Sheet Metal News
B&P Tunnel replacement project in Baltimore promises jobs, better conditions for SMART members
The Civil War-era tunnel will be replaced by the brand-new Frederick Douglass Tunnel. Not only will this save commuters time on the largest rail bottleneck between Washington, DC and New Jersey; thanks to a new project labor agreement (PLA), both SMART sheet metal workers and SMART Transportation Division members working at Amtrak stand to benefit for years to come.
2022 BLS report demonstrates need for organizing, pro-labor legislation
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual report in January 2023, revealing a growth in domestic union membership and illustrating the urgency with which unions like SMART must organize nonunion workers and lobby for new labor laws.
EPI study estimates money lost by misclassified workers
A new analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates that misclassified construction workers lose out on as much as $16,729 per year in income and job benefits compared with what they would have earned as employees.
BE4ALL launches first Toolbox Talk
The Belonging and Excellence for ALL (BE4ALL) Committee launched its first-ever Toolbox Talk on January 19, 2023 – the initial step in an ongoing effort designed to educate, spread awareness and help strengthen SMART and the unionized sheet metal industry. Toolbox Talk #1, titled “On Being a Good Crewmate,” touted the importance of creating welcoming […]
VP Harris visits SM Local 17, highlights partnership with SMART and steps to lower energy costs
Vice President Kamala Harris visited the SMART Local 17 union hall in Boston on Wednesday, November 2, emphasizing the work SMART members will perform as part of the Biden administration’s push to lower energy costs. Harris announced a variety of steps the administration will take – part of the Inflation Reduction Act – to help […]
American Rescue Plan funding saves thousands of SMART pensions
Thanks to multiemployer pension relief included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, approximately 1,600 SMART members in the Sheet Metal Workers Pension Fund based in Massillon, Ohio will have their pension cuts fully restored, including full earned benefit in their monthly checks moving forward. “This is definitely going to solve our problem,” SMART […]
Meet Teresa George, a 16-year conductor with SMART TD Local 1105 (Wilmington, N.C.)
Teresa George has been a member of the SMART Transportation Division for 16 years. But her service extends beyond her time as a conductor; she has been connected with the railroad since December 1998. “I started with the U.S. Army as an 88U (railway operations crewmember),” George explained. “I am now an instructor teaching the […]
Local 73 retiree publishes YA novel about World War II
Friday, Nov. 13, 1942: Spotlights speared across the velvet darkness in the waters North of Guadalcanal as an outgunned group of American warships crossed paths with two Japanese battleships and their escorts. As quickly as the lights flicked on, the amber glow of gunfire shredded the intense black veil that had provided temporary sanctuary. […]