Delegates to the Second SMART General Convention have elected by acclamation Joseph Sellers, Jr. as General President and Joseph Powell as General Secretary-Treasurer on August 14, 2019.
Sellers is a second-generation sheet metal worker who began his apprenticeship in 1980 at Local 19 in Philadelphia. In 2002, after serving as a Business Representative for two years, he became Local 19’s President and Business Manager. Sellers was elected to the international leadership as 11th General Vice President in 2009. The General Executive Council elected him to serve as the union’s General Secretary-Treasurer (GST) in July 2011, and he was unanimously re-elected as GST by delegates to the first SMART General Convention in August 2014. Sellers became SMART’s General President May 1, 2015 upon the retirement of then General President Joseph Nigro.
He instituted programs directed at providing better representation for a diversifying workforce as well as a focus on positioning the Union for a new era of technological change that will affect the sheet metal and transportation industries in the years to come.
Joseph Powell, Assistant to the General President and former Business Manager/Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Local 206 in San Diego, CA, was elected General Secretary-Treasurer on August 14, 2019. He started his career in 1988 as a Local 206 apprentice. He is a strong proponent of training and education in the sheet metal industry to stay in front of a changing industry. From 2004 to 2012, Powell served as Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer of his home local. After serving on the SMART General Executive Council starting in 2012, Powell became Assistant to the General President in 2015. He will succeed General Secretary-Treasurer Richard McClees, also a Local 206 member and former Business Manager.
Jeremy Ferguson, a member of SMART Transportation Division Local 313 in Grand Rapids, MI, was elected Sunday to serve as SMART TD President. After serving in the U.S. Army and attending college, he started railroading in 1994 as a conductor on CSX and was promoted to engineer in 1995. At the first SMART Transportation Division convention in 2014, Ferguson was elected to the position of vice president. Ferguson also served as special representative and organizer starting in 1997 and most recently was appointed to the SMART General Executive Council in July.
They will be joined by members of the SMART General Executive Council from all sectors of the Union across the United States and Canada.
Author: paul
As famous Pittsburgh resident Fred Rogers once said, “Anyone who does anything to help a child in this life is a hero to me.”
Local 12 SMART Army members were able to bring memories to last a lifetime to local children who for the first time were treated to their own fishing adventure in Derry, Pennsylvania, in an event held with the Children’s Variety Charity of Westmoreland County.
SMART Local 12 Business Representative Dan Maslo helped organize the event and described it as “a rewarding experience and a whole lot of fun for everyone who got involved.”
“The solidarity we enjoyed and ties we extended to the community pay back in many ways for all of us, and we are proud to have taken part in it.”
Local 12 Business Manager Greg Blose said children who took part received free fishing poles from Pure Fishing Inc., with prizes awarded for those with the biggest catches.
“We are proud to have hosted this event,” Blose said.
The Local 12 SMART Army also helped install a stainless kitchen hood and measured, produced and installed duct for the John Vento Veterans Community Center in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania. The center is named after Vento, a local World War II veteran and a champion for veteran causes who worked to raise more than $4 million for the WWII Memorial on Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Retired SMART TD Local 1823 (St. Louis, Mo.) trainman/brakeman Eugene J. Harmack, who recently turned 99, received the French Legion of Honor medal, along with two other World War II veterans earlier this year. The other two veterans honored were Glenn A. Harrison and Alfred C. Villagran.
France has been giving the medal to veterans for their service in liberating France from German occupation during the war. Harmack, Harrison and Villagran join the ranks of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Douglas MacArthur and Charles Lindbergh as recipients of this medal.
“Without these three gentlemen here today, the French flag that was flying in St. Louis in the early 19th century would not be flying here today,” said Guillaume Lacroix, consul general of France for the Midwest, at the ceremony, which was attended by more than 200 people. “France was no longer a country under Nazi occupation. … You changed that, forever. And we are indebted to you.”
Harmack served as a communications operator in the 329th Regiment HQ Company, 83rd Infantry Division and fought in France and central Europe. At age 24, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes forest in Belgium. Harmack received the Bronze Star for securing a vehicle trapped behind enemy lines and re-establishing communications with the Allies. He was awarded a total of five bronze stars, a combat infantryman badge and a good conduct medal for his military service.
“I can’t believe it happened. It’s a beautiful medal, and it’s a great honor. I’m very proud,” Harmack said after the ceremony.
His family and friends, including fellow retiree and Alumni member Norbert Shacklette, also of Local 1823, joined in celebrating Harmack at the ceremony. Harmack has been a member of the UTU/SMART TD since July 1941 and a member of the Alumni Association since 2007.
The Legion of Honor, officially the National Order of the Legion of Honour or the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur in French, was created by Napoleon Bonaparte on May 19, 1802, as a general military and civil medal awarded based on merit or bravery.
The categories of distinction are as follows: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand Croix (Grand Cross). Men and women, French citizens and foreigners, civilians and military personnel can be admitted to any of the classes.
To celebrate her late father’s birthday and to say thanks for the work that members of SMART Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 perform, Angie Sonnenschein (wearing her dad’s Local 36 jacket) visited with Local 36 members.
Brother Sonnenschein joined Local 36 in December 1979 and retired from Industrial Sheet Metal, where he worked for 23 years, in 2011. He passed away Dec. 14 after a battle with brain cancer. He would have turned 64 on Valentine’s Day. According to the St Louis Labor Tribune, she called Local 36 the day before his birthday and scheduled a visit with Local 36 Financial Secretary-Treasurer Jeremy Snyder.
Snyder said that “instead of mourning, she wanted to celebrate his birthday by taking coffee and donuts to some of his fellow sheet metal workers.” Snyder and Local 36 Business Representative Chris Brunnert arranged for a visit, and she met with members at the Harris House Inpatient Treatment Center jobsite in St. Charles, Missouri, and at Wiegmann Associates Mechanical Contractors and Engineers in St. Charles.
Photo courtesy of Angie Sonnenschein
By: Todd Farally
On June 4th, SMART General President Joseph Sellers and Assistant to the General President Joseph Powell visited Local 19 members working at the Penn First rack building facility and Wm. J. Donovan’s thermaduct shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both men wanted to witness SMART sheet metal workers doing what they do best—fabricate the highest-quality HVAC products anywhere and hear directly from members about their concerns and ideas regarding the state of the Union.
The first stop was the rack assembly facility that Local 19 signatory contractor Southland has set up in West Philadelphia. GP Sellers and Powell toured the facility along with Local 19 President Gary Masino and Assistant Business Manager Jerry Gontz. The shop is housed in what used to be a massive steel plant with plenty of room for all the trades to work. SSM Industries is on site with 10 members working to assemble the duct components in the racks.
Brother Ed Sparks, the Local 19 steward on site, explained how the installation process worked much like an assembly line to maximize efficiency and quality. The racks in question are mechanical rack systems that range in size from 11 feet by 5 feet to 18 feet by 8 feet. Each trade assembles and places components in the racks in a specific position as per the jobsite prints. The wheeled racks get rolled between the different sections of the shop. The sheet metal workers assemble the duct that is specific to each rack, then the insulator wraps the duct that is then it is placed in the rack. After that, the rack is rolled over to one of two fitting companies on site and the fitter adds their pipe, as does the plumber. After the top is welded on to the rack, it is held in storage until needed in the field.
When the racks are sent out to the field, they are loaded onto trucks with the wheels still attached, then transported to the Penn First Jobsite and craned up to the floor where they are to be installed. When reaching the floor, they are rolled into place, raised into position and hung where all the mechanical components line up with the components in the previous rack within the ceiling space. All that is left is to connect the two racks with a filler piece and the rest of the pieces that tie into the system. After the racks are hung, the wheels are removed and sent back to the shop to restart the process. Brother Farrell mentioned that this method of construction has been very beneficial out in the field. Not only does it facilitate a quick install, it also takes much of the staging materials onsite out of the equation. Penn First is the first project in Local 19’s territory to utilize this racking method and it has been very successful so far on the Penn First Project.
Next, the group headed over to Wm. J. Donovan for a short discussion and presentation of how Thermaduct is fabricated and how it will benefit our industry into the future. Shear Facts had a previous article on the new exterior duct product in 2018. Since that article, Wm. J. Donovan has fabricated numerous Thermaduct systems for other signatory contractors and have even installed a few itself. A group of Wm. J. Donovan’s upper management along with shop Foreman Mike DelGiorno and shop Steward Fred Stock met with SMART officials and walked them through the process of fabricating, the many benefits to the product including that the systems (when installed properly) are water tight, will last through all the elements and are a third of the weight compared to traditional exterior double-walled duct systems.
After the brief introduction to the product, the group headed to the fabrication shop across the street. When walking through the door it looks like any other fab shop, with material organized and stacked. But farther into the space, you start to notice this shop isn’t like many others in our trade. Straight duct and fittings are there throughout, but they’re a bit different than what most sheet metal workers are accustomed to with a poly-vinyl coating on the outside and what looks to be foil on the inside. Toward the back wall, you’ll see what looks like a plasma table with a long tube running from the mechanical arm to a canister. Over to the left there seems to be what resembles a brake. So as far as equipment is concerned, this shop doesn’t need much to function.
Local 19 members Brandon Steigerwald and Matt Watkins were on hand to give a tour on how Thermaduct is produced. Directly next to the table where the sheets are cut out there is a stack of Thermaduct sheets. On closer inspection, one can see that the sheets are essentially solid core insulation (similar to roof insulation) with a polyvinyl side while the other side has a foil material. Steigerwald and Watkins take a sheet over to the table, set the coordinates and let the machine do its work. The arm moves around and begins to route lines into the material on the foil side and then proceeds to cut an outline around the entire half section. After the machine finishes the process, Steigerwald takes the piece over to what is known as a thermal brake, which is used for bending the pieces just cut by heating up to anywhere between 325 and 375 degrees (depending on the surrounding temperature) and melting the vinyl coating on the material to where it is pliable enough to bend the piece into place.
After the sections are bended on the thermal brake, they are connected on each end, a flange product is affixed, stiffening rods added (as needed) and all seams are caulked. When installing in the field, an added layer of vinyl is added to surround where the connections are to ensure the product is completely water tight.
There are also added benefits to Thermaduct over traditional exterior systems aside from the weight and waterproof features. Because how it is constructed there is little to no deflection when the system becomes live. This means the duct isn’t moving or shifting as it would with a traditional system. This is a benefit because typically when there is defection, that movement of the duct (in or out) may loosen the insulation on the inside, with a possibility of the insulation finding its way into the airsteam.
The Thermaduct system is self-contained where deflection isn’t an issue, and these systems can withstand pressures of 10 in (plus or minus) water gauge. Wm. J. Donovan is a licensed fabricator of Thermaduct systems, serving Pennsylvania (east of Pittsburgh), South Jersey, parts of North Jersey, Delaware and the tip of Maryland.
The future possibilities for the next generation of sheet metal workers is seemingly endless with constant new technologies emerging every year. Our members will be there at the forefront of every innovation, ready to learn every new method and skill needed to continue to be the most knowledgeable, safe and valuable workers in the construction industry.
The newest issue of the SMART-SMACNA Partners In Progress magazine is online. In this issue are articles that discuss the steps being taken in securing government grants for industry efforts as well as a focus on diversity, architectural sheet metal training and steps being taken by labor and management to combat the opioid crisis.
As you probably already know, SMART reached an agreement with the Ontario Sheet Metal Contractors’ Association to renew the Sheet Metal ICI Collective Agreement this past week.
All Ontario Local Unions involved ratified the agreement after the strike ended on June 29.
On behalf of the Ontario negotiating team, and every sheet metal worker across Ontario, I would like to extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to every one of our brothers and sisters across SMART. Your comments via email and social media stiffened our resolve through the long eight weeks we spent on the picket line. We cannot name every member and local from across the sheet metal and transportation industries who stood with us, but those who traveled from Philadelphia to walk the picket line with us in Niagara Falls help personify the strength and unity of this Union. Many locals from across the United States and Canada contributed financially as well – and we are eternally grateful for your tremendous solidarity.
The word solidarity has a special meaning to us after what we experienced over the past two months.
Once again, we are thankful for each and every one of our brothers and sisters across the US and Canada who stood with us and be assured that we will be there for you when and if the day comes.
In solidarity,
James Jackson
SMART Director of Canadian Affairs
In late June, the Department of Labor issued proposed rules governing the introduction of new Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs). These privately-run apprenticeship programs will not be subject to the same standards and rules governing current programs.
Currently, the construction industry is excluded from IRAPs, but nothing makes that exclusion permanent.
That’s why it is now vitally important that the DOL hear from us.
Send a message to the DOL via SaveSMARTapprenticeships.org
We have less than 60 days (until August 26) to submit public comments. Non-union groups are already in the process of swamping the Department of Labor with comments opposed to the exclusion of construction from IRAPs. They look to flood future job sites with low-wage, low-skilled labor classified as “apprentices.”
Our new website — SaveSMARTapprenticeships.org — allows you to quickly and easily send a comment to the DOL in support of maintaining exclusion of the construction industry from IRAPs. Please take a few minutes now to send your message.
Join us in calling on the DOL to maintain the construction industry exclusion from IRAPs and protect the value of our training.
As SMART members, we get state-of-the-art construction industry training, both in the classroom and on the job. We also know first-hand the connections between high-quality training, worksite safety, good wages, and projects getting done on-time.
The foundation of our training programs, our SMART sheet metal apprenticeship, is now in jeopardy.
Take action NOW.
On the 4th of July, we celebrate the founding of the United States and the rights and liberties we enjoy as Americans. It is a time to look to the past and honor the sacrifices of prior generations that built this nation.
It is also a time to look forward and remember that freedom is not free. When we take our hard-earned blessings for granted, we risk losing them. We each must take responsibility to participate in our democracy, and to stand together as we continue building a nation that truly delivers on the promise of the American Dream.
As we spend time with our friends, family and loved ones this 4th of July, our union also celebrates what we have won for working families. We have a strong voice on the job and in our industry because of the hard work and victories of those who came before us.
Our union is also focused on the future – moving forward and actively shaping the industries we represent. That requires us to be nimble and resilient, adapting to the challenges we face. It is easy to get bogged down by challenges. Rather than look back, we must continually work to be forward-looking, charting our path forward as our industries evolve while the landscape around us continually changes.
Many generations have worked hard and sacrificed to win our freedoms, build our nation and protect our democracy. Let us show the same courage and character in defending those freedoms today, and in building our union for the future.
Happy 4th of July!
In Solidarity,
Joseph Sellers, Jr.
SMART General President
Brothers and sisters,
On July 1st we celebrate Canada Day! The anniversary of the effective date of the Constitution Act of 1867 (then called the British North America Act.) Throughout history, Canada has been a nation that the rest of the world looks up to. Building one of the strongest middle classes in the world where the promise of succeeding through hard work and determination continues to exist.
We should take the time to pause and feel the pride that every member should have from the strength of unity our members displayed this past year in the Province of Ontario and across Canada. Together, showing the entire Labour Movement what solidarity truly means.
As we continue to enjoy the extended holiday weekend, lets also remember the generations that have built SMART and laid the foundation for each of us to enjoy.
The unity and solidarity which formed the bond and the middle class is strong today. It was also displayed by our members on the picket line and the support that came in many forms across North America. That resiliency and willingness to come together to face down a challenge is the catalyst that makes things better for each generation as we leave our industry and nations in a better place.
On behalf of myself, the SMART General Executive Council, and your brothers and sisters, Happy Canada Day!
Fraternally,
Joseph Sellers, Jr
SMART General President