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New Jersey State Legislative Director Ron Sabol received a big honor March 2, after being elected to lead the influential New Jersey Society for Environmental, Economic Development (NJ SEED) coalition by the group’s trustees and members.

N.J. Sen. Patrick J. Diegnan Jr., chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee who has collaborated with Sabol on a number of legislative initiatives, swore him in. Sabol succeeds James Benton, who presided over the group during the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic, as president of the group.

“Ron is the quintessence of how to get things done. It’s not only about being smart, it’s not only about listening to people, it’s about trust,” Diegnan said. “You could not have a better leader.”

“Ron is the quintessence of how to get things done. It’s not only about being smart, it’s not only about listening to people, it’s about trust. You could not have a better leader.”

– NJ State Senator Patrick J. Diegnan Jr.

NJ SEED has been in existence for more than 35 years. It consists of a diverse coalition of energy providers, environmental consultants, telecommunications firms, residential and commercial development interests, insurance firms, educators, police and firefighters, food manufacturers and retailers, water utilities, chemical industries, pharmaceutical companies and health care advocates. Its purpose is to balance the needs of unionized labor and the business community while being keenly in tune with environmental concerns.

Ron Sabol

“You can count on me to carry the NJ SEED message, your message, in the work that I do and to the people that I meet,” Sabol said. “I believe in NJ SEED and what we will all accomplish together.”

A main focus of the coalition going forward will be working with New Jersey elected leaders as the state works to effectively allocate federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (formerly the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act).

“Ron Sabol is an excellent choice to lead NJ SEED. In his role at SMART, he leads a broad and diverse coalition. He knows how to get people from different backgrounds to work together, which will be crucial to the continued success of NJ SEED,” the New Jersey AFL-CIO said in a statement. “We congratulate Ron on his election and look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Sabol, a member of our union since April 2000, has been president of Local 1447 (Newark, N.J.) since 2005 and became state legislative director in 2016.

“This is a great responsibility, and SEED’s influence has been resurging in recent years,” Sabol said. “We are going to be in the middle of a lot of action with the federal money that’s going to be coming into New Jersey and have the chance to set the stage for beneficial and transformative change now and well into the future.”

SMART Transportation Division congratulates Brother Sabol on his new position of leadership!

In March, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House launched its Clean Air in Buildings Challenge to improve indoor air quality in buildings. This is a component of the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan.

The challenge is a call to action and a set of best practices to assist building owners with reducing risks from airborne viruses and other contaminants indoors. The Clean Air in Buildings Challenge highlights a range of recommendations and resources, with significant input from SMART, for improving ventilation and indoor air quality, especially with the risk of spread of COVID-19.

Key actions outlined in the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge include the creation of a clean indoor air action plan, optimization of fresh air ventilation, the enhancement of air filtration and cleaning, and community engagement, communication and education around the importance of enhanced air ventilation.

In response, SMART issued the following statement.

“We appreciate the continued efforts of the Biden administration to address indoor air quality to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne viruses. Despite its importance, poor ventilation has been a widespread and persistent problem in buildings for decades. Proper ventilation is not only a key to our recovery, but it will also help cut building emissions, lower energy costs, ensure systems are meeting design intent and make buildings safe for occupants. HVAC systems are complicated, but SMART members and our training programs set the standard for the work that is required to ensure buildings are safe and healthy. Recent passage of the American Rescue Plan Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation will help buildings have the resources they need to improve indoor air quality. Employing a skilled, trained and certified workforce to complete this work is the surest way to ensure federal dollars are used effectively and efficiently to protect public health.”

Adriana Farren has always been into numbers. She earned a bachelor’s degree in human resources with a minor in finance and worked in the front office of the former Sheet Metal Workers Local 41 in Puerto Rico before moving to Pennsylvania in 2011.

This was where her life took a much different turn, and it all started with a job working in the office of Comprehensive Test and Balance in Dover, Pa.

After two years overseeing Farren working in the office — reading plans, going over forms and entering data — Todd Walter, owner of the company, approached her with a question: Would you be interested in becoming an apprentice?

“I said, ‘yes.’ Then, he said, ‘You’ll have great benefits,’ and I said, ‘yes’ twice,” Farren recalled with a laugh. “By looking at the reports, I thought it would be a career I would be interested in.”

The first lesson: integrity and honesty are important in testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB).

Walter saw Farren working on bids and learning the necessary drawings, documentation and paperwork, and he offered her the chance to have a career instead of a job. A second-generation sheet metal worker, Walter also took the opportunity to guide Farren through the process and mentor her as others had mentored him.

The first lesson: integrity and honesty are important in testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB), he said.

“No matter what you do, they have to believe what you tell them. Adriana had good personal skills. She had the insight. She is very smart, and she was at the top of her class. She fit the bill,” Walter added. “It’s something my father said a long time ago — you can have a job, or you can put your head into it and make it a career.”

During the first two years of her apprenticeship at SMART Sheet Metal Local 19 (Central Pa.), Farren knew she wanted to do testing, adjusting and balancing. So, at night, she took air and water classes and was certified as a technician in 2015 while she was still an apprentice.

Since her graduation in 2017, Farren has continued to gain certifications. She said testing keeps the skills fresh in her mind. To date, she holds a welding certification in addition to duct leakage testing and high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) testing.

“It’s a continuous learning process. I want to continue learning more about the balancing concept. I like to learn new things every day.”

– Local 19 member Adriana Farren

“It’s a continuous learning process. I want to continue learning more about the balancing concept. I like to learn new things every day. I would like to expand my knowledge in different areas related to TAB,” she said. “Having a certification shows people you’re certified in that concept and you know what you’re doing. In order to be a TAB tech, you don’t have to have the certification, but if you do, it proves you know what you’re doing.”

Knowledge, in Farren’s case, was definitely powerful. Although she took English classes on her native island of Puerto Rico, it was her second language. Being the only female balancer at Comprehensive Test and Balance — something Walter would like to see change — has its challenges, but all the challenges she’s faced have been nothing she can’t handle, she said.

“Back when I was in college, I thought I wanted to look after the employees and watch over them from a human resources point of view,” Farren said. “Looking back, 12 years later, that would have been very boring for me. I would have had to be in an office with the same four walls. No offense to the people who do it, but I like the fact I’m always somewhere different and learning something new.”

Walter took a chance asking Farren if she would be interested in a career. Now, as a full-time balancer at Comprehensive Test and Balance, she sees how her love of numbers led her to the career she now has. An interest in math, problem solving and finance isn’t relegated to an office and four walls. Those interests also can lead outside to various locations, continuous learning and a skill set that can last a lifetime.

“If you think you can do it, give it a try,” Farren said. “You don’t lose anything by trying, not just in this career, but anything. Trust your gut feeling. If you think you can do it, you probably can.”

Partners in Progress Conference report

A stable and successful future in the union sheet metal industry is built off labor and management working together towards a common goal. That idea represented the theme of the 2022 SMART-SMACNA Partners In Progress Conference, held in Las Vegas, Nev. on March 1–2. The biannual working conference featured guest speakers and workshops focused on developing leadership within local unions and on the jobsite, with an eye towards growing the unionized industry’s market share and new work opportunities.

Over 400 participants representing labor and management were on hand to take part in workshops held over the two-day period. The keynote speakers were former Major League Baseball player Jim Abbot, retired Marine Lieutenant General Ronald L. Bailey and Retired Naval Commander Mike Abramshoff.

Over 400 participants representing labor and management were on hand to take part in workshops held over the two-day period.

Abbot, who pitched for the U.S. gold medal-winning Olympic Team, the California Angels and the New York Yankees, is best remembered for the 4–0 no-hitter he threw for the Yankees in September 1993; all of which he accomplished without a right hand. He talked about overcoming that challenge — not only as a pitcher but also in life — and related it to the industry challenges that labor and management face when it comes to surmounting obstacles in the sheet metal industry and at the bargaining table. During his presentation, he invited SM Local 104 member Sean Linehan up to the stage, where he demonstrated his ability to switch his glove and throw with one hand to our Northern California brother.

Bailey, now head of Industry Development at the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), noted that leaders need to know their competitive advantage, stay focused and act as good role models while building a culture of trust.

Abramshoff talked about the difficulties he faced when he took command of the USS Benfold, then the lowest-performing war ship in the U.S. Navy. The challenges were staggering: low morale, high turnover and unacceptably low performance evaluations. Few thought that standards could improve before he arrived; however, he defied the odds and completely reversed the performance of his ship and crew. He noted that “great ideas don’t come from people sitting in the captain’s chair. They come from those sitting on the front lines.”

In addition, psychology professor Jean Twenge gave a talk about how the younger generation of workers approaches the world around them — and the ways in which employers can adapt to how they interact with them when they enter the workforce.

Breakout sessions and workshops centered on a number of topics facing the sheet metal industry today. At the important Bias and Belonging session, DuShaw Hockett focused on overcoming bias within the workplace, explaining how attendees can identify and reduce implicit bias to build a more effective and harmonious work environment. He encouraged attendees to reevaluate their decision-making processes and discussed how to improve them. He also outlined how diversity is not something that excludes people, but instead is a process that brings people in. Not only does diversity improve the quality and outcome of decision-making — it also assists with attracting and keeping talent.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) work was also a prominent topic at the conference. Due to its importance to health and safety in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a group of labor and management representatives led by experts at the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) discussed IAQ and the strategies in place to further secure this work as it continues to grow rapidly.

Legislative and political cooperation between labor and contractors took central stage at another session focused on coalition building. Attendees listened to a panel of their peers, who recounted how they built coalitions that positively impacted workers and owners.

At the conclusion of the conference, attendees were urged to meet with each other through the labor-management committees and work on at least one item, together, to improve the overall position of the unionized sheet metal industry. Keeping in mind that a roadmap for this work was laid out at the conference, it was noted that labor and management in the sheet metal industry agree on 90% of the issues that impact the trade. Together, by building off the cooperation on display at Partners In Progress, we can resolve many of the shared challenges we face, both now and into the future.

The chosen charity for the 2022 Partners in Progress Conference was Project 150, an organization created out of the community’s desire to help homeless high school students. At the core of Project 150’s mission is the goal of providing support and services to this group of disadvantaged youth. Project 150 hopes to equip vulnerable students with the tools and resources needed to continue school and be successful in life.

SMACNA and SMART local unions stepped up in a big way. Kelli Kristo, the executive director of Project 150, thanked the entire SMART-SMACNA family “for the generous donation of funds and goods.” Kristo continued, “Your contribution of $25,425 in funding and $8,300 in food provided 1,349 family meal bags, including family-sized non-perishable breakfast, lunch, and dinner items to feed a family of four.”

Project 150 wishes to convey its thanks to the following organizations and individuals who donated cash:

  • SMART Local Union 104 — $5,104.00
  • SMACNA — Western Washington — $2,556.54
  • SMACNA — $2,500.00
  • SMACNA of Southern Nevada — $2,500.00
  • SMART Local Union 33 — $2,500.00
  • SMART Local 265 LMCC — $2,265.00
  • SMART Local 73 LMCC — $2,045.30
  • SMACNA of Long Island — $2,000.00<
  • Georgia SMACNA — $1,022.80
  • SMART Local Union 105 — $1,000.00
  • Western Allied Mechanical — $511.55
  • SMART Local Union 219 — $500.00
  • Vidimos, Inc. — $204.81
  • SMART — $153.68
  • KSM Metal Fabrication — $102.56
  • SMART Local Union 2 — $102.56
  • XP360 — $102.56
  • Miller Bonded Inc. — $102.56
  • Big B Contracting — $102.56<
  • SMACNA — $51.43
  • SMART Local Union 71 — $50.00
  • SMACNA Utah — $50.00

Food donations were received by Project 150 following the conference and amounted to more than three pallets of food.

SMACNA would like to thank everyone involved for their generous donations.

The amounts of compensation subject to Railroad Retirement Tier I and Tier II payroll taxes will increase in 2022, while the tax rates on employers and employees will stay the same. In addition, unemployment insurance contribution rates paid by railroad employers will include a surcharge of 3.5%, reflecting increased unemployment claims due to the pandemic.

Tier I and Medicare tax

The Railroad Retirement Tier I payroll tax rate on covered rail employers and employees for 2022 remains at 7.65%. The Railroad Retirement Tier I tax rate is the same as the Social Security tax, and for withholding and reporting purposes is divided into 6.2% for retirement and 1.45% for Medicare hospital insurance. The maximum amount of an employee’s earnings subject to the 6.2% rate increases from $142,800 to $147,000 in 2022, with no maximum on earnings subject to the 1.45% Medicare rate.

An additional Medicare payroll tax of 0.9% applies to an individual’s income exceeding $200,000, or $250,000 for a married couple filing a joint tax return. While employers will begin withholding the additional Medicare tax as soon as an individual’s wages exceed the $200,000 threshold, the final amount owed or refunded will be calculated as part of the individual’s federal income tax return.

Tier II tax

The Railroad Retirement Tier II tax rates in 2022 will remain at 4.9% for employees and 13.1% for employers. The maximum amount of earnings subject to Railroad Retirement Tier II taxes in 2022 will increase from $106,200 to $109,200. Tier II tax rates are based on an average account benefits ratio reflecting Railroad Retirement fund levels. Depending on this ratio, the Tier II tax rate for employees can be between 0 and 4.9%, while the Tier II rate for employers can range between 8.2% and 22.1%.

Unemployment insurance contributions

Employers, but not employees, pay railroad unemployment insurance contributions, which are experience-rated by employer. The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act also provides for a surcharge in the event the Railroad Unemployment Insurance account balance falls below an indexed threshold amount. The accrual balance of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance account was negative $46.2 million on June 30, 2021. Since the balance was below zero, this triggered the 3.5% surcharge in 2022. There was a surcharge of 2.5% in 2021, with no surcharge imposed in 2020.

As a result, the unemployment insurance contribution rates on railroad employers in 2022 will range from the minimum rate of 4.15% to the maximum of 12.5% on monthly compensation up to $1,755, an increase from $1,710 in 2021

In 2022, the minimum rate of 4.15% will apply to 79% of covered employers, with 7% paying the maximum rate of 12.5%. New employers will pay an unemployment insurance contribution rate of 2.62%, which represents the average rate paid by all employers in the period 2018–2020.

Sharon Walker is from Georgetown, Ohio. She was hired by Dualite, Inc. in 1985 and joined Sheet Metal Workers Local 183 that same year. As a member of Local 183 she served on the executive board from 2005–2008, the year Local 183 merged with Local 24 — covering 49 counties in Ohio, 30 counties in Kentucky, five counties in West Virginia and four counties in Indiana. She also served as a member of the CBA negotiating committee at Dualite

In March 2018, Sister Walker was elected as the production business representative for Local 24, becoming the first female officer of the local. Since being elected to that position, she has been appointed as the recording secretary of the Standing Production Committee and later became the chairperson of that committee.

Current title/position?

SMART Local 24 Business Representative

Years in the trade?

35

What unique strengths do you bring to your trade?

Leadership skills and organizational skills to meet deadlines and production schedules.

What do you love to do when you’re not at work?

When not at work, I love sports (especially baseball), crafting and antique shopping.

Have you been in a leadership position?

I have been on the executive board of our local union and a member of the collective bargaining agreement negotiating committee while working at Dualite. Since becoming a business representative I have been the recording secretary of the Standing Production Committee, and I am currently the chairperson of that committee. I was appointed to the Union Labels Committee at the 2019 SMART Second General Convention. I am the production vice president of the SMART Recruitment and Retention Council, vice president at-large of the SMART Production Workers’ &amp; Sign Council, chairperson of the SMART Local 24 Women’s Committee, project coordinator of Local 24 for SMART Mentoring Women’s Project and a member of the SMART IA Women’s Committee.

Have you been in a union position?

Production business representative for SMART Local 24 since March 2018.

Goals in the future — any ambitions or changes to your career, growth or education?

I would love to educate more members on the benefits of becoming a union member and a leader within their local, and get them more involved in union activities.

What surprised you about your trade?

How many long-time employees and friends I would meet while on this journey.

What do you find frustrating about your job/trade?

How little some members know about the benefits of being a union member.

What’s the coolest job you’ve worked on?

When I worked at Dualite we were the official sign company for the Cincinnati Reds. I did installation work and made signs for Great American Ballpark.

What traits do you think a good sheet metal/production worker has?

Good attendance and willingness to learn as many different jobs and skills as possible.

Why sheet metal/production?

I came from an art background and thought it would be interesting to work in a sign shop.

Tool you can’t live without?

Definitely a tape measure. I don’t work in the shop anymore, but I still carry a tape measure in my purse.

Best advice for an apprentice?

Look at the long-term benefits and not the short-term.

What are your feelings on mentoring?

I feel that mentoring is very important. In today’s world there are so many young people who need someone to guide them in the right direction, not just at work but in life.

Tell us about your women’s committee

Local 24’s Women’s Committee is a combination of production and building trades members. I feel this is a benefit because the members get the chance to learn how things work in both sectors of our local.

It seems that SMART is very supportive of women joining (and staying) in their union. Do you agree?

I agree 100%. SMART has formed the Recruitment and Retention Council to address these issues for women and minorities.

Are you involved in career fairs, SMART Army, volunteering…?

I have attended career fairs with our JATC coordinators and worked on SMART Army projects in conjunction with our local’s Women’s Committee.

SMART Army members across the United States held their annual event in honor of fallen service members by joining thousands across the country to lay wreaths at the final resting place of service members at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at over 2,500 sites across the country. The event, through Wreaths Across America, pursues the objective of remembering the fallen, honoring their sacrifices and teaching future generations of Americans about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their freedom.

Samara Sampson is an apprentice at Local 285 in Toronto, Ont. who has been in the trade for five years. The SMART Women’s Committee sat down with Samara to learn more about her and the work she does. You can visit www.SMART-Women.org to read her story and the stories of her fellow sisters.

What unique strengths do you bring to your trade?

I am a forward thinker and good at working under pressure.

What do you love to do when you’re not at work?

When I am not at work, I love packing a day bag, some food, and my dog into my truck and driving out to a new conservation area to explore.

Goals in the future — any ambitions or changes to your career, growth or education?

I have big dreams and goals for myself with SMART, and I look forward to a very long, prosperous career wherever it might take me.

What surprised you about your trade?

How much you can do in the trade: you can design, fabricate, weld, install, test, etc.

What do you find frustrating about your job/trade?

The most frustrating part about my job has got to be a tie between running out of material and unsolicited spectators.

What’s the coolest job you’ve worked on?

I worked on a huge mansion, complete with a theater, billiard room, huge hanger garage and — best of all — the lift in the driveway that takes the vehicles down to the underground garage.

What traits do you think a good sheet metal worker has?

I think a good sheet metal worker is reliable, efficient, good at math and ready to work.

Why sheet metal?

Metal work and welding has always been an interest of mine, and after taking the welding program in college, Local 285 made me see how much opportunity and growth there is within the union.

Tool you can’t live without?

The tool I can’t live without has got to be my hands, for sure.

Best advice you got as an apprentice?

The best advice I’ve gotten as an apprentice is to “get good first, get fast second.” This is also advice I would give to new apprentices.

What are your thoughts about Tradeswomen Build Nations (TWBN)?

I think that TWBN is a great opportunity for tradeswomen to meet each other. We are often the only one in the classroom as an apprentice and the only one on the jobsite. Any opportunity to meet and network is truly awesome. Unfortunately, due to COVID I have only taken part virtually, but I can’t wait to be a part of the next TWBN in person. I will be there!

Career fairs, SMART Army, volunteering?

I am involved with a provincial tradeswomen committee, and I lead a group of tradeswomen in a Lean In Circle. Any opportunity I have to meet other tradeswomen, especially SMART women, I will take it!

WINNERS HONORED FOR ACHIEVEMENT AND UNION VALUES

Washington, D.C. – Union Plus recently awarded $250,000 in scholarships to 199 students representing 37 unions, including eight winners representing SMART. The SMART winners are:

Noah Berning of Monroeville, Indiana

Berning, whose father, Mark Berning, is a member of SMART Local 20, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Evan Bock of Rantoul, Illinois

Bock, whose father, Christopher Bock, is a member of SMART Local 1358, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Grace Brodarick of Southold, New York

Brodarick, whose father, Christopher Brodarick, is a member of SMART Local 645, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Miranda Garcia of Fresno, California

Garcia, whose father, Angelo Garcia, is a member of SMART Local 104, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Kaysa Kurtz-Merwin of Rocky Ford, Colorado

Kurtz-Merwin, whose father, Anthony Merwin, is a member of SMART Local 0945, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Nathan Roelse of Cleveland, Wisconsin

Roelse, whose father, William Roelse, is a member of SMART Local 18, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Logan VanLaanen of Green Bay, Wisconsin

VanLaanen, whose father, Jesse VanLaanen, is a member of SMART Local 18, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Billi Vavra of Prescott, Iowa

Vavra, who is a member of SMART Local 199, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Meet some of the 2021 SMART honorees

Noah Berning
Purdue University
Heritage Junior-Senior High School (HHS)
Monroeville, Indiana (2019)

Noah recently completed his first year at Purdue, where he is an agricultural systems management and agricultural economics major. He hopes to enter the agriculture industry and will soon intern for Co-Alliance Cooperative in northwest Indiana. Throughout high school, Noah served as the Indiana FFA national officer candidate and state treasurer, as well as chapter and district president. He also attended the National Young Farmer Educational Association Agriculture’s Promise advocacy program in Washington, D.C.

Noah proudly hails from a union family; his father has been a SMART member for more than 20 years. “This allows him to do what he loves, knowing that he can work in a safe environment with fair pay,” Noah said. “I am extremely thankful to SMART and the labor movement because it provided my family with financial stability so that I could have the chance to follow my dream career and attend my dream university.”

Evan Bock
Rantoul Township High School (RTHS)
Rantoul, Illinois (2021)

Evan will begin college this fall and plans to major in engineering, with the ultimate goal of working for NASA. In 2019, Evan was selected as an Illinois state delegate at the Congress of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists in Boston, and he is an ambassador for Shriners Hospitals for Children. He and two family members battle a genetic bone disease, which makes him thankful for his father’s SMART membership. “My family would not be able to afford the medical treatments we need without SMART,” Evan said. “SMART is a lifeline for many workers and their families.”

“Evan’s commitment and enthusiasm to aerospace engineering, problem solving and learning allow him to stand out and succeed,” said RTHS science teacher Kristin Walerowicz. “His character will lead him to succeed in whatever he does while uplifting those around him.”

Grace Brodarick
Southold High School (SHS)
New York (2021)

Grace will begin college this fall and plans to major in nursing, following in her mother’s footsteps. She is thankful for her father’s SMART membership and the benefits it provides. “SMART’s hard work and negotiations allow members to thoroughly enjoy the fruits of their labor,” Grace said. “I am forever grateful for all that SMART has provided my father and my family.”

Last fall, Grace shadowed Dr. Vishnu Seodat for an internship with New York Health. “Grace showed keen interest in medicine and was eager to learn,” Seodat said. “She asked questions about every diagnosis and was very interested in the process of physical examination. Grace will be an asset to the medical profession.”

Miranda Garcia
Cal State University, Fresno (FSU)
Fowler High School (FHS)
California (2019)

Miranda is a psychology major at FSU and expects to complete her bachelor’s degree in May 2023. Her dream is to be a counselor, specializing in domestic violence and anger management. Miranda works at Charis Educational Center, a Fresno social services organization that offers anger management and parenting classes.

“Miranda consistently shows a determination to improve herself, her school environment and the people around her,” said FHS Learning/Activities Director Mike McColm. “She is quick to look for ways to help people around her and always willing to take on a challenge. Miranda is highly motivated, conscientious and a pleasure to be around.”

The Union Plus Scholarship Program

The Union Plus Scholarship Program awards scholarships based on outstanding academic achievement, personal character, financial need and commitment to the values of organized labor. The program is offered through the Union Plus Education Foundation.

Since starting the program in 1991, Union Plus has awarded more than $5 million in educational funding to more than 3,400 union members, spouses and dependent children. Union Plus Scholarship awards are granted to students attending a two-year college, four-year college, graduate school, or recognized technical or trade school. The selection process is very competitive, and this year 5,008 applications were received from 67 unions and all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, two U.S. territories and six Canadian provinces.

Visit www.unionplus.org/scholarship for applications and benefit eligibility.

About Union Plus

Union Plus, founded by the AFL-CIO in 1986, uses the collective buying power of America’s 12.5 million union members to deliver top-quality benefits and services at competitive prices to working families. In addition to the scholarship program, Union Plus offers the Free College program, which makes it possible for union members and their families to earn an associate degree completely online at no cost. As a complement to the Free College program, Union Plus offers the Bachelor’s Degree Completion program, providing union members and their families a no-cost option to complete their bachelor’s degree completely online. Union Plus also provides a wide range of money-saving programs, including discounts on wireless services from AT&amp;T, the only nationwide unionized wireless carrier; insurance protection; savings on travel and recreation; and more. For additional information, visit unionplus.org.

Brodarick, whose father, Christopher Brodarick, is a member of SMART Local 645, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.