Strength in unity

Brothers and sisters,

We are living in divisive times. You see it when you turn on the TV, when you check your phone or open up social media — you may even experience it on the jobsite, in the shop or in the rail yard. People can’t seem to agree on how to solve the problems regular, working Americans and Canadians are facing, and they point the finger at each other in response.

That is no accident. Across our two nations, workers have been facing huge challenges — and whether it’s in politics or the media, powerful people want us to blame each other for these challenges.

There’s no point in sugarcoating how difficult things have been in recent months.

The costs of gas, diesel and groceries kept going up.

Wars taking place halfway across the world have impacted the construction industry and led to increased cybersecurity concerns on the railroad, leading to unpredict­ability and anxiety about our safety and our jobs — how we’re going to provide for our families.

Transit companies continue to slow-walk any real action to protect our SMART-TD transit operators from violent assaults, and confusion over tariffs is still disrupting the produc­tion and manufacturing industry.

It’s a simple fact: This chaos is hurting SMART members.

Workers aren’t the ones causing these problems. We don’t have the power to make the kind of decisions that throw everything in jeopardy for the Americans and Canadians who wake up early every morning and power our two nations.

It’s billionaires, their corporations, their lobbyists and the politicians in their pocket who make those deci­sions. And they are the people who benefit from trying to divide us.

It’s the richest of the rich, the elites who hate our union and everything we represent. They know our strength is in our soli­darity, and that when we all come together, we are unstoppable. We prove that every day: when we win new contracts, when we pass state rail safety laws, when we organize nonunion competitors.

So they try to keep us apart. They try to make us blame each other for the problems we face in our daily lives.

That’s why it’s so important that we all come together over the things we have in common. Our solidarity. Our patriotism, and our love for our families. The fact that we work hard for a living, building and moving our two nations.

That’s what defines us. That’s who we are. Whether you live in the United States or Canada, whether you’re a sheet metal member or a transportation member — no matter who you voted for, where you come from or what your job title is, you belong in this union. We are all SMART brothers and sisters.

Election Day 2026 is steadily approaching in the U.S., and there will be candidates who try to make us forget that fact — the fact that we have so much more in common with each other than with the elites who want to convince us that they are our allies. So regardless of who’s running for what office, and what candidates say to try to get your vote, don’t let them divide us — whether this year in the U.S. or during the next Canadian elections.

From Ontario to Florida, from Chicago to Victoria, let’s continue to stand together. That’s how we win, and that’s how we move forward.

In solidarity,

SMART General President Michael Coleman