Two years of pro-worker progress create jobs; SMART members directly benefit from new work opportunities On Nov. 15, 2021, after years of political pressure from SMART and fellow unions, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), now known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will invest more than $1 trillion in […]
On April 4–6, 2022, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) held its first in-person legislative conference since 2019, with members from 14 trade unions — representing more than 3 million skilled union workers — gathering to hear from labor leaders, politicians and fellow brothers and sisters across the labor movement. President Joe Biden capped off […]
From June 12-15, SMART joined our 56 fellow AFL-CIO affiliate unions for the 2022 AFL-CIO Convention: the AFL-CIO’s highest decision-making body, where delegates vote on resolutions and constitutional amendments, discuss strategy and chart the course of the federation’s future. As importantly, the convention provided the chance for SMART to gather with other unions to build […]
In addition to participating in NABTU Legislative Conference activities, representatives from SMART local unions gathered on the evening of April 5 for a SMART Political Action League (PAL) reception at the Washington Hilton. Members in attendance heard from Representatives Richie Neal (D-Mass.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) […]
A Local 16 member holds a piece of metal dedicated to Carrie Barber. Chelsey Bus recently graduated from her apprenticeship at Local 16 in Portland, Oregon. During her five years of training, she experienced much of the same adversity that other women in the trades face; although SMART has made great strides to recruit and […]
On August 31, 2021, the Local Union Officer and International Staff Retiree’s Club met in historic St. Charles, Missouri, with 56 attendees gathering for a cocktail reception, luncheon, meeting and a trip to Missouri wine country. As part of the meeting, union woodworker Jim Langsdorf crafted a tinner’s hammer made of solid hickory (pictured) in […]