Author: paul

The Alliance for Retired Americans recently released its 2017 voting record which scored every U.S. Representative and Senator on issues affecting current and future retirees.
The annual report examined 10 key Senate and House votes in 2017, highlighting issues concerning the health and well being of retirees. Specific votes affected Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; prescription drug re-importation from Canada; the Affordable Care Act; medical malpractice lawsuit caps; and tax cuts for wealthy Americans and corporations, combined with tax increases for lower-income and middle class families, that increase income inequality.
 
Thirty-four members of the U.S. Senate achieved perfect scores of 100 percent in 2017, while another 40 received zeroes. In the U.S. House of Representatives, 178 members received perfect scores of 100 percent in 2017 while 191 received scores of zero.
Click here to view the scores

In recent years, there’s been plenty of conversation in America about income inequality, with talk of the one percent versus the 99 percent. People have rightfully asked how corporate profits and CEO incomes can rise so high, while working-class and middle-class wages continue to stagnate as union density has declined.
 
This year, working-class construction workers in New York City across all the trades have begun to participate in a movement labeled #CountMeIn.
Construction workers are saying “count me in” in the fight against corporate greed.  Sheet metal workers have been joined by laborers, carpenters, cement masons, electricians, painters and others to demand fair wages, benefits, and working conditions from those who work to build the luxury apartments in the high rises they could never afford to live—and the high-end commercial space where it takes a multi-million dollar income stream to occupy an office in a closet. “Count Me In” demands every worker treated with dignity and respect, regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnicity or sexual preference.
This campaign was launched because union members and the general public realize that corporate greed has now gone unchecked for far too long. As developers continue to get richer, workers are being asked to sacrifice more and more.
 
The #CountMeIn movement and this rally is sending a message to developers that they cannot divide, separate or ignore workers any more in their fight for what every working person deserves – a basic fair days pay for a fair day’s work.
 
Count Me In Rally
Union Square Park
New York City, NY
Tuesday, May 8 at 3:30 PM – 5 PM
Click here to RSVP

 

The Penny Hoarder profiles Local 66 member Vanessa Carman who has made a career of smashing the glass ceiling at work as a Local 66 sheet metal worker and in her free time as a weight lifter.  Ads the article points out, “fifteen years ago, she helped her brother change out a broken furnace in her uncle’s house.”  Today that turn of events has led to a rewarding career in the sheet metal industry.”
You can read the rest of the article, which details the hurdles women like Carmen face, here:  https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/make-money/women-in-construction/  A future issue of the SMART Journal, scheduled for this summer, will profile her career and competitive weight lifting successes.  

Local 100 SMART Army Volunteers are preparing to bring Christmas in April to local families in PG County, MD.  This effort is part of SMART inaugural Month of Community Action where events are being held coast to coast in support of local communities.    Click here for video.

In St Louis, SMART TD Local 303 and Sheet Metal Local 36 volunteers served food and refreshments to attendees of the Greene County MO Dem Days of the Ozarks. From left, Jim Tyson-36, Brad Slaughter-303, Jason Hayden-MO SLD, Billy Elbert-303, Doug Piant-36, Jeff Nichols-303, Jason Newberry-303, and Tim Latham-303.

(Reprinted from SMART Local 104 Magazine)
On Saturday, March 3rd, SMART Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 104 members in Sacramento came out to support “the largest tax canvas in the history of the canvassing program.”
So what exactly does that mean, exactly?
It means members walked door to door with other Union members to help pass out information to underserved communities on where they could receive free tax preparation services through the non-profit United Way.
In total SMART members visited over 6,500 homes, which clearly shows just how heavy an impact our Unions can have when we come together and help. As Sacramento Business Representative Randy Young puts it, “We had 28 Local 104 members come out on a Saturday to help with this Campaign for Jobs action. One of the coolest aspects of it was that we actually had more Journeypersons than Apprentices, which shows our Union membership cares about making sure we are giving back to the community.
As Young concluded, “empowering our communities through service is one of our strongest assets.”