased by more than 60%.

Megaprojects drive growth

Back in 2023, three megaprojects in Local 5’s jurisdiction — a Wolfspeed chip plant, a Toyota battery plant and a VinFast plant — put huge workforce demands on signatory contractors. That meant Ruger had to get straight to work once he started his new job as an organizer, training with now-retired International Organizer Kevin Mulcahy while simultaneously building a person-of-interest list for the local.

“Kevin and I researched nonunion fabrication shops in Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro, found where workers left these shops and placed yard signs at high-traffic intersections,” Ruger recalled.

In September 2023, the International put on an organizing blitz in Raleigh, North Carolina, to help staff the megaprojects, with organizers undergoing two days of training and two days of jobsite visits. There were four cars, with four organizers in each car, Ruger said — including one bilingual organizer per vehicle. He also had more than 500 palm cards printed, made up with a QR code that would direct users to a Local 5 landing page that explained megaprojects, pay scale, per diem, overtime and other facts about the union advantage.

“We flooded jobsites, gas stations and supply houses with these cards,” Ruger said. “This was a huge success.”

The recruiting didn’t stop there. Ruger ran ads on Craigslist and Indeed, marketing the many perks of being a Local 5 sheet metal worker. The local has partnered with Guilford Technical Community College to help bring on two classes of 25 first-year sheet metal apprentices. And Ruger found great success stripping one of Local 5’s nonunion competitors, Environmental Air Systems.

“On a couple jobs, I stripped the foreman, and he brought his whole crew of 10-plus people with him,” he said.

Language isn’t a barrier to the union advantage

Ruger, Mulcahy and Local 5 knew that navigating potential Spanish-English language barriers would be key to any organizing success in the area. Along with the bilingual organizers brought in for the Raleigh blitz, Ruger worked with International Organizer Josh Garner and Strategic Research and Data Team Manager Kris Harmon to make sure the Local 5 landing page could be translated into Spanish. He even invested in translator ear buds in order to communicate with Spanish-speaking workers directly.

“I would meet these workers at Sheetz gas stations and our local union hall, explaining all the benefits of joining,” Ruger said. “I hired a few bilingual workers, and going forward they would help me relay information and assist with recruiting.”

Bad-faith employers often exploit language barriers to keep workers from organizing, collectively bargaining and speaking up about jobsite issues. That wasn’t the case at SMART signatory contractor Dynamic Systems, Inc. (DSI), which took on the Wolfspeed chip plant in Siler City, North Carolina. Thanks to their cooperation, all workers were put in a position to succeed — benefiting the employer as well.

“DSI worked with Local 5 and set up two orientations for workers, one in English and one in Spanish,” Ruger explained. “I would send all Spanish-speaking workers to the shop on Friday, and then DSI would report them to the jobsite for orientation in Spanish.”

The success achieved by Ruger and Local 5 marks a roadmap for SMART locals across North America. A wide variety of challenges lie ahead for our organization, from workforce demands to encroaching nonunion competition. But regardless of the nation, state or municipality of any given local, there’s at least one action we can always take: organize, organize, organize.

Tags Local 5, megaproject, megaprojects, organizing, organizing win, Recruiting

Following an April 4, 2025, press conference regarding the deportation of SMART Local 100 apprentice Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, General President Michael Coleman issued the following statement:

“When Kilmar Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, he was denied his right to due process, and we at SMART are fighting to ensure he receives the treatment he is granted under law — just like we would, and we always will, fight for the rights of every single SMART member. We continue to call on the United States government to return Abrego Garcia to the United States and be granted due process, and we encourage every American who believes in the rule of law to do the same.”

Tags General President Coleman, General President Michael Coleman, Michael Coleman, statement

On March 31, 2025, the Trump administration conceded in a court filing that it had mistakenly deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a legally protected Maryland resident and father, to El Salvador “‘because of an administrative error,’” according to CNN. The administration is also arguing that because Abrego Garcia is now in Salvadoran custody, the government cannot return him to the United States.

Abrego Garcia is a SMART Local 100 first-year apprentice who currently works full-time to support his young family. SMART General President Michael Coleman issued the following statement in response:

“Kilmar, our Local 100 brother, is a resident of Maryland and a sheet metal apprentice who works full-time to support his wife and five-year-old son, who has autism and a hearing impairment. He came to the United States as a teenager 15 years ago, and it is my understanding that he was legally authorized to live and work in this country and had fully complied with his responsibilities under the law. He did not have a criminal record and is, in fact, an example of the hard work that SMART members pride themselves on. And yet, the Trump Administration still — aware of his protected status — deported him to El Salvador, leaving his wife to discover that information from photographs in a news release.

“In his pursuit of the life promised by the American dream, Brother Kilmar was literally helping to build this great country. What did he get in return? Arrest and deportation to a nation whose prisons face outcry from human rights organizations. SMART condemns his treatment in the strongest possible terms, and we demand his rightful return.”

The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s March 27, 2025, executive order, which seeks to eliminate collective bargaining rights for approximately 700,000 federal employees — including those serving in critical roles at federal shipyards:

“Collective bargaining is not just a cornerstone of the labor movement — it is a fundamental American freedom. President Trump’s executive order is a stunning and deeply troubling assault on that freedom, and it represents a direct threat to the livelihoods and dignity of working people across this nation.

“This order targets the rights of hundreds of thousands of federal workers who serve our country every day — from caring for our veterans and staffing our hospitals to protecting frontline workers during national emergencies. These dedicated public servants, many of whom are military veterans themselves, deserve respect and security — not political attacks designed to strip them of their voice on the job.

“Collective bargaining has empowered generations of SMART members to earn fair pay, strong benefits, and safe working conditions. Through these rights, we have helped build and sustain the very infrastructure that makes America strong. That legacy is now under siege.

“Make no mistake: This executive order is not only an attack on federal workers — it is an attack on every working American who believes in fairness, democracy and the right to be heard.”

“SMART stands in unwavering solidarity with our brothers and sisters across the labor movement,” said SMART General President Michael Coleman. “We will fight back against any effort to silence workers and dismantle the collective power that has built — and continues to build — our great nation.”

Tags collective bargaining, executive order, General President Michael Coleman, statement

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