This Is Local 25.

The history of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association is that of a strong and dynamic union that has been on the leading edge of organizing, representation and bargaining.

Local 25’s apprenticeship is a four-year, paid program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor and administered by the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC). The process is straightforward but competitive. Local 25 accepts applications during published application windows only.

… go to school, work hard and become a productive and faithful employee, then you can expect to support a family, raise and educate your children, enjoy a healthy and fulfilling life, and retire with dignity.

That was the vision of the middle class, what it was to be an American. But the middle class is disappearing in direct proportion to the demise of the American union movement. After World War II, nearly 30% of our workforce belonged to unions. Today, barely half that is organized. Today, few own the world’s resources, while most live in poverty.

Wages of $8 per hour are common. For most of these workers, there is no health insurance or retirement plan. The result? U.S. taxpayer-supported public assistance programs are making up for what employers should be financing. That’s corporate welfare.

Why are wages so low? Because that’s the easiest way to increase profitability. The result? Today, the wealthiest 1% own as much of our nation as 90% of the rest of us. Corporate CEOs can earn 500 times the wages paid to their workers.

The numbers tell quite a story about the difference a union career can make.

A landmark study published in Cornell University’s ILR Review, examining 50 years of career earnings data, found that workers who spent their careers in a union earned an average of $1.3 million more in lifetime earnings than their nonunion counterparts — a gain larger than the average return on a four-year college degree.
And that’s before you count the benefits. 94% of union workers have access to employer-provided health care, compared to just 67% of nonunion workers, and 60% of union households have a defined benefit pension, versus only 24% of nonunion households. The result shows up in real wealth: The median union household holds $338,482 in wealth, compared to $199,948 for nonunion households. Higher pay. Better benefits. A real retirement. That’s what organizing delivers.

The freedom to form unions is also a basic human right. In 1935 the United States government enacted the National Labor Relations Act that said, “Employees shall have the right to form … labor organizations … to bargain collectively … [and employers may not] interfere with … the exercise of … this right.”

In 1948 the U.S. joined four-fifths of United Nations member states to ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which included the right of all people to come together in unions.
Workers form unions because there is power in numbers. Where unions are strong, employers must bargain collectively to set the terms and conditions of employment. The demand for profits must then be compromised with fairness toward workers.