SMART Communications Department recognized by ILCA

Each year, the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA) honors workers and unions at its Labor Media Awards, recog­nizing excellence among member publications, websites, film, video and other media. It’s the largest competition exclusively for labor organizations and journalists, and in 2023, the SMART Communications Department took home a variety of prizes for its 2022 output — fueled by the inspirational stories of SMART members.

ILCA’s “Visual Communications” awards highlight the best layouts, illustrations, photographs and informational graphics submitted to the Labor Media Awards, with judges considering the entry’s quality of production, content and effective­ness with its intended audience. SMART won first place for “Best Design — Website, App or Electronic Publication” for its relaunched website, smart-union.org — a testament to SMART staff’s dedica­tion to putting together a modern, interactive resource that serves existing and potential new members. (The website won a third-place award in the “General Excellence” category.) SMART’s Cleveland staff took home second place in a Visual Communications category: “Best Front Page/Cover — Newspaper or Newsletter” for the SMART Transportation Newspaper.

Throughout 2022, SMART produced a broad range of video content: telling member stories, covering major events, educating members and non-members, and much more. The SMART Communications Department won first place in “Electronic Media: Best Education and Training Video” for its animated guide to forming a union — a demonstration of our union’s focus on conveying vital information to nonunion workers seeking SMART representation. SMART also won second place in the “Best Issues/Advocacy Video” competition for our profile of Jeff Hillery, as well as two third-place awards — in the “Best News Video” and “Best Promotional Video” categories — for videos on the 2022 Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference and signatory contractor McClure Stainless, respectively.

The Labor Media Awards include four writing prizes named after the late Saul Miller, a director of the AFL-CIO Department of Information and a founder of ILCA. These awards highlight writing related to key union activities: orga­nizing, collective bargaining and political action. SMART won third place in the “National/International Organizing” category for its coverage of workers’ successful unionization campaign with SMART Local 23 at Vigor’s shipyard in Ketchikan, Alaska.

And finally, SMART took second place in the crowded field that was the “Best Audio/Podcast/ Radio Broadcast” category. The award-winning Talking SMART installment, a conversation with SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson, reflected the timeliness and urgency of that episode, which was released during national freight rail contract negotiations.

While the SMART Communications Department created and submitted these websites, videos, articles and podcasts for ILCA consideration, the awards belong to you: the SMART members whose stories of working-class power define our union. Thank you for all that you do, and thank you for sharing your experiences with the communications department!