Third SMART General Convention recap: Friday, Aug. 16

Delegates, leaders recognize SMART Army award-winners

On Friday, delegates and recently elected leaders paid tribute to the winners of the 2024 Joseph J. Nigro SMART Army Service Award: SMART Local 85 (Atlanta, Ga.) Apprentice Dee Lee and the late Sam Nasca, former SMART-TD New York state legislative director.

The first Joseph J. Nigro awards were given at the 2019 SMART General Convention. The tradition has flourished since, recognizing SMART members who devote themselves to the principles of service, solidarity and unionism.

It’s hard to think of someone who embodied those principles more than Nasca, whose long life and even longer list of achievements read like a laundry list of labor accomplishments. Nasca’s award was accepted on his behalf by New York State Legislative Director Luke Deleskiewicz.

Preceding his death in February 2024, Brother Nasca (TD Local 318, Hornell, N.Y.) was an active part of the rail labor movement for 64 years. From the day he hired onto the Erie Railroad in 1959, Nasca was involved in donating to PAC to effect a positive change in the lives of his brothers and sisters. His passion for this cause and his political activism guided his long life dedicated to protecting these same people — the members.

“Throughout my training, there was one constant source of guidance, wisdom and support, and that was my friend Sam Nasca,” Deleskiewicz said.

Sam was an engaged leader through a lot of history in this union. As a frame of reference that freight rail members will appreciate, Brother Nasca’s employee ID number was 83!

His efforts to champion fair treatment of bus, freight and passenger rail members in his state are legendary; however, his legacy goes far beyond the borders of New York. In Sam’s 32 years as legislative director, he shared his knowledge and passion for creating positive change with multiple generations of leaders. His experience and institutional memory molded the success of many UTU/SMART-TD leaders. The achievements of legislation and movements all around the United States were built on the bedrock provided by Brother Nasca.

“For those of you who knew him, I think you’d agree he’s an absolute legend,” Deleskiewicz concluded. “I’m extremely honored and humbled to accept this award on his behalf.”

The sheet metal Nigro award-winner, Dee Lee, only recently started her career in the trade — but she has already demonstrated a commitment to the values of our union that all of us should aspire to.

Lee first got involved in her union via the Local 85 Women’s Committee in January 2023, slowly increasing her participation under the mentorship of Local 85 President Jan Chappell. Her motivation to serve her union and her community only grew later in the year, when she attended the 2023 Tradeswomen Build Nations conference in Washington, DC. After participating in the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) all-tradeswomen hike, she returned to Atlanta determined to unite the area building trades around a community service project.

The result? One of the largest cross-trade events in Atlanta labor history, a “Unions Unite” day of service in collaboration with the USA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After recruiting 30 volunteers and raising $70,000, Lee and her crew helped replace an aging boat dock at Lake Allatoona in Atlanta, providing community members with a safer and more accessible way to enjoy the natural world.

“The Unions Unite project in Atlanta started out with an idea and a text message. It turned into one of the largest union volunteer events in Atlanta history,” Lee said. “For that I would like to say challenge met — but I’m not done.”

Lee is already working on her next project, an effort to improve inner city parks in Atlanta.

“This is a project that will continue … for years to come,” she concluded. “There is so much more to do, but I’m here for it.”

Through their actions, Nasca and Lee exemplified what it means to be a trade unionist and a member of the SMART Army. Thank you, brother and sister!

General Secretary-Treasurer Daniel and General President Coleman: “We’re just getting started.”

Following the SMART Army Member of the Year awards, General Secretary-Treasurer Daniel and General President Coleman delivered closing remarks to delegates.

“At the beginning of this convention, I challenged you to think about how we will be remembered,” Daniel said. “I asked you, ‘what do you want your union to look like?’”

Throughout the week, he said, delegates showed what they want their union to look like. A strong union. A united union. A union that accepts, welcomes and fights for ALL members.

“Thank you for this opportunity to serve you,” Daniel said in closing. “I look forward to fighting with you, I look forward to supporting you; brothers and sisters, we’re certainly not done. We’re just getting started.” Coleman told delegates how filled with pride he was; how speechless he was at their dedication to serving this union. And he closed by urging them to continue to fight for the members who build and move our two great nations.

“We don’t pick fights. But I’ll tell you what we do — we finish them,” Coleman declared. “We don’t back up, and we don’t back down from anybody.”

“You’re my brothers and sisters, every single one of you. You’re my family. I will now take a motion to adjourn.”

And with that, the Third SMART General Convention came to a close.