Tag: Winter 2023-24

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Following the retirement of Bus Vice President Calvin Studivant and the passing of Transportation Division Vice President John Whitaker, Alvy Hughes and Jamie Modesitt have been appointed to the SMART General Executive Council as general vice presidents.

Alvy Hughes was born in 1972. Hughes attended Chowan College and served in the Army National Guard from 1990 to 1998, beginning his transportation career with Charlotte Transit in 1995.

As a member of Local 1596 in Charlotte, N.C., Hughes has served as local vice president, secretary of General Committee of Adjustment GO TMM and general chairperson of General Committee of Adjustment GO TMM. He has also served as vice chairperson of the Association of General Chairpersons — District 3. He was elevated to the Board of Appeals in 2009.

On Oct. 1, 2014, he was elevated to the office of Transportation Division alternate vice president — bus — East by the Transportation Division Board of Directors. Five years later, he was elected to the office of vice president — bus at the second SMART Transportation Division Convention in Las Vegas on August 11, 2019.

Hughes and his wife, Lisa, reside in Charlotte, N.C., with their three children and one grandchild.

Jamie C. Modesitt, a member of Local 298 in Garrett, Indiana, was born July 1, 1974. He attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, before beginning his railroad career with CSX Transportation on June 12, 2000. He holds the craft of conductor and engineer.

Modesitt was elected local chairperson of Local 298 in 2006, where he was responsible for serving approximately 200 members, and was re-elected by acclamation to that position in 2011. In 2011, Modesitt was elected secretary of CSXT/B&O General Committee GO 049 and was later elected by acclamation to a full-time position as 2nd vice general chairperson in 2012. He was later elected by acclamation to 1st vice general chairperson in 2014. Modesitt was elected general chairperson by acclamation in January 2018 and in January 2019 during the GO 049 Reconvening Meeting.

Modesitt served as delegate for Local 298 and attended UTU Conventions in 2007, 2011 and the first SMART-TD and General Conventions in 2014. He was selected by the board of directors to serve as the chairperson of the 2014 SMART-TD Constitution Committee. In addition, Modesitt was appointed an alternate member to the TD Executive Board by the board of directors on April 4, 2017, and was elevated to the Executive Board in January 2018.

Modesitt has served as general chairperson on one of the largest rail general committees in the country, representing thousands of members consisting of conductors, trainmen, yardmen, passenger conductors, passenger assistant conductors, hostlers, engineer trainees, engineers, trackmen, signalmen, carmen, machinists and locomotive electricians. He is considered an expert when it comes to Railway Labor Act (RLA) arbitration, with experience in well over 1,000 cases consisting of discipline cases and agreement rules, and has presented local chairperson workshops at SMART-TD Regional Meetings since 2015.

Modesitt was elected to the position of vice president by acclamation at the second SMART Transportation Division Convention, Aug. 11, 2019. He and his wife, Janelle, reside in Jacksonville, Florida.

Richard Mangelsdorf began his new position as SMART International instructor on November 1, 2023, taking the next step in his union career.

Mangelsdorf became a member of SMART Local 280 (Vancouver, B.C.) in 2001. He worked as a part-time instructor with the Sheet Metal Workers Training Centre from 2008 until 2015, mentoring sheet metal apprentices as he continued to work as a journeyperson. He was elected as a local union trustee in 2009 and a health benefit trustee in 2012. In 2015, Mangelsdorf became a business representative, serving in that position until he became Local 280 business manager/financial secretary-treasurer in 2021.

During National Apprenticeship Week — November 13–17, 2023 — the SMART Women’s Committee spotlighted apprentices from around the country.

Alejandro Moreno
Mathew Hunter
Stephen Halstead
Connor Tiernan
Jason Medeiros
Stacy Ironside
Roselyn Soto
Kacey Grierson
Monty Stovall

Kacey Grierson, third-year apprentice, Local 206 (San Diego, Calif.)

“Joining the apprenticeship was life changing. It offered me a career with several different opportunities for growth.”

Alejandro Moreno, fifth-year apprentice, Local 206

“Thank you to sheet metal and my Local 206 members. Sheet metal has given me a sense of accomplishment, fulfillment and joy. I am forever grateful to my teachers, mentors, foremen and every single person that has helped me grow and learn in the industry.”

Monty Stovall, recent graduate, Local 5 (East Tennessee)

“Going through the apprenticeship school helps you realize: ‘The amount of effort and work that I put into the program is what I’m going to get out of the program.’ Completing the program makes you feel proud that you have accomplished your goal. My goal is to be able to better provide for my family.”

Mathew Hunter, second-year apprentice, Local 20 (Indianapolis, Ind.); SMART Heroes Cohort 16 (Local 9, Colorado)

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my apprenticeship thus far, and I hope that the SMART Heroes program can continue to grow to bring more service men and women into the trade.”

Connor Tiernan, first-year apprentice, Local 17 (Boston, Mass.)

Connor started his career with a nonunion contractor and notices that with the union, people care more. Connor enjoys working with his hands but is also pursuing a degree in business management at Southern New Hampshire University. He has hopes of owning a company one day. When asked what advice he would give to other apprentices, Connor said: “This is a ridiculous opportunity! Push through!”

Jason Medeiros, first-year apprentice, Local 17

Jason previously worked for a residential nonunion contractor and says that with the union, the level of expectation is higher. Jason is a proud son to Portuguese immigrant parents and loves that he is able to provide for a family of three. He has hopes of becoming a foreman one day. When asked what advice he would give to other apprentices, Jason said: “Don’t let the bad days get you down, never say never, and Barry Ryan [his instructor] is the man.”

Stephen Halstead, first-year apprentice, Local 66 (Seattle, Wash.)

“I have never felt like I had a career until I joined the sheet metal apprenticeship. It has given me a purpose, a plan and a future.”

Stacy Ironside, second-year apprentice, Local 18 (Wisconsin)

“I am in the career and the trade that I was meant to be in.”

Roselyn Soto, second-year apprentice, Local 105 (Los Angeles, Calif.)

“I just started my career, so I am focused on putting in all the effort, dedication, and hard work to journey out and master my trade.”

More than 125 people rallied and marched in support of workers at Santa Ana Kingspan Light + Air on October 20, occupying an intersection in downtown Santa Ana, California, and unfurling a giant parachute banner that read “¡Kingspan Escucha!” as they called on the multi-billion-dollar building materials manufacturer to listen to workers’ concerns.

The rally was the latest in a series of actions Kingspan workers have taken in the face of workplace safety violations and alleged indoor air pollution.

In Santa Ana, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) fined Kingspan $21,785 in 2022 for 22 violations of the health and safety code — including five serious violations — after workers filed a complaint. Thanks to their courage, the workers won key safety provisions, including ventilator masks. But workers remain concerned that several of the violations the company abated last year are recurring.

In August 2021, Kingspan Santa Ana workers teamed up with University of California, Irvine professor and air pollution scientist Dr. Shahir Masri over a three-day period to document the levels of air pollution inside their factory. The results showed average levels of particulate matter that, if measured outdoors, would fall between “unhealthy” and “very unhealthy” on the Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality index.

“Management just kind of does whatever they feel they need to do to maybe stay compliant, but a lot of my coworkers still feel that the changes they’ve made aren’t actually beneficial to them.”

And in the same year, workers blew the whistle on Kingspan Santa Ana with the California Environmental Protection Agency, alleging the company was not adhering to parts of its pollution prevention program. In May 2023, Kingspan settled and paid $45,000 to the Santa Ana Water Board for “serious and chronic” violations of its General Permit for Storm Water Discharges associated with its industrial permit.

“Management just kind of does whatever they feel they need to do to maybe stay compliant, but a lot of my coworkers still feel that the changes they’ve made aren’t actually beneficial to them,” said Lucas Hernandez, a Kingspan Santa Ana field service tech, during the October 20 rally.

Workers are also standing together against alleged safety violations in Kingspan Insulated Panels’ Modesto plant. On September 6, 2023, seven Modesto Kingspan workers filed a complaint with Cal/OSHA, alleging exposure to insulation dust and hazardous chemicals, unsanitary conditions due to an indoor infestation of pigeons, a history of inadequate training for hazardous materials, and a lack of personal protective equipment, among other complaints. The workers painstakingly documented the alleged issues themselves, delivering a detailed complaint to OSHA and a signed copy to the plant manager following OSHA’s unannounced inspection.

“On one occasion, a chemical was spilled out. And the smell was very strong all over the department. I was actually having a headache, because it was so strong,” said Kingspan Modesto worker Celina Arellano, one of the signers of the Cal/OSHA complaint. “When a chemical is spilled out, they must evacuate us, because it’s very strong, and they didn’t do anything … they kept running the line.”

Arellano was fired the week after workers delivered a copy of their Cal/OSHA complaint to Kingspan management. SMART has filed unfair labor practice charges against Kingspan challenging her termination. Kingspan workers continue to lead the way as they advocate for the working conditions that they deserve.

“We want to be heard, and we want to hear from [Kingspan] that they’re going to support us, that they’re going to be behind us as a workforce,” said Kingspan Modesto worker Arturo Lopez during the October 20 Santa Ana rally. “I really hope Kingspan listens to its workers and decides to change.”

The massive Ford Blue Oval battery plant in Glendale, Kentucky, is a case study in how megaprojects are driving growth and sparking new organizing in the unionized sheet metal industry. Local 110 (Louisville, Kentucky) has nearly doubled in size since January 2023, bringing hundreds of previously unorganized workers into our union to meet unprecedented workforce demands.

“It’s been a very successful effort, from the organizing — planning and implementing our strategy — to the workers getting on site and doing the work,” said Local 110 Recording Secretary and Organizer Jeremy Waugh.

“You’re going to have generations of sheet metal workers that come out of [this project], and they’re spreading the word,” added Local 110 Organizer Anthony Adams. “This area will become very union strong.”

Once construction at Blue Oval is complete, the 1,500-acre battery park will be the largest in the world, consisting of two electric vehicle battery production plants and eventually employing thousands of workers. Local 110 members are currently installing roughly 37 miles of duct in the buildings — along with performing testing and balancing and architectural sheet metal work.

It’s a truly enormous job, explained site Superintendent and Local 110 member Ryan Mc Donaugh of Poynter Sheet Metal, who called it “the Super Bowl of sheet metal.” Poynter Sheet Metal Senior Project Manager and Local 110 member Andy Wright agreed.

“To me, it looks like this is part of the next industrial revolution,” he said.

Unions are working overtime to make sure this new industrial revolution is one that benefits workers, not just the CEOs of multinational corporations. That’s especially important in a right-to-work state like Kentucky, where organized labor has to beat back decades of misinformation about the union difference. From the moment Blue Oval was announced, Waugh said, the local treated staffing the project as an organizing drive, focused on strengthening the local and changing the lives of workers in the Bluegrass State.

So far, those efforts have been successful.

“I went nonunion right out of high school, so I was starting dirt cheap, no money at all,” recalled Local 110 journeyperson Chase Taylor. “The pay scale out here [in the union] is about double what I made at my old job.”

Taylor’s experience of joining the union and gaining a life-changing pay increase is one that the local hopes to extend to working people across Kentucky, Adams said, especially those from marginalized and underrepresented groups who may not have had access to good, union careers in the past.

“It’s prime time for us, in this state, to spread the word of what it means to be in a union, and what that gets you,” Waugh concluded.

Following a chance social media interaction, SMART Local 46 (Rochester, N.Y.) apprentices are helping provide the gift of mobility to hundreds of children across the world, according to WNYLaborToday.com — showcasing both the values and the craftsmanship of union labor.

Bellas Bumpas Limited is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization run by husband-and-wife team Marty Parzynski and Rebecca Orr that provides free, hand-crafted mobile chairs for children with physical disabilities. The charity’s mission, WNYLaborToday reports, is to not only help children gain “the mobility that has eluded them, but provide them with the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities that many children and their families take for granted.”

Local 46 Training Director Allen Mort
Mort with Parzynski and Orr

A crucial part of the wheelchairs, Local 46 Training Director Allen Mort told WNYLaborToday, is a metal axle that needs to be cut precisely to length, with holes drilled on either end to attach the wheels to each side of the chair. That’s where the union sheet metal apprentices entered the equation.

“[The charity] was looking for help with constructing wheelchairs and they needed metal pieces [to attach the wheels]. I called them to inquire about what they needed,” Mort — who originally saw Bellas Bumpas’ call for assistance on a neighborhood app — told WNYLaborToday.

“Their apprentices’ help takes a lot off my shoulders,” Parzynski said in the same article. “It gives me more time to work on other parts.”

“[Local 46’s apprentices] are helping disabled kids,” he continued. “Families who have a disabled kid have tears in their eyes, because they’ve never gotten anything like this. There was nowhere else to go [to get the metal axle made], and we couldn’t do anything without them. Then [Local 46] stepped in. It’s an absolute godsend.”

In addition to its donation of union labor, Local 46 helped spearhead a wave of financial assistance. Following the apprentices’ work, the Rochester Building & Construction Trades Council donated $16,000 to Bellas Bumpas, and Local 46 contributed another $1,000.

“When [the apprentices] learn that it’s so meaningful, you can see it in their faces,” Local 46 Business Manager Troy Milne explained to WNYLaborToday. “They take a bit of extra time because they know where it’s going. … They care.”

“I’m proud of them, as well as our entire membership, to give back to our community. We’re not just tin-knockers,” he added.

Cape Breton Island lies in the northeast quadrant of Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada. For centuries, the island was inhabited by people of the Mi’kmaq First Nation, who call the island Unama’ki. Their traditional lifestyle centered around hunting and fishing due to the rough and rocky landscape, which produced unfavourable agricultural conditions on land.

It was not until the 1520s that the local Mi’kmaq peoples began trading with European fishermen, starting when Portuguese settlers landed in Cape Breton.

The centuries since have seen First Nations people in Canada suffer greatly, first at the hands of European settlers, then Canadian governments. But the five bands on Cape Breton — the We’koqma’q, Wagmatcook, Membertou, Eskasoni and Chapel Island First Nations — still call the island home. And today, Sheet Metal Workers and Roofers Local 56 has forged a unique partnership with First Nations bands across Cape Breton Island, helping provide life-changing union careers while expanding the scope of the unionized sheet metal industry.

This fast-growing local, established in 1966, today represents 140 sheet metal workers and roofers.

“We are very proud of the direction we’re going,” said former Local 56 Business Manager/Financial Secretary-Treasurer (now International Representative) Jack Wall.

Back in 2020, Wall approached the Nova Scotian government on behalf of Local 56 and as the head of the local building trades to cement their partnership with local bands and ensure First Nations representation on every publicly funded jobsite in the area. This partnership, formed in an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding, is one which Wall and local band leaders value for the mutual benefits it has accorded to Cape Breton residents.

“Our relationship with Local 56 opens up opportunities for band members,” said Steve Parsons, CEO of corporate services and economic development for the Eskasoni First Nations band. “This provides them with an opportunity, where before there would have been a reluctance to join.”

“It has been working,” he added. “They’re getting jobs with local subcontractors both on and off the reserve.”

While doubling down on the effort to extend the opportunity of a middle-class union career to every person on Cape Breton, Wall also said the local has made dramatic progress in expanding the number of women in Local 56. Previously, he said, “Local 56 had one woman member in our local for the span of 15 years.” The lack of representation led Local 56 to renew its efforts and partner with groups such as Women Unlimited to spread awareness of the trade to area women.

Now, according to Donald Phillipo, Local 56 business manager/financial secretary-treasurer, “we have more women in our membership than at any other time. We have numerous woman sheet metal workers and architectural sheet metal workers.” He also noted that “we now have our first woman roofer, who also serves as a jobsite steward.”

The impressive growth of Local 56 signifies just how important it is for SMART to commit fully to the principles of the labor movement; to strive to bring all workers into our union, for the benefit of everyone.

“In five years, I think all these new members are going to take the reins and become the leaders of our local and our industry here on Cape Breton Island,” Phillipo concluded. “The sky is the limit!”

From September 12–14, during the Ontario Sheet Metal Workers’ and Roofers’ Conference, apprentices from nine different local unions gathered in Peterborough, Ontario, for the 50th annual Ontario Sheet Metal Workers Apprenticeship Competition. The challenge? Building copper replicas of the iconic Peterborough Lift Lock.

“It’s a great opportunity to get some new skills and meet some new people, and it’s a lot of fun,” said Local 537 (Hamilton, Ontario) apprentice Mackenzie Johnston.

Along with the conference and apprenticeship competition, SMART Army Canada was out in force: Dozens of members took to the streets for a cleanup of the Otonabee River and nearby Millennium Park, helping preserve Canada’s natural beauty and public spaces for the local community.

APPRENTICESHIP COMPETITION WINNERS:

  • First place: Kevin Berkmortel, Local 473 (London, Ontario)
  • Second place: Jamie Weir, Local 30 (Toronto, Ontario)
  • Third place: Aaron Woolley, Local 397 (Thunder Bay, Ontario)
  • Fourth place: Jacob Wiebe, Local 235 (Windsor, Ontario)
  • Fifth place: Austin Ducedre, Local 235 (Windsor, Ontario)
  • Congeniality award: Antonio Iezzi, Local 30 (Toronto, Ontario)

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
Field install crew, left to right: Cory Brown, Jason Morton, Brandon Withers, Matt Harmon, John Norris
Weld division, left to right: Ashley Bouse, Brittany Vu, Sergio Rodriguez, Ricky Martinez, Evan Henderson, Uriel Carlos, Isaac Rigby

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
Engineering department, left to right: Dixie Person, Blake Seare, Duke Madsen, Jeris Oberle, Corbin Hager, Scott Black, Lisa Rowland

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.