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This month, we would like to pay homage to those who served in the Armed Forces. General Committee 2 is committed to recognizing its veteran members and making sure they know that we appreciate them and their service to our country. As a show of respect, however modest, this issue’s report is dedicated to honoring a veteran member whose service has extended into the work he’s done for fellow veterans on the railroad.

For Brother Styka, helping his fellow veterans is something about which he feels deeply passionate, and he values being able to apply the lessons he learned from his experiences to help make things easier for others.

Brother Toby Styka, a member of SMART Local 256 who works on Metra Chicago, is proud of his military service and passionate about assisting those who share his background. Having served in the Army from 1987 to 1995, including deployment during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, he understands the challenges servicemembers face when they return to civilian life, particularly around accessing benefits and support that will help them succeed. This is something Brother Styka himself encountered when he sought assistance for health issues that arose as a result of his service.

Realizing that many others might be confronting similar barriers, he started a veterans’ program at Metra for veterans to learn about the benefits they can receive and the programs available to them. For Brother Styka, helping his fellow veterans is something about which he feels deeply passionate, and he values being able to apply the lessons he learned from his experiences to help make things easier for others. Ultimately, Brother Styka is proud to support fellow veteran railroaders, and his program has been successful.

Beyond this important work, Brother Styka also enjoys hunting, taking trips on his motorcycle and travelling. He has been married to his wife, Tammy, for eight years, and he has two daughters, Kellie and Jenna, and two stepchildren, Morgan and Zach.

BE4ALL is a bold, multi-year effort to transform the sheet metal industry by ensuring our work environments are welcoming to all workers and that we achieve the highest standards of performance and excellence.

To make this vision a reality, BE4ALL has adopted several strategies. In the last issue of the Members’ Journal, we introduced the strategy of micro-affirmations. In this issue, we want to share the seven components of a courageous conversation.

A courageous conversation is an exchange between two people. Usually, the conversation is initiated in one of two situations: a) When we feel that we’ve been wronged by another person; and/or b) When we’ve done or said something (real or perceived) to wrong another person. The seven “A’s” are appropriate for disagreements or tensions around ideas, opinions, beliefs and personalities. They’re not necessarily appropriate in situations involving physical altercations, harassment or discrimination. In these situations, please consult your union representative.

Ultimately, courageous conversations are a tool for resolving interpersonal conflict and/or disagreements in the workplace. But, beyond this, they support us in being better human beings to one another. The following seven components can be practiced in sequence, or you can pick and choose which ones are more appropriate to your situation. They are:

1. ANCHOR

Initiating a courageous conversation is hard. This is especially the case if you feel the other person is wrong OR that you will lose something (i.e., the other person will see you as “weak” or “giving in”). Therefore, it’s important to prepare yourself — mentally and emotionally — before the conversation so that you have energy to draw on for what can be a long and uncomfortable process. Preparation may include listening to music, going for a walk/run, etc.

2. APPRECIATE

Share with the other person at least one thing you genuinely appreciate about them. It can be something they’ve said or done, or it can be some special quality, talent or gift they have.

3. ACKNOWLEDGE

Share with the person ways that you may have contributed to the problem or tension. If this isn’t relevant to your situation, you can skip this step.

4. ACKNOWLEDGE

Share with the person ways something they may have said or done impacted you. Share the feeling of the experience, NOT your evaluation of the experience or the person.

5. ASK

Whether you were the person wronged or you wronged someone else, ASK the other person a few probing questions as a way of approaching them from a place of understanding and curiosity.

6. AFFIRM

After the person shares, paraphrase or summarize what they shared by stating:

“What I think I hear you saying is …”

Affirming DOES NOT mean you agree with the person, it just means you are listening with the intent to understand.

7. AGREE

Both people agree on a new way to move forward (i.e., “let’s agree that, in the future, we’re going to ___________.”) OR ask the person for their ideas and support on how to move the relationship forward.

For more information on the seven A’s or if you have questions, please contact Dushaw Hockett at Dushaw.spaces@gmail.com or 202-360-7787.

Waters Mechanical was founded by Brandon Waters in 2000. His father was the owner of a union signatory firm, so he had some familiarity with the union. The company was struggling to grow its sheet metal workforce, which had dwindled to six sheet metal workers. They could not find enough qualified, experienced sheet metal workers, and it was impacting the company’s ability to grow and perform more projects.

As part of their organizing efforts, SM Local 85 (Atlanta, Ga.) contacted Waters to explain how the local could solve the company’s qualified sheet metal workforce shortage through its hiring hall, apprenticeship training program, continuous worker recruiting, turnkey benefit programs and more.

After a series of meetings between the company and the local, Business Manager Steve Langley signed an agreement with Waters Mechanical on February 14th, 2022.

The local began providing all classifications of sheet metal workers to the company. The company’s six existing sheet metal employees were offered membership in Local 85. Waters also joined Local 85 as an owner-member because he saw the value in participating in the union’s benefit programs.

Waters Mechanical successfully performs projects in the outlying areas of the huge Atlanta metro markets, as well as projects in smaller cities in middle and southern Georgia, like Savannah, Macon/Warner Robbins, Valdosta, St. Simonds Island and Augusta/Fort Gordon.

The partnership with Waters Mechanical is helping Local 85 to expand its market presence in these areas on schools, government buildings and light commercial/retail projects. These projects are mostly in outlying areas where the local previously had little to no presence.

Waters Mechanical opened a second office in the Atlanta area to focus on the northern part of the state. In addition to supplying sheet metal workers, Local 85 also assisted the company with finding the leadership personnel needed to run the expanded operations.

Today, the company has more than quadrupled its number of sheet metal workers and continues to steadily land new projects — which call for more sheet metal workers from Local 85’s hiring hall and apprentice program.

Because of the positive experience with Local 85, the company also became signatory to the UA locals in the area and is in conversations with Lance Fout, business manager of Local 435 in North Florida, about expanding operations into the Jacksonville market.

Friday, Nov. 13, 1942: Spotlights speared across the velvet darkness in the waters North of Guadalcanal as an outgunned group of American warships crossed paths with two Japanese battleships and their escorts. As quickly as the lights flicked on, the amber glow of gunfire shredded the intense black veil that had provided temporary sanctuary.  

Autumn, 2022: This is the climatic setting of the story Kyle von Bergen and his friend Dylan hear from a great-grandfather Kyle had never met until he moved in with the 15-year-old and his mother. It’s also the dramatic conclusion of a story that will affect Kyle in ways he wouldn’t have imagined when he heard the old man was coming to stay. Kyle had enough on his hands: adjusting to high school and dealing with a bully who harbored a long-time grudge against the young man. Would this story tip the scales or give Kyle the strength to carry on? 

That’s the set-up of The Burning Sea of Iron Bottom Bay – Local 73 (Chicago and Cook County, Ill.) retiree Rich Rostron’s recently published young adult novel. The book tells the story of Kyle, a teenager struggling to acclimate to high school, life in a small apartment with his recently divorced mother, and a new relationship with his great-grandfather – a WWII veteran whose thrilling wartime tales unexpectedly draw Kyle in.

“This is a tale of courage and heroism from a bygone time,” said Rostron. “But it’s also a timeless story of learning to deal with hard times and overwhelming challenges. It’s a story of the kind of strength we need now as much as ever.” 

Rostron worries that young Americans today have lost track of the sacrifices made by veterans throughout our country’s history. “That’s one of the reasons I wrote this book, and wrote it for young adults and teens,” he said. “But I also recall that I was about that age when I was introduced to the wonders between the covers of books in the library. It was the start of a life-long passion that I’d like to share with others.”

In addition to serving his community as a sheet metal worker since starting his apprenticeship around 1980, Rostron has spent time as a freelancer with The Chicago Tribune and numerous other publications, was sports editor with The Woodstock Independent and served as the advisor to The Tartan, the student newspaper at McHenry County College. And he isn’t slowing down now.

“This is the first in a series of books I plan to write about American history,” Rostron explained. “I recently completed a research trip to New England for several books I want to write about the American Revolution.” 

Find The Burning Sea of Iron Bottom Bay at Barnes and Noble, Kindle and other outlets.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the SMART Ontario Training Centre on Friday, September 2, where he celebrated Labour Day weekend with SMART members, local leadership and Executive Director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) Sean Strickland, among others. Along with welcoming the prime minister and discussing policy initiatives, like investments in apprenticeships and workforce development, SMART members presented Trudeau with a copper clock.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stops by the Canadian Building Trades Union and the Sheet Metal Workers Union BBQ to highlight Labour Day, at the Ontario Sheet Metal Workers Training Centre in Oakville, Ontario, on Friday, September 2nd, 2022.

The Joseph J. Nigro SMART Army Service Award — given each year to one sheet metal and one Transportation Division member — represents one of the highest honors a SMART worker can receive: a recognition of solidarity and dedication to their union, their SMART brothers and sisters and their community. This year’s winners — who received their awards during the SMART Leadership Conference in San Francisco in August— are a testament to the crucial role SMART members play across our country.

“This year’s winners — who received their awards during the SMART Leadership Conference in San Francisco in August — are a testament to the crucial role SMART members play across our country.”

Kevin Turner, a sheet metal retiree at SMART Local 18 (Wisconsin), has devoted himself to service since retiring. For many years, Kevin chose to support his community through Habitat for Humanity, which provides housing for less privileged families. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Kevin has attended monthly Waukesha County Labor Council Community Service Meetings; volunteered at the Walkers Point Center for the Arts (a United Way nonprofit organization); assisted with the Milwaukee River Cleanup; helped put on Local 18’s blood drive; helped feed the homeless and hungry at the Hope Center in Waukesha; volunteered at the union booth during the Waukesha County Fair, educating fairgoers about unions; performed spring and fall roof cleaning at the Association for the Rights of Citizens with Handicaps; and assisted with raising $1,500 for those in need through bell ringing with the Salvation Army outside a union grocery store.

Johnny Walker, a member of TD Local 610 (Baltimore) and SM Local 100 (Washington, D.C. area), has made his name synonymous with labor solidarity and community service. A former U.S. Navy Corpsman, Johnny has been known to drive overnight from Baltimore to Galesburg, Ill., to participate in a rally for rail labor; take part in the entire 40-plus-mile Blair Mountain March in solidarity with the United Mine Workers of America, as well as support UMWA workers striking at Warrior Met Coal; shovel his neighbors’ driveways during blizzards; and much more. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic — in addition to working as an essential railroader — Johnny went out of his way to deliver food and goods to veterans and seniors, putting his life on the line to keep his community safe and healthy. He is a regular presence at SMART Army events, and he will always show up when called upon to support his union brothers and sisters.

SMART congratulates Kevin and Johnny on this well-deserved honor!

General President Joseph Sellers accepts the George Meany Award.

The National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP) presented SMART General President Joseph Sellers with the George Meany Award on Tuesday, September 20 – recognizing Sellers’ contributions to the welfare of pension funds that SMART and other union retirees depend on.

“President Sellers has been a champion within the multiemployer community, fighting for the legislative wins we have seen and fighting against unfair attacks that would further undermine our plans,” the NCCMP announced.

The NCCMP’s mission is the advocacy and protection of multiemployer plans, their sponsors, participants and beneficiaries, working since 1974 “to assure an environment in which multiemployer benefit plans can continue in their vital role of providing retirement security and health and welfare benefits to working Americans and their families through negotiated benefits with a minimum of regulatory or other interference.”

With the George Meany award, the NCCMP honors those who have fought to aid that mission, including last year’s co-recipients: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. As a stalwart advocate for retirees across the country who helped push the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund into the Green Zone earlier this year, General President Sellers was a worthy beneficiary of the 2022 award. He accepted the honor, presented by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey and NCCMP Executive Director Michael D. Scott, during a lunch on September 20.

Two years of pro-worker policy have led to a wealth of opportunity for SMART sheet metal workers, now and into the future. Across the country, companies are once again investing in American manufacturing: building and maintaining facilities for electric vehicle batteries, data centers, semiconductor production and more — all of which require the expertise of SMART members.

I just appreciate SMART leadership and the Biden administration doing what needed to be done to get the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed, because we really needed this in all of our communities to build back the working class.”

SMART Local 83 members have worked for years on a GlobalFoundries chip plant in Malta, N.Y. Now, thanks to the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, GlobalFoundries is building an entire new building to expand its existing plant — a development Local 83 Business Manager Frank Maguire said will keep members “very busy for the next five to 10 years.” In addition, Local 83 members will help build the first wind turbine facility in the U.S., located in the Port of Albany.

“We have a very bright outlook for sheet metal workers in the Albany, New York area,” Maguire added.

SMART members in the Southwest Gulf Coast region can also look forward to a bounty of new work in the coming years, including a Meta data center ($30 billion of work); a Samsung project ($207 billion of work); a Texas Instruments semiconductor project in Sherman, Texas ($30 billion of work); and the next phase of a Tesla plant.

“This is the most work for our members in 20–25 years, and it’s creating good-paying, union construction jobs,” said SMART Southwest Gulf Coast Regional President Bill Kenyon. “I just appreciate SMART leadership and the Biden administration doing what needed to be done to get the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed, because we really needed this in all of our communities to build back the working class.”

The surge in megaprojects extends beyond the United States’ borders. In Canada, a $4.9 billion battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, will require 10 million pounds of galvanized duct to be manufactured in Toronto. That duct will then be installed by SM Local 235 members in Windsor.

“We’re hoping to get all the sheet metal work on the whole project, plus all the roofing,” said Michael Mahon, business manager/financial secretary-treasurer of the Ontario Sheet Metal Workers and Roofers in Windsor. “It’ll employ anywhere from 300–500 sheet metal workers and roofers.”

And in the Kansas City, Mo. area, SMART Local 2 workers will be called to work on two large data centers in the near future: a two-million-square-foot Meta data center and a $4.9 billion Panasonic battery factory in Kansas. That’s in addition to a biomedical facility in Manhattan, Kansas, to be constructed in conjunction with the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) that Local 2 members have worked on for the last five years. All told, these projects will bring an unprecedented number of jobs to area SMART members.

“We think [the Panasonic project] is going to be one of the largest projects that’s ever been done in Local 2’s jurisdiction,” explained Local 2 Business Manager Greg Chastain.

These megaprojects exemplify the historic progress that SMART has made in the last two years — and we will continue to organize to build our strength as we move into the future.

Kentucky’s Blue Oval SK (BOSK) Battery Plant will be union-built and require the services of hundreds of SMART sheet metal workers.

In recent months, accompanying a rise in union organizing and the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, we have seen what could be the return of American manufacturing. In January 2022, Intel announced plans to build a $20 million chip hub in Ohio, while Ford recently insisted that its new electric vehicle factory in Stanton, Tenn., be entirely union-built. And that’s just the beginning of the good news for SMART sheet metal workers: To complement its EV factory, Ford will also build several new buildings in Glendale, Ky., entirely union, expanding its battery manufacturing capabilities and providing hundreds of jobs for SMART members during construction (as well as the possibility of future ongoing work).

“This is an opportunity to really build up our apprenticeship program and increase our membership.”

“This is by far the biggest project to come through Kentucky,” said SM Local 110 (Louisville, Ky.) Organizer Jeremy Waugh. “The new facilities will add over 7,000,000 total square feet of new battery manufacturing facilities and impact approximately 1,400 acres of the existing greenfield site. The scope is inclusive of, but not limited to, construction of the following project components: two new 43 gigawatt battery plants, along with their proposed ancillary facilities, as well as administration, canteens and testing facilities.”

He added that the two new mile-long battery plants will mirror one another. Ford will likely construct one of the buildings first, rather than both simultaneously, to start manufacturing more batteries right away — allowing workers to seamlessly transition from the first BOSK jobsite to the second one. That means more work hours for Local 110 members, new members and SMART journeypersons.

“This is an opportunity to really build up our apprenticeship program and increase our membership,” Waugh pointed out.

While the project has been delayed by three months, Ford will likely try to make up that time during site work — meaning SMART members could arrive at the jobsite as soon as January, with work expected to reach a consistent peak in spring or summer 2023. That means the time is now for Local 110 to ramp up recruiting and organizing efforts (and, given the amount of work on the horizon for sheet metal workers across the country due to federal infrastructure legislation, the same goes for SMART locals everywhere). Waugh explained that Local 110 plans to deploy a variety of marketing and recruiting tactics, both evergreen and specific to the BOSK project, to grow its membership, including a billboard near the jobsite, trade shows in the area and print brochures to pass out at jobsites or career fairs, and a new digital database that replicates job listings at the union hall.

“We’re open to ideas from anyone in SMART who might have some out-of-the-box recruiting ideas that they may not be able to try at their local,” he added. “We’re leaving no stone unturned, no idea will go unconsidered.”

Like Ford’s Tennessee project, BOSK is a union project in a so-called “right-to-work” state. That’s significant not only due to its potential impact on union organizing and density during construction, but also as an ongoing opportunity for local SMART members. For companies that engage in large, complex projects, Waugh said, it’s hard to return to the nonunion shop after experiencing the skill and expertise of organized labor.

“The initial need is huge, but we’re looking at the long game” he said. “We have to be successful in the beginning to reap the rewards after.”

On September 23, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule to rescind the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP), and will instead direct the department’s resources toward support of registered apprenticeships. The DOL issued this final rule after reviewing IRAPs as required by Executive Order 14016, in which the current president directed federal agencies to consider rescinding “any orders, rules, regulations, guidelines, or policies” implemented by the previous president’s Executive Order 13801, which promoted IRAPs and would have undermined union registered apprenticeship programs such as those in the sheet metal industry.

SMART General President Joseph Sellers commented in response that “SMART commends the Department of Labor for following through on President Biden’s executive order and recognizing the IRAP initiative for what it was: a bad faith attempt by anti-union contractors and politicians to undermine high-quality union apprenticeship programs and replace them with a watered-down system of certifications.” GP Sellers added that “by rescinding IRAPs and investing instead in registered apprenticeship programs, the Department of Labor has ruled in favor of workers and their ability to find good, union jobs and reliable pathways to the middle class.”

The Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on September 26, 2022 and will go into effect on November 25, 2022. Beginning on the effective date, DOL will no longer recognize Standards Recognition Entities (SREs) or IRAPs.