The Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO (MTD), is proud to announce its partnership with Employee Benefit Systems Union College Benefit (EBS) program to offer our Metal Trades Council members college tuition discounts on more than 50 programs.
“We are delighted to offer this union benefit to our members and their families that wish to pursue higher education,” said Jimmy Hart, MTD President. “This unique opportunity offers our union families a chance to follow their dreams for personal or professional advancement by helping them secure affordable tuition at a network of colleges and universities. The EBS Union College Benefit is also a great resource for veterans interested in fully online programs.”
Union members and their families can earn a certificate, associate, bachelors’, or masters’ degree while attending school part-time or full-time. EBS has a network of colleges and universities offering programs in a myriad of studies.
Programs include business administration, criminal justice, human resources management, organizational leadership and management, and more.
The EBS Union College Benefit is part of the EBS family of benefits. The benefit is powered by through EDUTrust Network, a system of carefully selected colleges and universities. The program has been crafted for adult students and offers more than 50 online programs. Upon enrollment, all students will receive a personal admissions experience with a college or university admissions counselor, career counseling, financial aid counseling, and more. Veterans interested in utilizing the program will work with the dedicated Veteran Team at the college or university to ensure that they select a program at which they can use Veteran benefits.
The Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, is proud to have so many members who served in our Nation’s Armed Services. And we are proud to support our military through the work we do.
On behalf of the MTD staff, executive council, and members, I wish you a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. While my family and I enjoy our long weekend, I will not forget to take time to remember those who lost their lives so that we are free to live ours. I invite you to do the same.
Stay safe and healthy. God bless you. God bless our fallen soldiers and God bless America.
Metal Trades Department Announces Partnership with Employee Benefit Systems Union College Benefit Program
The Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO (MTD), is proud to announce its partnership with Employee Benefit Systems Union College Benefit (EBS) program to offer our Metal Trades Council members college tuition discounts on more than 50 programs.
“We are delighted to offer this union benefit to our members and their families that wish to pursue higher education,” said Jimmy Hart, MTD President. “This unique opportunity offers our union families a chance to follow their dreams for personal or professional advancement by helping them secure affordable tuition at a network of colleges and universities. The EBS Union College Benefit is also a great resource for veterans interested in fully online programs.”
Union members and their families can earn a certificate, associate, bachelors’, or masters’ degree while attending school part-time or full-time. EBS has a network of colleges and universities offering programs in a myriad of studies.
Programs include business administration, criminal justice, human resources management, organizational leadership and management, and more.
The EBS Union College Benefit is part of the EBS family of benefits. The benefit is powered by through EDUTrust Network, a system of carefully selected colleges and universities. The program has been crafted for adult students and offers more than 50 online programs. Upon enrollment, all students will receive a personal admissions experience with a college or university admissions counselor, career counseling, financial aid counseling, and more. Veterans interested in utilizing the program will work with the dedicated Veteran Team at the college or university to ensure that they select a program at which they can use Veteran benefits.
In early May, President Hart spoke about the challenges of addressing safety in the workplace at the VPPPA Region X Safety Conference.
The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association, Inc., (VPPPA), the premier global safety and health organization, is dedicated to cooperative occupational safety, health and environmental management systems. VPPPA is a member-based association, supporting worksites across the U.S. in their efforts to receive and maintain VPP status.
For over two decades, the association has provided its members a direct link to OSHA, DOE and similar agencies within state-plan states and continues to offer a support network for participants from a wide variety of industries. The association works closely with OSHA, OSHA state-plan states, DOE and the Department of Defense (DoD) in the development and implementation of cooperative programs within the agencies.
In his Keynote address, President Hart noted that while the metal trades membership have a very good safety record, especially considering the employees we represent work with hazardous materials in some of the world’s most harmful and toxic environments, the department and its councils strive for nothing less than zero injuries on the job.
Citing the need to make safety a habit in order to affect change, Hart relayed the incremental change technique widely used across our Councils and employer worksites as an effective first step to better safety policies.
Throughout his speech, Hart called on participants to join the department and its councils as partners in creating safe and healthy work environments for all workers. He discussed the need for open communications and stressed that all workers should feel comfortable speaking out if they see anything they feel jeopardizes their safety on the job.
“We all want to get home safely at the end of the day,” Hart said. “To do that, we have to control the hazards at the end of the day the same way we did at the beginning of the day: communication, planning, and focus. If you do that, you can head home to your loved ones knowing you did your best to reach the zero injury goal.”
SMART General President and MTD Executive Vice President Sellers Announces Retirement
Joseph Sellers, Jr., General President of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), announced his retirement on January 24, 2023. Sellers will retire on May 31, 2023, and will be succeeded by current Assistant to the General President Michael Coleman.
“The Metal Trades Department wishes General President Sellers a long and happy retirement. We look forward to working with Michael Coleman to continue our work to improve the lives of the men and women represented by Metal Trades Councils across North America,” said Metal Trades President Jimmy Hart.
Sellers – a second-generation sheet metal worker whose father spent 55 years as a SMART member and 30 years as a local union officer – often asserts that “all that my family has comes from my father’s career path and the union sheet metal industry.” Sellers devoted more than four decades to his union, committing himself to lead at every level of SMART. He began his apprenticeship in 1980 at Local 19 in Philadelphia, becoming a journeyperson four years later. He was elected to the local’s executive board in 1994 and appointed to be training coordinator in 1996. In 2002, after serving as a business representative for two years, he became Local 19’s president and business manager.
Sellers was elected to international leadership as 11th general vice president in August 2009. The SMART General Executive Council elected him to serve as the union’s General Secretary-Treasurer (GST) in July 2011, and he was unanimously re-elected as GST by delegates to the first SMART General Convention in August 2014. Sellers became SMART’s General President on May 1, 2015, when his friend and mentor General President Joe Nigro needed to retire. He was re-elected on August 14, 2019.
Incoming General President Michael Coleman, a SMART member since 1985, has also served at every level of the union: from president and business manager of Local 33 in Northern Ohio, to ninth general vice president, to SMART director of business and management relations, to his current post as assistant to the General President. He will assume the position of SMART General President on June 1, 2023.
We’ve Moved — The Metal Trades Department has New Digs
We are pleased to announce that effective immediately, the Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, has moved to new 5th floor office space in the AFL-CIO headquarters. Our new office is adjacent to and connected to the Walter Reuther Conference Room.
The Department main telephone and email addresses remain unchanged.
Should you encounter any difficulties in contacting us via email and land-lines, please contact the Departments Director of Operations Lisa Johnson via mobile phone: 301-752-8411.
Navy Announces New Naval Air Forces and NAVSEA Commanders
Rear Adm. Dan “Undra” Cheever, left, will become the next commander of Naval Air Forces. Rear Adm. James P. Downey, right, will become the next commander of Naval Sea Systems Command. (Navy)
The U.S. Navy announced last week that Rear Admiral James P. Downey will serve as the next commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC. Downey replaces Vice Admiral William Galinis who became NAVSEA commander in 2020.
Rear Adm. James Downey is a native of New York. He is a 1986 graduate of the State University of New York, Albany, New York with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Computer Science. He was commissioned in 1987 and is a 1997 graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California with a Master of Science in Computer Science followed by Engineering Duty Officer (EDO) School in Port Hueneme, California, where he graduated with distinction and received the Founder’s Award.
He qualified as a surface warfare officer aboard USS Hayler (DD 997) in 1989. Additional operational assignments include intelligence briefing officer to the Commander in Chief, Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea , Seoul, Korea; and multiple deployments afloat in the North Atlantic, Baltic, Arctic Circle, and Pacific.
Engineering duty officer assignments include assistant program manager for surface and subsurface integration for GPS and Navigation Sensor System Interface programs, leading Tomahawk integration; chief engineer for high assurance systems at the Defense Information Systems Agency and National Security Agency; officer in charge of Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command , Yokosuka, Japan; CVN 21 program chief engineer, principal assistant program manager , and warfare systems director; CG(X) major program manager; and major program manager for the DDG 1000 program including delivery of the first ship of the class.
His first flag assignment was commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Center during which time he also served as Naval Sea Systems Command’s deputy commander for surface warfare. He assumed duties as program executive officer, Aircraft Carriers in June 2019.
Downey’s awards include the Legion of Merit (two awards), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), and various other personal, unit, and service awards.
Rear Admiral Dan Cheever to Command Naval Air Forces
Rear Adm. Dan “Undra” Cheever will become the next commander of Naval Air Forces.
Cheever, who joined the Navy in 1988, is replacing Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, who has served as the so-called “Airboss” since 2020. Cheever will also become the commander of Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and be promoted to vice admiral.
He now serves as chief of staff for North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, and previously served as commander of Carrier Strike Group 4.
Cheever also served as the commander of the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center in Fallon, Nevada, from 2017 to 2019. Additionally, he was a flight instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School in Miramar, California, and the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nevada, from 1995 to 1998.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire commemoration in Manhattan — Dozens gathered ahead of the 112th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire to commemorate the 146 lives lost on March 25, 1911. Mainly immigrant women and girls, the workers were locked inside the factory when a vicious fire broke out, and were left to make a horrific decision: stay in the burning factory, or jump 10 stories. Their sacrifice ultimately led to a union movement that fought for better regulations for workers and fire safety precautions in workspaces. See the photos of the tribute from March 24, 2023, hosted by the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
There’s Still Time to Tell Congress to Support the PRO Act
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act restores the right of workers to freely and fairly form a union and bargain together for changes in the workplace. It is a landmark worker empowerment, civil rights and economic stimulus legislation, and an essential part of any plan to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession.
IAMAW International President Martinez Appointed to Biden’s Export Council
IAMAW International President Robert Martinez, Jr.
IAM International President and Metal Trades Department Vice President Robert Martinez Jr. has been appointed by President Biden to serve on the President’s Export Council, a U.S. governmental organization that serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade.
“It’s an honor to serve our nation, our union, and our membership in this important role,” said Martinez. “I’m extremely grateful to President Biden and the administration for giving the Machinists Union a voice on trade policy that affects the lives of millions of working Americans.”
The President’s Export Council provides a forum for private-sector business and labor leaders, members of Congress, and other administration officials to discuss and resolve trade-related issues.
“On behalf of the officers, members, and staff of the Metal Trades Department, I want to congratulate International President Martinez on this honor. His work on this council will help ensure millions of American workers have a seat at the table,” said Metal Trades Department President James Hart.
MTD Applauds Nomination of Su for Top Spot at DOL
The Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, applauds President Biden’s pick of Deputy Secretary Julie Su to replace outgoing Secretary Marty Walsh at the Department of Labor. Deputy Secretary Su has spent her career fighting for workers’ rights. She has a proven track record of implementing progressive policies to protect women and minorities in the workplace.
“The Senate has already confirmed her once and we urge them to do it again,” said MTD President Hart. “There is no one more qualified than Julie Su to defend the rights of workers.”
Echoing President Hart’s endorsement of Deputy Secretary Su were several Metal Trades Department Council leaders. IAMAW International President Bob Martinez, noted, “We know that as DOL Secretary, Julie Su will continue to champion unions as the answer to historically high inequality and aggressively take on employers that trample on the rights of workers.”
“Deputy Secretary Su has an excellent record of being a fierce champion for working people,” Iron Workers General President Eric Dean said. “Her previous work at CA LWDA made important progress in protecting ironworkers. Su has been an active and skilled hand in implementing President Biden’s priorities for over two years and has contributed to the agency’s historic labor partnerships.”
The Department also wishes to thank Secretary Walsh for his more than two decades of public service work on behalf of America’s working families. We wish him well as he embarks on new endeavors,” added President Hart.
PRO Act Reintroduced In Congress
Legislators in both houses of Congress have reintroduced legislation that would hold employers accountable for violating workers’ rights and secure free, fair, and safe union elections.
The Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023, or PRO Act, introduced in the House by the Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA-03) and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) and in the Senate by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was renamed in honor of the late AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to honor his legacy.
If passed, the PRO Act would increase remedies for violations of workers’ rights, enhance workers’ right to support secondary boycotts, ensure unions can collect fair share fees, modernize union elections, and facilitate initial collective bargaining agreements. The legislation would also make it more difficult for employers to classify their employees as supervisors and independent contractors, designations that would keep them from being covered under the National Labor Relations Act.
“The PRO Act is how we level the playing field. It is how we stop the intimidation, the lies,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “This is how we let workers, not wealthy corporations, decide for themselves if they want the power of a union.”
Show your support today. Tell Congress to Pass the PRO Act, sign the AFL-CIO’s petition at https://proact.aflcio.org/
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/archetype/YLOG6NSXSJGWLGK25E66F6MWZE.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/CKPA364ATBDRTPRWQ4LGSI7FE4.JPG)
