For SMART members, organizing goes beyond bringing new brothers and sisters into our union. It’s about winning the work that members rely on.
A recent example from SMART Local 73 (Chicago and Cook County, Illinois) showed just how important that is. Through coordinated job action, strategic market recovery efforts and strong teamwork from members and staff, Local 73 successfully reclaimed multiple Home Depot rooftop unit replacement projects from a non-signatory contractor and secured the work for a Local 73 union contractor.
The effort began when Business Agent Dave Brown learned that non-signatory contractor Helios was performing rooftop unit replacement work at Home Depot locations within Local 73’s jurisdiction. Local 73 immediately mobilized, monitoring locations and gathering information on upcoming projects.
After identifying a project in Homewood, Illinois, Local 73 established an area standards picket. The crane company honored the picket line, preventing the work from moving forward. Following discussions between Local 73 representatives and Helios management, the project was reassigned to Diversified Construction Group, a Local 73 signatory contractor, which successfully completed the work.
The victories did not stop there.
Shortly afterward, a recently organized Local 73 member provided critical information after overhearing Helios employees discussing another upcoming Home Depot project. Acting on that information, Local 73 began researching and canvassing Home Depot locations throughout the jurisdiction. Those efforts led the local to a second project in Chicago.
When the work was scheduled to begin, Local 73 once again established an area standards picket. The crane company again honored the picket line, and Local 73 officers, organizers and business agents committed to maintaining a continuous presence at the site. For three days, Local 73 representatives worked around the clock, rotating shifts and maintaining pressure while discussions continued with Helios and Home Depot representatives.
The persistence paid off.
Following sustained communication and job action, the second project was also reassigned to Diversified Construction Group, securing additional work opportunities for Local 73 members and signatory contractors.
Perhaps the most significant outcome came after the project was resolved. Through discussions with Home Depot executives, Local 73 opened the door to future conversations regarding the use of Local 73 signatory contractors for Home Depot projects throughout Cook and Lake Counties. While those discussions are ongoing, they represent a potential opportunity to expand market share and create long-term work opportunities for Local 73 sheet metal workers.
This success story demonstrates the power of a coordinated union effort. From business agents, organizers and local leadership working together in the field, to a recently organized member providing valuable information that led directly to another project recovery, every level of the organization played a role in the outcome.
Through vigilance, communication and a willingness to act, Local 73 was able to protect market share, secure work for signatory contractors and create new opportunities for future growth. That’s why we organize!
Local 33 (Northern Ohio, West Virginia) has started 2026 with strong organizing momentum, signing six new contractors to date and continuing to grow the local’s market share across multiple districts. These victories are especially significant in West Virginia, where organizing success in a “right-to-work” state requires persistence, relationship-building and commitment from the local’s staff and potential new partners.
And while these wins are tough to achieve, they lead directly to more work opportunities and strengthened collective power for members and families.
One of Local 33’s biggest wins came early in the year in the Parkersburg District, where we signed RW Miller after nearly a year of organizing efforts, meetings and relationship-building. This success brought 17 new members into Local 33 and strengthened our position in the residential market throughout the region.
We also secured agreements with two additional residential contractors, adding seven new members at each company. One contractor was organized in the Charleston District and the other in the North Central District, further expanding Local 33’s union residential presence and creating new opportunities for members in both markets.
Another major milestone came from a long-term organizing effort. Back in 2022, Local 33 organized Wood Commercial and welcomed them into our union family. After experiencing the benefits of being a successful union contractor, the company made the decision to bring its residential company, Wood Heating and Air Conditioning, into Local 33 as a signatory contractor this year. This achievement demonstrates the value of our partnership with contractors and the strength of the union business model.
These organizing victories are helping Local 33 grow our membership, strengthen market share and create more opportunities for sheet metal workers throughout our jurisdiction. We look forward to building on this momentum throughout the rest of 2026.
The union difference isn’t just something that pays off in better pay, safer working conditions and stronger benefits for union members. Study after study shows that unions raise pay and living standards across entire regions, for both union and nonunion workers alike. When union density is high — when SMART signatory contractors have a greater share of the local market, for example — everyone benefits.
That’s why organizing is so important, and why SMART works constantly to bring signatory contractors into every state and province of North America. A recent victory in Vermont demonstrated how that work pays off in practice.
SMART Local 63 faced a critical challenge in the state when its only commercial HVAC signatory contractor closed following the passing of the owner. This left six building trades members without a place to work and created a gap in union market presence in a region already dominated by nonunion contractors.
Recognizing the urgency, Local 63 took immediate action. The local began reaching out to contractors and members to gauge interest in purchasing the company. While those efforts did not result in a sale, they helped identify broader opportunity in the region. With ongoing work tied to the University of Vermont, GlobalFoundries and multiple projects in Burlington, the demand for skilled, UNION labor remained strong.
Building a new path forward
Local 63 shifted its strategy toward bringing in an established signatory contractor. After meeting with John W. Danforth Company, a signatory contractor based out of Buffalo, New York, the local initiated discussions about entering the Vermont market. Local 63 committed to supporting Danforth by identifying and supplying qualified workers and demonstrating the value of establishing a presence in the area.
At the same time, Local 63 began advertising for workers, developing lists of potential new members and strengthening relationships with existing signatory partners, including GDS, a powder coating duct company. These efforts helped build a pipeline of vetted workers ready to support incoming work.
Securing work and expanding opportunities
Danforth soon secured a major retail and residential project in downtown Burlington, creating an immediate need for workers. Local 63 successfully supplied qualified workers to meet those demands, reinforcing confidence in the local’s ability to deliver — and putting members on the job.
With continued collaboration between Local 63, Danforth and GDS, efforts expanded to pursue additional work across the region. Danforth recognized both the available market and the local’s proactive efforts in securing projects and workforce.
Establishing a union presence
Following several successful engagements, Danforth made the decision to open a shop in the Burlington area, marking a significant milestone for Local 63. A grand opening event introduced the company to the local market and signaled a renewed union presence in the region.
In addition, Local 63 worked with Danforth to establish a new collective bargaining agreement tailored to Vermont, ensuring union contractors could remain competitive with open shop competition.
Measurable growth and long-term impact
In just six months, Local 63 transformed a challenging situation — one that left members without work and a region without reliable union contractors — into a major organizing success:
Grew from six members without a contractor to approximately 18 active workers
Secured two active signatory shops in the region
Established ongoing work across Burlington, GlobalFoundries and the University of Vermont
Created a competitive framework for future union growth in the state
This success demonstrates the power of strategic partnerships, proactive organizing and workforce development. By identifying opportunity within a crisis and working collaboratively with contractors, Local 63 was able to rebuild its presence, expand opportunities for its members and reintroduce union competition into a previously open shop-dominated market.
Local 63’s efforts stand as a strong example of how organizing and contractor engagement can drive meaningful growth and long-term success: benefiting a local community, a signatory contractor, SMART members and Burlington families.
Union membership changes the lives of entire generations — often within the same family. The Johnson family out of SMART Local 24 (central Ohio) is proof, demonstrating the long-term impact of organizing, mentorship and generational growth.
Kevin Lyle Johnson Sr. was organized into Local 24 in 2007 from a non-signatory contractor in Cincinnati. Through hard work and dedication, he advanced from welder to foreman and ultimately became a part-owner of Peck Hannaford & Briggs, a signatory contractor in Local 24’s jurisdiction.
His journey laid the foundation for the next generation.
Kevin Lyle Johnson Sr., second from right
Building the next generation of SMART leadership
Johnson’s son, Kevin Lyle Johnson Jr., followed a similar path rooted in discipline and leadership. After excelling in trade school and beginning his apprenticeship at Local 24, he served in the United States Army as an Airborne Infantryman, including a deployment to Afghanistan. Upon returning home, he completed his apprenticeship and continued to grow within the trade.
In 2025, Kevin Jr. stepped into a foreman role while taking the next major step in his career: launching his own company, Johnson Metal Works LLC. Based in Northern Kentucky, the sheet metal fabrication business specializes in custom ductwork and precision metal solutions. Since its founding, the company has grown to a team of 10 employees, serving contractors throughout Kentucky and Ohio.
The Johnson family’s impact does not stop there. Another one of Kevin Sr.’s sons, Dylan Johnson, is currently in the Cincinnati apprenticeship program and is scheduled to top out this year, continuing the family’s strong presence in the union sheet metal workforce.
Kevin Lyle Johnson Jr., leftDylan Johnson, completing his apprenticeship in September 2026, furthest left
The union difference
This story represents a full-circle organizing win — and what the union difference means in practice for entire generations. What began with organizing a single worker from a non-signatory contractor has evolved into a signatory contractor owner, a second-generation business and continued membership growth.
It also highlights SMART’s broader impact, beyond collective bargaining, better pay and stronger benefits. From apprenticeship training to leadership development and contractor support, SMART creates opportunities for long-term careers, business ownership and life-changing success across entire families.
A model for growth
The Johnson family’s story is a clear example of how investing in members can lead to lasting growth for the entire organization. By recruiting and training skilled workers, supporting leadership and fostering pathways to business ownership, SMART Local 24 continues to strengthen both its membership and its contractor base.
One new member led to a new signatory contractor, generations of SMART members and a stronger future for the trade in Ohio and Northern Kentucky. That is why we organize!
On February 23, 2026, workers at SPX Cooling Technologies, LLC in Springfield, Missouri, voted to ratify their first contract as SMART members. The three-year agreement includes a $1,500 ratification bonus, wage increases of over 11%, the preservation of health and retiree benefits and just cause protection against unfair discipline.
The victory came from workers who were organized to stand together and utilize labor’s oldest and most powerful weapon: the strike! On two different instances in November 2025, SPX workers struck, first for one day to protest the company’s removal of low-rise chairs from the workplace, and then once more for two days to protest the company’s hostile and callous response.
“We went to the picket line. We had our signs out there. We let the company know that this is not acceptable to us,” said SPX employee and SMART Local 208 member Andrew Stracke.
“The majority of our shop is looking for union representation”
SPX Cooling Tech employees at the Springfield facility, which opened in 2024, manufacture cooling towers and air-cooled heat exchangers; cooling towers, in particular, are in high demand as investment increases in data centers. The components that SPX employees manufacture are vital for the continued boom in data center construction.
Workers started to talk about organizing in response to various issues in the shop. Stracke, a Local 208 negotiating committee member who has worked at SPX since 2024, alleged instances of favoritism, different wage rates for different people, inconsistent discipline policies and more.
“I was actually the one that placed the call to [a union] office up in St. Louis,” Stracke recalled. “And I felt like the first thing I told them was, ‘look, the majority of our shop is looking for union representation.’”
“Me and Andrew, we were just kind of talking with each other one day about, you know, the unfair working conditions that we were experiencing at the time at the shop. We were just kind of trying to figure out what we could do about it. It was just regular old employees,” added fellow SPX worker and negotiating committee member Wyatt King. “One employee by yourself, you know, you’re not going to have a lot of weight behind you, but when you organize into a union, you can actually address unfair working conditions and unfair wages.”
Members demand a change
The workers at SPX Cooling Technologies in Springfield overwhelmingly elected SMART Local 208 to represent them in a July 2025 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election.
But despite the workers’ strong support for the union, SPX initially opposed their organizing. The day after workers won their election, management took away the low-rise chairs that workers used on the job, forcing them to work on their knees.
“I was just astonished … everybody was just kind of like, ‘well, you know, it’s clear retaliation towards electing a union to represent us,’” said King. “I mean, some of those guys in the shop are 60 years old working on the concrete, on their knees all day.”
On Friday, November 7, workers engaged in a one-day grievance strike over the removal of chairs. The strike was covered by the Springfield News-Leader newspaper.
“Any concerns that we’ve raised, whether it’s about chairs, retaliation, harassment, intimidation — they’ve just stonewalled us on all of it. There’re no discussions,” SMART Central States Regional Production Council Organizer Richard Harris said in an article in the News-Leader. “We should be able to sit down and talk about these issues and resolve them. We shouldn’t have to resort to this.”
Workers attempted to serve their strike notice on an SPX supervisor. But the supervisor refused to meet with them. Instead, a woman workers identified as the supervisor’s wife pulled up to the picket line in a white sedan with two anti-union signs taped to her back windows. One read: “F**k the Union.” The other: “Do what lil b*tches do best while down on your knees!!!” She proceeded to drive back and forth in front of the picket line, shouting profanities at the workers and threatening to have them arrested.
The week after the strike, workers submitted a harassment complaint with SPX’s General Counsel in Charlotte, N.C., regarding the signs. The complaint was signed by nearly everybody in the shop. In the meantime, management continued to threaten workers for participating in the strike. One worker who took part in the strike was verbally reprimanded for “not walking with a purpose.”
Unsatisfied with SPX’s handling of their harassment complaint, workers struck a second time on November 24 and 25. Picket signs read: “Walk with purpose! We strike today!”
Direct action gets the goods
Seasoned union leaders know how difficult first contract campaigns are. The legal consequences for bargaining in bad faith are next to nothing — a notice posting and promise not to do it again — so many employers adopt a strategy of endless delay. According to recent studies, 63% of first contracts fail to settle in one year, and 43% are still unresolved after two. The average time from NLRB certification to first contract — if one is ever reached — is 465 days!
How, then, did SPX workers manage to win their first contract in under six months? By recognizing the structural power they have within the data center economy, and by taking direct action to resolve their grievances. The strikes had an immediate effect on SPX’s demeanor at the bargaining table. Company representatives freely admitted the top priority was getting units assembled and out the door, which the strikes interfered with. Before the strikes, the company was agreeing to meet to bargain once every six weeks; after the strikes, the parties were meeting six days per month.
Collective strength and common ground
In the following months, Local 208 members say, the workers stood strong. And when they voted to ratify their first contract as SMART members, their agreement included a clause requiring the company to provide low-rise chairs.
“We’ve held so many meetings with the bargaining unit, and the participation has been outstanding,” said Stracke. “We have a really high percentage of people that work in the facility that are completely on board. They’re completely invested, they’re excited to see what working with this union and negotiating a contract, what could come of it. And already we have seen the union step up whenever they needed to step up, and give us answers when we need answers.”
In turn, the negotiating committee reports, the relationship between workers, Local 208 and management has started to improve.
“I think we’re in the middle of establishing a great line of communication and work relationships between the company, the employees and the union, and hopefully, this is a relationship that we’re able to keep going even beyond our first contract,” said Logan Hirst, SPX worker and Local 208 negotiating committee member.
Other members of the negotiating committee are similarly optimistic about the road ahead — largely because, as SMART members, they’re not just individuals at work anymore. They’re part of something bigger.
“We’re not just bringing up our complaints to management, and they just do whatever they want with it. We actually have a voice, we have a lot of weight behind us now, and they actually have to listen to us,” said King. “They have to negotiate fairly. … We’re all standing together to make real change in our workplace.”
The SMART difference:
Workers at SPX Cooling Technologies, LLC in Springfield, Missouri, voted to ratify their first contract as SMART members in February.
The three-year agreement includes a $1,500 ratification bonus, wage increases of over 11%, the preservation of health and retiree benefits and just cause protection against unfair discipline.
On two different instances in November 2025, SPX workers struck, first for one day to protest the company’s removal of low-rise chairs from the workplace, and then once more for two days to protest the company’s hostile and callous response.
The average time from NLRB certification to first contract — if one is ever reached — is 465 days. SPX workers won their first contract in under six months.
In January 2026, SMART Local 1 (Peoria, Illinois) announced the successful signing of Prow’ess Construction Corp. as a signatory contractor and the completion of a highly specialized workforce request for an international Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-regulated project. This effort was led by Local 1 Business Manager Dave Gamber and Organizer Domenic Theison, reinforcing Local 1’s commitment to supplying highly skilled union labor for complex and specialized projects.
Prow’ess Construction Corp., headquartered in Springfield, Illinois, and located within the jurisdiction of SMART Local 218, was awarded a project involving the installation of a copper roofing system at the main airport in Turks and Caicos. The copper roof is a critical component of the airport’s antenna grounding system, requiring highly skilled sheet metal workers capable of passing a stringent FAA-observed soldering certification test.
Local 1 announces the signing of Prow’ess Construction
SMART Local 218, through Organizer Mitch Noll and Business Manager Rich Manka, made efforts to staff the project locally; however, members were not willing to travel internationally for the duration of the work. As a result, and in the spirit of cooperation and solidarity across our union, Local 218 referred Prow’ess Construction to Local 1 to assist in fulfilling the workforce needs.
Under the leadership of Gamber and Theison, Local 1 successfully stepped in to meet the contractor’s needs and ensure the project moved forward with union craftsmanship.
At the request of the FAA, soldering certification testing was conducted under direct FAA supervision at Local 1’s training facility. Two Local 1 members — Jared Clymer and Jim Emanuels — successfully passed all required testing and received FAA approval to perform the work overseas. Both members are now authorized to complete the installation at the Turks and Caicos airport, representing Local 1 and the sheet metal workers’ trade at the highest professional level.
This project highlights the strength of inter-local cooperation, the effectiveness of union training programs and the ability of Local 1 to supply highly skilled labor for technically demanding, FAA-regulated international work.
The core value of SMART and the labor movement is solidarity: the idea that when working people stand together, we can win real power for ourselves and our families. It is a principle that connects working people across cities, states and nations; industries, crafts and life experience. And it is the foundation for every major gain working people have made throughout North American history.
Local 26 members put SMART solidarity on full display in December of 2025, walking the picket line alongside striking Starbucks workers in Reno, Nevada. The Reno Starbucks workers, along with thousands of Starbucks workers nationwide, were on an unfair labor practice strike, demanding a fair contract and an end to union busting.
An injury to one is an injury to all. Great work, brothers and sisters!
The SMART Education Department, in collaboration with the Organizing Department, held its Top-Down Organizing class the week of May 4 – 8, 2026, in St. Louis.
Nonunion contractors across North America stand ready to benefit from the union advantage — top-notch training, reliability and a skilled workforce. But whether it’s because they’re misinformed or just not aware of the union difference, these contractors have yet to partner with SMART. That’s what made the Education Department’s May class so important: Bringing together union leaders from across North America, the course focused on developing “top-down” organizing campaigns that target nonunion contractors.
Local 27 Business Manager Chris George
Participants learned to find nonunion contractors in their local’s jurisdiction using SICs (Standard Industrial Codes) and turned their lists into maps and routes using Google Maps. The main instruction in the class centered around what contractors need to succeed and how our locals are built to fulfill that primary need: a flexible labor force. Participants delved deep into a contractor’s mindset to understand their perspectives on the challenges of running a construction company, learning how to reframe common objections to unionization as benefits of unionization.
Attendees roleplayed interactions with the gatekeeper, delivering a custom-built elevator pitch, first meetings and subsequent meetings with the contractors. There were nearly 20 exercises throughout the week, many of them involving peer evaluations/ranking and group evaluations/rankings. After mock exercises, participants debriefed with critical feedback to their peers.
“Local 6” — Greg Goble (Local 27), Alex Lorenzo (Local 66) and Jared Starling (Local 399) — was ranked in third place by their peers. “Local 5” — Paul Conners (Local 17), Juan Amaya (Local 28) and Jeff Hollinsworth (Local 104) — was ranked in second place. “Local 8” — Fernando Robles (Local 28), Bryson Riker (Local 66) and Jeremy Waugh (Local 110) — was recognized by peers as the best group in the class.
“Congratulations to Jeremy Waugh, the highest point winner in the top group, for winning the coveted ‘Coffee is for Closers’ coffee cup!” said SMART Director of Education Eli Baccus. “We hope this class spurs participants’ top-down organizing efforts, and that more contractors are brought in for more work opportunities for our members.”
The day opened with a welcome from Geoff Foringer, Local 12 business manager, who greeted attendees on behalf of the host city. Foringer highlighted Pittsburgh’s deep cultural roots, proud sports tradition and important place in the history of the American labor movement.
Local 12 Business Manager Geoff Foringer
Opening remarks followed from Tom Wiant and Lance Deyette, SMART assistants to the general president. They discussed new SMART International initiatives underway across the the United States and Canada, emphasizing the importance SMART leadership places on hearing directly from local leaders and members. That feedback, they noted, is essential as our union continues working to improve the lives of SMART members and their families.
Wiant and Deyette
The meeting featured a full slate of presentations focused on organizing, member support, recruitment and retention. Jason Benson, SMART director of organizing, shared updates on SMART’s organizing priorities and ongoing efforts to grow our union.
That was followed by a presentation on new developments in SMART’s child care partnership with TOOTRiS, led by Louise Medina, director of special projects, and Tiffany Finck-Hayes, governmental affairs representative. SMART General Vice President and Local 85 (Atlanta) Business Manager Steve Langley, along with Local 5 (East Tennessee) Business Manager Christian Fuller, also discussed how their locals are using child care support to make the trade more accessible to new recruits — and to help keep members in the industry.
Finck-HaynesLangleyFullerMedina
The morning wrapped up with a presentation on how the International Training Institute is supporting recruitment and retention efforts, as well as the work of the RISE Committee. The presentation was delivered by Tammy Meyen, ITI field staff — recruitment and retention specialist, and Dale Clark, RISE Committee chair and ITI OSHA specialist.
In the afternoon, the council turned its focus to workplace protections, workforce development and practical recruitment tools. David Ortiz-Whittingham, construction organizer with Worker Justice, presented on protecting immigrants at work and in the community, taking questions from attendees on a range of issues impacting immigrant workers and their families.
BensonChappellLocal 565 Organizer Steve McDonaldMeyen
The session also included a BE4ALL Toolbox Talk led by Jan Chappell, Recruitment and Retention Council recording secretary.
All told, the day’s agenda reflected SMART’s continued commitment to organizing, supporting members, strengthening local unions and building real pathways into the trade. From child care and worker protections to recruitment tools and workforce partnerships, the first day in Pittsburgh centered one shared goal: expanding opportunity for current and future SMART members.
Organizing is the foundation of the labor movement, and it remains the key to SMART’s health and strength to this day. Bringing unorganized workers into our union is how we grow union density, maintain the health of our funds and build our strength at the bargaining table.
For that reason, the SMART Education Department held its Bottom-Up Organizing class in St. Louis, Mo., during the week of April 13, 2026. The class focuses on developing practical competency in the process and skills required to successfully run bottom-up organizing campaigns.
Participants worked in small “local union” teams in a comprehensive role-play that mimicked a bottom-up campaign throughout the entire week. Each fictional local union worked as an organizing team and role-played the workers at the companies — Coleman Sheet Metal and Daniel Fabrication — based on character backgrounds provided for the simulation.
Each team was ranked by their performance in a mock union election at the end of the class. The fictional Local 2 group — Scott Olson (Local 18), Juan Amaya (Local 28), John Gjokaj (Local 38), Kyle Determan (Local 263) and Joe Watters (Local 285) — was the top local in the class based on highest election win percentage.
“Participants were very engaged in the role-play and were observed organizing each other outside of class time,” said SMART Director of Education Eli Baccus. “Everyone did a fantastic job working with their groups and playing their parts. Well done, everyone!”
