United Sheet Metal Inc history

– 1866 National Labor Union formed.

1868 – Founding of the Order of Railroad Conductors and Brakemen

1885: Fayette Brown patents the first Blast Furnace Charger.

1896 – First Canadian local chartered in Toronto, Ontario.

1899 – First charter granted to the Union by the American Federation of Labor.

– 1901 Sheet metal membership at 5,581 with 108 local unions

– 1902 Willis Carrier, a mechanical engineer from Buffalo, New York, designed the first air conditioning unit.

– 1906 Coppersmith’s International Union joins the IA

1907 – National Building Trades Department established under the American Federation of Labor.

– 1908 AFL Building Trades Department charters Alliance

– 1912 Sheet metal workers affiliate with the AFL’s Railway Employees’ Department (RED)

– 1920 United States railroads returned to private industry; Railroad Labor Board established

1925 – Pacific Coast Conference of Sheet Metal Workers agrees to affiliate with the Sheet Metal Workers’ Alliance.

– 1926 IA helps organize the Railway Labor Executives’ Association (RLEA) to develop industry-wide policies and coordinate lobbying efforts

– 1933 Dark economic times hit the sheet metal workers as publication of the Journal is suspended in favor of financing the death benefit fund

– 1934 National Mediation Board (NMB) established by amendment to the RLA

– 1935 Standard Form of Union Agreement endorsed at Chicago convention of SMWIA

– 1936 RLA expands to include the airline industry

– 1942 During WWII, a number of members were engaged in secret work associated with development of the atomic bomb at different facilities across the United States.

– 1947 SMWIA and SMACNA negotiate the Standard Form of Union Agreement (SFUA)

– 1949 First 40-hour week for United States railroad industry

– 1951 First 40-hour work week on Canadian railroads

– 1954 First General Vice President in Charge of Railroads appointed

– 1955 Copper box for AFL cornerstone fabricated by Local 102 (Washington, DC) member Charles Heinz, employed at Paul Stromberg shop

– 1957 IA publishes Union Label directory

– 1960 Political Action League (PAL) launched

– 1961 SMWIA and SMACNA establish the Sheet Metal Apprentice and Training Foundation, which in turn publishes The Sheet Metal Craftsman, the first industry training manual

– 1962 SFUA developed for production workers

– 1963 SMWIA becomes first union to offer its members accident insurance, protecting members at work and at home in cases of accidental death.

– 1965 Missile silo fire and explosion kills 13 sheet metal workers

1967: The National Union of Sheet Metal Workers and Coppersmiths merges with the Heating and Domestic Engineers' Union, renaming itself the National Union of Sheet Metal Workers, Coppersmiths, Heating and Domestic Engineers.

United Transportation Union established in 1969.

1971 – National Training Fund established.

– 1972 SMWIA establishes Government Affairs Department

– 1975 Engineering News Record names General President Edward J. Carlough its Construction Man of the Year – 1975 Local 30, Toronto, Ontario, sheet metal workers praised for extraordinary work on CN Tower

– 1981 National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) established

– 1982 Resolution 78 approved to help union sheet metal contractors bid specific jobs under flexible contract conditions

– 1983 publicity campaign against Brown & Root (B & R) launched, to expose the high, hidden costs of non-union construction

– 1985 Youth to Youth program launched to put apprentice members in the field as union organizers

– 1986 Railroad Workers Department expands into Railroad and Shipyard Worker Department

– 1990 Construction Organizing Membership Education Training (COMET) launched

– 1994 Production Workers Department established

– 1996 Mutual Gains Bargaining program initiated

Owned and operated by Maurice & Gail Coates, C & K United Sheet Metal and Mechanical, Inc. was founded in 1997 in Evansville, IN. Their business specializes in the exterior metal wall panel industry.

– 1999 Disaster Relief Fund established

– 2000 First SMWIA-SMACNA Labor-Management Partnership Bi-annual Conference held (later known as Partners in Progress Conference)

– 2001 Immediately after the fall of the World Trade Center, construction and sign members working on sites across Manhattan rushed to join their fellow building trades members at Ground Zero in the search for survivors.

2004 – SMWIA Local 41, the first SMWIA local union outside of the United States and Canada is established in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

– 2005 MAC launched as a division of the BCTD

– 2006 Union Sportsmen’s Alliance created.

– 2007 SMWIA-UTU (SMART) merger agreement negotiated, approved by SMWIA GEC, ratified by UTU membership.

– 2009 Code of Excellence endorsed by SMWIA and SMACNA.

2011: The sheet metal industry grows exponentially.