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BE4ALL (Belonging and Excellence for All), a joint initiative of SMART, SMACNA and the International Training Institute, launched in December 2021.

When the leadership of the three organizations — along with the member-driven BE4ALL committee — first conceived of the initiative, they had a vision for a unionized sheet metal industry that is welcoming to ALL people. The word “all” was important. The goal was to create workplaces where every member — regardless of race, religion, gender, political affiliation, etc. — feels welcomed and supported. Leadership knew that if we could create this type of environment, it would help build stronger organizations. Stronger organizations would, in turn, build a stronger industry.

The BE4ALL Committee meeting in Washington, DC in November 2024.

There are two parts to the work of BE4ALL: the human side, and the business side. The human side is about practicing the values of kindness, respect and solidarity: “I got your back.” Simply put, it is about being a better human being to one another.

The business side is about helping every member achieve excellence in their craft. It is also about recruiting and retaining more members. More members translates into job security and a strong pension.

The business side and the human side of BE4ALL go hand in hand. In order to bring in more workers and ensure that they are excellent in what they do, we have to create workplaces that will support everyone. This is what BE4ALL is about.

As we settle into 2025, please read this recap of the work we did last year, and where we are heading in the future.

2024 BE4ALL accomplishments

BE4ALL calendar: Published the second BE4ALL calendar. The calendar highlights dates and events of cultural and historic significance for our members.

Rapid Response Protocol: Developed a Rapid Response Protocol. The protocol provides guidance and best practices on how to properly handle complaints of bias in the industry. It also includes steps that organizations can take to prevent bias and proactively create environments that are welcoming.

Toolbox Talks: Published six BE4ALL Toolbox Talks. Each one contains tips, tools and strategies for how to create a more welcoming and respectful workplace and how to be better human beings to each other.

RISE Committees: Launched the SMART RISE Committee. RISE (Representation, Integrity, Support and Empowerment) provides a space for celebrating the experiences and addressing the needs of underrepresented members of our industry. The committee also supports our recruitment and retention efforts within underrepresented communities.

Learning Journeys: BE4ALL conducted several Learning Journeys in 2024, helping raise awareness about topics, events and issues important to SMART members, including mental health, addiction and recovery.

Bias and Belonging Trainings: As of August 2024, over 1,000 individuals — across all three organizations — have received some form of bias and belonging training. The content is designed to train apprentices, journeypersons, leaders and contractors in evidence-based strategies for reducing biases and stereotypes.

Communications: Throughout 2024, BE4ALL produced podcasts, social media content, articles, member contests and videos aimed at raising awareness of BE4ALL and why this work is important. On the SMART side, awareness of BE4ALL among the membership grew from 14 to 45% as of summer 2024.

Pedal to the Metal: Pedal to the Metal is an aggressive campaign to recruit new workers in response to the overwhelming demand created by megaprojects and unprecedented growth within our industry.

BE4ALL website: Launched a standalone website to compile all BE4ALL resources and content in a single location. Breakout sessions for industry leaders: Breakout sessions were held at SMART, SMACNA and Partners in Progress conferences to educate leadership across the industry about BE4ALL.

Plans for 2025

As 2025 gets underway, BE4ALL is continuing much of the previously described work. In addition, we recognize that we must have a stronger presence in the places where members live and work. Five new efforts will help accomplish this:

BE4ALL ambassadors and local BE4ALL committees: BE4ALL will recruit and train a network of “ambassadors:” committed members and leaders who will help promote the work of BE4ALL on the ground. Complementing the ambassadors will be a push to establish local BE4ALL committees. Local committees will help replicate the successful programs and partnerships that have been built at the International level.

Leadership town halls: It is important that members hear directly from leadership on why BE4ALL is important. To facilitate this, the initiative will organize at least three town hall meetings — two in-person, one virtual — featuring the leadership of SMART, SMACNA and the ITI. These town halls will enable members to ask questions and gain a deeper understanding of the vision for BE4ALL.

Community Outreach and Resident Engagement (CORE): There are thousands of nonprofit organizations in North America. Many are in communities — and work with populations — that are untapped markets for worker recruitment. CORE will seek to partner with these organizations to advance SMART and the unionized sheet metal industry’s recruitment goals.

Culture change: For BE4ALL to be successful, every member must be able to see, feel and engage with the work. To make this a reality, SMART, SMACNA and the ITI are rolling out a set of practices and behaviors that ALL members can practice on a regular basis. They include simple but important things like expressing gratitude to coworkers and acknowledging birthdays, anniversaries and other important events in the lives of fellow members.

Bottom line: When you add up everything discussed in this article, you have a roadmap to building a stronger union. This is how we transform our industry. This is how we practice being better human beings to one another. Not for some members. For ALL members.

The International Training Institute (ITI) recently received a $3.4 million grant to build two testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) labs at training centers for SMART Local 85 in Atlanta and Local 88 in Las Vegas.

Funded by the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), this grant establishes the ITI as a new Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ITAC). With funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the ITAC program supports educational institutions to provide energy efficiency, clean energy, and health and safety job training to participants, simultaneously helping improve industrial sector efficiency and productivity.

A large portion of the grant will be spent the first year, building the two labs. The last two years of the grant will allow the ITI to conduct training in TAB, ventilation verification and indoor air quality, heat pump technology, and other courses that involve energy efficiency and the installation of those systems and equipment. There will be 12 classes hosted by the ITI in each location over each of the two years, said Mike Harris, ITI administrator.

“Ultimately, the goal for us was to build these two labs to expand our workforce in these areas and utilize these facilities to do training for members — one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast,” he said. The grant began April 1 and gives the ITI one year to build the labs, which Harris doesn’t expect to take that long. “If we complete them early, we may be able to move into the next part of the grant, the training, early.”

Local 85 in Atlanta recently purchased a new building for its training center, essentially providing a blank slate to create an 8,000-square-foot lab. Local 88 in Las Vegas is currently undergoing a renovation and expansion project to their facility and will finally get a dedicated TAB lab after years hosting the training across the parking lot in the back of the union hall building, Harris said.

“I think they’ll be two unique labs that will both be excellent sites to host our training,” he added. “While they will be a little different depending on what each needs to make the lab fit the space and the contractors in that area, we will be able to facilitate the same top-rate training classes at both.”

Both labs will feature the newest technology and equipment, and they will allow instructors to create real-life scenarios for students to problem solve. At Local 85, a clean room will be set up to allow fume hood, HEPA filter and dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) training as well as fire/smoke damper and stairwell pressurization.

Las Vegas’ Local 88 will have an approximately 5,000-square-foot lab, equipped with a pressure independent variable air volume (VAV) system with direct digital and pneumatic controls; a constant-volume, multi-zoned air handler; two types of water piping system training boards; chilled water system; three-circuit hot water system; and digital controls training stations. In addition, a three-compartment room-to-room pressurization structure for fire life safety stair and compartmental pressure setups is planned, along with a hospital critical room pressure setup, commercial kitchen exhaust hood system, laboratory fume hood system and a clean room training structure.

Alan Still, training director at Local 85, has been waiting for a TAB lab his entire 21-year career as head of the apprenticeship program.

“We’ve been teaching TAB for 10 years without a lab. We’ve had a lot of makeshift stuff we’ve had to put together,” he said. “It’s finally a dream come true. Through the partnership with the ITI, we are able to get the best of the best, state-of-the-art lab with everything an apprentice would ever see on a job. It’s a great opportunity. It better equips them to be out in the field. It’ll increase our work hours as far as giving them that real-world experience.”

Currently, the closest certified TAB lab for Local 85 members to test for certification is in Philadelphia, Still said. Not only will the new lab allow members to test and receive certifications in house, it gives them the opportunity to expand to other certifications, such as fire life safety, they could not provide before.

“We will be able to host fire inspectors, fire marshals. We can show them what happens when the fire dampers work and when they don’t work,” Still said. “I could have never dreamed what we were going to have, and it would not have been possible had it not been for this grant.”

Ken Bosket, TAB specialist and full-time instructor at Local 88, echoed that sentiment.

“It’s going to bring us up to par to what is actually out in the field when our technicians go out there to work. We are outdated with our current TAB lab,” he said. “That’s one of the main reasons I’m excited — we’re going to have more equipment to work with, more real-world scenarios to run.”

With new equipment and updated technology, Bosket hopes the TAB lab brings in sheet metal journeypersons who want to expand their skills in addition to current apprentices.

“TAB is not as easy as everyone thinks. We run into potential road blocks in our field all the time. Understanding how equipment and systems operate helps immensely in solving problems,” Bosket said. “We help find solutions and steer the proper functioning of not just merely HVAC equipment, but on a much broader scale. We’re talking water flow, air flow, electrical systems, building automated controls, building environmental or indoor air quality conditions, fire life safety systems. Understanding TAB is a precious asset.”

The locals were chosen based on need in the area, contractor demand and the ability to train not only members from around the country but also the apprentices and journey-persons in those local memberships.

“There’s a big need for it, and it’s going to help them start expanding that workforce or that knowledge to their workforce,” Harris said.

Delegates to the Third SMART General Convention in August 2024 left Las Vegas with an array of union apparel, including a SMART laptop bag, SMART-branded hats and SMART polo shirts.

What convention attendees may not have realized is that those items — along with a growing range of SMART merchandise — were designed, assembled, fabricated and embroidered by their union brothers and sisters in Ontario, Canada.

“I’m super proud of that, and we’ve been continuing to have more locals as well as our International purchasing more products,” said Local 540 (Mississauga, Ontario) Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer Derek Evans. “It makes me feel good to know that our members made these products, and our other locals are proud to know that these products are made by our members instead of another union or nonunion.”

Local 540 is the only SMART local in Canada that strictly represents production workers. Members work in a variety of industries (HVAC, automotive, fire life safety, etc.) and with a broad range of materials — including, as of approximately 10 years ago, two shops in the garment and apparel sector. That was when Sonny Wu, the owner of an apparel company called Season Group, approached the local (as well as other unions) to inquire about transitioning to signatory status.

“He wanted to get into making union-made apparel that he could sell to other unions throughout Canada and the United States,” Evans explained. “Ultimately, he made the decision to select SMART Local 540.”

Local 540 Business Manager Derek Evans (left) with Wilson Wu of Union Made Apparel

That decision has proven fruitful, even as things have changed in the years since. Sonny Wu retired, splitting his business into two separate shops — Season Group and Union Made Apparel — headed by Vincent Hu and Sonny’s son, Wilson, respectively. (Sonny remains very much involved.) And Local 540 members at both shops are now producing pieces for a huge number of their fellow union workers: SMART Local 30 and Local 285 in Toronto, the SMART Transportation Division, the Amalgamated Transit Union and many others, as well as workplace uniforms and gear.

For Wilson Wu, it’s important that labor movement merchandise is made by union members in North America.  

“A lot of goods nowadays, they’re bought from somewhere overseas — but we make everything in-house,” he explained.

“We’re end-to-end manufacturing, from sourcing the raw materials — locally made cotton — to dying the fabric, to cutting and sewing, trimming, design consultations, as well as decorating the garments, whether it’s embroidery or screen printing.”

Plus, Wu said, the union advantage pays off in the shop’s bottom line.

“We’ve gotten a lot more work ever since we’ve unionized; our workers are a lot happier,” he explained. “No regrets. It’s probably the best decision we’ve ever made.”

Wilson and Sonny Wu

The Ontario garment industry’s workforce is extraordinarily diverse, Evans said: Many employees are of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Indian descent, along with other countries throughout Asia (and Europe). The same goes for Local 540 sheet metal production shops, particularly in the automotive industry.

As a result, Local 540 has worked to ensure that these members — no matter who they are, where they come from or what language they speak most comfortably — receive the support they deserve. Contracts and workplace communications are translated into a variety of languages, and Local 540 has worked with companies to provide assistance to members navigating the immigration process and applying for Canadian citizenship.

“It has been a learning experience, but the members tend to be welcoming,” Evans said. “The opportunities we have are going to come through diversity and inclusion of different races and cultures. The workforce is changing.”

What’s most important, he added, is that all members — regardless of their ancestry or first language — continue to reap the benefits of union representation. Local 540 member Chris Ferreira, a longtime garment industry worker, indicated that the union difference is certainly being felt.

“It’s been great working at Union Made Apparel,” he said. “There’s been quite a bit more work, it’s a lot more reliable. I’ve been in embroidery for quite a few years, and it’s not too easy to get reliable orders. So yeah, it’s been great, real great being part of Local 540.”

Vincent Hu of Season Group

October of each year marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an international campaign to increase knowledge of the disease and boost efforts to research its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. Last year, SMART Local 38 members in Brewster, New York, played their part during the local’s October union meeting: The hall was decorated with pink accessories, and Local 38 officers and members wore pink to show their support for this worthy cause.

SMART Southwest Gulf Coast Regional Council members gathered at the Local 67 (San Antonio, Texas) JATC for a SMART MAP Peer-to-Peer training, raising their own mental health awareness and learning how to be advocates for themselves and their fellow members.

The Member Assistance Program training, conducted by the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT), teaches SMART members how to be peer mentors for their fellow brothers and sisters: raising awareness, reducing the stigma surrounding mental wellness and creating a self-sustaining mental health support system within our union. The three-hour SMART MAP sessions also provide members with an avenue to open up about their own experiences.

In Topeka, Kansas, solidarity across transportation and sheet metal has helped strengthen our union — and forged bonds of friendship among SMART-TD and Local 2 (Kansas City) officers.

SMART-TD GO-953 General Chairperson Luke Edington explained:

“Our general committee has extra office space which has been utilized by a business representative from Local 2 for over 10 years. We also gave office space to an organizer for a couple years who focused on the Topeka area.

“I’ve seen several good business representatives in our office over those years, and the latest one, Rich Deviney, is stellar. His devotion, work ethic and leadership are unmatched and have brought the local numerous members from our area.

“We give Rich full access to all the resources from our office (meeting rooms, copy services, etc.), and he uses them to their full advantage, which is fantastic. The local hosts training sessions each week in the evenings, new members are in here weekly to talk with Rich, and current members come in to get help with issues.

“This is a testament not just to what Rich has done for his sheet metal brothers and sisters, but also the relationship he’s built with his TD brothers here in the office. We’ve adopted him as one of our own.”

Pictured from left to right: Sr. Vice General Chairperson Michael Moore, Sr. Vice General Chairperson Kurt Christensen, Rich Deviney, Sr. Vice General Chairperson Zachary Nagy

Local 206 (San Diego, Calif.) members working for signatory contractor A.O. Reed made history on the IQHQ Research & Development District project — previously covered in the Members’ Journal — by fabricating and installing what SMACNA considers the largest ductwork ever fabricated, measuring 248” x 142”.

“Our BIM team worked hand-in-hand with SMACNA and the engineer to ensure these large systems operate at the highest quality,” A.O. Reed said in a press release. “After fabrication and installation, SMACNA reviewed its records and found the ductwork was the largest ever fabricated.”

A.O. Reed employs the largest number of union tradesworkers in San Diego County and is the only mechanical contractor in the city of San Diego that fabricates its own ductwork. The company, which started as a small plumbing business 110 years ago, directly attributes much of its success to its unionized workforce.

“This advantage gives us the unique ability to modify our fabrication process and adjust to the different idiosyncrasies of the job,” the press release continued. “Our team finds new and inventive ways to overcome obstacles in the field. At A.O. Reed, we have some of the best fabricators in our industry, and by utilizing our team’s skills and expertise, we made history! Our team produces high-quality products for our clients, and with the help of our journeymen, apprentices and technicians, we can provide the best mechanical systems in Southern California.”

Local 206 members working at the company’s in-house sheet metal shop put in long hours on the IQHQ duct system, fabricating approximately 24,000 pounds of galvanized steel roof duct. The duct riser was made of 15-gauge galvanized steel and weighed 1,600 pounds per joint.

“Our team of union journeymen, welders, technicians and apprentices meticulously fabricated these pieces of ductwork to ensure we provided the highest-quality product for the project,” the release concluded. “Without their skillset and craftsmanship this project would not have been possible.”

SMART members know that union dues are an investment in themselves — one that pays off consistently in the form of strong contracts, pro-union laws and increased work.

The advocacy of union officers demonstrated that fact in summer 2024, when Local 105 (Southern California) won back thousands of work hours that rightfully belonged to SMART members.

In California’s Inland Empire, the Riverside Unified School District recently signed a project labor agreement/community workforce agreement (CWA) for the first time; a major win for union building trades workers that guaranteed them work on RUSD projects. However, on the mechanical side, a non-signatory contractor won several bids on RUSD work, including a large new build: Casa Blanca Elementary School.

Knowing the rules of the CWA and the strong labor provisions therein, Local 105 Business Manager Steve Hinson and officers decided to investigate. Sure enough, the contractor, Simco Mechanical, “sent unregistered core workers to the jobsite,” explained Local 105 Organizer Albert Orosco. “I caught them through certified payroll report records.”

Under Hinson’s direction, Orosco swiftly filed a grievance against Simco, noting that the violation of the CWA lowered area working conditions, kept local workers off the jobsite and violated the strong labor standards collectively bargained by SoCal unions.

Armed with the CWA language, Hinson and Local 105 negotiated a settlement with the contractor — one that will benefit members for years to come. For the remainder of the $600 million RUSD CWA, the settlement reads, Simco Mechanical can only “staff one of their field employees to fulfill the duties of a field foreman for the worksite, with all other duties onsite being performed by Local 105 members.”

In other words, the activity of Local 105 officers — made possible by union dues — secured an enormous amount of work for union sheet metal workers.

“This is a major win for our members: creating work hours in the Inland Empire, where many of them live and will be put to work as the agreement intended,” concluded Local 105 Business Representative Tim Hinson.

Local 265 (Carol Stream, Ill.) held its 8th annual picnic and wheels event on September 21, 2024, bringing members and families together for food, solidarity, raffles and giveaways, and more. Along with classic cars, attendees took advantage of a variety of activities: live music, a rock-climbing wall, a bounce house, a reptile show and a tour of the training facility.

On October 25, 2024, William “Bill” Heasley, Local 12 retired past president, Dave “Gomez” Losco, Local 12 retiree, Captain Tim Bradley, a retired iron worker, and camp cook Lois Kolarik achieved a successful black bear hunt in Cameron County, Pennsylvania. Heasley harvested the bear at 9 a.m. on Friday the 25th, the second day of the state’s special firearms season for black bears. Congratulations, all!