SMART pride: Members detail the fruits of union labor

Each quarter of the year, as part of the Belonging and Excellence for All (BE4ALL) initiative, SMART members are challenged to answer one simple question — why are you proud to be a SMART union member? — to be entered into a raffle to win a $100 gift card and a BE4ALL jacket.

And each quarter, SMART members meet the challenge, telling their stories of union pride and solidarity.

The Fall 2024 challenge raffle winners are no different.

Local 9 (Denver, Colorado) sister Delores Bledsoe, the sheet metal winner, answered: “I want to start with, I love my union! I have been a member for nine and a half years, and from day one I can honestly say it has transformed my life, from building my self-worth to financial stability!

“My self-worth was minimal to say the least [before joining the union]. I had no skills and no direction in my life, but when I joined the union it all came together! I had purpose and went home every day feeling good about how my day went. I was able to learn a skilled craft, and I was able to build relationships that will last forever. There were days I wanted to give up and throw in the towel, but between my classmates and the local union staff, I had a support system that I never knew was possible. As for the financial stability, I feel like I went from rags to riches — I went from a studio apartment in a very rough neighborhood to owning a five-bedroom, four-bath home.

“Every day I come home feeling blessed, and I know that without my union and hard work, this might not even be possible! I now work with the Colorado Building and Construction Trades to spread hope, happiness and knowledge about unions, and to show people that being proud of where you work is possible and living happily and comfortably is obtainable.”

Eleven-year SMART-TD Local 1378 (Wilmington, Delaware) member Joseph Castiglione, the TD winner, said: “The union has made it possible for me to provide a life for my wife and daughter that my parents were not able to provide for my sister and me. With the contracts SMART has been able to negotiate for us, I was able to purchase our house, becoming the first in my family to own a home. I owe everything I have and will have to this organization and its amazing leadership.”

And in a demonstration of SMART values, Castiglione gave his $100 gift card to a local sheet metal apprentice in his area — putting the principle of solidarity into practice.