Organizing pays off for Local 91, new signatory contractor

SMART organizers across North America work constantly to help contractors learn about the union advantage: top-notch training, a skilled workforce, the opportunity to grow through partnership and more. That learning process can sometimes take years — but ultimately, local unions, contractors and employees benefit.

That’s the case for recently signed Local 91 (Rock Island, Illinois) contractor O’Dell’s Heating and Air, which officially partnered with the local in December 2025.

“We recently decided to go union,” O’Dell’s wrote on Facebook after the company signed. “We feel the training for union techs is unparalleled and it offers our O’Dell’s family a benefit package they more than deserve. Local 91 has been tremendously helpful through the transition and we couldn’t be more excited to be part of their organization.”

Since 2018, Local 91 had maintained consistent outreach with O’Dell’s through several organizers, each addressing common concerns about cost, control and company size. The current organizer, Chuck Earp, shifted the approach toward understanding operational challenges, which proved pivotal when the contractor toured the training facility and observed apprentices in session. That experience highlighted the growing skill gap within the contractor’s workforce.

O’Dell’s also noted ongoing difficulty finding experienced workers and was operating two employees short, a need that Local 91 immediately filled after signing the contractor. With the contractor’s involvement in new home construction, including a recently awarded 38-unit housing project, the union partnership opened new opportunities for O’Dell’s to compete more effectively in a residential market heavily dominated by nonunion contractors.

Ultimately, the contractor recognized that its true limitations were not wages or autonomy, but access to skilled labor and structured training. By addressing those needs without interfering in business operations, Local 91 successfully brought O’Dell’s on as a signatory shop — an excellent example of a patient, low-pressure organizing strategy that builds trust through value and collaboration.