BE4ALL Town Hall brings leadership, nearly 200 members together in Seattle

The second-ever BE4ALL Town Hall — featuring General President Michael Coleman, SMACNA President Todd Hill and Funds Executive Director Michael Harris — brought nearly 200 SMART members and dozens of SMACNA contractors together at Seattle’s Museum of Flight to speak directly with leadership about an important initiative to strengthen the unionized sheet metal industry.

Federal judge dismisses criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia — General President Coleman responds

On Friday, May 22, 2026, Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. dismissed the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, “ruling that the Trump administration had brought human trafficking charges against him as part of a vindictive effort to punish him for challenging his wrongful deportation to El Salvador last year,” according to the New York Times. Read SMART General President Michael Coleman's statement in response.

SMART leaders train to strengthen the unionized sheet metal industry with organizing class

Nonunion contractors across North America stand ready to benefit from the union advantage — top-notch training, reliability and a skilled workforce. But whether it’s because they’re misinformed or just not aware of the union difference, these contractors have yet to partner with SMART. That’s what made the Education Department’s Top-Down Organizing class so important: Bringing together union leaders from across North America, the course focused on developing “top-down” organizing campaigns that target nonunion contractors.  

Recruitment and Retention Council meets in Pittsburgh to strengthen SMART

Pittsburgh welcomed SMART leaders, staff and members as the Recruitment and Retention Council kicked off the first day of the Three-Pack Attack — the three-day meeting of the Recruitment and Retention, Production and Sign, and Roofing and Building Enclosure Councils. From child care and worker protections to recruitment tools and workforce partnerships, the first day in Pittsburgh centered one shared goal: expanding opportunity for current and future SMART members.

From the people who brought you the eight-hour workday: a brief history of May Day

While Labor Day is celebrated in September in the United States and Canada, International Workers’ Day is an official public holiday in countries ranging from Denmark and France to Nepal. But despite its international character, the modern origins of May Day are very American, dating back to the 19th-century fight for an eight-hour workday.