Reservist returns from deployment to sheet metal apprenticeship

Staff Sgt. Antonette Ventura’s path to becoming a sheet metal journeyperson took an unexpected detour when she was deployed to Saudi Arabia in late 2020, during the middle of her apprenticeship. Thanks to the support she found at the SMART Local 88 training center in Las Vegas, however, her confidence in finishing the program never […]

ITI ramps up Ventilation Verification for IAQ curriculum

The International Training Institute’s (ITI) Ventilation Verification for Indoor Air Quality curriculum took another step forward this year when the ITI hosted eight JATC instructors at its first train-the-trainer course at Local 359 in Phoenix. It was the second component of the training — the first half was held remotely. Ventilation verification is a physical […]

SMART-TD LACMTA operators ratify tentative contract

LOS ANGELES, (August 4, 2022) — The efforts by the SMART-TD General Committee of Adjustment GO 875 negotiation team have resulted in a new agreement for the bus and rail operators of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), which serves more than 10 million people in the nation’s most-populous county within a 1,433-square-mile […]

SMART Army Mobilizes to Support Wisconsin Kids

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 […]

House subcommittee leaders take aim at PSR cuts in STB reauthorization hearing

U.S. Rep Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) testifies before the House Rail and Pipelines Subcommittee on May 12. Following up a hearing in late April on freight rail problems caused by Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), members of the Surface Transportation Board appeared before the U.S. House Rail and Pipelines Subcommittee on May 12 to further discuss steps […]

Talking SMART: Member Brings Voice of Working Families to CT Statehouse

Over the next two episodes of Talking SMART – the official podcast of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation workers – hosts Paul Pimentel and Ben Nagy talk with SMART members who have successfully run for local or state public office, discussing their sheet metal and transportation careers, what motivated them […]

N.J. SLD recognized for leadership, tapped to lead economic coalition

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 […]

White House launches Clean Air in Buildings Challenge

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 […]

Building the future together

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.