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Building a Partnership from the Ground Up
SMACNA and SMART are leaders in the construction industry because they know how to build quality things that last. Their building expertise is not limited to the complex HVAC, architectural, and industrial projects for which they are known. That same planning and expertise has enabled SMART and SMACNA to build the foundation for one of the strongest labormanagement partnerships in the construction industry.
Readers of Partners in Progress know that SMART and SMACNA are staunch believers that labor-management collaboration is the key to success in the sheet metal industry. Every Partners in Progress article provides insight into establishing labor-management partnerships and provides examples of local partnerships that are making a difference in the industry.
SMACNA and SMART have not always been partners in the sense that they are now. This article is the first in a threepart series that will trace the journey of the two organizations in establishing, building, and continuously improving their partnership.
Early meeting of SMACNA and SMART’s Labor and Arbitration Committees, circa 1947.
Courtesy of SMACNA.
In the Beginning…
We have all seen the SMART logo, which proudly denotes that the union (formerly the Sheet Metal Workers International Association or SMWIA**) was established in 1888. Obviously, sheet metal contractors employed the union workers of the 19th century, but there was no formal national association of union contractors until 1910.
In his white paper titled, “The History of SMACNA: The First Twenty-Five Years,” author Joseph D. Wilder, former executive vice-president of the Sheet Metal Contractors’ National Association or SMCNA** (SMACNA’s predecessor), described the vexing issues that led to the formation of the national association. Interestingly, many of those issues still periodically challenge the industry over a century later: a shortage of skilled mechanics, superintendents, and forepersons and the need for a standardized method of training and apprenticeship training manuals. The difference then was that the contractors’ association was grappling with those tough issues alone, at least up until the Great Depression and the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), which fixed wages, working hours, and selling prices for all industries and managed to put SMACNA and hundreds of other national associations out of business.
While the NIRA was declared unconstitutional in 1935, it took eight years for the national association to re-group, and that occurred prior to government action prohibiting the meeting of associations in the wake of World War II.
1946 – 1949: Pivotal Years for Sheet Metal Partners
In Looking Back and Moving Forward, A History of SMWIA: From SMWIA to SMART 1888–2012, author Grace Palladino notes that, “with the rise of SMACNA in the 1940s, the national contractors’ association and SMWIA agreed that ῾proper labor relations would ensure prosperity for all’.”
1946 was a landmark year for SMACNA and SMART. SMACNA proposed and SMART agreed to the first meeting of the national associations to discuss pressing problems in the industry and to determine if joint cooperation might resolve such problems.
That same year saw the formation of the first-ever joint labormanagement committee in the sheet metal industry. The two associations formed an apprenticeship committee and began meetings to study the national apprenticeship and training standards for the sheet metal industry.
In 1946, SMACNA and SMART went jointly to Washington, DC, to ask if War Protection Board (WPB) controls might be relaxed for the industry. The joint committee was granted a hearing, but the federal government did not agree to help. Still, that meeting marked the first labor-management joint lobbying initiative at the national level.
The first formal joint labor relations committee was formed in 1947. That committee’s work led to the agreement by both national associations that future Standard Form of Union Agreements (SFUAs) should be jointly drafted to and agreed by both parties. This was a milestone accomplishment as the SFUA serves as the basis for over 95% of all industry collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), and revisions are still jointly drafted and agreed to by SMART and SMACNA.
By 1948, the two national associations were meeting jointly to resolve jurisdictional issues with other trades. In 1949, SMCNA and SMWIA were meeting to discuss whether health and welfare plans were best implemented at the national or local level.
1950s–1990s
The bold steps taken in the 1940s provided a solid foundation for SMACNA and SMART to build upon their partnership in the decades to come. The progress has been substantial, and all the accomplishments of the partnership are too lengthly to list. Below provides a brief overview of the most significant:
• The early 1950s found labor and management partners navigating Korean War-time controls affecting metal shortages and wages. The national associations were discussing travel pay and encouraging their chapters and unions to meet locally to develop travel pay solutions. Records indicate that the two national associations were discussing growing concerns about non-union dealers in the residential sector of the industry.
• In 1955, the parties agreed that the National Joint Adjustment Board (NJAB) would be an additional and final step in the industry grievance arbitration process. The NJAB was comprised of equal numbers of contractor and union representatives who met to resolve industry disputes to deter strikes and stabilize the industry.
• A National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee was formally approved by both associations in 1957. That committee was tasked with preparing annual apprenticeship contest materials, developing material for apprenticeship testing, providing recommendations on financing for local apprenticeship training, recommendations for journeyman refresher training, and developing career material for high school guidance counselors.
• In the early 1960s, the partners discussed the importance of having industry fund contributions incorporated into local CBAs as a way of funding local contractor associations. Then SMWIA General President Edward F. Carlough sent a letter to all local unions suggesting that a strong national association of contractors and strong local contractor associations were desirable and encouraged inclusion in local CBAs. As noted by Palladino in Looking Back, the concept was that both arms of the industry had to succeed as partners or face the consequences. Industry funds were first added in an addendum to the SFUA and later incorporated into the SFUA. Mutual respect for the funding of the International and local unions and national SMACNA and its chapters is an important partnership foundation that continues to this day.
• The NJAB met for the first time in 1962 to resolve grievances that were not resolved at the local or panel stages of the industry grievance procedure. In the 1970s, concerned that industry strikes at contract expiration were not in the best interest of the union industry, SMACNA and SMART added interest arbitration to the SFUA, which enabled parties to submit locally deadlocked contract renewals to the NJAB for resolution.
• Over the decades, the SFUA was amended to include funding for the International Training Institute (iTi), which provides resources and oversight of industry training; the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI), which provides research and resources for entry into new markets; and the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT), which promotes the safety and health of the sheet metal workforce.
All these accomplishments demonstrate an important conviction of SMACNA and SMART: It is outdated and ill advised to view the labor-management relationship as an adversarial one in which parties only meet across the table at grievance arbitration hearings or at contract expirations. Insightful SMART and SMACNA partners realized early on that the best way to work on common goals and solve industry problems is to meet regularly and discuss these matters around— not across—the table. This latter approach allowed the national associations’ relationship to literally survive several wars and related war-time controls and regulations. It provided a solid foundation for the national associations to train their workforce, provide industry stability, jointly lobby on common interests, and collectively promote the industry.
Why Partner?
Any number of reasons influenced SMART and SMACNA to consider the value of working collaboratively at the national level. Several of the most compelling include:
• When interactions between contractors and unions are limited to emotionally charged situations, like discussing contract violations or negotiations, the relationship becomes defined on an adversarial “us versus them” basis. More frequent meetings to discuss industry needs and concerns fosters the type of labor-management relationship that will be successful in advancing common interests and resolving challenges.
• Bargaining on a multi-employer basis is advantageous for both labor and management. From an employer perspective, it helps to put the bargaining parties on more even footing, as opposed to small contractors having to bargain on their own with the union that represents all the workers in a jurisdiction. For unions, multi-employer bargaining is more efficient in terms of time and resources than bargaining individually with employers, and it promotes the union’s core values on equity in terms of pay and conditions for its members.
• A standardized grievance and interest arbitration process at the national level provides one more opportunity to settle local disputes. National SMACNA and SMART arbitrators and mediators who are not involved in the local dispute or negotiations can be of tremendous assistance in helping local parties to resolve their differences without resorting to strikes or lockouts that can lead to irreparable harm to the image and future of the industry.
• Ensuring sufficient numbers of properly trained workers is best accomplished by a joint effort. Employers have the best projections for required workers on upcoming jobs. Industry training can best be standardized and funded on a group basis.
• Numbers matter to politicians. Labor and management have more clout lobbying jointly than individually on issues advantageous to the union sheet metal industry.
• Perhaps most importantly, collaboration by SMACNA and SMART at the national level provides a framework to encourage their affiliate chapters and unions to work together in the best interests of the industry in their local markets.
While there were substantial accomplishments at the national level, there was another challenging chapter in the works for SMART and SMACNA—promoting partnership at perhaps the most important level, the local one. Tune into next month’s Partners in Progress to learn how SMART and SMACNA have worked to bring local labor and management together to convince their local unions, SMACNA chapters, and contractors of the importance of working collaboratively in the best interests of the industry. ▪
** SMART was originally the Sheet Metal Workers International Association. SMACNA has had several name changes over the years. For brevity and consistency, the current SMART and SMACNA names are used throughout this article. Sources:
The History of SMACNA: The First Twenty-Five Years, Joseph D. Wilder, 1968; Looking Back & Moving Forward: A History of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation Workers Association: From SMWIA to SMART 1888 – 2012, Grace Palladino, 2013; A History and Explanation of the Standard Form of union Agreement for the Sheet Metal Industry, Robert J. Fenlon and Stephen J. Burton, 1997.
