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Effective January 1, 2022 SASMI will offer two new COVID related benefits. A Vaccination Benefit and an Interference with work Benefit

Vaccination Benefit

To encourage all participants to receive a vaccination to protect against COVID-19, members ($200.00) and their covered eligible dependents (spouse and/or children $100.00) may be eligible for a vaccination benefit.

Interference with Work Benefit

If a member became ill and could not work due to significant side effects from a first, second and/or booster vaccination for COVID-19, they may be eligible to receive a benefit. Up to 24 hours of wages at your home local union wage rate, per vaccination.

How to Apply for Both Benefits:

If eligible, members need to complete the application on the member portal via SASMI’s website (www.sasmi.org). A separate application will be required for each benefit. A separate application is required for each of the member’s dependents. Each application must include: A copy of their individual vaccination card (front and back), Manufacturer information,Vaccine lot number, A Vaccination Card ID (number on the back right corner of their card).

Finally, they will need to consent that SASMI can verify their status with the CDC and that SASMI can verify dependent eligibility with their local health fund (Vaccination Benefit ONLY). Receipt of the Vaccination Benefit does not limit a participant’s eligibility for other active benefits under the Plan and is not considered when calculating Severance or HCRA benefits. However, the Interference with Work Benefit will be included when calculating Severance or HCRA benefits as well as the 200% Rule.

SMOHIT has released the latest version of its safety handbook.
Focused on workplace safety, the handbook covers a variety of workplace hazards, scaffold and ladder safety, shop safety, ventilation and fire safety, among a multitude of other possible dangers faced by sheet metal workers.   The handbook is packed with illustrations and easy-to-read guides. There are directions for reading safety data sheets for hazardous materials and guidance on interpreting pictograms for common workplace personal protective equipment (PPE).

Safety and health on the job is of paramount importance to everyone in the sheet metal industry. Construction workers represent approximately 7% of the American workforce, but they account for 17% of all work-related deaths. This handbook can help create a culture of safety in the workplace.
 
Much of the content is geared toward quick reference, allowing for members to easily locate and digest the material. The handbook can be used to help contractors with toolbox safety talks and is available to signatory contractors for free.
Click here to access the handbook

Washington, DC—Today the House passed the Build Back Better Act. In response, SMART issued the following statement.

“We commend the House for passing the Build Back Better Act. This legislation is a monumental investment in American families, will revitalize our economy and create good union jobs. Our union members stand ready to rebuild and construct our nation’s infrastructure and will be the boots on the ground to make the Build Back Better agenda a reality.

“This legislation will support our members by applying labor standards to clean energy tax credits, expanding registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, investing in high-speed rail projects, addressing indoor air quality in schools, commercial and residential buildings and supports workers’ right to organize by making consequential reforms to the National Labor Relations Act.

“We can’t delay on delivering for the American people. The time to act is now. We call on the Senate to immediately pass this bill and send it to the President for his signature.”

Today, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. SMART General President Joseph Sellers and rank-and-file union members joined him at the signing ceremony.  SMART issued the following statement after the ceremony:

WASHINGTON, DC — “Our union was proud to stand with President Biden today to sign this historic bill into law. It will create good, union jobs and put SMART members to work improving indoor air quality in our schools and in commercial and residential buildings. It also makes long-overdue railroad safety improvements and will help school districts across the country buy clean, American-made, zero emission buses that will drive demand for the products and services provided by SMART sheet metal workers.

This legislation is a significant achievement and was made possible by SMART members who called, emailed and attended events, urging members of Congress to pass this bill. We express our gratitude to President Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and all of the members of Congress who worked diligently on this legislation.

While this legislation is remarkable, the job isn’t done. Congress now must deliver on its promise and also pass the Build Back Better Act right away. We urge Congress to act and send that bill to President Biden’s desk immediately.”

Yesterday the House passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In response, SMART issued the following statement.
Washington, DC— “The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a significant achievement to create and protect good, union jobs in the construction and transportation industries that will be instrumental in rebuilding our nation. Its passage comes as our labor market demonstrates signs of progress and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 percent. The passage of this legislation will further aid our recovery.
However, there is still significant work ahead. Congress must immediately pass the Build Back Better Act. This legislation will make unprecedented investments in American families and further boost economic growth. The bill applies labor standards to clean energy tax credits, expands registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, invests in high-speed rail projects, addresses indoor air quality in schools and supports workers’ right to organize by making monumental reforms to the National Labor Relations Act.
Congress must fulfill their promise to the American people and deliver on the entirety of President Biden’s agenda by swiftly passing the Build Back Better Act.”

A former manufacturing facility that was once a neighborhood eyesore was renovated and reconstructed into a new two-story, 7,200-square-foot building that today houses an expanded, updated training facility for future generations of SMART Local 71 sheet metal workers. With an expected demand for new training classes, a third adjacent property was also acquired from the City of Buffalo to be used as additional parking for the renovated structure.
The nearly $1.3 million project on Liberty Avenue cleaned up and reused a former brownfield site to merge three separate properties into one state-of-the-art facility that will introduce future generations to the trade while relying on clean energy upgrades applied to the facility.
To assist in the funding of this significant rehabilitation and upgrade, SMART Local 71 applied for and was awarded $377,000 through the Empire State Development Authority.

“The transformation of a previously vacant brownfield site into a modern training facility for the members of SMART Local 71 is not just a strategic investment that will strengthen Buffalo’s manufacturing sector, it also advances key goals for the broader New York State economy.”

– Kevin Younis, Empire State Development Chief Operating Officer and Executive Deputy Commissioner.

“The transformation of a previously vacant brownfield site into a modern training facility for the members of SMART Local 71 is not just a strategic investment that will strengthen Buffalo’s manufacturing sector, it also advances key goals for the broader New York State economy,” said Kevin Younis, Empire State Development Chief Operating Officer and Executive Deputy Commissioner. “The state-of-the-art facility gives meaningful place-making purpose to an abandoned building and underutilized property in the city and ensures current and future generations of SMART Local 71’s talented, hard-working workforce have the critical training and necessary skills in construction, sheet metal production and metal fabrication to meet the demands of the industry.”
The groundbreaking was attended by a swarm of union leaders, members, staff and elected officials from every level of state government.
“As we reimagine our economy for a post-pandemic comeback, it’s more important than ever to make sure that success is accessible to all,” said current New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “SMART Local 71’s expanded training center is training the next generation of skilled workers to help build the new Buffalo skyline and will further unleash the full potential of Western New York’s economy, connecting people with good paying jobs and ensuring no one falls behind during our recovery.”
Local 71 Business Manager Paul Crist, in his remarks at the groundbreaking added, that, “Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 71 committed to making the City of Buffalo our home in 2000. Since then, we have worked, saved and planned for this expansion, so we can continue our mission of training the next generation of Sheet Metal Workers.”

Two SMART members were present to pay tribute to a trailblazing Indiana woman honored for her role in fighting for women’s right to vote in the early 20th century.
A statue honoring suffragist Mary Stuart Edwards was unveiled Aug. 26 in Peru, Ind., in a ceremony attended by Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch.
Edwards was a native of the city, located about 79 miles north of Indianapolis, whose organizing work and activism at the local, state and then later a national level from 1914 to 1926 helped to bring forth the national League of Women Voters.
TD Indiana State Legislative Director Kenny Edwards, no relation, and TD Local 206 (Peru, Ind.) Legislative Representative Pete Ulery were on hand for the event in a show of solidarity.
“Women’s suffrage is a sibling to the labor movement. Many are unaware of the struggle and the women who fought to gain the right to vote,” Edwards said. “These suffragists are no different than the proud men and women of SMART who fight for our rights and to advance and establish rights we don’t have yet but deserve.”

“Women’s suffrage is a sibling to the labor movement. Many are unaware of the struggle and the women who fought to gain the right to vote.”

– SMART TD Indiana State Legislative Director Kenny Edwards

Artist Cindy Billingsley sculpted the statue depicting Mary Stuart Edwards, who was born in 1880 and died in 1970, as a young girl with her bicycle. Edwards was said to be the first girl in her city to ride a bike and to go to college before embarking on her journey as a suffragist.
“What I hope women in particular will see when they visit this statue is what one woman can accomplish in her hometown, her state and her country,” Billingsley said. “We women must remember other countries are inspired by us, and young girls should be inspired to make a difference. That’s what this statue of a 12-yearold girl with a bicycle represents — hope — if Marie accomplished this, what can we accomplish next?”
Edwards said the event was a worthwhile and memorable one.
“It was a great day and SMART was a part of it!!”


In 1999, when the Navy abandoned the Concord Naval Weapons Station in California, it became a great opportunity zone for the Concord community to grow and flourish. As early as 2005, SM Local 104 had been involved in the city of Concord’s process to imagine and develop the future of the land. From attending community meetings to shape the vision of the site to speaking up in hearings in support of a local union workforce helping construct the 30-year buildout, hundreds of rank-and-file Local 104 members have had their voices heard.
The site itself is on over 5,000 acres of land and will have over 13,000 new units of housing along with millions of square feet of commercial space. Over the last five years, Local 104 members have really stepped up their efforts and engaged in the political process in Concord. This includes helping elect local working family champions to city council, engaging in community cleanups and turning out at many community events. On January 20th, 2020, there was the biggest turn-out of Building Trades members in over a decade at a city council meeting anywhere in the Bay Area. With over 200 union construction workers, community allies and family members, members let Concord City Council know that a Project Labor Agreement was essential to meeting the needs of the Concord First Policy and ensuring that local workers and apprentices from joint-labor management programs would be hired on this project. This caused the original developer to walk away from the project, and with that, three new developers submitted proposals to the city for their vision of the project.
Most recently, as of August of this year, the Contra Costa County Building and Construction Trades Council secured a Project Labor Agreement with all three prospective developers. As Business Manager Rick Werner said, “This is a huge win and reflects the hard work our officers, staff and membership have put in to making this a reality. Once this project breaks ground, it will provide decades of work hundreds of our local members.”
Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, which represents 12.5 million union members and 56 unions, passed away Aug. 5, 2021, at the age of 72.His death marks the passing of a legendary figure in the history of the labor movement. Brother Trumka devoted his life to working people, from his early days as president of the United Mine Workers of America to his leadership as the voice of America’s labor movement.
Trumka was a relentless champion of workers’ rights, workplace safety, fair trade based on workers’ rights, and the respect and dignity all workers should be afforded. He was also a devoted father, grandfather, husband, brother, coach, colleague and friend to many across the United States.
His passion for improving the lives of working families began early. He grew up in the small coalmining town of Nemacolin, Pa. Nearly all the men in his family, including his father and grandfather, were coal miners. Trumka followed them into the mines, working there as he attended Penn State and Villanova University law school.
Trumka began his rise in the labor movement in 1982 at the age of 33 when he became the youngest elected president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). During his time at the UMWA, he led one of the most successful strikes in recent American history against the Pittston Coal Company, which tried to avoid paying into an industry-wide health and pension fund.
He was elected AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer in 1995 and held that post until 2009, when he was elected president.
His legacy is defined by his vision of an economy of shared prosperity for all working families. One that includes rising wages, equal pay, respect at work, safe jobs, secure retirement, and the freedom for all workers to form or join unions and bargain collectively.
He is succeeded by Liz Shuler, the first woman to hold the office in the history of the labor federation. Shuler was raised in a union household — her father was a lineman and longtime member of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 125 at Portland General Electric and her late mother, Joyce, worked as an estimator at the company. In 1993, Shuler was hired as an organizer at the local. When energy giant Enron Corp. tried to force electricity deregulation in Oregon, Shuler worked with a broad-based coalition of labor, community and environmental activists to overcome Enron’s powerhouse lobbying campaign.
In 1998, she was assigned to California where she mobilized IBEW members to help defeat Prop. 226, the so-called paycheck protection initiative that threatened to silence union members in the political process.
Upon her election, Shuler stated, “I am humbled, honored and ready to guide this federation forward.” She added, “I believe in my bones the labor movement is the single greatest organized force for progress. This is a moment for us to lead societal transformations — to leverage our power to bring women and people of color from the margins to the center — at work, in our unions and in our economy, and to be the center of gravity for incubating new ideas that will unleash unprecedented union growth.”