During the week of November 17, 2025, new local union leaders gathered in St. Louis, Mo., for the SMART Education Department’s New Business Managers class. The class — extended to five days for 2025 — focused on management of a local union by looking at all its parts and functions: leadership, staff, representation, resources, trust funds, organizing and community relationships.
SMART has officially relaunched the Talking SMART podcast, newly focused on providing information, resources and stories that are relevant to members and their families. The first-ever season of Talking SMART will focus on mental health, with episodes diving into the concept of mental wellness, what different types of mental illness look like, resources available to members and more.
SMART Canada welcomes the Government of Canada’s 2025 Federal Budget, which makes historic investments in infrastructure and skilled trades training, bringing major wins for the unionized construction industry across the country.
Bargaining collectively is one of the pillars of our union — the reason SMART members win stellar pay, family-supporting benefits and protections on the job. That’s why local leaders attended the SMART Education Department’s newly revised Collective Bargaining class from October 20 – 24 in Houston, Texas.
Residential HVAC is one of the fastest-growing opportunities in the sheet metal industry. That's why, on October 15, 2025, the SMART-SMACNA Best Practices Market Expansion Task Force cohosted a webinar titled "Building Residential Success: Best Practices in HVAC Service & Replacement." The recorded webinar is now available to view.
The Education Department, in collaboration with the Organizing Department, held its Organizing III class during the week of October 6–10, 2025, in St. Louis. This redesigned class focused on the “top-down” organizing strategy, with a specific emphasis on developing organizing campaigns targeting nonunion contractors.
Nearly 500 SMART sisters and allies from across North America traveled to Chicago, Ill., for Tradeswomen Build Nations — the world’s largest gathering of tradeswomen — from September 19-21, 2025. Alongside more than 6,000 fellow union workers, SMART members and leaders put the power of solidarity on full display.
The SMART Education Department held its New Representatives I class in St. Louis, Mo., during the week of September 15, 2025. The class, completely revamped for 2025, provided officers with the chance to develop their skills across a range of areas — ultimately benefiting SMART members.
SMART General President Michael Coleman issued the following statement on recent job cancellations: “This week, Washington politicians chose political games over working people, cancelling good, high-paying American jobs. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy cut $7.56 b [...]
Following the latest government shutdown, General President Michael Coleman issued the following statement: “DC politicians are playing politics and risking the livelihood of countless, hard-working American across this country. This newest government shutdown isn’t a game to [...]