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Local 36 (St. Louis) sheet metal worker-turned-signatory contractor Rochelle Bonty was recognized by the Missouri Women in Trades (MOWIT) in early April, when she earned an honorable mention in MOWIT’s 2022 Contractor of the Year category. Bonty, the first Black woman in the Local 36 apprenticeship program, started her business — RMB Mechanical — in 2020.

“I wanted to open my own business for my family, for the industry, because the number of MBE/WBE [minority business enterprise/woman business enterprise] businesses are few, and for others who look like me, so they can be inspired to do the same,” Bonty told the Labor Tribune. “It’s hard, but others need to see it’s not impossible.”

Bonty entered the sheet metal trade out of a love for working with her hands and the desire to create something out of nothing; “I enjoy seeing the process of renovation and preserving the history of the city I grew up in,” she said. In 2020, that love for her craft spurred her to take the next step in her career. She had been working at Ball Park Village for Clay Piping Systems when the pandemic started — she was laid off, and although she returned to her previous employer, she began researching the process of starting one’s own business. Given the emphasis the pandemic has placed on indoor air quality, she immediately thought of HVAC duct cleaning.

“For me, that was the simplest thing to start and I didn’t need as much money as opposed to taking on a major HVAC contract,” she told the Tribune. “I started making calls to businesses and asking if they needed their air ducts cleaned.”

After contacting the St. Louis Development Corporation, they offered her a grant for air duct cleaning.

“That was my first contract,” she added.

Since then, Bonty’s trailblazing career has moved forward at breakneck speed. She recently became the first Black woman to serve on the board of SMACNA St. Louis, and she has aimed to inspire more women and high school graduates to join the trades via her work as a member of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) St. Louis chapter and as a St. Louis Building Union Diversity (BUD) program mentor. Such efforts are especially significant as SMART aims to strengthen our union by organizing, recruiting and retaining workers from across all backgrounds.

“I wasn’t sure if I could [have a career in the trades], but I did,” she said. “I hope to be an example for others so they can overcome their doubts and fears and do things uncommon in the construction industry.”

Local 48 (Birmingham, Ala.) member Charles G. Brown was recently recognized for his 70 years of service to our union. Congratulations on this well-earned award, brother!

Young people from around Kentucky braved rainstorms to spend several hours honing their fishing skills on Saturday, May 20, during three separate Take Kids Fishing Day events hosted by SMART Local 110 (Louisville, Ky.), the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) and the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Services.

While the weather may have dampened the venues — Jacobson Park in Lexington, Waverly Park in Louisville and Bob Noble Park in Paducah — it didn’t lessen the kids’ spirit or excitement, according to event organizer and Local 110 Business Manager Mark Adams.

“Every child received a free rod-and-reel from the USA and got the chance to catch a few fish,” he said. “Everyone had a fantastic time, despite the weather.”

In all, 75 children participated in the three events, learning how to bait hooks, cast a line and land catfish, bluegills and trout under the mentorship of Local 110 members who volunteered their time to coach the budding anglers. In Lexington, members of the Cadentown Mission Baptist Men’s Group joined union volunteers in helping kids catch fish.

From the planning stage through the close of each event, union members donated 110 hours of their time to this community outreach program.

“This is the third year we’ve held the Take Kids Fishing Day events,” Adams noted. “Our local members are sportsmen and women, and they know what they’re doing. Our focus is on helping each kid catch fish, especially if it is their first time holding a fishing rod.”

Recruiting new people into the sport of fishing, and hopefully igniting an interest in preserving and conserving the country’s valuable natural resources, is only part of the goal in hosting events like these for the community, Adams added.

“They also help strengthen the bond between union workers and the people in their neighborhoods,” he explained. “They help us show the community what the union is all about, supporting our neighbors while providing secure employment opportunities for our members. I guarantee SMART 110 will be holding this event for a long time to come.”

“Too many children seldom get the opportunity to go fishing, or participate in any type of outdoor recreation,” said Cody Campbell, USA conservation coordinator. “The Take Kids Fishing Days we and volunteers from union locals in various states host every year offer hundreds of kids that chance, at least for a day. The mentoring that union volunteers provide will hopefully give many of them the confidence to pursue fishing as a fun, life-long pastime.”

The SMART Local 110 events were part of a series of free, community-based Take Kids Fishing Day events, organized through the USA’s Work Boots on the Ground program with support from USA national partners Provost Umphrey Law Firm, Union Plus and Humana, as well as founding partners UIG, ULLICO, Bank of Labor, AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation and Buck Knives.

Local 16 meets with Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek

From Delaware to Oregon, sheet metal local unions are winning state legislative victories, helping put SMART members to work and improving the well-being of their communities.

On July 26, members of SMART Local 19 (Philadelphia, Pa.) joined Delaware Governor John Carney at the state capitol, where Carney signed into law a regulation that expands prevailing wage to include custom fabrication. Local 19 had pushed for this legislation for years, said Local 19 Political Director Todd Farally.

“This ensures that every worker that performs custom offsite fabrication, including ductwork and commercial signage, is paid the proper family-sustaining wage,” he explained. “Local 19 and the other mechanical trades, along with our sponsors, worked diligently to get this law passed.”

In the past, bad-faith developers had used custom offsite fabrication as a loophole to pay workers less and undermine area contractors, even when fabrication was taking place on materials for prevailing wage projects. By helping build a coalition to bring custom offsite fabrication under prevailing wage — a coalition that included state Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, House Labor Committee Chair Ed Osieski, Representative Kim Williams, Senator Jack Wagner, contractor SSM Industries and others — Local 19 and other area unions will protect Delaware workers and contractors alike.

Local 19 with Delaware Gov. John Carney

“This is exactly why it is vital for our members and all workers to be engaged in the political process,” Farally added. “When we fight, we win!”

In Oregon, meanwhile, SMART Local 16 built a powerful group of allies, including the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI), to help pass House Bill 3031, which relates to indoor air quality in schools. If school districts receive funding to improve indoor air quality, the law would require indoor air quality assessments of K–12 school facilities every five years and the use of carbon dioxide monitors in all K-12 buildings to help confirm that all school ventilation systems are operating correctly, and that staff is notified right away of any deficiency or issue. It also mandates the review of an independent third-party mechanical engineer to ensure the proper corrections are made for the best results. Importantly for SMART members, labor standards contained in the bill will require that skilled, trained and certified workers perform the work — creating good, family-sustaining jobs.

The process began all the way back in November 2021, according to Local 16 Regional Representative/ Political Coordinator Russ Benton. That’s when Local 16 began meeting with politicians and candidates on both sides of the aisle.

“Over the next 12 months, [Local 16 Business Manager] Brian Noble and I met with every legislator that would meet with us regardless of political affiliation,” Benton explained. “This turned out to be incredibly important at the end of session due to the Senate Republican walkout.”

A crucial part of the successful campaign was developing a partnership with the state Department of Education. Local 16 worked with pro-labor Lane County Commissioner Joe Berney to start bringing federal funds to Lane County. The local also began cultivating relationships with key players in the education sector, such as the president of the Oregon School Board Association and the executive director of the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), as well as political allies like state Senator James Manning. Finally, Local 16 made the strategic decision to hire a grant writing contractor to help Oregon school districts and local educational agencies secure federal infrastructure bill funding to improve school buildings. Crucially, the grant writer would only write applications for projects under a PLA.

All those steps helped build a strong coalition to push for the passage of indoor air quality legislation, Benton explained. Local 16’s strong relationship with ODE led to the state publicizing SMART’s services on its website, promoting union sheet metal workers as the skilled technicians ready to perform indoor air quality work. ODE also sent a communication to school superintendents seeking initial school districts to participate in the grant-writing and application process.

The results have been immediate, Benton said.

“Within two days of the first communication from ODE, we had 22 school districts apply. Within two weeks, we had 33 school districts. Within three weeks, we had 40 school districts willing to sign project labor agreements.”

And on June 23, 2023, the local’s political relationships proved successful, ensuring the passage of HB 3031.

“Connecting with leadership on both sides of the aisle was incredibly important and made all the difference,” Benton concluded. “In the most hostile political environment in our state’s history, we passed a bipartisan IAQ bill.”

The SM Local 218 Retirees’ Club hosted a 100th birthday party for 82-year member Renato Favero, who turned 100 during the last week of August. Pictured, left to right: Paul Favero (Renato’s son); Renato Favero; Paul Hayes, international organizer; Rich Manka, business manager.

President Joe Biden visited SMART Local 19 (Philadelphia, Pa.) on Labor Day, honoring America’s workforce with sheet metal workers and union members from across the area during the annual Tri-State Labor Day Parade and Celebration. Local 19 apprentice Brittany Rivera introduced the president, telling her story of entering the sheet metal trade, being a working mom and the many benefits Local 19 has afforded her and her young family.

“Being a union member has changed my life,” Rivera said. “I spent 15 years in food service before a friend encouraged me to get in this trade. From him, I saw how a union provides stability, security and a good-paying job to raise my family. … I’m so grateful for Local 19. I know that I belong here.”

“Thanks to President Biden, the most pro-union president in our history, women are realizing that the trades aren’t just for men,” she added. “They’re taking advantage of the opportunities being created thanks to the president’s leadership.”

Biden’s visit to Local 19 — during which he also recognized Philadelphia City Council candidate and Local 19 Business Manager Gary Masino — is a testament to this administration’s real, material support for union workers, said Local 19 Political Director Todd Farally.

President Biden shakes hands with Local 19 apprentice Brittany Rivera.

“It is always an honor for Local 19 to host the Tri-State Annual Labor Day Parade and Celebration. But this year was a particular privilege for our union,” Farally explained. “President Biden spoke to thousands of union members about all the good work his administration has delivered over these past few years: investing in our infrastructure, rebuilding our manufacturing base and ensuring worker-friendly regulations within federal labor law.”

In his speech, Biden specifically discussed the crucial role SMART sheet metal workers are playing as we build the economy of the future, from complex ventilation systems in chip plants, to fabricating and installing energy-efficient heat pumps.

“The sheet metal workers who used to use hand-drawn blueprints to design ductwork in buildings now use sophisticated, computer-aided design systems so the entire project can be laid out in 3D,” he noted, emphasizing the expert training delivered in our union’s apprenticeship programs.

The president also discussed the importance of investing in working families; something his administration has done through the passage of job-creating laws like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Decades of handing out excessive tax cuts to the rich and the corporations without making the investments in America and the American people — that had been a bust,” Biden declared. “The long and short of it is we’re making things here in America again with American workers, with American products, in American factories.”

Photos by Local 19 apprentice Rob Jost.

Throughout the spring and summer of 2023, approximately 125 SMART Local 105 members were performing HVAC, kitchen, architectural and TAB work on the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers, known officially as the Intuit Dome. The $2 billion project is slated to open for the 2024–2025 NBA season.

SMART’s news team toured the project in May 2023 with Local 105 leaders and members working on the project.

“We’re doing all the HVAC,” said Local 105 journeyperson Mike Duran, who is also a Marine Corps veteran and general foreman with Southland Industries on the arena job. “We’ve got about 1.2 million pounds of ductwork to put in this building. There’s probably about 40 or 50 air handlers.”

The project also has two-and-a-half dozen grease scrubbers and more than 7,000 linear feet of grease duct. “You’ve got hot markets, kitchens, concession stands,” said Duran. “Anything they cook food at, it’ll have a grease hood and it’ll pull the air and filter it and then spit it out of the building.”

He added that the project was on a “fast track,” with all the different trades and thousands of moving parts.

“I think right now there’s 1,100 workers on site. It’s a lot of planning, a lot of logistics to try to make everything and get everything in here.”

Under a project labor agreement (PLA) negotiated for the job, local hiring has been prioritized.

“A goal of a project like this, when it was negotiated through the building trades,” said SMART Local 105 Business Manager/President Steve Hinson, “was to bring people from the community and give them the opportunity to work on a grand structure like this. And give them the opportunity to learn the craft, to learn a trade.”

Hinson underscored that “PLAs have been proven to bring jobs in, using good union labor, on-time and under budget.”

“We’ve got an awesome team out here,” said Duran, “and we all work together for the same goal — to get everything done safely and effectively.”

Duran has been in the sheet metal industry since 1999.

“I came from Local 16 up in Portland,” he said. “My brother worked there and he got me in the trade.”

After apprenticing, Duran joined the Marines, serving for four years — including two tours of duty in Iraq. After leaving the military, he worked for a company providing personal security services in Iraq. He then moved down to southern California, met his wife and got married, and got back into the sheet metal industry with SMART Local 105.

“For somebody that’s coming out of the military,” he added, “that wants to work with their hands and build something, the trades are a great place to go. You can get in, make a good wage, good benefits, provide for your family and be successful. Out of all the trades, I think sheet metal is one of the best ones. We build our own stuff, we install it, we fabricate it.”

SMART Local 206 (San Diego, Calif.) sheet metal workers are currently on the job at the IQHQ Research and Development District in downtown San Diego: a large, mixed-use, life science development that spans eight acres and six city blocks. Once completed, it will be California’s largest commercial waterfront site, featuring mid-rise buildings, a 17-story tower, shops, restaurants, a public paseo, roof decks and green spaces.

“Work like this is a testament to our members’ skill, expertise and commitment to safety,” said Local 206 Business Manager/Financial Secretary-Treasurer Dave Gauthier. “We are proud to play such a vital role shaping the future of San Diego.”

Four Local 206 signatory contractors are currently on the job. CMF, Inc. workers are performing portions of the architectural work. Local 206 members at California Sheet Metal, meanwhile, will staff the project for one year, with a scope that spans four of the eight areas of work and requires 12,170 shop hours and 14,326 field hours, with 2,700 linear feet of railing and 8,380 square feet of trellis.

Local 206 signatory contractor A.O. Reed was brought on early in the project phase to create unique detailing and constructability ideas to accommodate the project’s scope. The development — which A.O. Reed says is taking place on “arguably the last undeveloped land on the San Diego waterfront” — is estimated to be completed in early 2024.

Block 2B of the IQHQ project includes the 17-story lab/office building with retail spaces at the ground level and second floors. The laboratory spaces require the installation of lab exhaust risers: the largest duct that workers at A.O. Reed have fabricated in the company’s 109-year history. The duct measures 248 by 118 inches and runs from the rooftop on level 18 to level 1. The size and complexity of the duct setting — which necessitated the use of a crane — saw the A.O. Reed BIM team working hand-in-hand with the engineer to pre-plan each step of the process, showcasing the depth and detail of the sheet metal trade as Local 206 members work to ensure the large system operates as efficiently and flawlessly as possible.

Members working for ACCO Engineered systems will spend a total of 16 months on the job — 44,000 work hours in the field, 8,000 work hours in the shop. They have already installed two 264- by 78-inch lab exhaust duct risers with subduct connections, using a tower crane to drop the riser pieces down the shaft and into place. Local 206 workers pre-assembled the supply air duct over the air handling units — sized 204 by 66 inches — on the ground. ACCO employees also built 62- by 15- by 6-foot outside-air plenums, which connected to the curtain wall system out of a gas station panel.

Local 47 (Ottawa, Ontario) sheet metal worker Stuart Simpson started his tradesperson career at a nonunion sheet metal shop. Unlike many nonunion contractors, though, his employer ended up actively encouraging Simpson and his coworkers to join SMART – resulting in a “truly life-changing” shift that Simpson says has transformed the trajectory of his career, leading him to become Local 47’s training coordinator. Read more in his BE4ALL member story:  

“I got into sheet metal at a local shop in 1996. I became a registered apprentice and went through my five-year apprenticeship, attended three intakes at our local college (eight weeks each time), wrote my certificate of qualification and became a licensed journeyperson in 2002.

“I joined SMART back in 2011 – before becoming a union member, I worked for a nonunion shop. We normally worked long hours, usually for straight time, and we were paid time and a half when it was available. My employer at the time decided that we should all join the union because of the benefits SMART membership provided. It was a good employer that wanted to give its employees a better future. We were provided with a good pension plan and great benefits, as well as a nice wage increase! My employer did the best it could to provide good benefits and a pension; however, joining the union was an amazing decision. I am truly grateful for that. I was fortunate to work for that company for 19.5 years before it closed its doors.

“Once I became a union member, I started attending union meetings and learned more about what the union has done and could do for its members. By attending more union functions, I got to know the officers of the union, and when my union reached out looking for an instructor to assist with safety training, I submitted my name. Thankfully they liked what I had to offer, and I became one of the safety trainers. Shortly after I also became the part-time training coordinator, and after a few years they brought me on full time to serve as the permanent training coordinator.

“Over the last five years our local has expanded its safety training, brought in two more instructors, and most recently we were awarded our TDA (training delivery agent) status, which will allow us to start teaching the 308A Red Seal sheet metal and the 449A Red Seal roofer programs in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I am so grateful to be a part of SMART, for the education it has provided me, as well as the many skill upgrade opportunities I’ve been able to access. Honestly, joining the union was transformational for me, not only from a financial position, but also because the things I’ve learned and the courses I’ve attended have truly changed my life. When I meet new apprentices, I tell them to take every opportunity to grow their skills, as learning is a lifelong journey. Thank you SMART for all you have done and continue to do for us!”

SMART Local 12 (southwestern Pennsylvania) retiree George MacGregor says that the decision he made to join the union – a decision more than 50 years old – has changed his life for the better, with his union pension providing him “dignity and grace” in his golden years. Read more in his BE4ALL member story:   

“My story started back in 1969. I was working a minimum wage job and was married to my wife at the time. Her father was a union sheet metal worker, a foreman for a union company – and he asked me if I would like to work like him, in the union. So, I decided to go and see if I could work for the union.

“I got in as a permit worker, and I worked on permit for about six months before getting laid off. At that point, I decided to take the test to get in. Out of about 200 applicants, I scored 19th place. Several weeks later, I got a call and was asked if I would like an apprenticeship – so with no hesitation, I said yes.

“The main reasons I became a sheet metal worker were: 1. I wanted to get a better job. 2. I liked working with my hands. 3. I had a future in the union. 4. And there was also the fact that there was a pension in the future. My life was changed for the better, and now I have earned a pension and also earned a decent amount with my social security, so I can stay retired with dignity and grace. I want to thank the SMART International and Local 12 for my pension.”