More than 100 safety champions and leaders in the sheet metal industry gathered Aug. 28-29 in Falls Church, Virginia, to “celebrate the small things” — as the theme of this year’s conference urged. Attendees looked to the future and shared strategies, resources and personal stories.
While last year’s Safety Champions Conference was based on mental health, this year’s conference broadened the scope to include subjects like Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) training, the SMOHIT website and member assistance programs. Using last year’s conference as a jumping-off point, the conference was awash in bright colors, with snacks on the tables and a recharging area complete with couch, chairs and plants.
“That recharging area is for people, not phones,” said Aldo Zambetti, SMOHIT administrator. “When you put it into context, we let our phones recharge so that they don’t die — think about the language there. We worry more about our phone dying than ourselves.”
One recurring theme was gratitude toward SMART General President Mike Coleman and the rest of the SMART leadership for passing a resolution forming an official mental health committee. With support from the top, those at SMOHIT felt renewed determination to continue blazing a trail among the unionized trades in reaching members who need help.
Labor leaders need to talk about mental health, said John Daniel, SMART General Secretary Treasurer. Modeling choices like going to therapy or monitoring high blood pressure can plant seeds.
“As industry and labor leaders, let’s talk more about ‘we’ and less about ‘I,’” Daniel said. “Honor the people who came before you by charting a course that takes us to a better place, for the people that come after.”
Dan McCallum, executive director of the Funds — SMOHIT, NEMI and ITI — followed Daniel’s example and also scrapped his prepared statement. He instead looked back at the transformation in the three funds he oversees, and how programs have evolved. Finding Jeremy Holburn to run the SMOHIT Helpline absolutely changed its trajectory, for instance.
“I can’t imagine there is any better helpline that any construction industry has than this fund,” McCallum said. “There is so much value to the SMOHIT fund now … don’t be ashamed to come and ask for help, it does change lives.”
Carol Duncan, SMACNA president, reminded everyone how safety is often the sum of many little actions, so celebrating the small things made sense. Making it through the pandemic — when being “essential” felt like being “expendable,” Duncan noted — left a mark on many workers.
Keynote speaker Big Daddy Tazz, a larger-than-life comedian and mental health communicator, wore florescent pink under his gunmetal grey button-up shirt and had the broad smile of a working-class Santa Claus. Clean and sober for 27 years, Tazz shared his personal trauma and triumphs. He stressed that if someone thinks asking for help is showing weakness, and they ask anyway, they are showing great strength, great power.
“If someone says they’re fine, but doesn’t mean it, ask again. Even if it annoys them! Better to lose a friendship than a friend,” Tazz urged. “Call an ambulance so that you don’t have to call the morgue.”
After lunch came a SMART MAP presentation with SMART Director of Wellness and Mental Health Chris Carlough; SMOHIT Field Representative Ed Robison; Holburn; and Ben Cort, principal consultant at Cort Consulting.
From teaching members how to be mental health first responders and how to teach their peers to do the same to naloxone training and the SMOHIT Helpline, Cort said no one looks at the mental health of its members like SMART.
“I’ve worked for major sports organizations, and multiple Fortune 500 companies, and they all talked a big game,” Cort said, “but no one has put the resources in like sheet metal.”
Holburn led the room through a self-assessment worksheet, giving each attendee actionable information and reminding everyone that they are resources, members of a community and members of a family, and it’s OK to need help.
To end the first day, Dr. Calvina Ellerbe showed members how to embrace conflict and turn challenges into growth opportunities. A parenting expert and sociology professor, Ellerbe outlined how ignoring conflict can poison work culture and noted it’s our response to conflict, not the conflict itself, that matters.
Aaron Krahn, training coordinator at SMART Local 18’s Fox Valley JATC in Wisconsin, was a first-time attendee who said he decided to come because the SMART MAP session he attended had been one of the most impactful of his career. The conference more than met his expectations.
“It made me want to bring back ideas to our local training center and membership about mental health awareness,” he said. “The SMOHIT staff is very knowledgeable and brings these programs to new heights. They set the bar very high.”
That evening, attendees gathered for the 2024 Safety Matters Awards. Winners included Anthony Aarns, safety director and trainer at SMART Local 265 in Carol Stream, Illinois; Nathan Allred, a mental health advocate at R.F. Knox in Smyrna, Georgia; Patrick Mingucci, safety director at Industrial Enterprises in Jefferson City Missouri; and Marvin Tavarez, business agent at SMART Local 28 in Jamaica, New York.
Diane Blackburn of Blackburn Occupational Health Specialists received an Award of Recognition, and Zambetti spoke about the book of elderly retirees’ numbers she keeps, so she can call and make sure they get what they need. An Award of Recognition also went to Imagine Communications, based in Henderson, Nevada, for the work their entire team has done to support SMOHIT’s mission. Zambetti also singled out owner and creative director Alex Raffi for his effort on a pro bono animation project, “It’s Not Your Fault,” illustrating how union brothers and sisters can help when hope seems lost.
At evening’s end, a new award was unveiled: a copper trophy dubbed the Chris Carlough You Are Not Alone Award. Reserved for extraordinary achievements, the honor immortalizes its first recipient, Carlough, for his efforts to safeguard the mental health of SMART members. Zambetti reminded attendees the Carlough name is a dynasty in this industry, with Chris Carlough’s father, Edward J. Carlough, and grandfather, Edward F. Carlough, both having served as general president of the union — it was Chris Carlough’s father who created SMOHIT in the 1980s.
“I am truly humbled and honored,” Chris Carlough said, surrounded by his children Ryan and Megan Carlough, who had turned up to surprise him.
The next morning, members found red SMART MAP polo shirts and “celebrate the small things” hats on the tables, along with a crossword puzzle and assorted goodies. SMACNA CEO Aaron Filger welcomed attendees and echoed the previous day’s speakers, applauding the change in culture he has witnessed.
Bradley updated members on the SMOHIT website, giving them a tour of new features, including the megaproject guides. For the five megaproject cities listed, SMOHIT curated points of interest: laundromats, RV parks, gyms, restaurants and places to bring the family when they visit. Mirrored on the SMOHIT app, these guides also include access to local 12-step programs, which helps those in recovery maintain much-needed routine.
One good thing that came out of the pandemic, he said, was a common-sense revamping of health screenings. Beginning this year, eligible members receive reminders and screenings take place in their resident city. Partner Chicago Med Group has created secure online intake forms, and once the connection is made, the rest is between a member and their local providers.
Bradley previewed the new Toolbox Talk flip books, in English and Spanish, and showed off the SMOHIT website shop where posters, magnets and even naloxone doses (for members who have completed the required training) can be ordered. He also reminded attendees to spread the word about SMART MAP registrations, including the two-day peer trainings, which involve a trainer coming out to a location and working with 20 to 40 members.
“It changes your perspective on mental health,” Bradley said. “These trainings are lifesaving. The training was so important to me and has helped me in so many different situations.”
Justin Crandol, director of safety at SMACNA, and Jason Galoozis, chair of SMACNA’s safety committee, energetically took the stage to the 1982 hit, “Safety Dance.” They reminded members that OSHA was formed in 1971, making it younger than many local unions. Galoozis recalled his father was given salt pills and an asbestos coat to do his job — in other words, safety has come a long way in a relatively short time. Galoozis and Crandol outlined the SMACNA safety committee’s objectives and encouraged “safety nerds” to attend the upcoming Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA)/SMACNA/The Association for Union Construction and Maintenance (TUAC) Joint Safety and Health Conference scheduled for Jan. 14-16 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Gary Gustafson, director of the environmental hazards training program with CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training, briefed attendees on the organization’s resources and how best to take advantage of them. CPWR can provide many types of grant-funded training, along with short-form educational pieces designed to fit into existing training programs and reimbursement programs.
“CPWR works for you, I work for you!” he urged. “Our mission is to make sure the construction industry gets better, safer.”
After lunch, ITI Field Staff Representative Darek Scarlavai informed attendees that, according to Mine and Safety Health Administration (MSHA) classifications, many sheet metal workers fall under the category of “miner.” Members need to know what the training requirements are and which ITI-approved training plans cover the MSHA requirements.
Justin Azbill, director of the national employee health services (EHS) at Milwaukee Tool, discussed his journey to mental health advocate. He learned at a Construction Working Minds training that more than 5,000 construction workers are lost to suicide and another 17,000 succumbed to substance use disorder or overdose each year. He now advocates for “internal PPE,” consisting of physical fitness, weekly meetings with a peer group, at least seven hours of sleep each night and healthy boundaries at home and work.
Cort gave a rundown of employee assistance programs (EAPs), many of which simply give members a list of therapists, many inactive, and collect money. Cort founded UnionEAP, which provides resources for union members and their families. UnionEAP validates every referral and will never send a member to a treatment program that’s full. These complicated issues are solvable if you put personal attention in, Cort asserted.
Finally, Robison led the room through naloxone, also known as Narcan, training. A safe, effective way to instantly counteract opioids and fentanyl in someone’s bloodstream, administered naloxone can stop an overdose long enough to get someone to a hospital where treatment can continue.
“This should be everywhere,” said Robison. “In the training center, in the gang boxes — everywhere.”
“You’re going to take this home,” Zambetti said as the conference wrapped. “You know what your resources are — not just the business cards you collected from the people you sat with, the people you met, the stories you heard. Tomorrow starts when you leave those doors and it never ends.”