Author: paul

 
On this Veterans Day and Remembrance Day 2019, on behalf of the SMART General Executive Council and the more than 200,000 members of SMART, we salute the men and women who have served in the armed forces of the United States and Canada.
We recognize the commitment and sacrifices of our veterans. We remember those who gave their lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy, and we honor those who were wounded or taken prisoner. The courage of these men and women will never be forgotten.
In November 1919, following the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words:
“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”
World War I officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is the date we now commemorate as Veteran’s Day.
We are immensely proud of our SMART members who are veterans. Since the founding of our predecessor unions, members have repeatedly answered the call to defend freedom and democracy. These member veterans have also inspired generations, building and serving their communities, and strengthening our union.
To this day, we emphasize the recruitment of veterans through our SMART Heroes program, Helmets to Hardhats, and other initiatives, and do all we can to help them build rewarding careers after they leave the military.
Please join us in thanking and honoring, both today and throughout the year, all of our SMART brothers and sisters who have served and sacrificed for our countries.
Fraternally,
Joseph Sellers Jr.
SMART General President

 

A new issue of the SMART Heroes newsletter is available here.In this issue:
Married Duo Team Up for A “Weld” of Success
• Sponsor a Hero (SAH) Scholarships
• Two-Year Anniversary Marks the Birth of SMART Heroes Foundation
• New! 2nd Training Site Opens in Fort Carson, CO

The weekend of October 4-6, saw the ninth international Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference, the largest gathering of its kind in the world. More than 2,800 tradeswomen representing 48 states and ten provinces gathered in Minneapolis, Minn. to share experiences and best practices with fellow tradeswomen, to learn about new programs and opportunities in the industry, and to engage with top leaders from government, industry and the biggest fifteen international building trades unions.
The three-day conference, held over the weekend, featured a day of service with the SMART Army, formal plenary sessions and over 25 workshops on a range of topics addressing unique and critical issues of tradeswomen.
The conference was kicked off with a surprise video of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, whose speech roused the standing-room-only crowd when she told them, “Women who build are here to stay.”
The plenaries included addresses from NABTU President Sean McGarvey, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, and a special appearance from SMART General President Joseph Sellers, Jr. who addressed the 2,800 tradeswomen in attendance.  Sellers also marched with his SMART sisters in through the streets of downtown Minneapolis for a parade and rally.  He also joined the 230 SMART attendees, a record group for this event, at a special SMART caucus and for a community service project with the SMART Army.

This article takes a look at a female sheet metal worker blazing a path forward for her fellow sisters in the trade.
“Her day starts early, getting up at 4:30 a.m. to get her food and coffee ready. She drives from Gladstone and parks in the public parking structure. There she eats her breakfast in her vehicle.
“If I’m not early, I’m late,” she says, meaning “on time” is often not enough. “I like to have a good buffer of time. Because of traffic and site conditions, I like my breakfast to before starting work, to get some sustenance.”
Read more about her here.
 

Sheet Metal Workers Local 49 in New Mexico was awarded the Industry Award by the National Energy Management Institute Committee (NEMIC) for exceptional commitment to the passage of ground-breaking state-wide Fire Life Safety legislation as well as the promotion of ICB/TABB (International Certification Board/Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau) certifications. Business Manager Vince Alvarado was recognized during the SMART Convention this summer in Las Vegas for his Local’s strides to make buildings in New Mexico safer for patrons and first responders.
 

With the potential fate of registered apprenticeship programs hanging in the balance, SMART members from across the United States joined their brothers and sisters across the Building Trades in filing comments against the inclusion of Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) in the construction industry.
As part of President Trump’s push to expand apprenticeship programs, the Department of Labor issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in June to encourage more industries to follow the apprenticeship model.  While IRAPs would be useful in some industries without active apprenticeship programs, they would devastate industries like construction where these programs have existed and been developed for over 100 years.
IRAPs would grant private organizations like trade associations and employers the power to create their own apprenticeship programs.  Unlike current registered apprenticeship programs, these new programs would self-police themselves and be subject to whatever standards the private group sets for itself.  These programs would not be regulated to the high standards already set by programs like those set by SMART sheet metal apprenticeships.
Registered apprenticeship programs were designed over the course of decades to recruit, train and retain workers through progressive wage increases while providing transparency in their training and allowing for quality assurance to be maintained through government regulations with mandatory safety training a key feature.
Since IRAPs will not have to follow these same set of rules, they would create a race to the bottom in terms of training and harm industry and workplace standards for everyone involved in the construction industry – that includes not just apprentices but also journeypersons and even retirees who rely on contributions made at a rate set in an industry governed by the high standards set by registered apprenticeship programs.
As of 2019, the combined union construction trades spend $1.6 billion per year to train apprentices and provide upgrade classes for journeypersons looking to enhance their skills and careers.  This includes rigorous safety training that keeps jobsites safe in one of America’s most dangerous occupations.
The deadline for comments on IRAPs came on August 26.  In all, SMART members submitted just over 18,000 comments to the Department of Labor with several thousand more comments submitted by friends and family members.  In total, over 250,000 comments were submitted by Building Trades Unions and allied groups with about one dozen comments in support of the inclusion of IRAPs in the construction industry. The 250,000 comments broke a previous record of 25,000 submitted on changes to overtime pay when a proposal was made by the Bush Labor Department.
As of press time, a final decision on IRAPs has not been made.

The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) honored SMART SM Local 5’s Jeff Burgin with the 2019 SMART Conservation Steward of the Year Award for his efforts to improve public access to one of the Southeast’s premier fishing and recreational boating destinations.  The award recognizes volunteers from each of the USA’s charter unions who have made exceptional contributions to the USA’s efforts to organize union volunteers to donate their time and unique trade skills to preserve North America’s outdoor heritage.
Burgin, of Dunlap, Tennessee, serves as SMART Local 5’s Chattanooga-area business representative. He also championed a USA Work Boots on the Ground (WBG) project to enhance access to Tennessee’s Lake Chickamauga—a popular destination for anglers and other watersports enthusiasts from within the state and around the country.
Burgin played a pivotal role in the major overhaul of one of Chickamauga’s busiest access points, the Wolftever Creek Boat Ramp adjacent to Harrison Bay State Park just outside Chattanooga. The renovation expanded year-round access by replacing an existing dilapidated dock with a brand-new, 104-foot-long, handicap-accessible floating pier. Volunteers also restored a fishing pier adjacent to the launch and later hosted a USA Take Kids Fishing Day event at the rejuvenated ramp.
The entire project was conducted without state game and fish funds. Materials were purchased with $10,000 raised by United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 42 and $22,000 in federal marine fuel tax revenues from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). All union labor was donated by volunteers from SMART Local 5, UAW Local 42, IBEW Local 175 and Iron Workers Local 704.
“Jeff was crucial to the Wolftever Creek fishing access project,” said USA Conservation Manager Rob Stroede. “He, along with the apprentices that he leads, donated their time on multiple weekends to see the restoration through to the end. Without his assistance and leadership, the project would have been difficult to complete. Now the renovated pier provides better access to the thousands of anglers and boaters who utilize the boat ramp, as well as to the many anglers who fish from the pier.”
For his part, Burgin said the efforts were a labor of love.
“After hearing Stroede speak about the upcoming project and the USA’s Work Boots on the Ground program at a Chattanooga Area Labor Council meeting, I was hooked and told him that we wanted to help,” Burgin explained. “The USA is spot-on with their efforts to provide union labor with an outlet to serve their communities with meaningful conservation projects that positively impact the environment. I’m thankful to serve and look forward to working with the USA again in the future.”
USA CEO and Executive Director Scott Vance presented Burgin with his award August 15, 2019 at SMART’s Second General Convention in Las Vegas.
The Conservation Steward of the Year selection process begins with the nomination of potential recipients by peers or union leadership. From this pool of nominees, USA staff select individuals who have had the greatest impact on the USA’s mission, represented their unions in the most exemplary fashion, and made the biggest difference in their local community.