Category: Summer 2022
Local 19 retiree spends “golden years” pursuing outdoor adventure
Local 19 retiree Keith Gilmer Thanks to the strong support of his SMART pension, retired SM Local 19 (Southeastern Pa.) member Keith Gilmer has been able to spend plenty of time pursuing one of his passions: the outdoors. “As a member, I was able to retire at the age of 55, a [...]
‘We won’t back down!’
SMART TD LEADS PROTEST OUTSIDE OF BNSF SHAREHOLDER MEETING IN OMAHA On April 30, 2022, while Berkshire Hathaway shareholders sat in comfort and national cable-news networks deified wealth hoarder Warren Buffett and his executive cronies at the company’s live-streamed annual [...]
Lisa Davis, 16-year journeyperson at SM Local 16, wins NABTU Tradeswomen Heroes Award
In early June, SMART Local 16 (Portland, Ore.) journey-worker Lisa Davis was named one of the winners of the June NABTU Tradeswomen Heroes Award, which “honors two apprentices and two journey-level workers in the United States and Canada that set an exemplary example both on [...]
Michael Harris assumes helm at ITI
Michael Harris, a longtime staffer at the International Training Institute (ITI), has taken the reins as its administrator. A second-generation sheet metal worker, Harris got his first taste of the industry at age 16, when he spent the summer working in a sheet metal shop. In [...]
RME Department reports on bad-faith negotiating tactics by the NCCC
Since November 2019, SMART members in the Railroad, Mechanical and Engineering Department on Class 1 freight railroads have been engaged in intense negotiations with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), a coalition of employers representing the railroads. Throu [...]
Tinnitus: What’s that ringing noise?
Have you ever left a concert, sporting event or jobsite with a high-pitched ringing in your ears? This is called tinnitus. Virtually everyone will experience some tinnitus from time to time throughout their life. Although it is usually the result of being around loud noises, [...]
Nine things we can do every day to create belonging in the workplace
In 2021, SMART, SMACNA and ITI came together to launch Belonging and Excellence for ALL (BE4All). BE4All is a bold, multi-year effort to transform the sheet metal industry, and to do this in two ways: 1) By creating work environments and jobsites that are welcoming to ALL wor [...]
April 28th proclaimed “A Day of Honor and Remembrance for Railroad Workers” in Kansas
Pictured in the governor’s office, left to right: Senator Carolyn McGinn (R); Mike Scheerer, LR Local 94; Troy Fansher, Local 1503; Governor Laura Kelly (seated); Nick Davis, Local 527; Ty Dragoo, SLD Kansas; Chad Henton, ASLD Kansas; Kyle Brooks, Local 1503. In late April, m [...]