SMART Local 33 (Cleveland, Ohio) officers and the third-year apprentice class gathered toys to donate to families in need as part of the Belonging and Excellence for All (BE4ALL) Pedal to the Metal Toy Drive. Each toy included a tag with a QR code that provides interested parents or guardians with information on entering a union sheet metal career.
Author: lpoling
SM Local 88 (Las Vegas, Nevada) won the first annual Southern Nevada Building Trades softball tournament. They forged a dominant run through a crowded field of 18 other teams, none of which were able to stand up to the hitting prowess and fielding only Local 88 could muster. Congratulations!
Local 17 (Boston, Mass.) members are preparing to begin work on one of the largest real estate projects in Boston history, as well as the largest-ever project labor agreement (PLA)-covered job in Massachusetts: the redevelopment of Suffolk Downs, a former horse racing site on the border of east Boston and neighboring Revere. The 20-year buildout is set to create pipelines to family-sustaining union careers for thousands of local community members, as well as construct affordable housing in the area.
According to the development firm heading the project, HYM Investment Group, “the redevelopment will transform 161 acres into a new resilient mixed-use neighborhood served by two stops on the MBTA Blue Line. Suffolk Downs will create 10,000 new units of housing to meet critical demand in the market, and will provide a mix of senior, workforce, family and young professional housing, including over 900 affordable units.”
And thanks to the PLA negotiated between HYM, its general contractor, John Moriarty & Associates and both the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and Boston’s Building and Construction Trades Council, the Suffolk Downs project will be completely union-built and create 14,000 jobs across every sector of the building trades.
The initial project phase will include approximately 1.39 million square feet of development consisting of the Phase 1 Project (520,000 square feet of corporate use and amenity space); three residential buildings; a portion of the townhomes proposed along Waldemar Avenue totaling over 800 housing units; and construction of the Horseshoe Pond landscaped wetland enhancements and Belle Isle Square public plaza, with over 100,000 square feet of ground floor retail.
“It will be a city within a city,” said SMART Northeast Regional Council Labor Management Representative John Cody. “The local community will benefit from new affordable housing and pathways to new careers, whether it be in retail, hospitality, bio life science or the Boston building trades unions. And for our current members of Local 17, we are starting from a blank canvas, so the many hours of work generated by this project will sustain the quality of life for the families of Local 17 and other trades.”
The power of a union-negotiated project labor agreement is on full display with the Suffolk Downs job: Labor, with the help of former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Mass. State Senator (former City Councilor) Lydia Edwards, worked hard to ensure strong equity and local hire requirements are included in the project’s short- and long-term future.
As part of the PLA, HYM committed to providing $2 million in investments to support employment pipelines that will help local residents enter family-sustaining, union careers, both during construction and as part of Suffolk Downs’ future workforce. That includes $1 million in new funding to support the Building Pathways pre-apprenticeship program, in which 90% of enrollees are people of color and 43% are women, and allows direct employment of graduates from Building Pathways.
“Having this PLA in place will help with the growth of the local,” Cody concluded. “Through community standards in place within the PLA, our involvement with various community groups in the area, our outreach to trade schools and career fairs in the city and even on the grounds of the project itself provided by the developer and our partnership with them throughout this whole process. We are hitting the streets and visiting workers, letting them know what a union is all about.”
Montano, Hector Rivera, Jesse Lopez, Marina Mancilla, Steven
Ramirez, Omar Vivente, Gilbert Jaurequi and Eden Vazquez.
Not pictured: Norma Marlowe.
On Saturday, November 4, SMART-TD Local 1565 members working at Los Angeles Metro participated in the Monrovia division rail rodeo, competing with other transit rail workers and showing off the skills they use to transport passengers safely and efficiently every day. In addition to the skills competition, SMART-TD members and families showed out to support their union family, and Local 1565 set up a table representing SMART to fellow transit workers and potential members.
Carl Hackerott, a dedicated member of SM Local 16 (Portland, Ore.), passed away shortly before reaching the remarkable milestone of 70 years of service to his union. In honor of his many years of devoted trade unionism, Local 16 presented Hackerott’s 70-year service award to his wife.
“Not only was Carl a skilled and accomplished sheet metal worker, but he also found joy in reviving antique sheet metal equipment. In honor of his memory, the Hackerott family decided to generously donate a meticulously restored, 1896, four-foot wooden hand brake to the training center. It is on display in the lobby of our Portland campus,” the Sheet Metal Institute — Local 16’s training center — wrote on Facebook. “During the heartfelt presentation of this cherished artifact, Mrs. Hackerott was deeply moved as she received her late husband’s well-deserved 70-year pin.”
Local 68 (Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas) hosted its JATC Graduation and Pin Recipients Banquet on July 28, 2023, where local union leadership recognized the dedication of long-serving members and celebrated the newest journeyworkers in our union. Importantly, the ceremony gave newly graduated apprentices the chance to witness the lifelong benefits that SMART membership provides. Great work, Local 68.
This article was originally published on WNYLaborToday.com. Images courtesy of WNYLaborToday and Local 46.
When it comes to giving back to the Rochester, N.Y., community, the members and apprentices of SMART Local 46 are ready, willing and able to do what they can, when they can.
Case in point: Back in October, WNYLaborToday.com spotlighted SMART Local 46’s apprentices, who are playing a key role in helping provide a local nonprofit with a main cog needed to assemble hundreds of devices that give the life-changing gift of mobility to children with physical disabilities.
Now, many of the local’s apprentices are back at it — giving their time and skills at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, where they’re working to restore an idled trolley car that once ran the rails in downtown Rochester many years ago.
Established in April 1899 (the local is getting ready to celebrate its 125th anniversary), Local 46 represents 425 active and 200 retired members, and provides the highest quality craftspersons — described as pre-eminent fabricators and installers — to its union contractors.
The local also has more than 100 apprentices in its training program.
“We’ve been sending 10 apprentices at a time, about forty in all, and they are loving it,” Local 46 Training Director Allen Mort told WNYLaborToday.com about the restoration work being done at the Railroad Museum. “They’re working on the car’s roof and their sheet metal paneling. This has been awesome — they’re working to preserve our local history.”
Museum President Otto Vondrak says Local 46’s apprentices are helping restore a trolley car that ran on the Rochester system from 1938 to 1956.
“We got it donated to us back in 1998,” Vondrak said. “It also has a wood interior, and it’s been sitting here for more than 20 years. Before Local 46 got involved, we were fundraising to get the money to repair, and it was being restored — incrementally.”
“This makes me feel proud,” said SMART International Organizer Warren Faust, who joined WNYLaborToday.com for a tour of the Railroad Museum with Mort, Vondrak and Jonathan Perna, a Local 46 marketing representative.
“You have to have a diverse skill set to do work like this, and most people just don’t know we have it,” Faust added. “This is giving everyone a sense of pride, and it ties in with the fact that we band together to help.”
Offering what it describes on its website as “the most unique museum experience in the greater Rochester area,” the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum is a nonprofit educational organization that traces its roots back to 1937 as the Rochester chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, the third-oldest chapter in the organization.
Its purpose, according to Vondrak, is to educate the public on the technology, history and impact of Rochester’s railroad industry through the preservation, restoration and operation of railroad equipment — as well as the display of relevant historic artifacts and documents.
The mission of the museum is advanced through the preservation of rolling stock and locomotives, tools and equipment, documents, artifacts, photography and video.
In 1971, the museum group purchased an abandoned Industry Depot from the Erie Lackawanna Railroad with the goal of restoring it as a museum — and over the last 50 years, the organization has preserved more than 40 pieces of historic railroad equipment and built its own demonstration railroad to bring Rochester’s rich railroading heritage to life. In fact, the museum operates and offers train rides every month from April through December.
Vondrak tells WNYLaborToday.com he is “super excited” to have Local 46’s apprentices working to help restore the rail car.
“They’re helping preserve the railroad heritage for all to enjoy, and their expertise in metal-working was something we don’t have here. [Local 46’s apprentices] have the expertise to help get it over the finish line,” he said.
The museum has spent more than $100,000 to date to help pay for the majority of restoration work that needs to be done, added Vondrak, who knows his nonprofit is “literally saving hundreds of thousands of dollars” thanks to the work being donated by Local 46.
“They are doing it all right — the first time” he said.
For Local 46, such projects aren’t only the right thing to do for the community; they help raise public awareness of the important role unions play, both on and off the job.
“It’s baffling, the perception [the general public has about what labor unions and union members do] — you just never get a good answer, but there’s a lot SMART does to help people,” Perna said. “When people ask me, I say: ‘Sure, we’re going to get our apprentices involved, because they care.’ And our focus is to give people a better life.
“If you’re not in a union, you’re doing it wrong – you’re missing out on the benefits. I feel good for our members and our apprentices that we’ve given them these opportunities [to do good things across the Rochester community.”
According to Mort, Local 46 apprentices who have participated in the effort include: Rand Warner, Earl Delong, Hunter Angarano, John Bertolone, Karl Biedlingmaier, Robert Dettore, Anthony Hayslip, Matthew Olek, Alexsi Ortiz, Cody Pascalar and Richard Andrew Ross.
In January 2024, Belonging and Excellence for All (BE4ALL) announced the winner of its fourth-quarter contest, which asked members to answer the question: Why are you proud to be a SMART union member? For 16-year Local 85 (Atlanta, Georgia) member Matthew Beckham, the contest winner, union pride walks hand-in-hand with the life-changing benefits SMART membership provides, and it’s something he says he wears “daily with pride, integrity and humility.” Read Beckham’s story:
“I started my career in 2007 as a pre-apprentice in Augusta, Ga., at the Sweet Tea project. Fast forward to today – I’m currently an active member, never been late on my dues or even to a job unless running a fever.
“My story is short and sweet: By joining the union in 2007, I have had doors opened to me that would have never been opened if I wouldn’t have taken the leap of faith and cleaned my act up by seizing such a great opportunity for myself and my family. I am currently a safety manager for the best and biggest mechanical contractor in the state of Georgia, McKenney’s. My calling has led me down a safety path, where I have the opportunity to help my brothers and sisters get through problems and challenges in our industry.
“My daughter is the recipient of one of the 2023-2024 scholarship awards from SMART. She has been selected out of 130 other candidates and is the winning one for zone three. She is currently a freshman at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama.
“To summarize this with grace: Neither myself nor my family would be where we are today if it wasn’t for my local union. The union life has given me countless blessings, and I wear it daily with pride, integrity and humility.”
On Tuesday, January 9, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule to help workers and employers better understand how to analyze who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This rule will make it harder for companies to misclassify workers, expanding access to employee protections such as overtime pay, Social Security benefits and more. In response, SMART issued the following statement:
“Unions like SMART have long fought against the sordid practice of worker misclassification in the construction industry, where bad-faith companies categorize their workers as independent contractors in order to deprive them of the protections, benefits and pay they deserve – including minimum wage, overtime pay and workers’ compensation. This anti-worker practice has been particularly harmful to immigrants and members of underrepresented communities. The final rule issued by the DOL today will protect tens of thousands of workers across the country, and all of us at SMART applaud Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and the Biden administration for taking action.”
The Belonging and Excellence for All (BE4ALL) Committee is a joint venture between SMART, SMACNA and the International Training Institute (ITI), with members of the committee pursuing one crucial goal: to create a diverse, inclusive, unionized sheet metal industry that is welcoming and fosters belonging for ALL people. Only by doing so can we sustain a thriving industry and bring more workers and sectors into our fold.
BE4ALL launched in December 2021. Since then, various BE4ALL subcommittees have focused on implementing the committee’s goals, delivering material results aimed at ensuring our industry is welcoming and inclusive of all current and future members. In 2023, that work took various forms.
January-March: Subcommittees chart their course, mark victories
The year began with the successful launch and continuation of various programs meant to strengthen the unionized sheet metal industry.
Through the ITI, BE4ALL distributed hundreds of bathroom kits to JATCs across the country – the result of apprentices pointing out the absence of menstrual products in local training facilities – with SMACNA dispensing a “how-to” guide demonstrating the ease of providing such products on the jobsite. As then SMART General President Joseph Sellers, Jr. stated in a letter to JATC co-chairs, trustees and coordinators, providing menstrual products “creates a better learning environment” and lessens “potential stress.” The ITI also continued to host virtual bias and belonging training sessions, as well as in-person train-the-trainer bias and belonging trainings – helping ensure that leaders and instructors are creating welcoming and inclusive environments at all levels of the industry.
BE4ALL also introduced its 2023 BE4ALL Calendar, which was sent to local unions, JATCs, contractors, and to SMART members via the Members’ Journal. The calendar, meant to help members, employees and colleagues learn more about the different cultures and faiths that make up our industry, included information about a wide range of observances and important dates, with a digital version complementing the print calendar with links to more resources.
In the first quarter of 2023, several BE4ALL subcommittees kicked off additional, year-long campaigns to provide resources, education and opportunities to get involved with making our industry welcoming to all. The BE4ALL Committee’s first-ever Toolbox Talk – titled “On Being a Good Crewmate” – hit local union halls, email inboxes and social media in the beginning of the year. The first of many Toolbox Talks distributed throughout the year, Toolbox Talk #1 touted the importance of creating welcoming workplace environments and developing a sense of camaraderie and mentorship on the job. (The committee distributed another Toolbox Talk, titled “Effective Communication,” in March.)
Education is power, whether knowing one’s rights in the workplace or the history of the unionized sheet metal industry. With that principle in mind, BE4ALL hosted its first Learning Journey of 2023 in January, focused on Martin Luther King, Jr. Guest speaker Dave Dennis, a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, joined SMART members, SMACNA contractors and others to discuss and celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, with participants joining in conversation, music and song. In February, the committee hosted another Learning Journey on Black History Month, and in March – to complement Women in Construction Week – BE4ALL launched a series of spotlights on social media, highlighting influential (and often overlooked) women in American and Canadian history.
And finally, the committee launched its first of four challenges to SMART members: the BE4ALL I Got Your Back challenge, designed to inspire union members to foster connection with one another. By making a connection with a coworker, posting on social media and sharing something new they learned about each other, members were entered to win a $100 gift card and a commemorative golden BE4ALL hardhat.
April-June: Continued progress, celebrating Juneteenth
The second quarter of 2023 represented onward progress in BE4ALL’s various year-long programs, as well as a coordinated campaign to recognize and provide education to SMART and SMACNA members about Juneteenth.
The committee continued distributing materials intended to promote techniques to practice inclusion; educate and spread awareness; and engage union sheet metal workers and contractors in the BE4ALL initiative. A June Toolbox Talk, titled “Building a Respectful Workplace,” emphasized the importance of solidarity and common courtesy at work – not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because studies demonstrate a connection between respectful workplaces, worker safety and business performance.
Meanwhile, several Learning Journeys gave workers and contractors the chance to learn more about the movements that inform the unionized sheet metal industry. In April, SMOHIT Administrator Aldo Zambetti hosted a Learning Journey on mental health awareness – a vital topic whose profile has grown in the construction industry in recent years. In May, Dr. Sam Vong, curator of Asian Pacific American History, Division of Work and Industry at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center, a vice president of the California Federation of Teachers, and the founding president of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, discussed the history of Asian/Pacific American labor in the United States. And in June, the committee put on a Learning Journey celebrating and teaching about LGBTQ+ Pride Month, featuring a brief history, practices for inclusion and testimonials from SMART members and contractors.
BE4ALL Learning Journeys
On Juneteenth, BE4ALL sent an informational poster to SMART, SMACNA and ITI headquarters, as well as local unions, contractors and JATCs – detailing the history of Juneteenth and the importance of recognizing it in 2023 (and beyond). The committee also hosted a Juneteenth Learning Journey with Tsione Wolde-Michael, a historian and former Smithsonian Museum curator, and shared information to social media, SMART’s video news program and other platforms.
July-September: Celebrating BE4ALL in Washington, DC; workers tell their stories
During the third quarter of 2023, the BE4ALL Committee found various ways to engage the broader SMART and SMACNA memberships. At the 2023 SMART Leadership Conference – which welcomed local union leaders from SMART’s sheet metal and Transportation Divisions, various political guests, SMACNA leaders and more – a BE4ALL booth in the exhibitors’ hall hosted a wide array of visitors, from International staffers to local leaders to SMACNA contractors. As part of the conference itself, BE4ALL Committee members hosted back-to-back breakout sessions, connecting with SMART members and leaders to bring them into the broader effort to create a welcoming and inclusive industry.
Education efforts continued with Learning Journeys and Toolbox Talks. SMART MAP’s (Member Assistance Program) Chris Carlough and Jeremy Holburn of the SMOHIT Mental Health Network were featured guests during a July Learning Journey on addiction and recovery, and in September, the committee welcomed Dr. Sandy Placido – assistant professor of history at Rutgers University – for a learning journey in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. SMART members and SMACNA contractors also received two Toolbox Talks: one on the steps we can all take to build a respectful workplace, and another on the actions we can take to support our coworkers.
The committee’s third quarter challenge to SMART members asked union sheet metal workers across North America to submit their stories answering one simple question: “How did you become a SMART member?” The answers ran the gamut of experiences, from apprentices to retirees, Northern California to London, Ontario. A first-year apprentice in Rockford, Illinois talked about how Local 219 “changed [his] life.” A Local 12 retiree in southwest Pennsylvania thanked his union pension for allowing him to retire with “dignity and grace.” A Local 104 member out of northern California said that building America as a union sheet metal worker gives him “pride … and the greatest sense of fulfillment.” And a Local 47 (Ottawa, Ontario) instructor recalled how “joining the union was transformational for [him].” Overall, the submissions illustrated both the diversity of the unionized sheet metal workforce, and the solidarity that bonds members together.
October-December: After 12 months of hard work, preparing for the journey ahead
In October, BE4ALL hosted a Learning Journey on Indigenous history, featuring special guests Sarah Adams (Choctaw nation) of signatory contractor RedLand Sheet Metal, as well as Lyle Daniels, community and Indigenous director at the Building Trades of Alberta. It was the final live Learning Journey in the year; in November, however, the committee conducted a social media campaign spotlighting Canadian labour history, rounding out the committee’s 2023 program. The committee also kickstarted its quarter four challenge, asking members to answer the question: “Why are you proud to be a SMART union member?” The challenge is ongoing – winners will be announced in early 2024.
In November, members, contractors and JATCs received the final 2023 Toolbox Talk, on microaggressions. Local unions, contractors and training centers were also encouraged to take part in the 2023 Pedal to the Metal Toy Drive, an initiative designed to spread joy to children during the holiday season and raise awareness of family-sustaining careers in the unionized sheet metal trade. Local unions and contractors gathered toy donations to distribute to those in need in their communities; the BE4ALL Committee provided gift tags with QR codes that offer more information on becoming a union sheet metal worker. As part of the effort, SMART sisters and allies brought toys to SMART International headquarters in Washington, DC, during Tradeswomen Build Nations; the substantial haul was donated to Mary’s Center, which offers high-quality healthcare, education and social services to all.
As the year came to a close, BE4ALL set its sights on 2024 – and beyond. Immediate next steps include the publication of a rapid response protocol, aimed at helping local unions and contractors respond to incidents of bias, hazing and bullying. Additionally, the ITI and the SMART Education Department plan to expand bias and belonging trainings, and the ITI Accreditation Board has approved a requirement to deliver bias and belonging classes – at least one class annually – in its criteria for any level of JATC accreditation. BE4ALL will also continue bringing more members into the fold by increasing access to bathroom kits, hosting more Learning Journeys, providing additional Toolbox Talks, once again distributing a BE4ALL calendar, and much more.
The BE4ALL Committee has made substantial progress over the last two years – and there is much more work to be done. To get involved, text “BE4ALL” to 67336 (message and data rates may apply).