Author: paul

The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance and Sportsman Channel are combining efforts to honor the contributions of the American worker and celebrate today’s youth, who represent the future of our nation’s workforce and outdoor heritage. Sportsman Channel’s Brotherhood Outdoors Labor Day Marathon,a salute to American workers and celebration of youth in the outdoors, is presented by Carhartt and airs exclusively on Monday, September 1 from 5–8 p.m. ET.
For a sneak peak of what’s in store click here.  
Today’s youth are consistently inundated with modern technologies and devices, which can serve as a distraction to fishing, hunting, biking, hiking, camping and other healthy outdoor activities.  Throughout the Marathon, Brotherhood Outdoors co-hosts Daniel Lee Martin and Julie McQueen will provide viewers with interesting stories about the dedicated men and women who keep America moving forward and do their part to introduce America’s youth to our nation’s cherished outdoor lifestyle.
Sportsman Channel’s Brotherhood Outdoors Labor Day Marathon features six captivating episodes that include everything from a father and his sons guiding a fellow firefighter on a heart-pounding mule deer hunt in Arizona to a father and his daughters taking another young girl on her first coon hunt in Kentucky. The Marathon chronicles hard-working men and women who share a passion for outdoor adventures and are focused on passing along their great experiences to America’s youth.
“Many Americans celebrate Labor Day by spending time outdoors with their families,” said USA Executive Director and CEO Fred Myers.  “Just as we educate and prepare today’s youth for future careers, we must teach them about conservation and to value the outdoor heritage that’s intrinsic to our great nation.  That’s why educating youth about the outdoors is a key part of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s mission and why we’re excited to once again partner with Sportsman Channel for this special Brotherhood Outdoors Labor Day Marathon.”
 
The following is a schedule for September 1 programming (all times listed ET):
 
5 p.m.          Firefighter (IAFF Local 1312) Michael McShane experiences a hunting trip of a lifetime when he travels from Maine to the Arizona desert to hunt mule deer and javelina. The results are spectacular, and the stories are inspiring.
5:30 p.m.   Hunting turkeys and wild hogs is the best of both worlds for Ohio bricklayer (BAC Local 39) and turkey fanatic Jay Blankenship.  A trip to Tennessee to hunt massive gobblers and Russian boars will be a lifelong adventure for the union worker.
6:00 p.m.   Electrical worker, Eric Patrick (IBEW Local 196) is surprised with a fishing trip he could only dream of to Venice, Louisiana, where he fishes for cobia, red snapper, redfish, trout and tuna. The ups and downs will have viewers on the edge of their seats.
6:30 p.m.   Daniel Lee Martin and Julie McQueen travel to Kalama, Washington for a black bear hunt with UA Local 290 member Mark Spreadborough.  Viewers will be amazed to discover the firearm Spreadborough chooses on this dream hunt.
7:00 p.m.   Adam McCormick is a hard-working union laborer (LIUNA Local 561) and a youth archery instructor. He travels to Wisconsin in hopes of claiming a trophy buck and then invites the show hosts to his home in Kentucky, where he and his daughters lead them and their young neighbor on a coon hunt by flashlight.
7:30 p.m.   Michigan union roofer (Roofers Local 23), Derek Carrington joins the Brotherhood Outdoors team in Kansas for a captivating buck hunt with Tallgrass Outfitters. Carrington will hunt in one of the best trophy-producing units in Kansas, much to the excitement of his young sons who are already following in his footsteps.
 
“Brotherhood Outdoors not only does a great job of showcasing hard-working American union workers, but the program also illustrates how the workers share a passion for the outdoors,” said Graig Hale, vice president of business development for Sportsman Channel. “Spending time with family in the outdoors and learning the traditions of hunting and fishing are woven into American history. Brotherhoood Outdoors will shine the spotlight on America’s youth and show audiences the importance of getting younger generations involved at an early age.”
To find Sportsman Channel in your area click here.

Delegates to the First SMART Convention at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas have returned General President Joseph J. Nigro and General Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Sellers, Jr. to five-year terms in office by acclamation. Sheet Metal delegates also returned by acclamation all 11 current General Vice Presidents to the General Executive Council. In keeping with provisions of the SMART Constitution, each officer was nominated and seconded, and voting delegates were given the opportunity to propose other candidates. All 1,007 certified voting delegates, representing a variety of crafts from SMART’s new, diverse membership, were eligible to vote for the offices of General President and General Secretary-Treasurer. Only Sheet Metal delegates were eligible to participate in yesterday’s elections for the Sheet Metal General Vice Presidents. First General Vice President Bruce Word took over the convention chair to conduct the electoral process, beginning with the nominations to elect Nigro and Sellers and followed by the nominations and elections of the 11 General Vice Presidents. After the voting was concluded, the oath of office was administered to all 20 international officers, including the Transportation General Vice Presidents, who were elected at the Transportation Division Convention earlier this summer.

When Union Sportsmen’s Alliance Executive Director and CEO Fred Myers asked attendees at the first SMART Convention how many of them hunted, fished, or spent time outdoors with their families, nearly 100 percent raised their hands.
That was a fairly decent sign that Myers would be well received by the SMART delegation and that he and his audience have more than one thing in common. That and the fact that SMART is one of 11 International unions that provide financial and promotional support to the USA.
“Thanks to the dedication and foresight of yours and other unions, the 11 million members of these unions have an outdoor organization they can call their own. It’s 100 percent union and it’s your organization,” Myers said.
The mission of the alliance is to educate and organize union members, their families and like-minded individuals who share a passion for hunting, fishing, shooting and the great outdoors. Members volunteer their time and unique trade skills to expand and improve public access to the outdoors, conserve and maintain critical wildlife habitats, restore our nation’s parks and provide mentoring programs that introduce youth to the outdoors.
Myers told SMART members that two television shows produced by the alliance will raise more than $1 million for conservation efforts. Brotherhood Outdoors is a unique television series that showcases the talents and passions of working men and women as they set out on extraordinary hunting and fishing adventures across North America.
“Your union supports that show and the show has featured six of your members over the last few years going on hunting and fishing trips, trips of a lifetime,” Myers said. “Local 36 member Dan Riegler is going on one soon.”
Myers also spoke about USA’s Work Boots on the Ground, a conservation program that utilizes the unique skills of its members for projects that educate future generations of sportsmen, conserve wildlife habitat and pass on our outdoor heritage to future generations.
“It is our boldest effort yet to rebuild, renew and restore the country’s state parks,” he said.
“We connect you at a lifestyle level with your members, not just on who they are, but what they do for a living. We put a white hat on union members. We frequently hear from members that this is the best thing they spend money on, instilling pride and creating good will.”
“Thank you for helping to create the USA, thank you for what you’ve done to make this organization the success it is today.”

Sean McGarvey, President of North America’s Building Trades Unions (AFL-CIO), was the first of two speakers to address delegates to the SMART Convention August 6, telling attendees, “We are on the threshold of a once-in-a-generation opportunity for membership and market share growth.”
He cautioned, however, that union membership growth and job opportunities hinge upon how fully employers and government embrace a strategic approach based upon the value that unions deliver day-in and day-out.
“We provide the safest, most highly-skilled and productive workers found anywhere in the world,” McGarvey said. Still, unions must provide assistance at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure job opportunities keep moving forward.
“We need a 21^st-century model of labor relations that helps to ensure the success of our contractor partners which, in turn, helps to ensure on-time/on- budget results for our end-user customers.”
McGarvey noted that we must ensure an enhanced commitment to people of color, women, veterans and young adults and a commitment to pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, which will create ladders to the middle class.
He said that while union members’ fortunes do not rise and fall solely through political engagement, political action is a necessary and vital component in moving forward. He noted, however, that unions can not put all of their eggs in one basket.
“We will stand shoulder to shoulder with, and we will work in support of, any candidate for office … who supports us and our issues. We will not blindly support candidates from one political party just because other people think we should, or because that’s how it has always been.”
McGarvey asked that unions keep a watchful eye over their pension funds to ensure that the companies they invest in are companies that generate vast job opportunities for their members. “Hold your investment consultants accountable, and be armed with good questions.”
Finally, McGarvey noted the growth in Canadian trade union membership over the past five years, resulting from increased development of the nation’s domestic energy sources.
He believes that if U.S. unions follow the strategic approaches that their Canadian counterparts have applied, they can grow their membership and their market share.
“No one, and I mean no one, can achieve these goals by themselves. Whatever we achieve, it must be achieved together at the local, state and national levels,” he said.
 

SMART General President Joseph Nigro opened the proceedings of the First SMART General Convention August 6 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with a message stressing education, strength and unity.
Following the presentation of the Colors by the Palo Verde High School Junior ROTC and the singing of the Canadian and U.S. national anthems by former Sheet Metal Local 67 former bookkeeper Melina Narezo, Nigro advised delegates and guests that union leadership at all levels need to make sure they know their jobs and responsibilities.
“Let’s make sure you represent the people to the best of our ability—whether it’s planes, trains, buses or sheet metal, our leaders have to be educated; they can’t just shoot from the hip.”
After affirming that a merger between the former Sheet Metal Workers International Association and United Transportation Union was formally consolidated, Nigro acknowledged that some differences of opinion among the membership remain and encouraged discussion and debate.
“We’re going to fight some. We’re going to bleed some. But we’ll all bleed the same blood,” he said. “I’m tired of saying ‘we’ and ‘them.’ I want to feel comfortable saying ‘us.’ So, get all your animosity out.”
“We need to close the convention on Friday with one mission—that we are one union. That we are not divided, and we won’t let anything divide us. A house divided will fall. We will not go that way.”
Nigro spoke directly to all levels of union leadership—business managers, business agents, general chairpersons, and local chairpersons—when he said that service to the membership must come first.
“We will not tolerate anyone who won’t represent their members,” he said.
“You don’t have to like Joe Nigro, but you do have to like and work for your membership. Our mission is to make SMART the strongest union in North America.”
Noting the strength that can be found through SMART’s united membership, Nigro referenced a labor dispute between members of Transportation Division General Committee of Adjustment GO 505 and management of the Long Island Rail Road. GO 505 General Chairperson Anthony Simon led eight coalition unions in the dispute.
After asking for members of the delegation of GO 505 to rise, Nigro said his attendance at a labor rally there this summer was one of the most fulfilling moments of his union career.
“It was outstanding. Seeing sheet metal workers and transportation people, getting together and fighting together for the same cause—the SMART union! When I walked into that parking lot with over 3,000 people, I was so proud. Anthony, you and your boys, we’re proud as hell of you!”
Nearing the end of his address, Nigro offered his vision for the organization’s future.
“Transparency, transparency, transparency. And accountability. Our books are open to our members. We’re going to show them how we’ve spent their money. We also need to be accountable as officers for our actions and our decisions,” he said.
“Our deliberations over the next five days will give us the opportunity to move forward renewed, stronger, and united. This is our time to forge a new future with the dignity, with the integrity and the honor that built this great union. It’s all about our union . . . our members . . . our strength. Together, we are all SMART.”
In closing, Nigro advised it was time to move forward with the union’s business at hand.
“As a famous conductor once said: ALL ABOARD!”

In their First General Convention, held August 11 – 15, 2014, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers will bring together delegates from across North America to determine the course of the union through the next five years and beyond.
Over the course of the convention, delegates and committee members will meet and vote to ratify and finalize a new SMART Constitution, to elect a slate of officers, and to discuss reports on topics relevant to the industries and professions represented by SMART.
Guest speakers at the convention are set to include AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, President Sean McGarvey of North America’s Building Trades Unions, Nevada AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Danny Thompson, Southern Nevada AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Council Secretary-Treasurer Darren Enns, and Fred Myers of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance.  SMART General President Joe Nigro and Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association President Randy Novak are also slated to address the delegates.
The First SMART General Convention is also notable for its use of electronic voting and the use of e-readers to distribute convention daily news to all delegates. This green approach to convention communication falls directly in line with SMART members’ participation in green technologies on the job—through innovative HVAC practices and energy efficiency along with daily work in transportation systems (like rail and mass transit) that reduce greenhouse emissions and our dependence on foreign oil.
The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, is one of North America’s most dynamic and diverse unions with 216,000 members. SMART’s members produce and provide the vital services that move products to market, passengers to their destinations and ensure the quality of the air we breathe. We are sheet metal workers, service technicians, bus operators, engineers, conductors, sign workers, welders, production employees and more. With members in scores of different occupations, we advocate for fairness in the workplace, excellence at work and opportunity for all working families.
For more information, visit the SMART website at smart-union.org.

The new SMART The Member’ Journal is now available online. Featured articles include the Victory at the Long Island Rail Road; SMART Locals Organizing Together In New Mexico; SMART Locals Working Together At the World’s Largest Rail Yard and a profile on the work being performed to preserve the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King at the National Civil Rights Museum.   Click here to download your copy.

“Green” can be a buzzword, or it can be a way of life and doing business. Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 10 in White Bear Lake, Minnesota and Local No. 20 in Indianapolis are two examples of schools that are not only incorporating green initiatives into their work, but they are teaching sheet metal workers of the future how to incorporate it into their industry.

Energy efficiency in Indiana’s five training centers began with the Indianapolis school, which sunk its energy bills by sinking four coil cribs in a nearby pond to use water as an energy source to heat and cool the training center using geothermal equipment. Since the fall of 2012, four coils have been placed in the pond. This summer the three remaining heating/cooling systems will be replaced when coils are buried in the earth, which stays at around 55 degrees, using another form of green energy.

In both cases, instead of using air to either cool coils or pull heat out of the air, the systems are using the water or ground temperature to do the work, said Tim Myres, training director in Indianapolis.

“Our utility bills have dropped significantly,” Myres said. Compared to the last two years, April’s electric bill was 25 percent less, and the natural gas bill has been reduced to nearly nothing. All the hot water in the building is produced by geothermal systems as well.

“As utility prices go up, people are looking for a way to heat and cool their facilities. In Indiana, there has been increased interest in geothermal. People’s utility bills are high no matter what time of the year it is. Here, it’s 100 degrees in the summer and -10 degrees in the winter.”

The renovation to the center’s heating and cooling system provided training opportunities for the apprentices, who are working for contractors who work to meet consumer demand to help lower utility bills.

“Everything we’ve installed we’ve installed as a teaching module. As we teach geothermal theory, or installation or service, they can practice on the training center’s systems,” Myres added. “We’ve had a lot of requests in the last year or so for green energy training from members and contractors. And there is a big push on service training in Local No. 20. This goes hand-in-hand with that, also.”

At Local No. 10 in Minnesota, the membership encourages and entices apprentices and journeymen to study for and pass the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Associate exam with a reimbursement and bonus program. The training center will reimburse the apprentice or journeymen the $250 exam fee, and – if they pass – a $150 bonus. To date, 20 members have been credentialed.

Apprentices who achieve the credential also are credited with 40 bonus school hours to use as a substitute for any of their regularly school time. Studying for the exam takes at least 40 hours, so giving those hours back when they pass adds flexibility the apprentices appreciate, said Buck Paulsrud, training director for Local No. 10.

“You have to know the material and be pretty well-rounded. In today’s construction world, the white hats, the ones who manage the job site – an awful lot of those people are LEED credentialed, and we’re driving that level of expertise to the boots on the ground,” Paulsrud said. “If we use the wrong products, or if we park on a part of the site that can’t be disturbed, that loses (LEED) points for the project that can’t be regained. Anybody on the site can screw up these points. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.”

Employers seek apprentices and journeymen who are LEED credentialed order to offer the expertise to entice projects.

“The individuals who have earned their credential have gained new employment or bettered themselves with their employer. The people who get this tend to do very well,” Paulsrud said. “The first apprentice who earned this was unemployed. After he earned the credential, he got hired right away. The employer reached down past all the other out-of-work apprentices in front of him and grabbed him because they wanted this expertise in the field.”

Recent green projects include the future new Vikings football stadium and the recently completed Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium.

“Even projects that aren’t LEED-certified are still built to LEED standards,” Paulsrud added. Utility bills are always a concern in regards to a business’ bottom line. “Some entities are choosing to follow all the rules to getting a greener building but don’t necessarily go for the certification.”

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