Each year during National Apprenticeship Week, SMART celebrates the life-changing power of a union apprenticeship — from stellar pay and benefits to lifelong solidarity and fulfilling career paths.
As part of the SMART Women’s Committee’s National Apprenticeship Week spotlight series, Local 17 (Boston, Mass.) sister Areesa Willie, a fourth-year apprentice, talks about how much she enjoys learning new things in the sheet metal trade (and getting paid to do it).
What unique strengths do you bring to your trade?
I try my best to bring positivity to my jobsite. I like to keep spirits up at work. I’m not perfect at it and sometimes I need a little uplifting myself, but I want everyone I work with to realize they matter and what they do inside and outside of work matters. I’m also sober, and I am very open about that. I want anyone that needs help for themselves or a friend/family member to feel comfortable asking for help. We all deserve to be happy, healthy and free.
What do you love to do when you are not at work?
Spending time with my daughter is my favorite thing to do; hiking, getting lunch or coffee with friends, cozying up under the covers and watching a good movie, spending time with my animals and reading.
What are your goals in the future?
I want to learn and understand my trade fully. My goal is to become a mechanic and help others learn and aspire to do things the right way. I also want to be a representative of recovery for my union. I want to help others get the help that they need with no judgements, no stigma.
What do you find surprising about your job/trade?
I was surprised that I was actually not terrible at it and how much I enjoy learning new things about it. I didn’t realize that I would be so passionate about it.
On June 17, Local 17 (Boston, Mass.) Business Development Representative and SMART International Women’s Committee Chair Shamaiah Turner won the June NABTU Tradeswomen Heroes Award — a feather in the cap of a committed trade unionist who has consistently advocated for her union, her trade and her brothers and sisters.
“Shamaiah’s achievements and dedication to SMART are remarkable,” Local 17 wrote in its nomination. “Sister Turner’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity in the sheet metal industry shines throughout her career.”
Turner started in the construction industry at 18, when she worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer building houses with Habitat for Humanity in Fort Myers, Florida. After entering the Building Pathways Pre-apprenticeship Program in Boston, Turner joined Local 17 in 2012, officially beginning her journey as a union sheet metal worker. She’s worked in a range of positions since, including as a sub-foreman leading crews to complete specific building objectives on various projects. Today, as a business development representative, she strives to help workers win the pay, benefits and peace of mind they deserve.
“Beyond her workday, Sister Turner actively engages with community events and organizations, including the Greater Boston Labor Council, Building Pathways, MASS Girls in Trades, Boston Union Trade Sisters, The Boston Ujima Project and Boston While Black, emphasizing her broader community empowerment commitment,” Local 17 added.
Turner has also dedicated herself to mentorship, particularly to her sisters at Local 17 and throughout the union sheet metal trade. From apprentices to journeypersons, Local 17 noted, she actively works to help her fellow workers reach their fullest potential.
“Sister Turner’s career achievements, commitment to inclusivity, and dedication to mentoring make her a true Tradeswomen Hero,” the local concluded. “She is a role model and advocate for women in the trades, leaving a mark on the industry and paving the way for future generations of tradeswomen.”
On June 17, Local 17 (Boston, Mass.) Business Development Representative and SMART International Women’s Committee Chair Shamaiah Turner won the June NABTU Tradeswomen Heroes Award — a feather in the cap of a committed trade unionist who has consistently advocated for her union, her trade and her brothers and sisters.
“Shamaiah’s achievements and dedication to SMART are remarkable,” Local 17 wrote in its nomination. “Sister Turner’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity in the sheet metal industry shines throughout her career.”
Turner started in the construction industry at 18, when she worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer building houses with Habitat for Humanity in Fort Myers, Florida. After entering the Building Pathways Pre-apprenticeship Program in Boston, Turner joined Local 17 in 2012, officially beginning her journey as a union sheet metal worker. She’s worked in a range of positions since, including as a sub-foreman leading crews to complete specific building objectives on various projects. Today, as a business development representative, she strives to help workers win the pay, benefits and peace of mind they deserve.
“Beyond her workday, Sister Turner actively engages with community events and organizations, including the Greater Boston Labor Council, Building Pathways, MASS Girls in Trades, Boston Union Trade Sisters, The Boston Ujima Project and Boston While Black, emphasizing her broader community empowerment commitment,” Local 17 added.
Turner has also dedicated herself to mentorship, particularly to her sisters at Local 17 and throughout the union sheet metal trade. From apprentices to journeypersons, Local 17 noted, she actively works to help her fellow workers reach their fullest potential.
“Sister Turner’s career achievements, commitment to inclusivity, and dedication to mentoring make her a true Tradeswomen Hero,” the local concluded. “She is a role model and advocate for women in the trades, leaving a mark on the industry and paving the way for future generations of tradeswomen.”
SMART Northeast Regional Council President and General Vice President Robert Butler recently honored Local 17 (Boston, Mass.) member George Psaros for his 70 years of service to our union. Congratulations on this incredible achievement, Brother Psaros!
Local 17 (Boston, Mass.) members are preparing to begin work on one of the largest real estate projects in Boston history, as well as the largest-ever project labor agreement (PLA)-covered job in Massachusetts: the redevelopment of Suffolk Downs, a former horse racing site on the border of east Boston and neighboring Revere. The 20-year buildout is set to create pipelines to family-sustaining union careers for thousands of local community members, as well as construct affordable housing in the area.
According to the development firm heading the project, HYM Investment Group, “the redevelopment will transform 161 acres into a new resilient mixed-use neighborhood served by two stops on the MBTA Blue Line. Suffolk Downs will create 10,000 new units of housing to meet critical demand in the market, and will provide a mix of senior, workforce, family and young professional housing, including over 900 affordable units.”
And thanks to the PLA negotiated between HYM, its general contractor, John Moriarty & Associates and both the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and Boston’s Building and Construction Trades Council, the Suffolk Downs project will be completely union-built and create 14,000 jobs across every sector of the building trades.
The initial project phase will include approximately 1.39 million square feet of development consisting of the Phase 1 Project (520,000 square feet of corporate use and amenity space); three residential buildings; a portion of the townhomes proposed along Waldemar Avenue totaling over 800 housing units; and construction of the Horseshoe Pond landscaped wetland enhancements and Belle Isle Square public plaza, with over 100,000 square feet of ground floor retail.
“It will be a city within a city,” said SMART Northeast Regional Council Labor Management Representative John Cody. “The local community will benefit from new affordable housing and pathways to new careers, whether it be in retail, hospitality, bio life science or the Boston building trades unions. And for our current members of Local 17, we are starting from a blank canvas, so the many hours of work generated by this project will sustain the quality of life for the families of Local 17 and other trades.”
The power of a union-negotiated project labor agreement is on full display with the Suffolk Downs job: Labor, with the help of former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Mass. State Senator (former City Councilor) Lydia Edwards, worked hard to ensure strong equity and local hire requirements are included in the project’s short- and long-term future.
As part of the PLA, HYM committed to providing $2 million in investments to support employment pipelines that will help local residents enter family-sustaining, union careers, both during construction and as part of Suffolk Downs’ future workforce. That includes $1 million in new funding to support the Building Pathways pre-apprenticeship program, in which 90% of enrollees are people of color and 43% are women, and allows direct employment of graduates from Building Pathways.
“Having this PLA in place will help with the growth of the local,” Cody concluded. “Through community standards in place within the PLA, our involvement with various community groups in the area, our outreach to trade schools and career fairs in the city and even on the grounds of the project itself provided by the developer and our partnership with them throughout this whole process. We are hitting the streets and visiting workers, letting them know what a union is all about.”
SMART and the SMART Women’s Committee celebrated Women In Construction Week from March 5–11, 2023, putting a special focus on the life-changing careers in unionized sheet metal that are available to women across the United States and Canada. Along with two profile videos, SMART’s Women In Construction Week 2023 programming featured a kids art contest, a photo contest and a happy hour hosted by the Women’s Committee and SMART General President Joseph Sellers — including a video by Local 17’s (Boston, Mass.) Shamaiah Turner demonstrating how to make the 2023 happy hour drink, a tribute to trailblazing SMART sister and Director of Special Projects Louise Medina.
Women In Construction Week was founded by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), a group that started with just 16 women in 1953 and now has more than 115 chapters in 47 states. Launched in 1998, the national campaign for Women In Construction Week is held the first full week of March each year to highlight women’s vital contributions to the construction industry, increase the visibility of the many women serving as role models and educate the public about the opportunities that exist for women in the industry
Those opportunities were on full display in the SMART video profiles of Local 17 (Boston) sheet metal worker Adrian Mobley and fifth-year Local 17 apprentice Kerry Sampson — the first-ever female SMART sheet metal worker in Rhode Island.
Adrian Mobley
Mobley said her life changed when she entered the Building Pathways pre-apprenticeship program and met Shamaiah Turner. Mobley had previously worked as a nonunion nursing assistant, and she never had the financial security to move out of her parents’ house. Even worse, none of those companies provided her with health or dental benefits. That all changed, she noted, when she joined Local 17.
”I got into the union, and I stacked: saved money, saved, saved, and now I have a two-bedroom condo and I’m loving it. So I thank the union for that,” Mobley said.
“If a woman approached me right now wanting to get into sheet metal, I would tell her go for it,” she added. “If you see me doing it, you can do it. I saw another woman doing it, and I convinced myself I could do it.”
Kerry Sampson
Sampson echoed many of Mobley’s points. Before entering the Local 17 apprenticeship, she found a consistent, family-sustaining career hard to come by. Her hair dressing job, she said, didn’t pay very well but had some benefits; as a makeup artist, she made more money but had no benefits. Now, with the strong pay and benefits afforded by her union apprenticeship, she’s able to help her daughter go to nursing school, afford her own place and provide for her loved ones.
“I definitely have better work-life balance now that I’m in the union,” Sampson explained. “I make better Adrian Mobley Kerry Sampson money, I’m more comfortable, I have better benefits, I can do what I want to do with my free time. I love fishing; the first year of my apprenticeship I was able to buy a small aluminum boat, and now I own a 20-foot center console.”
SMART’s Women In Construction Week celebrations concluded with a virtual happy hour on the evening of Friday, March 11, during which the winners of the photo and kids art contests were announced, attendees played online games and trivia, and SMART sisters and allies shared in the camaraderie of union solidarity.
“Women In Construction Week gives us the opportunity to gather with sisters across North America, celebrate the many trailblazers in our industry, and spread awareness about the opportunities in our trade” said SMART Women’s Committee Chair Vanessa Carman. “We had another successful week in 2023, and we can’t wait for next year!”
Local 17 (Rhode Island) fifth-year apprentice Kerry Sampson “had no idea what sheet metal even was” when a friend suggested that she consider entering the trade. Sampson, who previously worked as a hairdresser and makeup artist, had taken an interest in welding as she looked to work in a more consistent and better-paying field.
“Then he explained that I didn’t need to have any experience whatsoever, that I would go through a five-year apprenticeship program – for free – while working and making money, and I decided to give it a shot,” Sampson recalled in a Woman In Construction Week profile video. Now, she added, she’s the first-ever female SMART sheet metal worker in Rhode Island.
SMART Local 17 member Kerry Sampson on her union sheet metal apprenticeship.
“I’ve learned quite a bit,” she explained. “I’ve learned CAD, I’ve learned drafting, I’ve learned welding, I’ve learned fabricating ductwork, measuring, and right now I’m learning testing and balancing.”
Like fellow Local 17 sister Adrian Mobley, the SMART video team accompanied Sampson through a day in her life as a union sheet metal apprentice, as she explained her schedule, discussed her journey in the trade and more. Sampson is currently working on a job at Providence College, cutting the exhaust into the bathrooms and the dorm rooms of a new residence hall.
“Depending on the job, I’ll be doing different things,” she told SMART. “Some jobs have a lot of welding, and I might be the ground person or the fire watch. Other jobs I would be installing the ductwork in the air. Some of the jobs I’m just the helper. [Either way] the day really flies by because you’re constantly learning and working.”
Before entering the Local 17 sheet metal apprenticeship, Sampson found a consistent, family-sustaining career hard to come by. Her hair dressing job, she said, didn’t pay very well but had some benefits; as a makeup artist, she made more money but had no benefits. Now, with the strong pay and benefits afforded by her union apprenticeship, she’s able to help her daughter go to nursing school, afford her own place and provide for her loved ones.
“I definitely have better work-life balance now that I’m in the union,” Sampson explained. “I make better money, I’m more comfortable, I have better benefits, I can do what I want to do with my free time. I love fishing; the first year of my apprenticeship I was able to buy a small aluminum boat, and now I own a 20-foot center console.”
Like Mobley’s profile, Sampson also discussed the mentorship she’s received at her local, her favorite parts of being a sheet metal worker, and the advice she would give a woman considering entering the trade. She also described her future plans – shadowing a testing and balancing worker for two years and getting her TAB license – and looked back on her Tradeswomen Build Nations 2022 experience.
“We marched around the [Las Vegas] strip chanting ‘wicked SMART, wicked SMART’” Sampson recalled near the conclusion of her video profile. “It was an invigorating, and empowering, and invincible feeling. It was a feeling of unity, support, togetherness and belonging.”
Local 17 (Boston) sheet metal worker Adrian Mobley took her time entering the trade. She originally attended college on a full-ride soccer scholarship; after leaving to take care of her father, she became a nursing assistant for nine years. But that all changed when she entered the Building Pathways pre-apprenticeship program and met Local 17’s Shamaiah Turner.
“She’s awesome. She is a great mentor,” Mobley explained during a Women In Construction Week 2023 video profile. “She came in and talked to my class, [and] just seeing her and how passionate she was – I was like, ‘you know what? I want to be like her. I can do that.’”
Women In Construction Week 2023 profile video on Local 17 member Adrian Mobley
The SMART video team followed Mobley through a typical workday, starting with her 5:40 a.m. commute and ending around 2:30 in the afternoon. She’s currently working on the South Station Terminal project in Boston, installing various pieces of duct. That project, she said, is indicative of what she enjoys about her sheet metal career.
“What I love about doing sheet metal is, honestly, driving past a building that I worked on and being proud, saying: Wow, I did that,” Mobley explained. “I love the welding aspect of it as well … putting the duct up, gunking, sealing, everything that comes with [sheet metal.] The camaraderie on the job … it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s different.”
She also pointed out the outsized impact that her union membership has made on her personal life. Mobley worked for several different agencies throughout her tenure as a nonunion nursing assistant, and she never had the financial security to move out of her parents’ house. Even worse, none of those companies provided her with health or dental benefits. That all changed, Mobley noted, when she joined Local 17.
“I got into the union, and I stacked: saved money, saved, saved, and now I have a two-bedroom condo and I’m loving it. So I thank the union for that,” she said.
Along with the benefits of her SMART membership and her favorite parts about sheet metal work, Mobley discussed her experience as an apprentice, Tradeswomen Build Nations 2018 and more. She concluded her profile with a word of advice to the SMART sheet metal sisters of tomorrow:
“If a woman approached me right now wanting to get into sheet metal, I would tell her go for it. If you see me doing it, you can do it. I saw another woman doing it, and I convinced myself I could do it.”
In December 2022, SMART appointed Robert L. Butler (SM Local 17) and Tim Miller (SM Local 33) as General Vice Presidents.
Butler has dedicated his entire career to SMART, starting with Local 17 in Boston. After entering the apprenticeship program at the Local 17 JATC in Dorchester, Mass. in 1986 and graduating into journeyperson status in 1991, Butler became a trustee of the Local 17 General Fund in 1997, and then was elected to the Local 17 Executive Board in 1999. Butler successfully ran for the positions of Local 17 JATC trustee and Local 17 business agent in 2000 and 2002, respectively; after serving as a business agent for 10 years, he was elected Local 17 business manager and vice president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO in 2012. Butler became a NEMIC trustee in 2017, and in 2020 he was elected as president of the Metro Association of Presidents. Since 2021, he has served as the president of the SMART Northeast Regional Council.
Tim Miller started his apprenticeship in 1985 with SM Local 65, which merged as part of Local 33 in 1988, and became a journeyperson in 1989. He was elected Local 33 business agent in the Cleveland District in 2003 and Local 33 business manager/president in 2019. He currently serves as chairman of the Local Pension and Annuity Funds, co-chairman of the ICB, recording secretary-treasurer of the Great Lakes State Council, and was appointed by Ohio Governor DeWine to Serve Ohio — the state’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism created to empower local communities to mobilize AmeriCorps members and volunteer resources for the purpose of building a stronger Ohio — in 2019.
Massachusetts, a state known for leading the way since the days of the American Revolution, is among those with the most women represented in the construction industry, at over triple the national average. To continue maintaining the state’s diverse path and role as a trendsetter, the Massachusetts building trades held a Women Build Boston Conference in early October, with over 700 attendees from across the state.
The conference was headlined by Governor-elect Maura Healy and U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, formerly the mayor of Boston and also a rank-and-file building trades union member. Both speakers emphasized the progress that has been made for women entering the trades; they also noted the work that must be done to make sure tradeswomen feel welcomed on the jobsite. That includes eradicating sexism in the workforce and expanding childcare during nontraditional work hours.
Local 17 (Boston) member Shamaiah Turner summarized the impact and importance of the conference when she remarked that “we are breaking barriers every day and constantly challenging the status quo so that women never again have to ask permission to be, do or have whatever they want.” SMART General President Joseph Sellers noted that “this conference” — like Tradeswomen Build Nations, held later in the month — “is a unique opportunity for our sisters to come together, share best practices and build the solidarity that will only strengthen the bonds between all of us.” He added: “I am proud to stand with them, today and every day, as we chart a path forward.”
