Local 312 Archives - SMART Union

Tom Perez, a senior White House adviser and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, spent March 22, 2024 with Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, highlighting local initiatives funded through the American Rescue Plan Act — including a county pre-apprenticeship program to promote apprenticeships and careers in the trades. As part of the day’s itinerary, SMART Local 312 (Salt Lake City, Utah) hosted a meeting with Perez and Wilson at the local’s JATC in West Valley City, where members are training up-and-coming sheet metal workers.

Salt Lake County’s pre-apprenticeship program is funded by $2.8 million from the American Rescue Plan, with the goal of helping 240 aspiring tradespeople become Utah’s next generation of union workers and build the future of our country

That bright future was on full display at the Local 312 JATC, as Perez and Wilson toured the training center and witnessed apprentices working on layout and project fabrication. Perez met with several members of Local 312, including Apprenticeship Coordinator Gordon Hyde, as well as Matt Brumbaugh and Derek Chapman, the JATC’s two fulltime instructors. Together, Hyde, Brumbaugh and Chapman have 64 years of teaching experience at the local, elevating it to the platinum status it has today.

Perez said he was proud of Wilson and other local leaders for investing in local workers.

“The most precious resource we have in any community is our human capital,” Perez said, telling the apprentices: “You are not only entering a great profession, but … a profession that has a brotherhood and a sisterhood that will always have your back.”

The meeting was attended by Local 312 Business Manager Tony Ericksen; Utah Women in the Trades President Concetta Defa; leaders from IBEW Local 354 and Iron Workers Local 27; and other members of the state AFL-CIO and the local building trades.

UFAB, a Salt Lake City-based fabrication shop, proudly describes its workforce as “union.” That’s because its SMART sheet metal workers have helped the company achieve outstanding growth over a relatively short period of time: doubling the size of its physical space, upgrading its equipment and expanding its workforce.

“Since August 24, 2018 — the day the company signed with Local 312 (Salt Lake City, Utah) — they have updated all their brakes and shears and all their fabrication equipment, with a state-of-the-art laser table,” said Local 312 Business Representative Cody Leamaster. “They have gone from a 100,000-square-feet building to 200,000 square feet.”

The birth of UFAB — which specializes in fabricating air handling units, as well as HVAC installation, maintenance and repair — started with the popularity of another area company, Unitech Manufacturing.

“An influx of orders at Unitech created workforce shortages, and the need arose for more skilled labor for the manufacturing of the company’s air handlers,” explained Leamaster. “So Chris Oberle, the owner of Midgley-Huber — which represents Unitech, at the time owned by Reed Rowland — reached out to Kevin Kuehn, who was in management at Cherrington’s Sheet Metal, a signatory contractor with Local 312.”

Assembly division, left to right: Francisco Medina, Taylor Duncan, Heather Hernandez

Kuehn, who knew first-hand the value of union craftsmanship, contacted Local 312 Business Manager Tony Ericksen, working out a deal to “loan” a handful of sheet metal workers to Unitech. It didn’t take long for the Local 312 members to make their presence felt; eventually, Kuehn encouraged Oberle to make the situation permanent by visiting the hall and signing with the union.

“Chris then created UFAB so he could become a signatory contractor; that way, he could have his own union workforce to manufacture and install air handler units,” Leamaster said.

UFAB signed with Local 312 in August 2018, and eventually, Oberle ended up purchasing Unitech in July 2021. Since then, the company’s rise has been meteoric: As of November 7, 2023, they are employing 57 building trades sheet metal workers and counting. (The company also signed with IBEW Local 354 in order to employ four building trades electricians.)

Field install crew, left to right: Jaime Ceja, Ryker Ault, Russ Kuehn, Cody Withers

The union sheet metal workers design, fabricate, manufacture, powder coat and assemble everything in house. And along with service, refrigeration and controls, the install crew actually journeys out into the field to perform installation work, making UFAB a truly full-service shop.

In all, both the signatory process and the shop’s success are a testament to the union advantage.

“Special recognition goes to the teamwork that helped make this happen: Kevin Kuehn, Tony Ericksen and Chris Oberle, along with the hard work of our Local 312 members and the apprenticeship training program,” Leamaster concluded.