Sheet Metal Air Rail and Transportation Workers

06/07/2026

SMART delegates representing members across the sheet metal and transportation industries are in Minneapolis, MN, for the 2026 convention — fighting to secure a better future for SMART members and working families from coast to coast.

Convention starts today and runs through June 10. Let’s get to work!

06/06/2026

: SMART-TD recently welcomed our newest brothers and sisters from the White Pass & Yukon (WPY) Route Railway to our union family! Approximately 40 onboard agents, including train agents, dock reps, and train stockers, voted overwhelmingly to become SMART-TD members, joining the short-line’s conductors and engineers who are already proud TD members.

As a tour guide for White Pass & Yukon, Megan Jordahl often works closely with conductors and engineers who were already represented by SMART-TD.

After seeing how the union difference paid off in their respective roles and knowing that other tour guides in the region were making more money, she was ready for a change.

“We wanted what we felt was fair for us,” she told SMART News.

Read more: https://www.smart-union.org/white-pass-yukon-onboard-agents-say-yes-to-smart-td/

Pictured: White Pass & Yukon Route Railway tour guides Katy Woelfel (left) and Megan Jordahl (right) are among SMART-TD’s newest members.

06/05/2026

"Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 is building out its Northeast Portland training center — and using the expansion to test out a model project labor agreement that local unions hope could become a template for private construction projects."

https://nwlaborpress.org/2026/06/building-for-the-future/

“Our union contracts deliver projects from small tenant improvements under $50,000 all the way up to multibillion dollar mega projects, and we don’t see why PLAs can’t do the same,” Strickland told the Labor Press.

A Local 16 training center expansion doubles as test run for private-sector project labor agreements.

06/05/2026

SMART members are for many reasons, ranging from the work we perform to the impact membership has on our families. Local 16 (Oregon) Brother Aaron gave his perspective as part of BE4ALL's recent challenge:

"I used to be a nonunion sheet metal worker, working a lot of hours. My pay was low, and at the time I had a new baby with my wife, so we needed insurance. But it was very expensive, so after paying insurance and being underpaid, we barely had anything left.

"Once I heard about the union and what they offered, it was a true blessing for my family. They offered way better pay for everyone, full medical and dental for the whole family, and I could earn my spot in the apprenticeship program."

That's the !

06/04/2026

White Pass & Yukon Route Railway’s onboard agents, including train agents, dock reps, and train stockers, are SMART-TD’s newest members. Read on to learn why this organizing campaign was somewhat different from others and what message this sends to employees in similar roles on other properties. https://www.smart-union.org/white-pass-yukon-onboard-agents-say-yes-to-smart-td/

06/04/2026

Ahead of huge anticipated ridership increases for the World Cup, SMART-TD leaders advocated tirelessly for members in Massachusetts, winning crucial safety protections for transit operators:

When we are talking about keeping our brothers and sisters in passenger rail safe during this summer’s World Cup, maybe we should call it the first SAVE of the tournament. Either way, read on to see how our New England Safety and Legislative Board, along with our BTAPS committee, went the extra mile to keep our brothers and sisters safe this summer. https://www.smart-union.org/smart-td-score-the-first-goal-of-the-2026-world-cup/

06/03/2026

NEW discount for SMART members: As part of union membership, SMART members can get 25% off select Carhartt products! Save on a variety of jackets, bib overalls and more.

Click here to register: https://smart-union.savings.workingadvantage.com

06/02/2026

“What BE4ALL is about — for me, it’s about respect. It’s about respect for each and every person in this room, everybody out on the jobsites, in the shops, wherever you may be … To me, it boils down to the respect that each and every one of us should have for each other, because we’re part of an organization. We’re part of a family.”

Those words, spoken by SMART General President Michael Coleman, summed up the second-ever Belonging and Excellence for All (BE4ALL) Town Hall, which took place May 28, 2026, in Seattle, Washington. The Town Hall — featuring General President Coleman, Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA) President Todd Hill and Funds Executive Director Michael Harris — brought nearly 200 SMART members and 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.

Read more here: https://www.smart-union.org/be4all-town-hall-brings-leadership-nearly-200-members-together-in-seattle/

06/01/2026

Save the date: SMART members are invited to the next BE4ALL Learning Journey on Building Partnerships: Indigenous Pathways Into the Trades, taking place June 22, 7 p.m. Eastern. Register for the online event by clicking here: https://smacna-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_25GyWtIlRrKF-FiyEZJRQg #/registration

Recruiting and retaining new members is key to growing our union, winning more work for members, and securing the future of the unionized sheet metal industry. At the June 22 Learning Journey, members will learn more about how SMART local unions, Indigenous communities and signatory contractors can work together on recruitment, project completion and much more. Find more details at the Zoom registration link: https://smacna-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_25GyWtIlRrKF-FiyEZJRQg #/registration