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Fifth-year Local 27 (Southern New Jersey) apprentices forged their way into the local’s history with their group project this summer, creating a “27” sign that is now proudly displayed at the Local 27 union hall. The apprentices fabricated the sign out of 11 ga carbon steel, designing and forming the project using CAD, a plasma table and a press brake — all equipment that was provided through the International Training Institute (ITI) grant program.

Pictured, front row, left to right: Business Rep. Mike Kolbasowski, President/Business Manager Thomas De Bartolo, fifth-year apprentices Malcolm Hill, Clayton Jansa, Conner Kozar, Training Coordinator John Espinos Jr., Zach Szabo, Isaac Rolph. Back row: Peter Palumbo, Thomas Sommers III, Rob Rasmussen, Mike Melon, Dan Marino, Alex Sarti, Will Anderson.

Local 36 apprentices Keira Krentz and Lilly Gibson attended Wom­en’s Lobby Day at the Missouri Capitol on Wednesday, March 6. Both apprentices are pictured with Missouri AFL-CIO President Jacob Hummel and State Senator Elaine Gannon, a union-friendly Republican.

Waterfowlers in the North­west will have access to several new duck hunt­ing blinds in the Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex (NWRC) because of a recent Union Sports­men’s Alliance (USA) Work Boots on the Ground conservation project completed by union volunteers.

Twenty sheet metal apprentices of SMART Local 55 donated 400 hours of labor to build eight blinds, including three wheelchair-acces­sible blinds, to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) specifications, according to Travis Swayze, IBEW Local 112 business manager and the project leader.

“When the pandemic was in full swing, we postponed a couple of things, including a Take Kids Fishing event,” he said. “So this is really our first USA project. And I must hand it to the sheet metal workers for step­ping up and getting it done in the amount of time we had.”

“When we proposed the project to Travis, he jumped on it,” said USA Conservation Programs Manager Sam Phipps. “He knew how much of an impact it would have with the hunting public and a valuable partner like the Fish and Wildlife Service — and he picked up the reins.”

Twenty SMART Local 55 apprentices donated 400 hours to build eight blinds.

On Saturday, October 8, 24 union volunteers from SMART Local 55, IBEW Local 112 and IUPAT District Council 5 donated 100 hours to install four of the new hunting blinds on the Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge, said Lamont Glass, Mid-Columbia River NWRC visitor services manager.

“They were put into a high-traffic unit where no type of blind existed before,” Glass said, “so they’ll be a good addition to our lottery draw area.”

Overall, union members donated approximately 500 hours of labor, a value of $26,500, to the waterfowl blind project, while funding for building materials came from the FWS and proceeds from the USA’s Tri-Cities Building & Construction Trades Council Conservation Dinner.

“And there were many more people behind the scenes who were part of the whole process,” added Swayze, “including volunteers from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; Laborers International Union of North America; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers; Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association; United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada; International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union; along with the Washington State, Central Washington and Pendleton Building & Construction Trade Councils, who were heavily involved in our chapter banquets. These fundraising dinners make projects like this possible.”

Twenty-four union volunteers and some family members installed four blinds at Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge.

FWS personnel will install one wheelchair-accessible blind in a newly developed area at McNary Wildlife Refuge, as well as a new blind to replace an old pit blind at the Cold Spring refuge, Glass further explained. Two accessible blinds will be installed over the next year as opportunities to open new areas arise, he added.  

“It was this refuge system’s first partnership with the USA and local union volunteers, and it turned out well,” Glass said. “It was a great savings in labor costs for the FWS, and we look forward to working together on future projects.”

“With the nature of the union building and construction trades, it makes sense for us to work with an organization like the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance that supports our members’ activities,” Swayze concluded. “All the union affiliates strive to give back to the communi­ties in which their members live and work, and our union brothers and sisters are always up for the task at hand.”

Third-year apprentices at SMART SM Local 12 (southwestern Pennsylvania) had the opportunity to perform hands-on architectural sheet metal fabrication and installation in late July. After separating into three sections — Group A, Group B and Group C — each group of apprentices was assigned a different application of architectural sheet metal, enhancing their day-to-day study with practical experience.

Group A’s task was to make improvements to the sheet metal shop at the Local 12 training center, which had a gypsum board wall that was damaged from a roof leak. The apprentices first had to safely remove the drywall, the wood substrate and the old, damaged insulation. Then, after cleaning the area, the apprentices sealed any openings and installed new insulation, new substrate on two-foot centers, a new metal water table, J-channel and corrugated metal panels, and window trims.

Meanwhile, the local tasked Groups B and C with a community service project at a local baseball/ softball field. The concession stands at Scharmyn Park, the home of the West View Ross Athletic Association in Pittsburgh, Pa., required several upgrades. The wood siding needed painting. The wood ceiling had been removed and lacked the necessary replacement. The gutters were in desperate need of improvement, and wood soffits needed to be covered.

The project gave all three groups of apprentices firsthand training in the installation of architectural metal walls and roofing systems in real-life situations.

In response, the Local 12 apprentices took to the work quickly and efficiently: They installed new metal trims (J-channels, siding sill, fascia) and vertical siding panels that covered the old wood siding. They also mounted a corrugated metal ceiling onto rafters on two-foot centers and metal trims on three dugouts, plus corrugated metal roofing.

The project gave all three groups of apprentices firsthand training in the installation of architectural metal walls and roofing systems in real-life situations. The buildings were not as plumb, level and square as they would be in ideal circumstances — making them perfect examples of the conditions sheet metal workers run into in the field. Additionally, the apprentices had to build the scaffolding to access the work area, lay out the panel systems to develop symmetrical appearance, install the metal trims, cut the metal panels and cut in any penetrations that were in the way — all obstacles they are likely to face on future jobsites. The apprentices completed these tasks in a safe, effective manner, helping them develop on-the-job skills and give back to the community.

These experiences were made possible by the donation of metal siding and metal roofing panels by ATAS International, Inc. Local 12 elected to use these donated materials to help West View Ross Athletic Association with its concession stand, which was in dire need of attention. Local 12 also wishes to thank Miller, Thomas, Gyekis (trim fabricator), Pennsylvania Roofing Systems (trim fabricator), Business Manager Greg Blose, Apprentice Coordinator Joshua Moore, Instructors Mike Shields, Dan Lyons and John Naples, and Business Agents Geoff Foringer, Kevin Mally, Dan Maslo and Todd Deitrick for bringing this real-world learning event to life.

SMART SM Local 265 (DuPage County, Ill.) celebrated the graduation of 40 apprentices to journeyperson status on Friday, August 26, with International Organizers Paul Hayes and Darrell Garrison joining the Local 265 and Local 219 (Rockford, Ill.) leadership and staff for an honorary reception.

“Turnout was great for a graduation ceremony,” said Dennis Moran, a member of the Local 265 education department. “I’m very proud of all the graduates, they have worked very hard to get to this point.”

Of the 40 new journeypersons, 19 are sheet metal workers, while 21 are service technicians — including four from Local 219, who used the Local 265 service program for their training. SMART congratulates these brothers and sisters on their hard-earned achievement!

SMART Local 265 Business Manager: John Daniel

Business Agents: Matt Gugala, Kevin Galass, Brian McSherry, Ron Mika, Brian Dahlman

Organizer: Jay Jones

SMART International Representative: Paul Hayes

International Training Institute: Darrell Garrison

Local 219 Business Manager: Joe Cook

SMART Local 265 Education Staff:

Dennis Moran: Director of Training

Instructors: Joe Carone, Anthony Aarns, Kelly Marcellis, Chris James, Joel Orozco

Graduates 2022:

Sheet Metal: Joseph Balzer, Matt Beaudoin, Michael Callahan, Dan Courtright, Grant Fehrenbach, Hunter Freres, James Gerasco, Bryan Granzow, Tim Greenhill, Pete Helms, Greg Krupa, Lucas Lage, Adam Miller, Alyssa Moss, Jay Smithberg, Dan Spencer, Nick Svoboda, Wesley Taylor, Danielle Wilson

Service: Rocco Cervone, Brandon D’Ambrosia, Jordan Dotson, Eric Estes, Justin Garrelts, Shawn Gilles (Local 219), Robert Harris, Martin Heidkamp, Tanner LaFew (Local 219), Alec Mingl, Michael Napier, Clayton Omelson, Brett Piller, Michael Rueck, John Straple, Anthony Tortorelli, Keven Ward, Kyle White (Local 219), Matt Wolf (Local 219), Tyler Zitzka, Drake Zollers

In late July, third-year apprentices at SMART SM Local 12 (Southwestern Pennsylvania) had the opportunity to perform hands-on architectural sheet metal fabrication and installation. After separating into three sections – Group A, Group B and Group C – each group of apprentices was assigned a different application of architectural sheet metal, enhancing their day-to-day study with practical experience.

Group A’s task was to make improvements to the sheet metal shop at the Local 12 training center, which had a gypsum board wall that was damaged from a roof leak. The apprentices first had to safely remove the drywall, the wood substrate and the old, damaged insulation. Then, after cleaning the area, the apprentices sealed any openings and installed new insulation, new substrate on two-foot centers, a new metal water table, J-channel and corrugated metal panels, and window trims.

Meanwhile, the local tasked Groups B and C with a community service project at a local baseball/softball field. The concession stands at Scharmyn Park, the home of the West View Ross Athletic Association in Pittsburgh, Pa., required several upgrades. The wood siding needed painting. The wood ceiling had been removed and still lacked the necessary replacement. The gutters were in desperate need of improvement, and wood soffits needed to be covered.

In response, the Local 12 apprentices took to the work quickly and efficiently: They installed new metal trims, (J-channels, siding sill, fascia) and vertical siding panels that covered the old wood siding. They also mounted a corrugated metal ceiling onto rafters on two-foot centers and metal trims on three dugouts, plus corrugated metal roofing.

The project gave all three groups of apprentices firsthand training in the installation of architectural metal wall and roofing systems in real-life situations. The buildings were not as plumb, level and square as they would be in ideal circumstances – making them perfect examples of the conditions sheet metal workers run into in the field. Additionally, the apprentices had to build the scaffolding to access the work area, lay out the panel systems to develop symmetrical appearance, install the metal trims, cut the metal panels and cut in any penetrations that were in the way – all obstacles they are likely to face on future jobsites. The apprentices completed these tasks in a safe, effective manner, helping them develop on-the-job skills and give back to the community.

These experiences were made possible by the donation of metal siding and metal roofing panels by ATAS International, Inc. Local 12 elected to use these donated materials to help West View Ross Athletic Association with its concession stand, which was in dire need of attention. Local 12 also wishes to thank Miller, Thomas, Gyekis (trim fabricator), Pennsylvania Roofing Systems (trim fabricator), Business Manager Greg Blose, Apprentice Coordinator Joshua Moore, Instructors Mike Shields, Dan Lyons and John Naples, and Business Agents Geoff Foringer, Kevin Mally, Dan Maslo and Todd Deitrick for bringing this real-world learning event to life.