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In late March, SMART mem­bers joined union brothers and sisters from across the Okla­homa labor movement for a good cause. Together with the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) and Major League Fishing (MLF) Fisher­ies Management Division (FMD), local union members teamed up at REDCREST — MLF’s Bass Pro Tour championship — to build 120 artificial fish habitats. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conserva­tion, MLF co-founder and Bass Fishing Hall of Fame inductee Gary Klein, FMD members and MossBack Fish Habitat deployed some of the structures into Lake Bixhoma shortly after to improve the quality of life for numerous fish species.

“Much of the natural fish habitat once found in many of our reservoirs has been buried by siltation or slowly degraded over time as it decom­poses,” said Steven Bardin, a fisheries biologist with MLF-FMD. “This habitat loss must be addressed if we plan to continue to support healthy fish populations. That’s why a project like the Ferguson Habitat build and partnerships with Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, MossBack Fish Habitat, the KVD Foundation and Berkley Labs are so important to MLF Fisheries Management Division.”

In projects like the one at REDCREST, community engage­ment is a concrete aim — and that aim was certainly achieved in Oklahoma, in no small part because of the enthusiasm and skill set of union members who took part

Habitat restoration projects like the one at REDCREST target fisheries near MLF Bass Pro Tour stage locations and — using science-based methods, a community-driven approach and materials preferred by local agencies — help to reestablish natural areas of local communi­ties. The event at REDCREST saw 41 union volunteers representing Sheet Metal Workers Local 270, the Oklahoma AFL-CIO, Transportation Workers Local 514, Roofers Local 143, Electrical Workers Local 584 and National Letter Carriers Local 1358 donate 530 hours — a $28,090 value — to build the habitats using tools donated by Milwaukee Tool and materials provided by Ferguson and MossBack Fish.

“The Oklahoma AFL-CIO has partnered with the USA on multiple projects in Oklahoma, and the communities are always grateful for the work we do. During the expo, many attendees stopped by the booth to ask questions about the habitat builds and the work the USA does,” said Jimmy C. Curry, Oklahoma AFL-CIO president, who organized volunteers for the project. “I’ve personally done work with our unions and different charities for over 30 years, and the projects we have done with the USA have been my most memorable. Seeing the work the USA does has made me a Union Sportsman for life.”

MLF and the USA signed an agreement in July 2021 to pursue angler recruitment, retention and reactivation via each entity’s staff and respective pools of member volunteers in order to put together local and state fishing events, MLF fishing events and USA habitat conservation projects.

“Through our Work Boots on the Ground conservation program, the USA reaches into local communi­ties to create and improve access and opportunities in the outdoors,” said Forrest Parker, USA director of conservation and communications. “Combining the USA’s workforce of union volunteers with the resources and influence of Major League Fishing through projects like this propel both of our organizations’ efforts to pass on the fishing heritage to a whole new level.”

In projects like the one at REDCREST, community engage­ment is a concrete aim — and that aim was certainly achieved in Oklahoma, in no small part because of the enthusiasm and skill set of union members who took part.

“An added benefit of bringing together skilled union volunteers to complete a conservation project in the middle of an event attended by tens of thousands of bass fans was the educational component,” said Sam Phipps, USA conserva­tion programs manager. “There were hourly demonstrations and printed instructions avail­able, so expo attendees can now build habitats on their own to benefit additional water bodies and fisheries.”

On March 19, 2022, the SM Local 27 (Southern N.J.) SMART Army filled 42 contractor trash bags with litter during a trash cleanup spanning two miles of Silver Run Road in Millville, N.J. Local 27 Business Agent John Whittington and his son joined members Don Cooper, Ken Andeloro, Mike Mendez, John David­son, Pete Polumbo, Malcolm Hill, John Manera, Jaden Sheppard, Dave Cooper, Mark Weatherby, Clarence Harris, Organizer Greg Goble and Business Agent Matt Johnson for the effort.

As part of the Easter holiday festivities in their community, SM Local 33 (Toledo, Ohio) members worked with A.N.G.E.L.S Outreach to hand out 110 food baskets to local families. Founded in 1995, A.N.G.E.L.S Outreach provides food baskets to those in need of a helping hand during Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. SMART members who participated: Rod Graffis, Clint Dockery, Julie Price, Chris Monaghan, Bill Dukeshire, Nadine Dukeshire, Gary Schwartz, Laura Blackwell, Gail Mistiatis, Ray Schlagheck, Dick Schuller, Nick Koelsch and Jim Domanowski.

Pictured left to right are SMART Local 71 members Paul Holland, Nick Hoffman, Anthony Paris, Shilo Rogers, Dan Morino, Jeff Gatti and Ryan Hurley. As part of Local 71’s SMART Army and Apprenticeship Community Service programs, these members partici­pated in a cleanup of Raymond Klimek Veteran’s Park in North Tonawanda, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo. Spear­headed by Paris, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran, the beautification project took place on May 21–22, one weekend ahead of Memorial Day. Not pictured are Busi­ness Manager Paul Crist and Business Agent Timothy Benes, who also participated in the cleanup.

SMART members from Wisconsin and across North America teamed up to support the Associa­tion for the Rights of Citizens with Handicaps (ARCh)

On the morning of Thursday, June 9, SMART members from Wisconsin and across North America joined the Associa­tion for the Rights of Citizens with Handicaps (ARCh) to prepare the Menomonee Park lodge in Menomonee Falls, Wis., for ARCh Camp Pow Wow, ensuring area adults and children with disabilities could attend the annual summer camp. Additionally, SMART pitched in with a fundraising effort that brought in $33,000 for ARCh and Camp Pow Wow, including a $5,000 donation from Milwaukee Tool Co.

“This is what we’re all about: building better communities,” said SMART Local 565 Business Manager & Financial Secretary-Treasurer Jesse Buell. “Building better wages and benefits, and raising local standards. We are proud to take part in this effort to support our community.”

“SMART takes great pride in being able to assist ARCh Camp Pow Wow with their reopening,” added SMART Local 18 Business Manager/ President Mike Mooney. “Camp Pow Wow has been a staple with serving the needs of the community for many years, and SMART is honored to be able to assist them.”

ARCh Camp Pow Wow has been providing outdoor recreational activities for adults and children with disabilities since 1959. With day camp options for the area’s most vulnerable citizens, Camp Pow Wow offers swimming, fishing, gardening, fitness, arts and crafts, music and more. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Camp Pow Wow hadn’t taken place in person since 2019, and the site had fallen into disrepair. As a small nonprofit, ARCh did not have the resources to ready the site for return to camp — and SMART answered the call.

“We are thrilled and honored to benefit from the enthusiasm and expertise of the SMART Army,” said Kristen Lindahl, assistant director of operations at ARCh, ahead of the event. “This project shows how much good can be accomplished through a dynamic partnership of organized labor, county government and the nonprofit community. It takes this great ‘village’ to raise a camp!”

“This is what we’re all about: building better communities,” said SMART Local 565 Business Manager & Financial Secretary-Treasurer Jesse Buell. “Building better wages and benefits, and raising local standards. We are proud to take part in this effort to support our community.”

Members of SMART Local 18 (Wisconsin) and Local 565 (Madison, Wis.) — along with SMART delegates attending the SMART Production and Sign Council in Milwaukee the same week — arrived at Menomonee Park lodge early on Thursday morning, with more than 120 SMART volunteers providing over 400 combined hours of labor to make sure the lodge could safely accommodate guests of all abilities.

Members removed all the contents of the lodge, cleaned and sanitized the entire building – rooms, kitchen, common areas and more – and cleaned and sanitized every piece of equipment in the lodge before reinstalling all furnishings. Other SMART workers took care of basic landscaping, repair and mainte­nance needs for the lodge picnic area, music pavilion, tent boxes and swing sets: fixing picnic tables and accessible wooden walkways, setting up heavy-duty tents for campers to use, spreading woodchips, sanitizing toys and recreational materials, and more. At the end of the effort, SMART members presented a $33,000 check to ARCh Camp Pow Wow: a demonstration of labor’s lasting commitment to supporting local communities.

“Although they have been chal­lenging for everyone, the past two years have caused massive loneli­ness and frustration among children and adults with disabilities,” said Lindahl. “Thanks to the skill and dedication of the SMART Army, our campers can now safely and joyously return to the summer fun that they have missed so much!”

The Local 80 SMART Army was out in full force this April in Detroit, Mich., headed up by retiree Richard Flood and Apprenticeship Training Center Instructor Dennis Marintette. After a long career training the next generation of apprentices at the Local 80 Training Center, Flood now donates much of his time to Habitat for Humanity and other charitable projects, where his talents and skills help those in need. Using material donated by Local 80, equipment generously donated by one of Local 80’s signatory contractors — Macomb Mechanical — and the guidance of the training instructors, Local 80 apprentices showed up to install the HVAC system for local nonprofit PR Kids.

In 2016, Beth Pierson founded PR Kids to provide assistance to mothers in need. Whether it be low-income, undocumented or single parents — or any of a multitude of other situations — PR Kids offers help in securing affordable housing, prenatal services, therapy or even help with finding employment in child care. Pierson recently purchased a house from the Detroit land bank, intending to create an office to accommodate local families in need, as well as a nursing clinic on-site to assist new mothers with infant nursing. She spent a lot of her own money to make the structure safe and inhabitable, and now she is receiving support from others in the community to push her effort over the finish line.

Today, U.S. Representatives Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) and Judy Chu (D-Calif.) led 101 of their colleagues in introducing legislation intended to punish corporate union busting and make it easier for workers to organize and collectively bargain. Essentially, the bill would take American taxpayer subsidies away from any corporate activity intended to discourage workers from exercising their legally protected right to form a union.

“Our union has a long history of helping workers form a union, and we know all too well the lengths corporations will go to try to prevent workers from having a voice at work,” said SMART General President Joseph Sellers. “It’s time to end the ability of corporations to deduct union busting activity from taxes — a practice that allows corporations to get off scot-free with union-busting activity. We greatly appreciate Congressman Norcross, Congresswoman Chu and their colleagues for their leadership on this legislation and stand ready to advocate with them for its passage.”

According to the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, it is the official policy of the United States government to encourage collective bargaining and protect workers’ freedom of association. In practice, however, corporations often engage in anti-union activity without punishment. As workers around the country continue to organize their workplaces at historic levels, employers are spending an estimated $340 million per year on union-busting campaigns. These expenses are currently tax deductible – and frequently written off as business expenses. (Even though, because of former President Trump’s 2017 tax package, workers are not even able to deduct their union dues or the cost of work tools from their taxes, as they had been able to do in the past.)

Common anti-worker interventions – currently tax deductible – include  “captive audience meetings,” where employers hold mandatory meetings during work hours and spread misinformation intended to discourage unionization; hiring expensive “union avoidance” firms to lead union-busting campaigns; threatening to withhold benefits from pro-union workers; firing pro-union workers; and closing workplaces that appear to be pro-union or that have voted to unionize.

Rep. Norcross and Rep. Chu’s No Tax Break for Union Busting Act would curtail all such practices, ending taxpayer payment for anti-union corporate practice by classifying corporate interference in union campaigns as political speech under the tax code – thereby revoking its tax deductibility. Additionally, the legislation would require corporations to report anti-worker interventions to the IRS, ensuring these corporations pay their fair share of taxes and do not receive undeserved tax deductions.

“American taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for corporations engaged in anti-worker activity,” Congressman Norcross said. “We need to level the playing field for workers and end handouts for union-busting campaigns. It’s not fair that workers pay taxes on their hard-earned paychecks while their bosses save money crushing worker organizing. Why does our tax code favor employers at the expense of the American worker? It’s time to bring fairness to the tax code and end tax breaks for union busting.”

“The right to organize is not just protected by law, it is the official policy of the U.S. government to encourage workers to exercise this right,” added Congresswoman Chu. “However, our tax code provides companies lucrative tax breaks for the hundreds of millions of dollars they spend yearly to upend pro-union action and organizing. The No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act would not only end taxpayer subsidies for these anti-union efforts, but would give workers the fair shot they deserve to form a union.”

On June 9, 2022, 3M Fall Protection announced a stop use/recall of specific 3M™ DBI-SALA® ShockWave™2 Arc Flash Shock Absorbing Lanyards. 3M determined that, for a limited number of devices, a potential manufacturing issue could result in the lanyard not performing properly in the event of a fall, which could result in severe injury or death. There have been no reports of injuries, accidents or complaints associated with this issue.

At this time, users/owners of affected lanyards can choose to receive either a free new replacement unit (when available) or a cash option. Visit the recall website to read the detailed recall notice, view a list of affected part numbers and file a claim for any affected lanyards you own.

First-, second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-year apprentices participated in the fifth Northwest Regional Apprentice Contest on April 26-28 in Pasco, Washington. This year, the contest welcomed a combined 32 apprentices from Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 (Portland and Eugene, Oregon); Local 23 (Anchorage, Alaska); Local 55 (Boise, Idaho, and Spokane, Washington); Local 66 (DuPont and Everett, Washington); and Local 103 (Pocatello, Idaho).

Apprentices competed in four categories: architectural sheet metal, HVAC sheet metal, industrial sheet metal/welding and HVAC service.

In the architectural sheet metal category, Joe Kim, Local 23, took first place; Josh Clute, Local 55 (Spokane) took second place; and Diana Loveall, Local 16, took third.

In the HVAC sheet metal category, Nolan Milojevich, Local 16, took first place, with Cody Parrish, Local 55 (Boise), in second place and Kim MacArthur, Local 23, in third place.

Among the industrial sheet metal/welding apprentices, Christian Irving, Local 55 (Boise), took the top spot, with Tanner McFarren, Local 23, in second place and Jared Robeson, Local 16, in third place.

In the HVAC service category, top finishers included Alfred Fleener, Local 23, in first place; Jalen Brooks, Local 16, in second place; and Austin Dragt, Local 66 (DuPont), in third place.

On the morning of Thursday, June 9, over 120 SMART members joined the Association for the Rights of Citizens with Handicaps (ARCh) to prepare the Menomonee Park lodge for ARCh Camp Pow Wow, ensuring area adults and children with disabilities can attend the annual summer camp. Additionally, SMART pitched in with a fundraising effort that brought in $33,000 for ARCh and Camp Pow Wow, including a $5,000 donation from Milwaukee Tool Co.

“This is what we’re all about: building better communities,” said SMART Local 565 Business Manager & Financial Secretary Treasurer Jesse Buell. “Building better wages and benefits, and raising local standards. We are proud to take part in this effort to support our community.”

“SMART takes great pride in being able to assist ARCh Camp Pow Wow with their reopening,” added SMART Local 18 Business Manager/President Mike Mooney. “Camp Pow Wow has been a staple with serving the needs of the community for many years, and SMART is honored to be able to assist them.”

ARCh Camp Pow Wow has been providing outdoor recreational activities for adults and children with disabilities since 1959 with options for swimming, fishing, gardening, fitness, arts and crafts, music and more. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Camp Pow Wow hasn’t taken place in person since 2019, and the site had fallen into disrepair. As a small non-profit, ARCh did not have the resources to ready the site for return to camp, so the SMART Army answered the call.

“We are thrilled and honored to benefit from the enthusiasm and expertise of the SMART Army,” said Kristen Lindahl, Assistant Director of Operations at ARCh. “This project shows how much good can be accomplished through a dynamic partnership of organized labor, county government and the non-profit community. It takes this great ‘village’ to raise a camp!”

Members of SMART Local 18 (Wisconsin) and Local 565 (Madison, Wis.) – along with SMART delegates attending the SMART Sign and Production Council in Milwaukee – arrived at Menomonee Park lodge early on Thursday morning.

Members removed all the contents of the lodge, cleaned and sanitized the entire building – rooms, kitchen, common areas and more – and cleaned and sanitized every piece of equipment in the lodge before reinstalling all furnishings. Others took care of basic landscaping, repair and maintenance needs for the lodge picnic area, music pavilion, tent boxes and swing sets: fixing picnic tables and accessible wooden walkways, setting up heavy-duty tents for campers to use, spreading woodchips, sanitizing toys and recreational materials, and more. To finish off the effort, SMART members presented a $33,000 to ARCh Camp Pow Wow: a demonstration of the union’s commitment to supporting local communities across the United States and Canada.

“Although they have been challenging for everyone, the past two years have caused massive loneliness and frustration among children and adults with disabilities,” said Lindahl. “Thanks to the skill and dedication of the SMART Army, our campers can now safely and joyously return to the summer fun that they have missed so much!”