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“If it’s a fight they want, it’s a fight they’re going to get.”

SMART General President Michael Coleman spoke those words to elected delegates at the SMART General Convention in Las Vegas, Nev., in August 2024. Nearly a year has passed since then, and a lot has happened in the United States and Canada: Both countries have new political leadership, for example, and daily life has changed for many SMART members and families in each of our nations.

But one thing hasn’t changed: From the shop floor to the bargaining table, from the bus to the rail yard, from state and provincial governments to Ottawa and Washington, DC, SMART is fighting for what matters: members and working families.

There have been some high-profile fights in recent months. The U.S. Department of Energy canceled funding awards for a variety of clean energy projects that created jobs for SMART members and working families, taking construction work away from hard­working Americans. In Canada, the costs of tariffs have made themselves felt viscerally, and Ontario SMART members’ jobs are in limbo after the pausing of a Honda megaproject. Federal funding cuts took future work away from sheet metal members in San Diego, New Mexico and beyond; uncertainty around policies and global trade continues to impact both the construction and transportation industries, and some local unions now have out-of-work lists for the first time in years.

But as General President Coleman has repeated, fighting for members is what we do as trade unionists. And from the International to the local union level, that fight doesn’t stop.

Fighting in DC, Ottawa and beyond

For better and for worse, federal lawmaking has a big effect on union workers. In the railroad industry, the actions of Congress impact everything from members’ contract negotiations to new safety regulations. And for sheet metal workers, construction projects that create union jobs are often funded directly and indirectly by provisions in federal laws.

That’s why SMART’s International staff fights 24/7/365 to help educate representatives, senators, members of Parliament and other officials about what they can do to benefit members.

SMART had a constant presence in Washington, DC, throughout negotiations on the 2025 reconciliation bill. Governmental Affairs staff met repeatedly with both representatives and senators, explaining precisely how provisions in the legislation that cut tax credits, infra­structure funding, Medicaid funding and more would negatively impact SMART members’ work opportuni­ties and health care coverage. Unfortunately, Congress passed a bill, signed into law by President Trump, that included cuts to programs and tax credits that create jobs for thousands of SMART sheet metal workers, cut Medicaid funding for those who need it most, and more.

“Members will lose work. Costs will go up. And that just doesn’t make sense,” said General President Coleman.

But the fight doesn’t stop. Just like every year, SMART-TD led the charge on Railroad Day on the Hill 2025 in Washington, bringing together a coalition of 13 rail labor unions to meet with representatives, senators and staff to fight for union railroaders. Representatives from every craft of the rail industry — train and engine crews, signal maintainers, dispatchers, car knockers, track depart­ment and more — were divided into strategic teams. Each group was armed with a full day’s schedule of back-to-back meetings with lawmakers in the House and Senate.

“In the past two years, railroad day events, SMART-TD’s message and the way we delivered it struck a chord. We knew we had created something powerful with this model,” said former SMART-TD National Legislative Director Greg Hynes. “And this year proved it. We sched­uled and executed over 130 meetings on the Hill, our most ever. That kind of momentum builds on itself.”

SMART Canada has pursued the same advocacy, both in Ottawa and in provincial governments across the country. These efforts look set to reward sheet metal workers and roofers: New Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a Federal Major Projects Office intended to cut project approval times and put skilled trades­people to work, and even before elections took place, SMART Canada had secured funding for training to help members build Canada’s green future.

But sometimes, elected officials have no role to play in major developments that affect SMART members. In those instances, SMART and allies fight for members in whatever venue is available.

When the Department of Defense tried to end the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on large-scale construction projects, it was a direct threat to SMART members’ jobs. North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), which SMART is an affiliate of, did not back down. Together, the building trades stood up for union members and American workers. And ultimately, a federal judge ordered the Department of Defense to go back to using PLAs.

PLA advocacy also extended to the White House, with NABTU and affiliates like SMART communicating just how important project labor agreements are to workers across America. That paid off at least partially in June, when the Office of Management and Budget sent a memo saying the White House “supports the use of PLAs when those agreements are practicable and cost effec­tive” — though the memo did leave plenty of room for exceptions, and does not require PLAs on projects that cost more than $35 million.

“Although it doesn’t contain the same protections as the Biden administration, this is a step in the right direction. Project labor agreements create jobs for SMART members and working people across our country,” General President Coleman said in response. “All of us at SMART appreciate and applaud this guidance from the White House, and we look forward to keeping this conversation going. But we encourage them to go further, for the sake of our members, our families and our neighbors.

“We will continue to do everything we can to keep creating jobs for SMART members and Americans nationwide, and we encourage all agencies to support the use of PLAs on all federally funded projects.”

SMART-TD had the same fighting mentality in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Miami, Florida, in June, when Associate General Counsel Shawn McKinley stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Federal Railroad Administration in defending the FRA’s rule requiring two-person crews on freight trains. Importantly, that defense was bolstered by the testimony of SMART members. When Association of American Railroads (AAR) attorneys dismissed the more than 13,000 public comments submitted in favor of the two-person crew rule, calling them “anecdotes,” McKinley swiftly countered, reminding the court that these weren’t “random” comments or “anecdotes.” They were first­hand accounts from thousands of trained railroaders — the very people the rule is designed to protect.

Winning what members deserve

While federal governments and national labor events tend to make the loudest headlines, some of the most impactful SMART campaigns take place at the local level. From the bargaining table to the shop floor, sheet metal and Transportation Division locals are winning huge victories for members.

In San Carlos, California, members of SMART-TD Local 1741’s Local Committee of Adjustment for San Carlos Schools ratified a new tentative agreement with 96% approval. Their new contract includes a pay increase that will eventually grant members the highest pay rate in the region for school bus operators; a doubling of the employer’s 401(k) match; union release time; enhanced discipline and grievance procedures that give members a stronger voice on the job; and more.

Meanwhile, railroaders working for the Alabama Port Authority stood strong against management’s efforts to divide and conquer. The employer tried to exploit a wage disparity between pre-2008 and post-2008 employees, proposing incentives to divide the member­ship. But the members of SMART-TD Local 598 refused to take the bait, instead demanding pay equity across the board. As a result, local officers were able to secure an agreement that ensures major gains in wages, benefits and crew consist protections.

In Kitchener, Ontario, a four-year organizing campaign paid off for the members of Local 562 when the local welcomed 56 new members who made the switch from the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), strengthening market share in the area.

And in Philadelphia, sheet metal workers united to win a strong agreement with the Sheet Metal Contractors’ Association. This followed prolonged negotiations and preparations for a strike that never materialized: As Local 19 wrote to members, “make no mistake — this fight is about respect. It’s about value. It’s about ensuring that every member of Local 19 is seen, heard and fairly compensated for the skill, pride and dedication they bring to the job every single day.”

Solidarity at the statehouse

Fights like the one described by Local 19 go beyond the bargaining table: Sheet metal locals have also mobilized in state governments to win laws that create work for SMART members and working families.

For many years, bad-faith contractors have exploited custom offsite fabrication loopholes to win bids on public works projects and/or jobs that are covered by project labor agreements, preventing offsite fabrication work from going to SMART members and depriving offsite fabricators from getting the union-won pay and benefits that all working people deserve. That’s why SMART locals nationwide consistently fight to extend prevailing wage to cover custom offsite fabrication work. Local 38 and Local 49 recently won laws that did exactly that in Connecticut and New Mexico, respectively: huge victories that will help SMART members, signatory contractors and working people in both states.

“The way this type of bill helps us grow our member­ship is, it increases our volume of market share by having equal wages across fabrication shops,” said Local 49 Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer Isaiah Zemke. “Everyone’s having to pay that same state prevailing wage for these public works projects.”

Local unions are also working to secure indoor air quality work for sheet metal members. In Virginia, SMART Local 100 helped win the passage of HB2618: Public school buildings; indoor air quality, inspection and evaluation. The bill adopts several requirements for school districts to help ensure there is proper indoor air quality in public school buildings, mandating that at least once every four years, each school district conducts an industry-recognized uniform inspection and evalu­ation of the HVAC system. The bill outlines that the evaluation must be performed by a skilled, trained and certified workforce — in a state where more than half of public schools are over 50 years old, the legislation is expected to create work for SMART sheet metal workers.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, Governor Jared Polis signed an HVAC Improvements for Public Schools bill into law, which will require school districts to thoroughly assess and upgrade their HVAC systems using certified contractors when spending federal infrastructure or education funds, and to provide for regular maintenance and inspection of HVAC systems following installation. It also directs the governor to use remaining Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to assist school districts in finding certified contractors and writing grants to access federal funding, and instructs the state Department of Labor and Employment to create a list of certified HVAC contractors schools can hire from.

“The biggest win for me is that we’ve now enshrined our HVAC standards into law. This ensures that when schools undergo assessments and upgrades, they are working with certified contractors who meet workforce standards, including prevailing wage and apprenticeship utilization,” said Local 9 Business Manager Jon Alvino. “The certified contractor list created through this bill guarantees that those who pay prevailing wages and participate in registered apprenticeship programs are eligible. It’s a huge step forward for ensuring quality work and supporting skilled local labor.”

SMART-TD puts safety first

As Congress continues to stall on federal transporta­tion safety legislation, SMART-TD isn’t waiting to bring the fight to the local level. TD members have racked up an impressive number of legislative wins centered on securing or strengthening safety protections this year.

In Maryland, SMART-TD passed a transit safety bill that protects bus and passenger rail workers from violent assaults by requiring the Maryland Transit Administration to form a safety-focused workgroup in consultation with SMART-TD and other unions. The group will create a passenger code of conduct and roll out a variety of internal safety improvements.

TD Local 202 secured permanent funding for the Office of Railroad Safety in Colorado after more than two years of tireless organizing, lobbying and standing firm in the face of corporate and political games. The office is charged with collecting and analyzing safety data, including the impact of train length, crew size and scheduling on accident rates — key areas that the carriers and the AAR have consistently claimed lack “data to support.” SMART-TD then passed a second new law in Colorado that enacts “Transit Worker Assault and Training Requirements,” which widens the definition of a transit worker and imposes harsher penalties for transit assaults.

In Massachusetts, SMART-TD successfully broadened the definition of “public employee” and “assault” to cover transit workers employed by private companies in the commonwealth, closing an unintended loophole that barred them from the same level of protection as public transit workers.

And collaboration across SMART-TD state legisla­tive boards helped win passage of two major laws in Arkansas, both of which originated in other states (Nebraska and Illinois, respectively). One law protects railroaders’ anonymity in reports on railroad fatali­ties; the other strengthens the consequences for serious vandalism on rail property and for assault of transporta­tion workers. Those laws will benefit SMART members, and they show the value of communication and soli­darity across our union.

SMART programs benefit members and families

In the backdrop of the various fights detailed in this article, SMART continues to offer groundbreaking programs to benefit members. Those include SMART’s pioneering childcare benefit partnership with TOOTRiS, available to sheet metal members at participating local unions in the U.S.; SMART’s maternity leave benefit fund program, also available to United States sheet metal members whose local unions have adopted the program in their health & welfare plans; and Union EAP, an employee assistance program designed to support members’ mental health — created by organized labor, for organized labor.

These benefits, too, are part of the fight. They are explicitly designed to help improve the lives of SMART members and their families.

“These programs are about making things better for SMART members,” General President Coleman concluded. “Because we, SMART members, are worth fighting for. And we’ll continue to fight every single day.”

As I write this, I and the rest of your International leadership are preparing for the 2025 SMART Leadership Conference. Each year, these confer­ences bring together local union officers from across North America and across our union, with both sheet metal and TD leaders gathering to do the hard work of strengthening SMART.

That is the most valuable part of these conferences: the fact that every single officer in our union — regardless of craft, trade, state, province or country — is in one place, doing the work that needs to be done for our common purpose.

That purpose? Fighting for SMART members.

That’s what we do in this union, whether on the jobsite, at the hall, on buses or trains, in government or beyond. It’s what ALL of us do: International officers, local union leaders, shop stewards and the hundreds of thousands of men and women who build and move our nation. And it’s what we’ve done throughout the history of our union, our movement and our two nations. The gains we’ve made — whether it’s pay, benefits, workplace safety, job-creating laws, you name it — we have made by fighting together for what matters.

SMART is YOU, the members — and I know all of us are dedicated to doing whatever we can to make sure the interests of you, the members, come first.

Across our union, we’ve won some huge victories recently. In Mobile, Alabama, members of SMART-TD Local 598 resisted the Alabama Port Authority’s attempts to divide members and secured an agreement that ensures major gains in wages, benefits and crew consist protections. In New Mexico and Connecticut, Local 49 and Local 38 won laws that expand prevailing wage to include custom offsite fabrication workers, creating jobs for SMART members and our neighbors. In Kansas, SMART-TD won state-level funding to expand passenger rail service. In Colorado, SMART Local 9 helped win the passage of the HVAC Improvements for Public Schools law, which will put our members to work statewide.

We’ve also been fighting for SMART members at the national level, in any arena that we can. One example: When the Department of Defense tried to end the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on large-scale construc­tion projects, it was a direct threat to SMART members’ jobs. This wasn’t something Congress could fix, so North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), which includes SMART and 13 other unions, took the fight to court. Together, we won a key victory: A federal judge ordered the Department of Defense to go back to using PLAs, putting union members and working Americans back on the job.

Another example, this one from Canada: The new prime minister announced a Federal Major Projects Office, designed to cut project approval times from five years to just two — a move that would create more jobs for skilled workers, including sheet metal workers and roofers.

From the local to the national, in the United States and Canada, that’s what our fight looks like. And it’s important to remember: SMART isn’t blue, SMART isn’t red. SMART is YOU, the members — and I know all of us are dedicated to doing whatever we can to make sure the interests of you, the members, come first. We will work with anyone, regardless of political party, and we will fight in Congress, in Parliament, in the courts, in local governments and at the bargaining table to protect members’ jobs, livelihoods and families. You have my word.

In solidarity,

SMART General President Michael Coleman

This summer, as SMART members reflect on where we’re headed, one truth continues to ground our progress: Our strength comes from each other. From the shop floors to the rail yards, from Parliament to Capitol Hill, our success depends not on a single action or title, but on our unity.

In his Spring 2025 Members’ Journal message, General President Coleman outlined the rising threats we face — attacks on our jobs, our contracts and the industries we work in. Efforts to privatize passenger rail, defund construction projects and chip away at labor protections aren’t just political maneuvers — they’re direct chal­lenges to our ability to provide for our families. They are meant to divide us and weaken the solidarity that makes SMART so effective.

That’s why this year’s SMART Leadership Conference theme — “Fighting for What Matters… Our Members” — is more than a slogan. It’s a commitment. One that each of us makes when we join this union. It reminds us that the union isn’t somewhere else — it’s us. We, the members, are the union. Our collective action, our shared purpose and our daily work are what give SMART its power.

And as General President Coleman wrote on page two, that power has produced real, lasting wins. In recent months, Transportation Division members — rail, transit and bus — stood strong and won transformative contracts that reflect the dignity and demands of the work they perform. Sheet metal members secured maternity leave benefits, improved jobsite safety and gained access to TOOTRiS, a flexible childcare program tailored to our industry’s schedule. Across all sectors, SMART has worked to expand access to mental health support for members and their families via an employee assistance program, Union EAP. And we modernized how locals serve members through the Voyager system.

These gains didn’t come by accident — and they didn’t come easily. They came from our shared disci­pline, focus and resolve.

Our focus has been simple: strengthen our foundation so we can protect what we’ve built and push forward with confidence.

As your general secretary-treasurer, that’s my responsi­bility: to make sure every back-of-house decision — from vendors to banking, infrastructure to benefits — supports our front-line mission. We are not just responding to today’s needs. We are preparing for tomorrow’s chal­lenges. That means making smarter investments. Asking hard questions of our partners. Building a technology structure that allows SMART to leverage who we are — and the collective knowledge we hold — in new and more powerful ways.

This work is quiet, but it is transformational. It’s how we ensure stability in unpredictable times. It’s how we build opportunity for the next generation. And it’s how we prove, every day, that SMART is not just a strong union — it’s a growing one.

We aren’t finished. We’re just getting started. Together, let’s keep fighting for what matters: our fellow members.

In solidarity,

John Daniel
SMART General Secretary Treasurer

Whether on the rails or on the road, the trend is clear: Workers are continuing to see the value of joining SMART-TD.

As the gold standard in representing rail, bus and transit workers across the country, we remain as committed as ever to fighting for our brothers and sisters under the SMART-TD umbrella.

We’re also focused on the future, including welcoming our newest members and celebrating the more than a half-dozen tentative agreements that have been ratified so far this year.

This impressive list speaks for itself.

Building off last year’s wins, such as the Louisville & Indiana (L&I) Railroad joining our union, we’ve had three short-line railroads choose SMART-TD by unani­mous or overwhelmingly large margins since January.

The first was Wilmington Terminal Railroad, which is a subsidiary of Genesee and Wyoming. After being without representation since coming under G&W ownership in 2005, the workers voted unanimously to join SMART-TD in January.

That was followed less than two weeks later by another G&W property, Connecticut Southern Railroad, joining our union in a nearly unanimous vote. Connecticut Southern workers were previously under an umbrella agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), which benefits some (but not necessarily all) prop­erties that it covers. Tired of feeling like they weren’t being heard, our new brothers reached out to SMART-TD. That speaks volumes about our union and our reputation.

The most recent addition to our SMART-TD family came in June, when workers from both the Transportation and Engine crafts and the Maintenance of Way crafts with the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad voted to organize in a landslide.

Our organizers are focused on having meaningful conversations about how union membership improves workers’ quality of life, and what SMART-TD can deliver that other unions just can’t.

This is just a snapshot of what our Organizing Department has accomplished at the halfway point of the year, and we have no plans to slow down.

These organizing victories are important, but our union’s ability to nail down strong agreements for new and established members alike is what makes SMART-TD stand out in the labor community.

Our union is committed to standing with our members every step of the way, ensuring their voices are heard, their needs are met and the bar is raised for both their quality of life and the level of respect they receive on the job.

Whether it’s new hires at Zum Transportation (Local 1706) getting a front-row seat to SMART-TD’s Bus Department’s negotiations with their new employer or ratifying a TA for Local 1732 at TransitAmerica Services Inc. (TASI) in California that sets a precedent for other commuter railroads across the country, our union is committed to fighting like hell for our members.

When it comes to negotiating new agreements, we’re always aiming to set the bar higher than before and ensure that pay and benefits reflect the professionalism, knowledge and dedication that TD members bring to the job.

We saw this firsthand with several tentative agree­ments that were overwhelmingly or unanimously ratified during the first half of the year, including SMART-TD-represented conductors and assistant conductors with Keolis Commuter Services, bus opera­tors in Local 1687 working for Red Apple Transit in New Mexico, and our Local 1887 members who work for Birmingham Terminal Railway putting collective action into practice to secure meaningful change.

The common denominator between all three agree­ments is significant wage increases that redefine what’s possible for rail, bus and transit workers across the country.

We didn’t stop there. Within the last two months, agreements have been reached between SMART-TD Local 598 and the Alabama Port Authority, California Local 1741’s Local Committee of Adjustment (LCA) and San Carlos Schools, and SMART-TD Local 1701 and Montebello Transit.

This isn’t a laundry list of accomplishments. It’s a reflection of the SMART-TD difference. Workers see the value that we bring to the table because we let our actions speak louder than words. We don’t just talk about what we can offer members: We make it happen.

Together, our union is creating a movement, and these victories are proof. As I said before, momentum is with us. We will carry this momentum through the rest of 2025 and into the National Negotiations with the Class I freight railroads.

Workers are stronger, safer and more secure with SMART-TD at their side.

In solidarity,

Jeremy R. Ferguson
President, Transportation Division

Big and exciting developments are underway in Canada’s unionized construction industry, signaling strong growth, major investments and new opportunities across the country.

One standout moment reflecting this momentum was the welcoming of General President Michael Coleman and General Secretary-Treasurer John Daniel to our Canadian Convention, where they had the opportunity to meet with local leaders and witness our talented appren­tices showcase their craft during the highly antici­pated skills competition.

SMART Canada is also celebrating the recent mobilization of over 450 members to support Local 235 in Windsor for the Stellantis electric vehicle battery plant megaproject, one of the largest green energy projects in the country. At the project’s peak, more than 950 SMART members were on site, demonstrating our union’s capacity to rapidly scale up a skilled workforce to meet the industry’s demand. Our signatory contractor, Lancaster, was particularly impressed with the efficiency and impact of the mobilization, which showcased SMART’s reputation as a reliable partner in delivering complex and high-profile projects.

We are building on this megaproject momentum as Canada’s newly elected prime minister, Mark Carney, successfully passed Bill C-5, An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility Act and the Building Canada Act. This legislation will provide the regulatory reform that Canada’s Building Trades Unions have been advocating for to expedite the construction of major projects. Projects deemed in the national interest will have a reduced approval time, from five years to two years, enabling thousands of SMART members to access jobsites more quickly and provide long-term job stability and economic benefits to our members and their families.

As the nation continues to prioritize sustainability and nation-building projects, there will be an increased focus on green energy projects, which SMART is fully prepared to support with a skilled, job-ready workforce. Through a recent $8.9 million investment in federal funding, more than 2,000 SMART members will be able to upgrade their skills through training curricula and online learning tools focused on the future of clean technology. This funding announcement is a sign that Canada’s federal government sees SMART workers as key to building Canada’s future.

Another key invest­ment in the skilled trades, and in SMART specifi­cally, is the Government of Ontario’s funding of over $1 million to build a training centre in Thunder Bay at Local 397. This invest­ment will support the construction of a dedicated facility for sheet metal workers and roofers, with the capacity to train and upskill 760 individuals over a five-year period through pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships.

This investment is a testament to SMART’s strong and collaborative relationships with all levels of govern­ment, reflecting the recognition that labour unions play a critical role in expanding career opportunities, driving economic growth and delivering state-of-the-art training. Together, we are helping to create a stronger skilled trades workforce across Canada.

As we continue to strengthen our relationships with provincial and federal governments, we are growing in capacity, preparing for increased work opportunities and building a stronger, more secure future together.

In solidarity,

Jack Wall

Director of Canadian Affairs

After decades of service to International staff, elected leadership and SMART members, Kath­leen Griffith, executive assistant to the general secretary-treasurer, retired in spring 2025.

Kathleen Griffith, second from left, pictured during GST John Daniel’s swearing-in ceremony

Griffith started her career with SMART, at that time the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association, in 1987, with the title of secretary I in the bargaining unit. Over the years, she became secretary III, IV then V, and then was promoted to staff — secretary to Mary Lou Jackson, office manager, in 1989.

In 1993, she became executive assistant to the GST, a position she held for more than 30 years. Griffith served under General Secretary-Treasurers Larry Cassidy, Michael Sullivan, Ted Zolotopolski, Thomas Kelly, Joseph Nigro, Joseph Sellers, Jr., Joseph Powell and John Daniel — demonstrating the utmost professionalism, knowledge and expertise at every step of the way.

SMART staff, leaders and members benefited from Griffith’s work for decades. Thank you for your years of service, Kathleen!

SMART Canada reps were proud to attend the Skills Canada National Competition in spring 2025, showcasing the top student and apprentice talent across the country. Skills Canada inspires youth to explore careers in the skilled trades through hands-on experiences and strong industry connections.

The SMART sheet metal project, a replica of the world’s largest coffee pot, was a fan favourite and showcased the precision, talent and pride that go into the sheet metal trade every day. SMART brothers Mackenzie (Local 409, Halifax) and Raine (Local 296, Saskatchewan) competed in the competitions — a true testament to the next generation of talent coming up through the ranks.

New policies around federal funding are hitting home for sheet metal workers in San Diego, where cuts to funding from the National Institutes of Health led to the pausing of two huge construction projects and dozens of sheet metal workers losing out on pending jobs, according to local officers. With the funding cuts hitting right when other projects were winding down, Local 206 members are experiencing high unemployment numbers for the first time in years.

“It was like a perfect storm. We had some of the biggest jobs we’ve ever had in San Diego: the airport expansion, the Gaylord Pacific Resort down in Chula Vista, at the bay front, and some other really big pharmaceutical jobs,” said Local 206 Business Manager Dave Gauthier. “So a lot of that was trickling down and slowing down, and then with the NIH funding cutting, we lost, on just two jobs alone, over 100,000 work hours.”

Under President Trump, billions of dollars have been terminated in NIH grants nationwide, including at institutions like University of California San Diego. SMART members may not think of themselves as being affected by the NIH, but that funding is often used for construction that requires sheet metal workers, especially in labs and hospitals. A new lab and a hospital expansion project were the jobs that Local 206 members were slated to take on before the NIH funding cuts hit.

Now, after years of 100% employment, 19% of Local 206 members are out of work.

“Over five years, we haven’t had any mass layoffs. We’ve been organizing like crazy — we’ve grown our membership by close to 30% in the last five years. For a lot of our members who have joined in the last five years, they’ve never seen a layoff. They’ve never received that check,” Gauthier said. “I’d say that the Trump administration and all their funding cuts … is affecting our members.”

“I think our members that are now on the out of work list for the first time, or the first time in a long time, are starting to realize the affect that this administration is having even on a construction worker here in San Diego that’s trying to feed his or her family,” he added.

The negative impacts of federal policies show the importance of local politics, according to Local 206 Business Representative Dom Luyo. Over the years, the local has worked tirelessly to secure project labor agreements with cities and school districts throughout San Diego County. This has put union sheet metal workers on an enormous range of jobs, and it offers a road map for Local 206 moving forward. Even as work slows — whether resulting from federal funding freezes, shifting tariff policies that spook some investors and developers, or other factors — Luyo encouraged fellow SMART members unionwide to build relationships with pro-labor candidates at the local level.

“Getting local politicians on your side will help regulate local rules for your membership,” he said. “I think we’ve done a great job doing that collectively, not just the sheet metal workers but with all the other building trades unions together: working to get the right politicians in place to help us secure more work from more labor-friendly candidates.”

As the spending legislation known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” made its way through the United States House and Senate in spring and summer of 2025, SMART had a constant presence in the offices of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. SMART’s Governmental Affairs staff met repeatedly with representatives and senators, explaining how provisions in the legislation that cut tax credits, infrastructure funding, clean energy funding, Medicaid funding and more would negatively impact SMART members’ work opportunities and health care coverage.

“Cutting the waste and fraud, nobody’s against that. But these cuts go way deeper than that,” said SMART General President Michael Coleman in a video message to members explaining the bill. “These cuts are actually going to have an impact on our plans and our members. We’re all for cutting waste in the federal government, but they’re going to have to end up cutting programs that are essential for regular, working people.”

Unfortunately, in a move that says a lot about how politics works in today’s day and age, representatives and senators moved forward with a bill that included those cuts.

While some of the worst elements of the bill — including the most extreme energy tax credit cuts and an AI provision that threatened SMART-TD bus operators — were removed due to the collective work of SMART members nationwide and the labor movement, Congress pushed through cuts to Medicaid that will cause working families to suffer and raise the costs of health care plans for SMART members and families, cuts to tax credits that will lead to canceled projects and lost work hours for sheet metal workers, and more. And on July 4, President Trump signed the bill into law.

“Members will lose work. Costs will go up. And that just doesn’t make sense,” Coleman said in a video on tax credits cut by the bill.

Across the construction sector, the bill threatens millions of jobs and work hours, which translates to billions of dollars in lost annual wages and benefits. Members may not feel the consequences immediately. But in the years to come, construction workers and their families, alongside working people everywhere, will lose out on important jobs.

“Simply put, it is the equivalent of terminating more than 1,000 Keystone XL pipeline projects,” said North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey in a statement.

The legislation signed by President Trump included a tax exemption on overtime earnings. However, despite advocacy and proposed fixes, the bill does not extend this benefit to employees covered by the Railway Labor Act — AKA, railroaders.

“Our members sacrifice holidays, family time and weekends to keep this country running. Excluding them from a policy aimed at easing the burden on working Americans is more than disheartening,” said SMART-TD National Legislative Director Jared Cassity. “But we’re not walking away from this. We’ll keep pushing until our voices are heard.”

The cuts to Medicaid are simply devastating across the board. They don’t take effect right away, but once they do, they will hurt blue-collar workers and their families.

“The biggest impact will be on families that are fighting to keep their healthcare. Right now, the CBO scores that 16 million people will lose their healthcare coverage, which inevitably is going to lead to preventable deaths in the future,” said Coleman in another video to members. “And for members who don’t think cuts to Medicaid are going to have an impact on them, I can tell you that history has proven that any cuts to Medicaid lead to an increase in the costs of the health plans that we fund and that we fight for every single day.”

SMART will continue to advocate for members and working families, at the federal level and in states and cities across the United States. But make no mistake: The bill signed into law in July will hurt workers for years to come.

While the 2025 spending bill passed in early July included a number of harmful pieces for SMART members, one provision that would have been particularly damaging to bus operators is no longer included.

Free rein on regulating artificial intelligence

The original legislation contained a measure that would have prohibited states from regulating artificial intelli­gence (AI) for a period of 10 years, including automated driver systems.

Automation is already a growing threat, but this would have given big tech companies even more leeway to operate unchecked and with limited accountability.

Bottom line: Including this provision would have made a bad situation worse.

TD members directly at risk

SMART-TD bus drivers and operators would have been directly impacted by this dangerous proposal, with their jobs and livelihoods at serious risk.

There is no substitute for a human operator, and this proposal would have opened the door to replace skilled workers with unregulated technology that can’t func­tion with the precise skill and expertise that’s needed to perform this work, especially in the event of an emergency.

It is incredibly disappointing that legislators did not stand up for their constituents and stop this harmful bill from becoming law; however, it’s a crucial victory that the Senate took the important step of removing the AI provision before it moved any further through the legislative process.

What’s next

In a video released in early July, SMART General President Michael Coleman thanked members who took the time to reach out to their lawmakers to let them know how this bill will impact them and their families.

“I want to thank President Ferguson, his entire team and all of you that engaged to get that harmful provision out of the spending bill,” General President Coleman said in his video message to members. “This would have hurt all SMART members — threatening to replace skilled workers with machines and robotics.”

SMART will continue fighting to ensure that members and their jobs are protected from the threats posed by AI. And on the road ahead, one thing is certain: Whether at the local or federal level, it is vital that we keep speaking up and contacting elected officials. Members’ input and collective strength can make a difference, and the fight is just beginning.