Well I started in union when
I was 18 years old
been here for 33
years and it's been
nothing but a brotherhood
and a great career And
how many people do you know that
actually enjoy going
out after work
and and spending
more time with the people that you work
with every day the relationships
that we build during
the day and the
people that you meet on different job
sites whether it's another
trade or if it's inside
the sheet metal workers we hang
out we do clam
bakes we do Christmas parties
we do breakfast with Santa
with the families We
have picnics we we
do labor day many
opportunities
to bond with your
co workers And I think
that's what separates us
from a normal workforce
is we are family
both at work and at home
17 years later here I am
I started from just an apprentice
to become a mechanic
and a foreman And
then now I'm a business agent
So it's kind of it's been
very promising to be
AAA sheet metal worker I tried
to promote the positive the brotherhood
the sisterhood that we
have here at local 46
I want us to be
like a family That's the way
it's always been portrayed You
look out for your brothers and sisters
you've got their back If
they're ever in need you help them out
It's just that type of mentality
here at 46 I've been a member
for 15 years I'm
proud to be a member of
an organization that has been around
for over 120 years
We have some of the best sheet metal workers
and contractors around
I went through our apprenticeship training
program became a commercial
service journeyman and I'm now
the marketing representative
for our union We have a lot of
great opportunities
to move forward in different
career paths within our trade
Being a member of local 46
has provided me the ability
to provide my family with a good
life with great pay
excellent benefits As
the new marketing representative
I'm very much looking forward
to growing and strengthening
our union I'm an owner
member So
I started out in the trade
as a technician and
now I'm co owner of the company
So I did receive my training
through the union many years ago
And now
the union helps support
me with providing
skilled labor and
training for my
apprentices who go
on to become a journeymen
and help perform
all the work that we do We hire
people to test adjust and balance
systems It's
not what most of the people
in the union do But
the unions is open to
training our people for
the specialty type of work
that we do So we
go in after the systems
are installed and make sure
that they're up to total
full efficiency
and that everything is working
properly and then we document
everything It's more of a quality control
process than an installation
process Like most
of the workers in the union
provide to their employers
hiring union craftsmen means
we are getting a well trained highly
skilled and diverse workforce
That workforce is hard working
dedicated and takes a real
pride of ownership in their work They're
always trying to do right by our customers
and do right by us as business
owners which in turn
equates to successful
projects year in and year out
by working with the tradesmen and leadership
of local 46 sheet metal workers
has been and will continue to be a pleasure
and a great working relationship I
know our projects are built to the highest
quality and efficiently as possible
all while conforming to the highest safety
standards when our union crews are on
site Local 46
received its charter with the Sheep Meadow
Workers International Association
120 years ago
So for 120 years
they've been representing the
worker they've been developing relationships
with their employers It's a very symbiotic
relationship this labor
management relationship that
takes place here They work together
all the time They pull the rope in the same
direction to try and make things happen
So I would recommend
anybody that they consider joining
a union if they're going to join the construction
industry the sheet metal workers
local union I've been a member of
for 50 years or so
and it's afforded me the opportunity
to have a decent life and raise
my kids with great benefits
and to retire with dignity
We've come a long way since I got
in the trade we've got a great pension
plan We have
a great annuity plan
which we didn't have a long time
ago So you're saving
money as you go and got
a great prescription plan with our
coverage and all
in all you know without
the plans we have here
I retired at age 58
I probably wouldn't have retired at age
58 without the pension
and the things we have
worked for The biggest thing
about being in the union and the retirement
is that we have
a history here and
I haven't seen anybody that hasn't
been happy with their retirement It's
all federally funded I believe
we pay into it And it's like
money in the bank 56
years I've been a member of this local I've
been retired 16 I'm
having fun I got a nice pension
My son's in the union My
daughter went to college on a scholarship
She's the president of the teachers union
out in Leroy If you haven't
got a union behind you you haven't
got anything I would recommend
the union because it's got a lot
to offer a lot of great things
you know You know the pay is great
the benefits are great
You learn how to
adapt in everyday
situations you know what I mean
Just working on the job
and you can use that in way
more other ways than just
working you know at home
You know with your family and what not
The advantages of the union And
my eyes are
the benefits you get paid
well not only do you get paid well but you
get full time health
care for my Children I have two Children
and a wife and they're taken care of through the health
care And when I retire at 58
years old I'll be able to be happy
with the paycheck I get every month
If I never joined the union I wouldn't be
making the money I'm making
now I wouldn't have the benefits I have
I wouldn't have an annuity wouldn't
have a pension You know I might have a 401k
that may or may not have made money But
um and my health insurance is is you
know taken is a conglomerate
as a group and it's invested
So we have really really good health insurance
here at treatment workers Local 46
we offer many different
avenues of career paths
for you In our training facility
We offer CAD
we offer a core curriculum that's
provided by the international that gives
you all the basics by
only by educating yourself
Are you going to be able to provide
long term career stability
I would recommend somebody because
lots of kids that are graduating
from high school don't really
know what they want to do They want to
go to college and figure it out
but college puts
them in debt And next thing you know that
here they are they have
30,000 $40,000
worth of debt and
they still end up coming
back to well maybe
now I'll try it They don't end up
working where their degree took them
Whereas if you become
a sheet metal apprentice you there's
only one spot to go You're
gonna work through your apprenticeship
you're gonna learn your skills and you're gonna
become what you set
out to be and it's not gonna cost you anything
The union is
you know a brotherhood and a sisterhood
We're all together We all
help each other out and
um there's always job
opportunities help
out everybody helps each other
out So it's like a family
It's a big family any time
And a lot of people a lot
more the older people
the people that have retired and everything
If I ever had a question that's how I got
into the union was through a retiree
And any question I have
it open Anything always answering
and nothing is dumb There's
not a dumb question especially when you're
an apprentice and you're learning everything
So everyone is very helpful
an understanding of the situation
So it's great that way Yeah
the five years they go through a pretty structured
program So the first year
you do drafting and layout first
two years kind of And that's a huge part
of it And then uh welding
and any other service
has their own program And
by the time you're done I feel pretty
fulfilled and pretty confident going
into the workplace