Retired SMART General President Joseph Sellers, Jr. received a rail lantern in appreciation of his service at the Transportation Division Board of Directors meeting on April 4, 2023. From left are: Bus Department Vice President Calvin Studivant; Vice President John Whitaker; Vice President Chad Adams; SMART General Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Powell; TD President Jeremy Ferguson; GP Sellers; Vice President Brent Leonard; Vice President Jamie Modesitt; Vice President David Wier Jr., Vice President Joe Lopez and Bus Department Vice President Alvy Hughes.
Tag: General President Joseph Sellers Jr.
North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) hosted the Mikva Challenge’s annual “Democracy is a Verb!” celebratory reception on Sunday, April 23 in Washington, DC. During the reception, Mikva Challenge — whose mission is “to develop youth to be empowered, informed, and active citizens who will promote a just and equitable society” — honored former SMART General President Joe Sellers with the organization’s Legacy Award, recognizing his contributions to and support for the program and local communities.
Sean McGarvey, president of NABTU, introduced Sellers. “Joe is very involved in apprenticeship and training, since back at Local 19. Some of the progressive programs he put together at SMART have been fantastic.” He added that Sellers “is like a steady rock. He’s always there. He’s always there with you. He’s been there for SMART members, and he extended that to groups like Mikva.”
Sellers then took the stage, telling Mikva Challenge: “Your civic engagement is unmatched, and the issues you’re working on are vitally important to not only your neighborhood but our country. Listening to what you do enthused me to make a difference in the way you’re making a difference.”
Founded in 1998, the Mikva Challenge began as a small pilot program with an all-volunteer staff in four Chicago schools; 23 years later, Mikva has grown to serve over 17 states, 3,200 teachers and 135,000 students annually. According to the organization’s website, Mikva has spent the last two decades developing an education model based on the principles that: 1. Youth voice matters; 2. Youth are experts on the issues that affect them; 3. Our communities and schools are stronger when youth leaders are involved in all aspects of civic life.
“I am impressed with how you create goals and you follow those goals with action plans,” Sellers remarked to reception attendees. “And there is nothing that gets me more jazzed up than action plans!”
The Mikva Challenge provides schools with strategies and tools to engage young people in high quality, student-centered learning about the democratic process — an objective that aligns with the way SMART provides state-of-the-art training to apprentices while encouraging members to engage with their local union. Mikva’s programs are designed to develop social and emotional skills, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. The organization also focuses on improving school and community culture while enhancing teacher effectiveness through inquiry-driven, project-based study, creating opportunities for engaging in democracy.
Sellers concluded his remarks by addressing Mikva students.
“Make sure you understand about our apprenticeship programs,” he said. “Our goals are aligned with yours, and with an apprenticeship you can go back and harness your power as a union member to amplify your voice.”
Ahead of former SMART General President Sellers’ retirement, he sat down with General President Coleman to discuss Sellers’ career, his proudest accomplishments, Coleman’s priorities as general president and the future of SMART.
“It’s been a great honor to serve you as our general president, representing our brothers and sisters who keep our two nations moving. It’s a privilege that I have cherished, and I have not taken for granted,” Sellers said.
Both Sellers and Coleman agreed: The time is now to secure generational progress for SMART members across industries. Megaprojects are breaking ground across North America, rail safety legislation continues to advance in state houses and the federal government, and members are sounding the alarm on important issues like bus and transit operator safety. Momentum is on our side, Sellers and Coleman each pointed out; now we need to take advantage.
“We are going to push forward,” Coleman said. “We are going to represent our members on a day in and day out basis. The team that we’ve built here wants to do that, and we’re working as a team to better the lives of sheet metal workers and transportation workers. This is our moment; this is where we need to be.”
Joseph Sellers, Jr., general president of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), announced his retirement on January 24, 2023. Sellers will retire on May 31, 2023, and will be succeeded by current Assistant to the General President Michael Coleman. Sellers has served as general president since May of 2015, when he succeeded prior General President Joseph Nigro.
“After nearly three decades in SMART local and national leadership, I have chosen to retire,” said Sellers. “It will always be the greatest honor to have represented you — the women and men who embody the highest level of professionalism and expertise in our industries.”
“Your selfless dedication was especially on display during the pandemic, which had an unprecedented effect on all of us and people around the world,” he added.
“You were on the job every day: working on new construction, retrofitting buildings into pop-up hospitals, redesigning hospital configurations, manufacturing much-needed equipment, ensuring the transportation of people and goods, and keeping our supply chain intact and our buildings and schools safe during a tenuous time in our history.”
Sellers — a second-generation sheet metal worker whose father spent 55 years as a SMART member and 30 years as a local union officer — has often said that “all that my family has comes from my father’s career path and the union sheet metal industry.” Sellers devoted more than four decades to his union, committing himself to lead at every level of SMART. He began his apprenticeship in 1980 at Local 19 in Philadelphia, becoming a journeyperson four years later. He was elected to the local’s executive board in 1994 and appointed to be training coordinator in 1996. In 2002, after serving as a business representative for two years, he became Local 19’s president and business manager.
Sellers was elected to international leadership as 11th general vice president in August 2009. The SMART General Executive Council elected him to serve as the union’s general secretary-treasurer (GST) in July 2011, and he was unanimously re-elected as GST by delegates to the first SMART General Convention in August 2014. Sellers became SMART’s general president on May 1, 2015, when his friend and mentor Joe Nigro needed to retire. He was re-elected on August 14, 2019 to continue his term as the second general president in the union’s history.
As SMART general secretary-treasurer and general president, Sellers developed and led special campaigns to increase outreach and awareness for construction, production and transportation industry members, union industry officials and policy makers on key issues including pensions, healthcare and apprenticeships. He implemented enhancements to the union’s technological infrastructure, professional skills training and training curricula, and he pioneered various union campaigns designed to increase recruitment, retention and diversity within SMART.
Sellers oversaw the launch of the BE4ALL Committee to enhance inclusiveness in the sheet metal industry; the I Got Your Back campaign to promote solidarity between members across all backgrounds; the expansion of the role women play in the unionized sheet metal industry and the rapid modernization of the union’s information and communications programs. He also spearheaded new investments in membership mobilization, with an eye towards positioning the organization to meet the long-term needs of members and those looking to form a union in the decades ahead.
As a testament to Sellers’ steady leadership, the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund was officially certified in the Green Zone in 2022 after decades of recovery. His tireless legislative advocacy helped SMART establish a strong relationship with Congress and the Biden administration, and his constant championing of workers’ issues helped influence the passage of groundbreaking laws like the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and more.
“We are SMART: sheet metal, air, rail and transportation workers,” Sellers remarked during an interview with SMART News announcing his retirement. “And we’re going to do the things together that are important to our union, no matter what sector you come from. Transportation. Sheet metal. Manufacturing. Any one of those sectors, we’re going to be there for each other.”
Incoming General President Michael Coleman has been a SMART member since 1985, when he began his career at Local 65 — now Local 33 (northern Ohio). Like his predecessor, Coleman served at every level of the union, starting as a rank-and-file tradesperson before becoming a member of his local union’s executive board and a business representative after that. He was then elected president and business manager of Local 33 before becoming ninth general vice president in 2019; he quickly transitioned to SMART director of business and management relations, then to his most recent post as assistant to the general president. He will assume the position of SMART general president on June 1, 2023.
“General President Joseph Sellers will be remembered as one of the all-time greats of this organization,” Coleman noted. “He cemented our groundbreaking merger and navigated the multitude of challenges that faced this union in the past decade.”
He continued: “General President Sellers has really prepared us for this moment that we’re about to embark on, with all these megaprojects and all these growth opportunities. I’m looking forward to that challenge; to seeing his vision through, making sure that we’re still prepared and taking advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead of us.”
Coleman concluded by reminding members that this is their union.
“Whether it be through the work we put in to get allies elected or through the unfortunate circumstances that put freight rail safety front and center on the national agenda, now is our time to act,” he declared. “I am prepared to move this organization forward, and I will work as hard as I can to advance the interests of all SMART members.”
SMART released the latest episode of SMART News on Wednesday, March 29. Episode seven features General President Joseph Sellers’ first interview since announcing his retirement, as well as an interview with incoming General President Michael Coleman.
“Everything that my family has is because of SMART,” Sellers said in his interview. “My father was a sheet metal worker, I was born into a union sheet metal worker family … my kids understand that, my wife understands that, the rest of my family understands that. Everything that we have is because of being union, and being a SMART member.”
Jump to a segment in this episode:
- SMART General President Joseph Sellers discusses his retirement and decades of leadership
- An interview with incoming General President Michael Coleman
- Rail safety legislative efforts continue following East Palestine disaster
- SMART sisters look back on Women in Construction Week 2023
- Megaprojects create hundreds of jobs, strengthen local union in Arizona
- SMART, SMOHIT recognized for ongoing commitment to mental health work
Both Sellers and Coleman reflected on the extraordinary opportunity that lies ahead for SMART members. For sheet metal members, the ongoing megaproject boom continues to create new jobs across the country — including in Arizona, where two new projects will require hundreds of sheet metal workers at their peak. SMART News spoke with SM Local 359 (Phoenix) Business Manager Jeff Holly about the impact such projects are having on members and the local union.
“We’ve been able to increase our membership,” Holly explained. “In 2017-18 we had 500 members, and currently we have about 850 … all of our funds are super healthy: [from] health and welfare [and] pension funds, down to general fund activity at the hall.”
For rail members, the fallout from the disaster in East Palestine, Ohio has opened a rare window for rail safety legislation on the state and federal level. SMART News hosted SMART TD Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity for an overview on state and national efforts — including the bipartisan Rail Safety Act of 2023 — and the need for members to get involved.
“We need everybody on board here,” Cassity explained. “It’s going to take peer pressure and constituent pressure on our elected representatives to get this stuff moving and get things done.”
In addition, SMART News episode seven highlighted the voices of SMART Women’s Committee Chair Vanessa Carman (Local 66, Seattle), SM Local 16 member Korri Bus and SM Local 206 member Tatjana Sebro, who looked back on Women In Construction Week 2023. And SMART MAP Program Coordinator Chris Carlough joined the program to speak about SMART’s efforts to improve mental health resources for all members.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joseph Sellers, Jr., general president of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), announced his retirement on January 24, 2023. Sellers will retire on May 31, 2023, and will be succeeded by current Assistant to the General President Michael Coleman.
“After nearly three decades in SMART local and national leadership, I have chosen to retire,” said Sellers. “It will always be the greatest honor to have represented the women and men who embody the highest level of professionalism and expertise in our industries. Their selfless dedication was on display when our countries needed them most: They are the essential workers who carried our nations through the global pandemic. They were on the job every day, working on new construction, retrofitting buildings into pop-up hospitals, redesigning hospital configurations, manufacturing much-needed equipment, ensuring the transportation of people and goods, and keeping our supply chain intact and our buildings and schools safe during a tenuous time in our history.”
From rank-and-file sheet metal worker to union leader
Sellers – a second-generation sheet metal worker whose father spent 55 years as a SMART member and 30 years as a local union officer – often asserts that “all that my family has comes from my father’s career path and the union sheet metal industry.” Sellers devoted more than four decades to his union, committing himself to lead at every level of SMART. He began his apprenticeship in 1980 at Local 19 in Philadelphia, becoming a journeyperson four years later. He was elected to the local’s executive board in 1994 and appointed to be training coordinator in 1996. In 2002, after serving as a business representative for two years, he became Local 19’s president and business manager.
Sellers was elected to international leadership as 11th general vice president in August 2009. The SMART General Executive Council elected him to serve as the union’s general secretary-treasurer (GST) in July 2011, and he was unanimously re-elected as GST by delegates to the first SMART General Convention in August 2014. Sellers became SMART’s general president on May 1, 2015, when his friend and mentor General President Joe Nigro needed to retire. He was re-elected on August 14, 2019.
As SMART general secretary-treasurer and general president, Sellers developed and led special campaigns to increase outreach and awareness for construction, production and transportation industry members, union industry officials and policymakers on key issues including pensions, healthcare and apprenticeships. He implemented enhancements to the union’s technological infrastructure, professional skills training and training curricula, and he pioneered various union campaigns designed to increase recruitment, retention and diversity within SMART.
Sellers oversaw the launch of the BE4ALL Committee to enhance inclusiveness in the sheet metal industry; the I Got Your Back campaign to promote solidarity between members across all backgrounds; the expansion of the role women play in the unionized sheet metal industry and the rapid modernization of the union’s information and communications programs. He also spearheaded new investments in membership mobilization, with an eye towards positioning the organization to meet the long-term needs of members and those looking to form a union in the decades ahead.
As a testament to Sellers’ steady leadership, the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund was officially certified in the Green Zone in 2022 after decades of recovery. His tireless legislative advocacy helped SMART establish a strong relationship with Congress and the Biden administration, and his constant championing of workers’ issues helped influence the passage of groundbreaking laws like the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and more.
Incoming General President Michael Coleman, a SMART member since 1985, has also served at every level of the union: from president and business manager of Local 33 in Northern Ohio, to ninth general vice president, to SMART director of business and management relations, to his current post as assistant to the general president. He will assume the position of SMART general president on June 1, 2023.
Coleman noted that “General President Sellers will be remembered as one of the all-time greats of this organization. He cemented our groundbreaking merger and navigated the challenges of the past decade. I am humbled to succeed him, and I look forward to advancing the interests of all SMART members across North America in the years to come.”
The National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP) presented SMART General President Joseph Sellers with the George Meany Award on Tuesday, September 20 – recognizing Sellers’ contributions to the welfare of pension funds that SMART and other union retirees depend on.
“President Sellers has been a champion within the multiemployer community, fighting for the legislative wins we have seen and fighting against unfair attacks that would further undermine our plans,” the NCCMP announced.
The NCCMP’s mission is the advocacy and protection of multiemployer plans, their sponsors, participants and beneficiaries, working since 1974 “to assure an environment in which multiemployer benefit plans can continue in their vital role of providing retirement security and health and welfare benefits to working Americans and their families through negotiated benefits with a minimum of regulatory or other interference.”
With the George Meany award, the NCCMP honors those who have fought to aid that mission, including last year’s co-recipients: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. As a stalwart advocate for retirees across the country who helped push the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund into the Green Zone earlier this year, General President Sellers was a worthy beneficiary of the 2022 award. He accepted the honor, presented by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey and NCCMP Executive Director Michael D. Scott, during a lunch on September 20.
The Defense Production Act (DPA) was invoked April 2 by President Donald Trump to expedite the manufacture and eventual distribution of supplies, especially ventilators, necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first step in getting the products — including surgical masks, disinfecting agents and medical devices — to those who need them is to create and package them.
Right now. Sheet metal workers across the United States are fabricating new equipment and supplies to support our nation’s response to this pandemic. Volunteers have even stepped up to supply groups with vital parts in the production of new protective gear while union sheet metal workers from New York to Detroit and Wisconsin and everywhere in between are on the front lines constructing new medical facilities to handle the surge of new COVID-19 patients.
While members are busy producing supplies as fast as they can, these supplies also need to be transported to the places that are most in need.
This is where the United States freight railroad network comes in. The full scope of the DPA must be employed to strongly and decisively react in the quickest way possible, including the engagement of railroads’ nationwide reach. The greatest volume of goods and material needed to help the country recover in the least amount of time will be delivered by the men and women operating the trains that travel America’s railroad network.
Thousands of rail workers have been furloughed by the country’s largest rail carriers in recent years. These people must be put to work to deliver life-saving equipment to major metropolitan areas struggling to contend with the coronavirus. Any half-measure will result in more lives being lost.
Sheet metal and transportation workers stand at the ready to assist. All that is needed is full invocation of the DPA and a wave of labor will help to first fight the pandemic and then to wipe out the economic devastation it has created.
Sincerely,
| Joseph Sellers, Jr. | Jeremy R. Ferguson | |
| General President, SMART | President, SMART Transportation Division |
General President Joseph Sellers Jr. and TD President Jeremy Ferguson both participated in a town hall meeting and informational rally in Kansas City on Nov. 4 and 5 to draw attention to Union Pacific’s closure of the Neff Yard that resulted in about 200 lost jobs.
The event received local media coverage and was a success, said Kansas State Legislative Director Ty Dragoo.
“it was a great event,” Dragoo said. “We had over 170 members there. We’re definitely moving forward.”
More coverage of the event will be forthcoming.
Brothers and sisters, let me wish you and your family a Happy Labor Day.
This past month, we completed our Second SMART General Convention where transportation and sheet metal members stood together to work on focusing on the future to position our Union for the rapid changes coming to all our industries.
We worked to stay ahead of the curve to better serve Sheet Metal and Transportation Division members. We need to unify our voice and our vote to fight against anti-union and hostile influences that put members, families and our communities at risk. We worked on ensuring greater representation, organizing efforts, protecting registered apprenticeships, rail, bus and transit safety.
We learned all too well that elections have consequences, and the 2020 election is on us. We need to be laser focused on protecting our members and our careers by supporting our union values.
Ten years ago, a group of anti-union politicians were elected with disastrous results. Their immediate priority was to push through attacks on collective bargaining across the United States along with the passage of right-to-work laws from coast to coast. Due to the 10-year reapportionment of state and federal seats, they got to choose their voters and cemented their position in government. Unfortunately, bad policy is contagious and is also threatening to infiltrate the Canadian government in the upcoming federal election.
This time, we are taking their power to harm working families away and fighting back to build a better future for members and all working families.
Labor Day is a day founded to honor workers — the women and men who make sure both our nations are running straight and true. Remember the sacrifices of previous generations of workers that we honor on this and every Labor Day. Make sure you are signed up for the Political Action League or TD PAC and recognize the sacrifices and the foundation they made for us were not in vain.
Fraternally,
Joseph Sellers, Jr.
SMART General President