Author: paul

Effective March 1, 2022, General Committee 1 was merged into General Committee 2, and General Committee 2 now has jurisdiction with respect to organizing, collective bargaining agreements, wages, hours, conditions of employment and jurisdictional matters over all of the local unions in the Railroad, Mechanical and Engineering Department.

General Chairperson John McCloskey (Local 526) will continue to lead General Committee 2, along with Financial Secretary-Treasurer Jason Busolt (Local 31), who will serve in his role in a fulltime capacity. The General Committee 2 executive board members are Rick Popplewell (Local 179), Kevin Downing (Local 363), Richardo “Joe” Persaud (Local 393), Keith Petrie (Local 139), Matt Haile (Local 78), Troy Weakland (Local 472), Clayton Jacobs (Local 259), Mark Romine (Local 525) and George Jeffers (Local 462). Tom Kennedy (Local 367), Craig Tallini (Local 149), Patrick DeBord (Local 462) and Jose Navarrette, Jr. (Local 209) will serve as trustees.

General Committee 2 will service local unions by overseeing local finances and handling each local’s accounting. This will allow local unions to focus on their essential work — member representation — and will also ensure each local’s compliance with federal laws and regulations.

Jason Busolt is optimistic that General Committee 2’s new role will help the department run much more smoothly, and said he “look[s] forward to providing the best service to our membership.” Busolt emphasized this point: “I am dedicated to making sure all our locals are taken care of and all of their financial needs are met. With the help of all our local officers and membership, together we will ensure the success of this merger and become the leading example for others to learn from.”

Joe Fraley, who was the general chairperson of General Committee 1, has joined Larry Holbert as the department’s second international representative. Assistant to the General President and Special Counsel Donna Silverman will continue to lead the department and work closely with the international representatives to ensure the department continues to serve the general committee, local unions and membership.

On February 16, the department’s leadership held a meeting with local union officers in Orlando, Fla., to give local unions the opportunity to ask questions about the merger. General President Joseph Sellers, Jr., addressing the meeting by Zoom, expressed his appreciation for our local union leadership and for the hard work they do to represent our members at the highest levels. In addition to comments from leadership, Mark Thomson, assistant to the labor member at the Railroad Retirement Board, provided meeting attendees with information about Railroad Retirement benefits.

General Chairperson John McCloskey was energized by the conversation and engagement at the Orlando meeting. “Being part of this meeting was really an honor, having listened to the questions that were asked and the open conversation among the attendees, it is obvious our Railroad Mechanical Department’s future is bright,” he said, reflecting on the meeting. “We all realize the challenges of representing our members while the carriers insist we must do more with less. We heard today that having each other’s back is not just a saying, it’s an obligation. Our members expect honesty and transparency from top to bottom, our local leadership expect education and communication. We must and we will deliver.”

The goal of this merger is to enable better service for the members of the Railroad, Mechanical and Engineering Department and to provide more efficient representation of our members. In addition, the merger will combine resources, leverage the department’s expertise and create more opportunities to grow the department and membership, all of which will better protect the members’ common interests. Donna Silverman comments, “Our members have the international’s commitment to ensure the success of this merger, and we will devote the necessary resources and support to the hardworking officers and members of this department.”

You can learn more about General Committee 2 at www.smartgc2.com.

Meet your general chairperson, John McCloskey

General Chairperson McCloskey emigrated from Ireland in 1994, where he was a member of the National Engineering and Electrical Trade Union (NEETU). He joined Amtrak in 1999, becoming a member of Local 526. He served as local president and local chairman of Local 526 and as an executive board member of the District Council of Railroads, joining in 2009. He became a general chairperson in January 2012.

On a personal note, General Chairperson McCloskey is married to Toni and has a daughter, Aoife (22), and a son, Conor (20).

Outside of work, he is a soccer referee and has officiated in Major League Soccer (MLS) as well as international friendlies where he may not have met the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, but enjoyed the company of lesser stars such as Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovich. He continues to referee NCAA games, refereeing the final four in 2016 and most recently the ACC Final between Duke and Notre Dame.

In March, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House launched its Clean Air in Buildings Challenge to improve indoor air quality in buildings. This is a component of the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan.

The challenge is a call to action and a set of best practices to assist building owners with reducing risks from airborne viruses and other contaminants indoors. The Clean Air in Buildings Challenge highlights a range of recommendations and resources, with significant input from SMART, for improving ventilation and indoor air quality, especially with the risk of spread of COVID-19.

Key actions outlined in the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge include the creation of a clean indoor air action plan, optimization of fresh air ventilation, the enhancement of air filtration and cleaning, and community engagement, communication and education around the importance of enhanced air ventilation.

In response, SMART issued the following statement.

“We appreciate the continued efforts of the Biden administration to address indoor air quality to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne viruses. Despite its importance, poor ventilation has been a widespread and persistent problem in buildings for decades. Proper ventilation is not only a key to our recovery, but it will also help cut building emissions, lower energy costs, ensure systems are meeting design intent and make buildings safe for occupants. HVAC systems are complicated, but SMART members and our training programs set the standard for the work that is required to ensure buildings are safe and healthy. Recent passage of the American Rescue Plan Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation will help buildings have the resources they need to improve indoor air quality. Employing a skilled, trained and certified workforce to complete this work is the surest way to ensure federal dollars are used effectively and efficiently to protect public health.”

Partners in Progress Conference report

A stable and successful future in the union sheet metal industry is built off labor and management working together towards a common goal. That idea represented the theme of the 2022 SMART-SMACNA Partners In Progress Conference, held in Las Vegas, Nev. on March 1–2. The biannual working conference featured guest speakers and workshops focused on developing leadership within local unions and on the jobsite, with an eye towards growing the unionized industry’s market share and new work opportunities.

Over 400 participants representing labor and management were on hand to take part in workshops held over the two-day period. The keynote speakers were former Major League Baseball player Jim Abbot, retired Marine Lieutenant General Ronald L. Bailey and Retired Naval Commander Mike Abramshoff.

Over 400 participants representing labor and management were on hand to take part in workshops held over the two-day period.

Abbot, who pitched for the U.S. gold medal-winning Olympic Team, the California Angels and the New York Yankees, is best remembered for the 4–0 no-hitter he threw for the Yankees in September 1993; all of which he accomplished without a right hand. He talked about overcoming that challenge — not only as a pitcher but also in life — and related it to the industry challenges that labor and management face when it comes to surmounting obstacles in the sheet metal industry and at the bargaining table. During his presentation, he invited SM Local 104 member Sean Linehan up to the stage, where he demonstrated his ability to switch his glove and throw with one hand to our Northern California brother.

Bailey, now head of Industry Development at the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), noted that leaders need to know their competitive advantage, stay focused and act as good role models while building a culture of trust.

Abramshoff talked about the difficulties he faced when he took command of the USS Benfold, then the lowest-performing war ship in the U.S. Navy. The challenges were staggering: low morale, high turnover and unacceptably low performance evaluations. Few thought that standards could improve before he arrived; however, he defied the odds and completely reversed the performance of his ship and crew. He noted that “great ideas don’t come from people sitting in the captain’s chair. They come from those sitting on the front lines.”

In addition, psychology professor Jean Twenge gave a talk about how the younger generation of workers approaches the world around them — and the ways in which employers can adapt to how they interact with them when they enter the workforce.

Breakout sessions and workshops centered on a number of topics facing the sheet metal industry today. At the important Bias and Belonging session, DuShaw Hockett focused on overcoming bias within the workplace, explaining how attendees can identify and reduce implicit bias to build a more effective and harmonious work environment. He encouraged attendees to reevaluate their decision-making processes and discussed how to improve them. He also outlined how diversity is not something that excludes people, but instead is a process that brings people in. Not only does diversity improve the quality and outcome of decision-making — it also assists with attracting and keeping talent.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) work was also a prominent topic at the conference. Due to its importance to health and safety in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a group of labor and management representatives led by experts at the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) discussed IAQ and the strategies in place to further secure this work as it continues to grow rapidly.

Legislative and political cooperation between labor and contractors took central stage at another session focused on coalition building. Attendees listened to a panel of their peers, who recounted how they built coalitions that positively impacted workers and owners.

At the conclusion of the conference, attendees were urged to meet with each other through the labor-management committees and work on at least one item, together, to improve the overall position of the unionized sheet metal industry. Keeping in mind that a roadmap for this work was laid out at the conference, it was noted that labor and management in the sheet metal industry agree on 90% of the issues that impact the trade. Together, by building off the cooperation on display at Partners In Progress, we can resolve many of the shared challenges we face, both now and into the future.

The chosen charity for the 2022 Partners in Progress Conference was Project 150, an organization created out of the community’s desire to help homeless high school students. At the core of Project 150’s mission is the goal of providing support and services to this group of disadvantaged youth. Project 150 hopes to equip vulnerable students with the tools and resources needed to continue school and be successful in life.

SMACNA and SMART local unions stepped up in a big way. Kelli Kristo, the executive director of Project 150, thanked the entire SMART-SMACNA family “for the generous donation of funds and goods.” Kristo continued, “Your contribution of $25,425 in funding and $8,300 in food provided 1,349 family meal bags, including family-sized non-perishable breakfast, lunch, and dinner items to feed a family of four.”

Project 150 wishes to convey its thanks to the following organizations and individuals who donated cash:

• SMART Local Union 104 — $5,104.00
• SMACNA — Western Washington — $2,556.54
• SMACNA — $2,500.00
• SMACNA of Southern Nevada — $2,500.00
• SMART Local Union 33 — $2,500.00
• SMART Local 265 LMCC — $2,265.00
• SMART Local 73 LMCC — $2,045.30
• SMACNA of Long Island — $2,000.00<
• Georgia SMACNA — $1,022.80
• SMART Local Union 105 — $1,000.00
• Western Allied Mechanical — $511.55
• SMART Local Union 219 — $500.00
• Vidimos, Inc. — $204.81
• SMART — $153.68
• KSM Metal Fabrication — $102.56
• SMART Local Union 2 — $102.56
• XP360 — $102.56
• Miller Bonded Inc. — $102.56
• Big B Contracting — $102.56<
• SMACNA — $51.43
• SMART Local Union 71 — $50.00
• SMACNA Utah — $50.00

Food donations were received by Project 150 following the conference and amounted to more than three pallets of food.

SMACNA would like to thank everyone involved for their generous donations.

The amounts of compensation subject to Railroad Retirement Tier I and Tier II payroll taxes will increase in 2022, while the tax rates on employers and employees will stay the same. In addition, unemployment insurance contribution rates paid by railroad employers will include a surcharge of 3.5%, reflecting increased unemployment claims due to the pandemic.

Tier I and Medicare tax

The Railroad Retirement Tier I payroll tax rate on covered rail employers and employees for 2022 remains at 7.65%. The Railroad Retirement Tier I tax rate is the same as the Social Security tax, and for withholding and reporting purposes is divided into 6.2% for retirement and 1.45% for Medicare hospital insurance. The maximum amount of an employee’s earnings subject to the 6.2% rate increases from $142,800 to $147,000 in 2022, with no maximum on earnings subject to the 1.45% Medicare rate.

An additional Medicare payroll tax of 0.9% applies to an individual’s income exceeding $200,000, or $250,000 for a married couple filing a joint tax return. While employers will begin withholding the additional Medicare tax as soon as an individual’s wages exceed the $200,000 threshold, the final amount owed or refunded will be calculated as part of the individual’s federal income tax return.

Tier II tax

The Railroad Retirement Tier II tax rates in 2022 will remain at 4.9% for employees and 13.1% for employers. The maximum amount of earnings subject to Railroad Retirement Tier II taxes in 2022 will increase from $106,200 to $109,200. Tier II tax rates are based on an average account benefits ratio reflecting Railroad Retirement fund levels. Depending on this ratio, the Tier II tax rate for employees can be between 0 and 4.9%, while the Tier II rate for employers can range between 8.2% and 22.1%.

Unemployment insurance contributions

Employers, but not employees, pay railroad unemployment insurance contributions, which are experience-rated by employer. The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act also provides for a surcharge in the event the Railroad Unemployment Insurance account balance falls below an indexed threshold amount. The accrual balance of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance account was negative $46.2 million on June 30, 2021. Since the balance was below zero, this triggered the 3.5% surcharge in 2022. There was a surcharge of 2.5% in 2021, with no surcharge imposed in 2020.

As a result, the unemployment insurance contribution rates on railroad employers in 2022 will range from the minimum rate of 4.15% to the maximum of 12.5% on monthly compensation up to $1,755, an increase from $1,710 in 2021

In 2022, the minimum rate of 4.15% will apply to 79% of covered employers, with 7% paying the maximum rate of 12.5%. New employers will pay an unemployment insurance contribution rate of 2.62%, which represents the average rate paid by all employers in the period 2018–2020.