A sheet metal worker says his union has given him “countless blessings”

SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers union, has a great organizing program and a cutting-edge website. A post went up there on January 17, 2024 that I want to share with you.

The union has a program called Belonging and Excellence for All (BE4ALL). This sounds like an exciting program and the union's website describes it as a "targeted approach to ensure that all members, particularly those from historically underrepresented groups, experience" the union's "universal goals" of "an environment of welcoming, belonging and excellence for all of our members." I believe that we need these programs and I wish that they had been in place when I was coming up.

The BE4ALL program recently ran a quarterly contest, which asked SMART members to answer the question: Why are you proud to be a SMART union member? The website reports that the winner of this contest is a union brother named Matthew Beckham from Georgia. Brother Beckham's short essay is so thoughtful and well-written that I want to share it with you. Here it is.

“My story is short and sweet: By joining the union in 2007, I have had doors opened to me that would have never been opened if I wouldn’t have taken the leap of faith and cleaned my act up by seizing such a great opportunity for myself and my family. I am currently a safety manager for the best and biggest mechanical contractor in the state of Georgia, McKenney’s. My calling has led me down a safety path, where I have the opportunity to help my brothers and sisters get through problems and challenges in our industry.

“My daughter is the recipient of one of the 2023-2024 scholarship awards from SMART. She has been selected out of 130 other candidates and is the winning one for zone three. She is currently a freshman at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama.

“To summarize this with grace: Neither myself nor my family would be where we are today if it wasn’t for my local union. The union life has given me countless blessings, and I wear it daily with pride, integrity and humility.”