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On March 28, the Government of Canada released the 2023 Federal Budget, which included strong investments to build Canada’s green economy. The definition of prevailing wage outlined in this budget is one of the strongest in Canada’s history. Tying incentives to a prevailing wage that incorporates union compensation, including benefits and pension contributions, will raise workers’ living standards, maximize benefits for the entire economy and create good-paying, middle-class jobs as Canada transitions to sustainable energy.

The government has an opportunity to make significant progress towards Canada’s net-zero goals. We applaud Natural Resources Canada for obtaining and considering the diverse perspectives and impacts its net-zero strategy may have; now it is time to make bold moves to decarbonize buildings. Canada is falling behind on its Pan-Canadian Framework measures, and an increase in retrofit rates, from 1% to 3-5%, is required to reduce green-house gases emissions. For Canada to meet its goals, regulations must include time-bound commitments for net-zero emissions and energy efficiency standards.

Industry is ready to support this transition. We are ready to grow and meet the demand by welcoming Canadians into the skilled trades, and we will collaborate with the government to continue driving Canadians towards a career in the trades. Students, minority groups, new Canadians and transitioning workers should continue to be a priority.

As Canada pursues the retrofitting of all buildings to hit net-zero emissions by 2050, SMART members will play a critical role.

The Canada Green Buildings Strategy cannot leave any Canadian behind and must include cooperation with provincial, municipal and Indigenous governments, as well as appropriate provisions of support. Without a strategy to support low-income Canadians, Canada will not achieve net-zero emissions. These five million Canadians have been largely left out of the energy transition to date – even though low-income family dwellings tend to account for a significantly higher proportion of emissions in housing building stock. The green buildings strategy must also consider the unique characteristics and needs of Indigenous housing. We must continue to make this a priority.

On June 15, forward progress continued when the government tabled Bill C-50, which addresses Canada’s transition to a carbon neutral economy while supporting workers and creating sustainable jobs. Among other things, this bill would create a sustainable Jobs Partnership Council to encourage sustainable job creation and support workers and communities, as well as establish a Sustainable Jobs Action Plan and Secretariat. As Canada pursues the retrofitting of all buildings to hit net-zero emissions by 2050, SMART members will play a critical role. HVAC uses 35% of the energy in buildings (up to 65% in the residential sector); energy efficiency improvements will reduce carbon emissions. We must use our expertise and be a resource for local, provincial and the federal government in achieving sustainability goals.

To close: On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to thank retired General President Joseph Sellers for his years of dedication and service during a career of passion and advocacy, of representing workers in all sectors, from the local to the International level. You have been a strong leader and a voice for the inclusion of all workers in our organization, ensuring that we have each other’s back. The programs and initiatives that you fostered and promoted will be a great legacy for SMART. We wish you a long and healthy retirement, enjoying time for yourself and Beth along with friends and family!

In Solidarity,

Chris Paswisty
Director of Canadian Affairs

Darrell L. Roberts is now assistant to the general president at SMART. Previously, he served as the SMART director of organizing and spent nearly 14 years as the executive director of Helmets to Hardhats (H2H). He has served in the United States Navy as a hull technician and attained the rank of petty officer second class. He served in the Army National Guard as a staff sergeant. In March 2003, he was activated for a yearlong deployment to Kosovo, where he served as an infantry squad leader.

“I consider my position as assistant to the general president to be the latest in a long line of opportunities,” Roberts said. “I look forward to serving SMART members and their families in this new capacity.”

Darrell worked in the field for many years as a union sheet metal worker. He serves on the U.S. Department of Labor Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach (ACVETEO), as well as the Veterans Advisory Committee on Education (VACOE) for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He is a lifetime member of the VFW and a member of the American Legion, as well as a board member of the American Chestnut Land Trust (ACLT). He holds a master’s degree in executive leadership from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the National Labor College. Darrell resides with his family in southern Maryland.

New SMART General President Michael Coleman has been stepping up for his fellow members since his days as a rank-and-file sheet metal worker in Cleveland. He worked as a foreman shortly after becoming a journeyperson, then decided he wanted to represent his brothers and sisters in the local.

“I realized very early on I wanted to be a leader in the industry,” he said. “I wanted to help represent the membership — that’s what led me into becoming an elected official, just my desire to represent the members.”

Coleman became a business representative at Local 33 in his early thirties; as time progressed, he decided to run for business manager to ensure member voices took priority in northern Ohio. There, he garnered a reputation for innovation: pursuing groundbreaking strategies in order to recruit more members, effectively structure local funds, provide greater flexibility to members and more.

Local 33 Business Representative Corey Beaubien, Director of Partnership Development Eli Baccus and International Representative Tom Wiant specifically praised changes Coleman made to the local’s scope of work and organizing — from building out Local 33’s fire life safety capacity, to devising special agreements and intra-local travel incentives to maintain work during economic slowdowns, to restructuring the organizing department to maximize cohesion and effectiveness. The result: steady growth at the local.

“The members are the union — that was the core value of this union when I joined in 1985, and it remains the foundational principle of SMART to this day,”

“Every decision that he’s made, it’s always been about the members first,” Beaubien said. “He was very successful in pushing us in organizing as a leader, and with the success he had in Ohio, I believe it’s going to translate to the whole country.”

Current Local 33 President and Business Manager Tim Miller agreed, pointing to the redirect fund Coleman conceived to give members more choice in the disbursement of health and pension funds.

“The members love it to this day,” he said. “It works, and it’s an example of how Mike just doesn’t take no for an answer. He knows there’s a solution to the problem, and he continues until he finds that solution and then he implements it.”

After several years leading Local 33, Coleman moved to Washington, DC to work as SMART’s director of business and management relations. Mere months later, General President Sellers asked Coleman to become assistant to the general president, a position in which he served until May 31, 2023. He played a crucial role during SMART’s second-ever General Convention in 2019, serving as secretary of the Constitution Committee and shepherding through 114 proposed amendments — helping to facilitate the democratic process of our union. He also worked side-by-side with Sellers to push for legislation that positions SMART members for future success.

That work is now beginning to bear fruit. “It’s our time. Now is our time,” Coleman declared.

In the short term, he explained, the dozens of megaprojects breaking ground across North America present local sheet metal unions with both unprecedented opportunity and workforce challenges. At the same time, rail and transit operator safety has become a headline issue from California to Charlotte, presenting SMART Transportation Division members with the chance to go on offense and secure lasting legislation and regulation. Key to both sets of priorities, Coleman noted, is the need to recruit and retain workers across crafts and industries, no matter their background.

“This is an opportunity to organize; organize like I don’t know I have ever seen before,” he said. “We have a chance to grow, to strengthen our numbers, to become a force in markets, communities and government offices across our two nations. We need to reflect the communities we all live in, and we need to ensure every member of this union — regardless of race, creed, beliefs, place of origin, sexual orientation or anything else — knows that they belong.”

With opportunity comes great challenges, Coleman added. Staffing megaprojects while maintaining core sheet metal work requires a new scale of organizing and recruiting, and the flighty winds of politics mean that nothing can be taken for granted when it comes to securing meaningful transportation safety legislation. Nevertheless, momentum is on our side.

“The members are the union — that was the core value of this union when I joined in 1985, and it remains the foundational principle of SMART to this day,” Coleman said. “When we come together to fight for our jobs, our communities and our families, we cannot be stopped. I want all members to understand that we’re going to continue with our representation, and we’re going to continue coming up with new initiatives that make their lives and their families’ lives better.”

Retired SMART General President Joseph Sellers, Jr. received a rail lantern in appreciation of his service at the Transportation Division Board of Directors meeting on April 4, 2023. From left are: Bus Department Vice President Calvin Studivant; Vice President John Whitaker; Vice President Chad Adams; SMART General Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Powell; TD President Jeremy Ferguson; GP Sellers; Vice President Brent Leonard; Vice President Jamie Modesitt; Vice President David Wier Jr., Vice President Joe Lopez and Bus Department Vice President Alvy Hughes.

President Biden speaks union members at the 2022 NABTU Legislative Conference,

On May 23, 2023, the SMART General Executive Council (GEC) voted to endorse United States President Joe Biden for a second term. The GEC is elected by members of SMART local unions.

SMART workers will join fellow union members in Philadelphia on June 17 for an endorsement event, where workers will highlight the impact of the Biden administration’s pro-labor economic policies.  

“President Biden’s first term has been a transformative one for SMART members and working people across our nation,” said SMART General President Mike Coleman. “His unapologetically pro-worker agenda led to the passage of laws that protect union members’ retirement security, invest unprecedented dollars in our industries and ensure that SMART members will be on the job for decades to come.” 

President Biden meets with SMART Local 49 Business Manager/Financial Secretary-Treasurer Isaiah Zemke.

During his first term, President Biden kept his campaign promises to SMART members and working families, putting workers first with the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as an executive order requiring project labor agreements on federal projects that cost more than $35 million and a partnership with SMART on improving air quality in buildings.   

Under the Biden-Harris administration, a wave of new megaprojects is employing SMART sheet metal and production members by the thousands, while a pro-labor National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has helped hold bad-faith employers accountable and benefited union organizing and recruiting efforts. The Biden-Harris Federal Railroad Administration has proposed a regulation requiring two-person crews on all freight trains, and federal funding has put SMART sheet metal members to work on critical infrastructure projects that will better the working conditions of SMART Transportation Division members.  

The Biden administration pushed for megaprojects to include strong labor standards that put SMART members to work.

“We know that the job isn’t finished,” Coleman said. “Even as the American economy continues to grow from the bottom up and the middle out, anti-labor politicians and their bad-faith benefactors are intent on stifling that growth and returning to an economy ruled from the top down. We have progress to make, from passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act to securing real rail safety regulation.”  

“With Joe Biden as our president, we are confident that we will continue to make progress for working people,” he added. “SMART is proud to endorse President Biden for the 2024 United States Presidential Election, and we look forward to mobilizing in support of the president and pro-worker candidates down the ballot.” 

President Biden with SMART Local 359 member Raymond Calvin.

Under ordinary circumstances, SMART-TD’s National Legislative Department relies on National Legislative Director (NLD) Greg Hynes, Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity and Legislative Department Chief of Staff Jenny Miller to educate our nation’s lawmakers on rail safety. But on this year’s “Railroad Day on the Hill” — held annually on the legislative calendar — 35 men and women representing 15 different states answered the call, traveling to Washington, DC to advocate for railroaders.

This formidable group of SMART-TD representatives conducted more than 100 meetings with legislators: sharing the gospel of the Railway Safety Act of 2023, shorter trains, increased quality of life and better safety inspections of rolling stock with any Congress member or staffer willing to listen.

In addition to holding this important series of meetings and reaching out to over 100 members of the House and Senate, SMART-TD representatives attended a press conference in support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as he announced the introduction of the Healthy Families Act. This legislation includes provisions ensuring that every company with over 100 employees provides a minimum of 7 paid sick days to its employees. This bill has language in it that speaks directly to railroad companies.

The Healthy Families Act indicates the progress our union made in the 2022 national contract negotiations. In December 2022, Sanders pushed for similar legislation that was strictly aimed at railroaders — and though it won a majority of votes in both the House and Senate, it failed to get the 60 votes needed to carry a filibuster-proof supermajority and make it to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

With the ramifications of this bill’s success weighing heavily on the quality-of-life improvements that SMART-TD continues to seek for our members, Sen. Sanders reached out to SMART’s Legislative Department and made a point of inviting our representatives to his press conference.

Following the successes of the day’s events, NLD Hynes expressed his gratitude to the army of SMART-TD leaders who made the trip.

“These men and women went above and beyond the call of duty to be here today, and because of them, we had a fantastic show of force in the halls of Congress. The validity of our issues speaks for itself, but when leaders from these different states show up to meet with their congressional and senate delegations, it makes an impact on these lawmakers,” he said. “They hear from Jared Cassity and me all the time, but when someone from home comes to meet with them in DC, it puts a face to our issues in a unique way.

“I want to thank each and every one of them for making the effort to come out this year, and with your help, we will deliver on the promise of the Railway Safety Act, the REEF Act, and all the issues that speak to the quality of life our members deserve and the dignity of the work they do each day.”

This issue’s Rail, Mechanical and Engineering (RME) Department Report is from International Representative Larry Holbert:

During my 40-plus years as a railroader, I have always sought out opportunities to participate in my union, not only in the General Committee or at the International level, but also at my local union. As a lot of you have heard me say: At every level of our organization, we are only as strong as our local unions. While I’ve certainly seen a lot of changes in the last 40 years, this is one thing that has not changed — the local anchors us both to our fellow members and to our craft.

Attending local meetings over the years, I have always been fascinated when looking at each union’s original charter and reading the names and signatures of the brothers and sisters who drew on said charters to establish our locals, hold the first elections of officers and join their fellow workers in the International. The work confronting these past members required their commitment and dedication: They built their locals to be financially responsible, they drafted and adopted bylaws to govern their affairs, and they eagerly trained on their obligations at the International and on compliance with the law, learning to navigate the Department of Labor, IRS and various other regulatory agencies. Most importantly, they chose who they wanted to enforce their contracts, settle grievances, protect the rights of their members and ensure their work jurisdiction — electing their officers and, when necessary, stepping up to serve in elected roles.

The strength of our locals and the directions they have taken have always been determined by the consensus reached by membership when a local met — it was not just three or four members at meetings making decisions for the rest! Participation in one’s local not only helps members to look out for and support each other, but also builds a stronger and more resilient workforce and protects our trade. You might decide that you have better things in life to do than to attend a meeting, but when you find yourself injured on the job or terminated for not having your PPE on, you’re hoping a fellow member will be there to lend a hand. Or when the carrier gets the idea to remove all the sheet metal workers from the service tracks, you’re hoping you’ll have all your local brothers and sisters there to prove that it’s you and your fellow workers who make the trains run — not dangerous and cynical cost-saving measures.

Brothers and sisters, you need to get involved in your union, you need to serve as officers and continue getting educated; without dedicated officers, there would be no union to speak of. It’s easy to blame our current issues on past officers, but in my opinion, all it comes down to is the proper filing of claims and grievances and to the good retention of documents. Railroad workers have an excellent and effective process for handling claims and grievances under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act. Although I fully agree that nowadays this is much harder than it used to be — with the carriers assigning “labor relation experts” with very limited knowledge of the work we do to respond to our grievances — this only proves that now is the time for our local union leaders, armed with all the training and support that has been made available, to help build competitive and strong locals that are able to stand up to the carriers.

Local officers are the ones who are in the shops every day; they alone can see whether or not a contract is being lived up to, not your general chairperson and not the International. There are a lot of opportunities in this department to change things. We’re just waiting for you to get involved.

SMART members from across the United States and Canada gathered in Washington, DC on April 25th and 26th for the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) 2023 Legislative Conference. Throughout the week, workers and elected union leaders came together to push for legislation that prioritizes union members, as well as hear from elected officials, industry stakeholders and others.

The April 25th plenary session began with a keynote address from NABTU President Sean McGarvey, who introduced and emphasized the 2023 conference theme: “Empowering the Infrastructure Generation.” Unprecedented investment — spurred by pro-worker federal legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and more — is creating tens of thousands of jobs and sparking the renewal of America’s infrastructure. This presents opportunity for the workers of today and tomorrow, McGarvey said, and it’s vital that unions push for legislation like the National Apprenticeship Act to ensure we can train the workforce to meet demand and bring workers of all backgrounds — rural, urban, women, people of color, the formerly incarcerated, veterans and more — into unions like SMART.

“Our model makes sure workers aren’t just trained for a project, but equipped with the highest skillsets for a long and meaningful career,” McGarvey explained. “This is our time to make sure we are building the opportunity pipeline to maximize private investment with public dollars and reach communities large and small.”

McGarvey was followed by various pro-worker officials, including former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin. Walsh discussed his time working with the Biden administration and the importance of making our voices heard in the halls of power — and the need to spread the word about how pro-labor elected officials are benefiting working families.

“Who you vote for has consequences,” Walsh said. “This is how we restore and expand access to the middle class in this country: through good, union jobs.”

Following Walsh, NABTU attendees were joined by Governor Pritzker, who has overseen a transformative pro-worker shift in the Prairie State — including the passage of the Workers’ Rights Amendment, project labor agreements on more than 1,000 construction projects, a $50 million Illinois Works pre-apprenticeship program and the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, a pro-worker clean energy law that covers climate infrastructure projects with project labor agreements.

“Workers’ rights are gaining strength,” Pritzker declared. “Supporting workers’ rights is about investing in Illinois’ most precious resource, our nation’s most precious resource: our people.”

Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin has been a steadfast advocate for the union apprenticeship model, recognizing the potential unions have to lift workers of all backgrounds into the middle class. She explained the continued significance of union apprenticeships as policy and technology shift the way the world works, and declared to NABTU attendees her intent to continue the fight to reauthorize the National Apprenticeship Act.

“There’s one tried and true method that has lasted and stood the test of time, and that’s apprenticeships,” Baldwin said.

The day concluded with a fiery address from President Joe Biden, who took the stage hours after announcing his intent to run for reelection. Throughout his speech, Biden focused on the steps taken by his administration to create an American economy that grows from the bottom up and the middle out — and emphasized that “we need to finish the job.”

“I learned a long time ago: There’s labor, and then there’s UNION labor,” he declared.

Biden explained how his administration’s pro-worker agenda has led to the passage of laws including the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Together these laws helped protect multiemployer pension plans; invested heavily in HVAC, energy efficiency, production, transit, rail infrastructure and other SMART sectors; created more than 800,000 manufacturing jobs; capped insulin copays at $35 per month for those covered by Medicare; and much more. The president also referred to his executive order requiring project labor agreements on federal projects that cost more than $35 million — a policy that amounts to an investment in union labor.

“I’ve said it many times: Wall Street didn’t build America. The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class,” Biden said.

“For decades, trickle-down economics hollowed out the middle class. America rewarded wealth, not work. … As jobs were lost, something else was lost as well: a sense of pride, a notion of who you are, a sense of self-worth, earning your way,” he added. “My economic plan is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America, and that’s what we’re doing: rebuilding America.”

The April 26th plenary saw remarks from a range of bipartisan speakers, including Rep. Nikki Budzinski, Republican Congressmen Don Bacon and Brian Fitzpatrick, Senator Raphael Warnock, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and others. Once again, the focus was firmly on the future — and how unions like SMART need to ensure we meet the workforce demands of this moment for generations to come. From making sure people of all backgrounds have pathways into union apprenticeships, to passing legislation that helps fund ever-evolving apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, now is the time to secure our future

“Thank you for building the strongest and most robust country in the world,” Bacon said during his speech. “You deserve fair wages for a hard day’s work; pension when you retire and safety at work.”

“You are at the center of America,” Warnock added during his remarks. “We need to hear your voices and countless efforts you’ve made to build this country. As you continue beating that drum, I will keep looking for every opportunity I can to stand up and protect our working people.”

Following the speaking agenda, SMART members joined representatives from the rest of the building trades on Capitol Hill to lobby for legislation that benefits our members.

“SMART has proudly gathered with our fellow building trades unions at the annual NABTU Legislative Conference for decades, and in recent years we have seen first-hand how conditions for workers have changed under the Biden administration,” SMART General President Michael Coleman said. “We will continue to work with pro-labor allies and push for policies that put our members to work.”

SM Local 104 (northern California) Business Representative Alicia Mijares – the first woman business representative in the local’s history – was born into the labor movement.

Alicia Mijares, first woman business representative at Local 104, on the picket line.

“Three of my grandparents were union members, both of my parents and my stepfather were union members, both of my brothers, my only sister and my wife are all union members,” she said. “I walked my first picket line in front of a Safeway with my mother, a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers.”

Mijares was not, however, born into the sheet metal trade; she entered the industry almost by accident. As a high school graduate without a clear vision of her future, she worked at a pizza restaurant and in a precision sheet metal shop, where the best-paid employees made $12.50 and hour. (“It’s funny how that sounded like great money back then,” Mijares recalled.) One day, a customer picking up a pizza order asked Mijares if she liked her job; she replied that it was the second job she’d worked that day that she didn’t like. In response, the customer passed her his Local 104 business card.

“When I read ‘sheet metal,’ I thought it would be something similar to the precision shop where I had been working,” Mijares remembered. “I didn’t realize at the moment that it was construction, so I went down, took the test, passed it and began as a pre-apprentice.”

Mijares immediately took to life as a union sheet metal worker. She worked in both the shop and in the field, treasuring the contrasting stability and variety of each respective setting. But it’s not just the hands-on elements of the craft that she finds appealing; her favorite part, Mijares says, is the impact SMART sheet metal members have on their communities.

“Air is life, and we make people’s lives healthier and more comfortable by bringing in hot and cool air, and filtering it on the way.”

Mijares threw herself into Local 104 union activities from the start – growing up in a union household, she knew that the members are the union. She participated in precinct-walking and phone-banking efforts as an apprentice and as a journeyperson, helping support pro-worker candidates and policies, and she served her fellow members as a shop steward and on Local 104’s Executive Board. It was during her time as shop steward that she noticed a fomenting disconnect – the members weren’t necessarily aware of the work that their elected representatives and organizers were performing on their behalf. Now, as Local 104 business representative, Mijares wants to bridge that disconnect; to remind the membership why we call each other brother and sister.

“We always want to go after project labor agreements, we always want to bring in more work for the membership – that’s the top priority – but what I would like to do is improve member participation,” she said. “Members pay to be in the membership – [not engaging with the union] is like writing a check to a gym and never setting foot inside.”

Mijares is currently serving in her first term as business representative. One of the highlights, she said, is when she gets to dispatch members: “Being able to make that phone call and say, ‘hey, are you ready to go back to work?’ It’s always a happy conversation.”

She also values the opportunity to advocate for the trade – something she was already doing as a rank-and-file member.

“I participate in a lot of outreach, whether it’s career fairs or anything else, because a lot of young women are starting to approach our table and say, ‘what is this about?’ So I talk about how great the trade is; I’ve been able to buy a home in the state of California, I’ve been able to travel.”

Mijares makes sure not to sugarcoat the industry – sheet metal is hard work, from the drafting and math required to pass the apprenticeship test to the early starts and long hours on the job. But she always tells potential apprentices a motto that applies as much to union leadership as it does to sheet metal work: “Hard is what makes it great. If it was easy, anybody would do it.”

See images of SMART’s 2023 Political Action League reception, as well as pictures of all local unions with representatives at the reception.

Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill
Congresswoman Val Hoyle
Congresswoman Angie Craig
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick