Partners by Design SMACNA Sacramento Valley and Local 104 represented their local area with more than 30 attendees at the 2022 Partners in Progress Conference. Each Partners in Progress Conference encourages Locals and Chapters to attend together, learn together, and use the time for strengthening their relationships. Local areas take this advice in different ways. Local 280 and SMACNA-BC (and other organizations) sponsor apprentices and encourage employers to join them. SMACNA Kansas City and Local 2 attended in 2022 with their entire negotiation committee. It is not uncommon to find Capital District SMACNA and Local 83 or SMACNA-Western Washington and Local 66 seated together at breakfast or during speaker presentations. It is this kind of deliberate partnership-building action that makes a good team great. Local 104 and SMACNA Sacramento Valley have been attending Partners in Progress for many years, always making the most of learning and networking opportunities together. This year, they came through in spades, bringing more than 30 representatives from their combined local area. Cheryl Sprague, executive vice president for SMACNA 14 » Partners in Progress » www.pinp.org
Sacramento Valley, says the the group has been attending for at least the nine years she’s been on the board, probably longer. “This event gives us the opportunity to meet and share ideas with our labor partners in an environment that is nonthreatening,” she says. “In other words, we aren’t competing or bargaining; we’re simply working together toward the common goal of strengthening our industry.” Sal Rotolo, assistant business manager, District 2 in Local 104, agrees. The Local attended its first Partners in Progress event in 2010, and its members have always appreciated the opportunity to connect with their contractor peers. “Partners in Progress provides a space and opportunity to collaborate with employers,” Rotolo says. “The classes and breakout sessions provide up-to-date information regarding the industry, and the conference serves to strengthen labormanagement relationships.” Attendance is one thing, but rallying more than 30 participants from one area is a feat to be recognized. The chapter and
© Can Stock Photo / DinoZZZ
By Jessica Kirby Photos courtesy of Local 104
