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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!

SMART Local 285 (Toronto, Ontario) member Samara Samp­son won the March 2024 NABTU Tradeswomen Heroes Award — an acknowledgement of her dedication to her craft, her union and her active practice of labor solidarity.

“Samara’s unwavering commitment to her career, tireless efforts to empower women in the trades and remarkable contributions to the community make her an exceptional candidate for this prestigious recognition,” Local 285 wrote in its letter nominating Sampson for the award.

Sampson’s sheet metal career began when she enrolled in the Welding and Fabrication Techniques program at Algonquin College, from which she graduated in 2015. She joined Local 285 in 2016, and having swiftly realized the benefits of her union membership, she actively promoted SMART, the value of union apprenticeships and other sisters in the trades. Sampson spent the bulk of her apprenticeship performing HVAC instal­lations in new developments and custom home projects.

After earning journeyperson status in 2021, Sampson was appointed to the SMART International Women’s Committee in 2022, becoming the president of the Local 285 Women’s Committee later that year. And with the support of her local, she has been a steadfast ambassador for the union sheet metal industry, speaking to various organizations and groups about her experience as an apprentice and the value of a career in the trades.

In 2022, Sampson co-founded the nonprofit Women on Site, an organization aimed at connecting otherwise isolated women in the trades, manufacturing and STEM industries. As the local wrote in its nomination, Women on Site is yet more proof of her resolve to uplift working women across Canada:

“Sister Sampson is driven by a profound passion for advocating for equity and inclusion, not only within SMART but also on jobsites and within the wider community. She envisions a future where the trades are a welcoming environment for everyone, and she actively works toward this goal. Samara’s determination, instilled in her by her trade and mentors, shines through in her commitment to finding solutions and getting the job done.”

SMART-TD Local 1785 (Santa Monica, Calif.) General Chair Markeisha Haynes has wit­nessed firsthand what bus operators face on the job —from the everyday challenges of skillfully driving a 30-to-60-foot vehicle to the shocking rise in assaults on transit operators in recent years. Now, as a recently appointed Bus Department alternate vice president, Haynes and fellow transit leaders across the country are working to make sure unions and workers have a say in formulating real solutions to the vio­lence facing SMART-TD members.

“Properties or transit agencies should involve the union,” Haynes said. “Most of the decisions, as far as where to go when it comes to assaults, are made within the [employer], and the unions are not being asked to join those conversa­tions. To really understand where an operator is coming from, the union needs to be involved.”

Haynes, a 17-year motor coach operator for the Big Blue Bus in Santa Monica, took her first step towards union representation as a member of her local’s safety and training department, helping teach new hires the tools of the trade and working to make sure safety came first on the road. The urge to help others came from a natural affinity for community with her fellow members and a drive to better the lives of transit workers in the area 29

— and soon, Haynes was running for local union office, winning election as local chairperson of LCA-SMB and the first female general chairperson of GCA-SMB in November 2021.

Such milestones came with difficulties. Haynes encountered some members who didn’t see the general chairperson’s title as one that a woman could hold, initially refusing to give her the respect she deserved.

“I just stayed persistent,” Haynes recalled. “I knew what my ultimate goal was, and that was to bring a difference in our local and to show that women, we can do this, too.”

“At the end of the day, it’s about the membership and the member­ship only,” she added. “I always remember that: Before I hold any position, I’m an operator first.”

Haynes, third from right.

Haynes’ determination paid off for the members of Local 1785 during recent contract negotia­tions. After years of 3% raises, the local’s negotiating team won a 13% pay increase for members in 2021, along with a compensation study in the memorandum of under­standing that required the city of Santa Monica to compare pay rates with other local agencies. With the data from the compensation study, Haynes and Local 1785 were able to add an additional 5% pay bump on top of the original 13%, amounting to an 18% raise over three years.

Of course, pay is only part of what members are seeking on the job — in public transportation, safety and workplace protections are crucial and have become an even higher priority as attacks on transit operators continue to make headlines nationwide. SMART-TD is doing vital work to influence legislation and raise awareness about the epidemic of violence against transportation workers, Haynes said. Moving forward, employers need to ensure unions are involved when it comes to member well-being — preventing attacks and ensuring adequate resources in the event of an assault.

“There’s nothing there for us, as operators, to even take time to grasp what just happened to you, first, and number two, to see if you even have the strength or the mental capability to do it all over again,” Haynes said. “It definitely needs to be addressed, as far as mental health is concerned.”

A first-ever exclusive training session for bus and transit officers in March 2024 demonstrates SMART-TD’s wholesale commitment to our transit workers; something Haynes said is crucial for winning the protec­tions that members need.

“The training has been amazing,” she concluded. “SMART is and has been very geared towards training, making sure information is distrib­uted so we, as general chairs or local chairs, are effective in the jobs that we are doing.”

In 2020, Randy Franklin, a member of SMART-TD Local 656 in North Little Rock, Arkansas, took his call to work from Union Pacific like he had been doing every day as a conductor for the prior 20 years. Brother Franklin was hauling freight on a train between Arkansas and Texas when, due to faulty wiring, his truck caught fire and needed the local fire department’s help.

Brother Franklin’s troubles were just beginning.

While fighting the fire in the Union Pacific parking lot, emergency responders and UP management discovered Brother Franklin’s handgun secured within the vehicle.

His pistol was properly registered with the state and safely stored in his locked truck.

UP promptly deadheaded Franklin back to Little Rock, fired him, and had him escorted off their property.

Despite what the Arkansas Supreme Court would later describe as Randy’s “Perfect work history” and the locked truck, the carrier insisted they could fire Brother Franklin for bringing firearms onto their property.

Carrier denies firearm rights

Franklin decided to challenge the carrier’s decision and reached out to his union officers.

Local 656 Chairperson Mike Pawelko and SMART-TD Arkansas State Legislative Director Gerald Sale recognized that this case had wide implications. Not just the state’s ability to protect Franklin’s rights legislatively as an employee, but also his Second Amendment rights protected by the U.S. Constitution were at stake.

“Mike is one of our most seasoned LCs and was a great partner on this case,” Sale said. “We built a foundation in the initial investigation to support arbitration and legislation.” 

After Sale helped to lay the groundwork for a potential legislative solution in the initial investigation, General Chairperson Joey Cornelius and Pawelko took the issue to arbitration.

Not unexpectedly, Franklin had a setback in the arbitration hearing. The team appealed the ruling. Then, as planned, the union took its case to the Arkansas Legislature.

“(They) were tenacious and left no stone unturned,” said Franklin.

SMART-TD progresses a new gun law in Arkansas successfully

As the fight progressed, Franklin found himself out of service for more than a year.

Franklin and Sale successfully created a bill that gave all residents of Arkansas an explicit right to have a properly registered and stored firearm in their locked vehicle, despite any policy their employer may have.

State Rep. Justin Gonzales and Sen. Alan Clark co-sponsored S.B. 555.   Excerpts and quotes from Franklin’s arbitration and appeal were quoted on the House floor. Their struggle with Union Pacific was used to explain why passing the bill was necessary and urgent.

“Both sponsored the bill in each respective chamber and stood by Randy and our organization throughout the process,” Sale said.

The bill passed with unanimous support with both Democrats and Republicans coming together. Franklin’s bill, Act 809, was then signed into law on April 22, 2021, by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Hutchinson also sent a letter in support of Franklin’s employment being reinstated after he was targeted by UP’s unfair policy.

Union Pacific ignores the law

This would have been the end — if a railroad hadn’t been involved. UP refused to accept that it was wrong.

When the new law went into effect, Franklin’s lawyer, W. Whitfield Hyman from Fort Smith, Arkansas, formally informed Union Pacific that Franklin would not be fired for exercising his newly reaffirmed right and should be back on the job.

UP didn’t care what the state said and said they stood by their company policy. UP then filed a lawsuit in federal court to officially ignore the law written explicitly as a response to their treatment of Franklin, still out of work with his pension in jeopardy.

“They were basically spitting in the face of the state Constitution,” Sale said.

Supreme Court shoots down UP

Franklin and his attorney had come too far to roll over and give up. They took Franklin’s case all the way to the state Supreme Court, which ruled against Union Pacific.

A lifelong member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Franklin tried repeatedly to reach out to them for support after he was fired. The NRA did not have his back when needed. He also contacted the Gun Owners of American (GOA). They had no interest in aiding his efforts.

SMART-TD, literally and figuratively, did. When the chips were down, and his rights were being taken from him, the union had his back.

Franklin also is back on the job, and though he has not yet been compensated by the carrier for the time missed, the expectations are that there will be a settlement at some point for the clear violation of his rights.

‘This union never leaves one of its own hanging out to dry’

SMART-TD would like to recognize Brothers Franklin and Pawelko, the officers of Local 656, Joey Cornelius, general chairperson of GCA-569, SLD Gerald Sale and attorney Hyman for their accomplishment. They represent the fighting spirit and solidarity of our union, and our shared commitment that every member in every local deserves respect, justice, and fair treatment under the law. When we stand together and stay focused on the fight, we win.

Sale emphasized the degree of collaboration and unity it took from Local Chairperson Pawelko and GC Cornelius, as well as Franklin’s determination to stand up to the carrier.

“As a state director, I’m proud to have the type of relationship with all of the local chairs across the state where we all take the all-hands-on-deck approach,” Sale said. “This was a case of everyone from the local office to my office and the general chairperson’s office working together to get Randy back to work and run pro-worker, pro-Second Amendment legislation to support his case.” 

Franklin expressed great appreciation for the union’s efforts to resolve the matter.

“Gerald (SLD Sale) was there for me and my family when we needed him. I never thought I would be in a situation where the career I had built for 20 years and the retirement my family was counting on was taken away from me like this,” Franklin said. “Everybody knows the union represents us when we have a hearing and will put in an appeal for us. I had no idea how committed these guys were to making sure I was OK, and my rights weren’t taken from me.

“Nobody ever goes to work expecting their round trip to end in pushing legislation through the state House and fighting the bosses all the way to the Supreme Court. It’s good to know that when things get weird out here, this union never leaves one of its own hanging out to dry.”

For nearly two decades, sheet metal professionals have encouraged public and private entities to inspect fire and smoke dampers, to maintain they’re in working order based on design guidelines. Dampers save lives, and when they’re misused, broken or compromised in any way, they can no longer perform their function — allowing building occupants to get out of danger and helping first responders enter to gain control.

In the last year, the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA) and local sheet metal unions and training centers across the country came together to educate fire professionals — from firefighters to captains, fire marshals and fire inspectors — on the updated city, state and regional fire codes, how dampers work and obstacles to look for, and who to call with questions.

Sheet metal professionals share their industry knowledge with fire professionals in order to save lives. And in the process, they create a bridge where information can flow, said Josh Hunter, NEMI southeastern field representative.

“We want to garner relationships with the fire marshals, fire inspectors and also with the contractors,” he said. “We invited officials with the local [union] in the area, too, so they know there is a resource in their area they can call. We try to get everyone on board and networked together.”

By the end of 2023, the fire life safety and smoke control systems presentation had been held in cooperation with the union and training sides of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) workers, including Local 104 in Northern California; Local 28 in New York; Local 88 in Las Vegas; Local 85 near Atlanta; Local 16 in Portland, Oregon; Local 105 in Southern California and Local 10 in Minnesota.

“We’re trying to get more involved in making sure the fire dampers are being inspected regularly as they’re supposed to be,” said Steve Langley, business manager of Local 85.

“We cover the whole state of Georgia and three counties in Alabama,” added Schuyler Worthey, Local 85 business agent and former testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) and fire life safety technician. “So, it’s very important for Local 85 to stay in contact with them. My line is always open to them to contact me.”

Most of the classes have included two sections: inspection and demonstration. In many cities, fire professionals are invited to get up close with working and non-working dampers, provided by the local or regional area, and experience stairway pressurization and/or smoke control systems through demonstration units. Fire professionals also are given the newest edition of the SMACNA manual.

Sharing information is key to saving lives and ensuring buildings are safe.

“It’s an awareness,” said Kenneth Boskett, TAB and fire life safety instructor for Local 88. “These are fire professionals. They know what they’re doing. There’s a curtain that divides what we input into fire life safety and what they know about what we put into fire life safety. When they’re made aware, they can start making considerations.”

“It’s about creating the relationships with the inspectors and educating them on what we do,” said Dion Abril, executive administrator of the Western States Council, which brings unions and contractors together. “We also provide them with the tools and the knowledge to ask contractors during the inspections the correct questions and to understand what the process was for the inspection, the maintenance. We’re helping them gain the tools they need to enforce what is already in the fire code.”

At Sheet Metal Workers Local 104 Bay Area Industry Training Fund, fire professionals witnessed damper failure and experienced various air pressure differentials due to a simulator on site.

“They’re used to what normal is in the correct building, but when things go wrong, they don’t have that experience of how failures change things,” said Pat Pico, training coordinator at Local 104 and Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB) Hall of Fame member. “We were able to show them different types of failures for fire-smoke damper components, failures we see out in the field, and components that are not regularly tested.”

Feedback from fire professionals at all locations has been overwhelmingly positive, and the communications lines have opened. Some of the classes were requested through NEMI based on the previous presentation’s success, Hunter said.

“When I get out in front of these fire professionals, I’m throwing a lot of information at them, but as they look at the dampers, roll them around in their hands, open and close them, you see we are giving them information they can really use,” said Chris Ruch, NEMI director of education.

“The collaboration with NFPA and SMACNA has been invaluable. NFPA can provide regional, state and city code updates and information. SMACNA introduces them to the correct installation, so they not only know what they’re looking at, they have the literature to refer back to. And the locals and contractors give them local ties to call when they have a question and a training center to visit for more information.”

“There are a lot of agencies that refer to the NFPA standards for their state or city fire codes. It’s a big deal to have them working with us,” Hunter added. “They’re known across the United States. They are a source for states to develop code.”

More presentations are on deck for 2024, to be held in training facilities, where applicable, and NEMI is working on getting the fire life safety and smoke control systems presentation included in firefighter academy trainings. Connecting local fire professionals to local fire life safety professionals and their training facilities is important to keep the flow of information open and continuing ongoing training, Hunter said.

“We’d like to hold the classes at training facilities,” he said. “It builds the fire inspectors and marshals’ confidence in the certification the [SMART] members hold.”

As part of Women in Construction Week 2024, the SMART Women’s Committee called on union members to take part in a day of community service during the month of March, demonstrating the power of solidarity and spreading the word about the union sheet metal trade. And from coast to coast, SMART sisters answered the call.

Local 206 (San Diego) members, Building Trades Sisters, tradeswomen and allies taught an APR class at Southwestern College some hands-on skills making tissue boxes and picture frames!

Local 206 members pictured: Annet Del Rosario, Tatjana Sebro, Demetria Gamble, Kacey Grierson and Belen Martinez.

Local 63 (Springfield, Mass.) volunteered at Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen in Chicopee on March 29, 2024. From left to right: Brandie Benoit, Rebecca Sturtevant, Deb St. Peter and Rachel Murphy.

Local 2 (Kansas City) sisters celebrated Women in Construction Week by performing repairs at a local Youth Resilience Center, showing the meaning of union solidarity and the fulfilling careers available in our trade.

On March 16th, for their 2024 Women in Construction Week Service Project, Local 17’s Women’s Committee, the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston and Girls at Work worked with 15 young women aged 8–18 and their Big Sisters to build picnic tables for organizations in the Boston area. Volunteers included seven SMART sisters, one husband and five other tradeswomen from the Electricians, Elevator Constructors, Plumbers and Carpenters unions.

“At the end of the day, we raised $11,830 from individual donors, contractors and unions,” said Local 17 Business Development Rep. Shamaiah Turner. “We built six picnic tables. Three tables were donated to the Brookview House, which is a charity focused on getting homeless women and children stabilized. Three tables were also donated to Boston elementary schools that work with the United Way. One of the successes of the day was working with a 14-year-old who is a freshman at a vocational school. She was thinking of doing a criminal justice or nursing track. At the end of the project, she stated that she was going to also consider metal fabrication.”

The SMART Education Department held its Organizing II class in Chicago, Ill., during the week of May 13th. Organizing II focuses on strategic research and application and dives deeper into the strategies and tactics learned in Organizing I, such as salting, voluntary/internal organizing committees, and top-down, bottom-up and pressure campaigns.

Throughout the department’s three-class organizing sequence, participants develop, revise and initiate an organizing plan in consultation with their business managers. In Chicago, participants worked together to research their companies and began putting together detailed organizing plans focused specifically on their selected companies. Each of the 26 attendees presented the research they found on their companies and the organizing strategies they plan to implement. They were also the first group to receive the new Herrmann Whole Brain assessment and training to help them understand how the way people think can impact their success as organizers.

“A special thank you to the SMART Strategic Campaigns Department for supplying research materials for each participant for their selected companies,” said SMART International Instructor Richard Mangelsdorf.

Attendees will continue their work in December in Organizing III, where they will explore the final component for their organizing plans: how to effectively impact their selected companies through partnerships with community, political and economic organizations.

The SMART MAP mental health sessions have been evolving since they began more than a decade ago to combat the high suicide and substance use disorder rates among construction workers. Participants in the class become SMART MAP mentors, as they learn to be mental health first responders, peer counselors able to lend a listening ear and guide SMART members to local resources.

The three-day session offers theoretical as well as practical knowledge and the basic skills necessary for crisis intervention. SMART MAP general mental health sessions provide information about substance abuse disorder and relapse, motivational interviewing, confidentiality and ethics, legal issues, marijuana, health insurance and treatment center options, suicide prevention, aftercare programs and how to change the culture of the union and help end the stigma of addiction and other mental health issues.

While Canadian brothers and sisters have been included in SMART MAP sessions in the past, due to the pandemic, a session hadn’t made its way north since 2018. With some help from Patricia Pike, a Canadian-American dual citizen and CEO and founder CanAm Interventions, the SMART MAP session held in Toronto March 26-28 provided a tailored presentation.

“Since we’ve been doing education and training through SMART MAP the last 10 years or so, we’ve had Canadian members attend regular SMART MAP sessions,” said Chris Carlough, SMOHIT SMART MAP coordinator. “It’s not brand new, but the program we delivered this time was specifically designed for Canada.”

The key to a successful SMART MAP mental health session is a group of participants willing to share their experiences and engage with the speakers. The class was full with a long waitlist within 18 hours of the registration opening. Due to the need, SMOHIT allowed 57 members to attend the course, nearly double the size of a normal session.

Typically, having more than 25-30 participants takes away from the course’s intimacy and engagement. Not this time, said Jeff Bradley, SMOHIT program director.

“It was like a bunch of buddies going out together and talking,” he said. “It was cool.”

“We’ve had sessions before when you’re trying to pull out words, experiences, thoughts out of the attendees, but Canada wasn’t like that,” added Carlough. “It was a raucous event for three days.”

SMART MAP mental health sessions are typically held for local leadership, and the SMART MAP team also presents a peer-to-peer session for rank-and-file members. In July, the team returned to Toronto to impart skills and mental health knowledge to members of Local 285.

“We are doing peer training throughout North America, and we will be present in Canada in 2024,” Carlough said.

The combination of mental health sessions for leadership and peer-to-peer trainings for rank-and-file members helps bring awareness of mental health and substance use disorder to the entire local, from the top down, Carlough said.

“In the mental health trainings, we’re talking to people in the room directly,” Carlough said. “But we’re also talking about the people who they’re going to go back and help in their local unions.”

The success of the session is measured in the knowledge and skills gained and how members use that knowledge to help one another. During this session, members developed the confidence to talk about difficult subjects, see different perspectives on addiction, and understand the true definition of self-care and useful statistics, according to post-event evaluations.

“We can put this gained knowledge to use immediately,” one member said.

Another added, “Everything covered during this session has been well worth it, and I want to thank the team for all the work you do and help that was given to me.”

For additional information about future SMART MAP sessions, visit the SMOHIT website at www.smohit.org/smart-map.

For the first time in its more-than-50-year history, the International Training Institute (ITI) has hired a full-time curriculum writer on staff, Mark Colone.

The Pennsylvania native comes to the ITI after a long history of working with the union training fund on curriculum projects for more than 20 years. Colone was hired by MetaMedia Training International Inc., where he was instrumental in the development of the ITI’s curriculum library, including Core, architectural, welding, indoor air quality technician, fire life safety and testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB). He worked for the company for 16 years, first as an instructional designer and then as a senior instructional designer.

Colone and his team’s work on the Core curriculum was honored with CINE Golden Eagle, Bronze Telly and Grand Telly awards. He also has experience working on curricula and multimedia-based programs for other organizations including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), NASA, the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), among others.

“I’m glad we were able to bring curriculum writing directly in house,” said Mike Harris, ITI administrator. “Mark worked closely with us before, but now, as part of the team, he can really help the ITI update its current curricula as well as help construct the future training materials apprentices will need to become successful sheet metal workers. It’s great to have him officially as part of the ITI staff.”

Joe Pickens officially joined NEMI as a field staff representative for the Midwest region on April 1. In this role, he serves as a liaison for local unions and members of SMART, helping identify solutions and opportunities in the market.

The Virginia resident entered the apprenticeship at SMART Local 100 in the Washington, DC, area in 2008. He graduated first in his class, also receiving a perfect attendance award for the five-year program. From the start of his career through 2021, Pickens worked for ADJ Sheet Metal. During his time there, the company tripled in size to more than 300 employees, and Pickens gained experience in many different areas of the industry.

This experience led to Pickens teaching a variety of courses at his local union’s training center, and in 2023 he was named training coordinator. Pickens became a general fund trustee in 2022, working with the business manager to oversee various funds and ensure accounts are in good standing at Local 100, where he is still a dues-paying member. He holds over a dozen industry certifications and has participated in extensive instructor training from the International Training Institute (ITI), the education arm of the unionized sheet metal, air conditioning and welding industry, over the years.

Congratulations, Brother Pickens!