Sheet
Metal Workers are part of the building and construction trades. In shops
we layout, fabricate, and assemble sheet metal products; in the field we
install these sheet metal products in buildings and on construction projects.
Our
work includes (but is not limited to) heating, ventilating, and air conditioning
(HVAC), as well as moisture control (gutters, flashing, etc.). We fabricate
and install sheet metal products in the following areas:
Architectural
Kitchen
Equipment
Blowpipe
Systems
Light
Commercial
Chutes
and Hoppers
Lockers
& Shelving
Clean
Room Ventilation
Metal
Lagging
Commercial
Buildings
Metal
Roofs
Controls
Production
Conveyors
Residential
Decking
and Siding
Service
Expansion
Joints
Ship
Yard
Fabrication
Sight
Screens
Fire
Stop
Testing,
Adjusting, & Balancing (TAB)
Industrial
Toilet
Partitions
Signs
We
also provide service technicians for commercial, industrial, and residential
HVAC needs; as well as Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing (TAB) specialists
for today's closed system buildings. Some of the skills that we train for
include the following:
CAD
& newer generations of computer driven technologies
Bench
Layout
Computer
Layout
Metal
Roofs and Architectural Gutter and Trim including copper
Field
Layout
Heating,
Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
Installing
Clean Room Ventilation for High-Tech Computer and Electronics Industries
Moisture
Control (Gutter and Flashing) (Commercial, Residential, and Industrial)
Orbital
Welding
Soldering
Trigonometry
Function/Calculator Layout
Welding
- Certified Testing Facility through AWS (American Welding Society)
Through
our upgrade training, over the years we have earned the reputation of no
call-backs and “DO IT RIGHT
THE FIRST TIME!”
Sheet
metal work is a highly respected trade... Local
Union No. 19 serves 23 counties in Pennsylvania (Adams,
Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Centre, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware,
Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Mifflin,
Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia & York),
4 counties in New Jersey Building Trades (Camden, Gloucester, Salem &
Warren) 5 counties in New Jersey Sign Division (Atlantic, Burlington, Cape
May, Cumberland, Hunterdon & Mercer), and the entire state of Delaware.
We were established on December 10, 1887, and are 4300 Union members strong!
We
believe in being on the cutting edge of technology, to better serve our
customers and our union members. Therefore, we are committed to keeping
up with advances being made in our industry. This allows us use the
most modern methods and equipment, in order to provide the best possible
service.
Did
you know... Our
contractors have assisted in the completion of over 100,000
new homes in the last 5 years?
Schools,
libraries, and other public buildings are constructed with the help of
Sheet Metal Workers?
The
Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 offers an award winning 4 year apprentice
training program
that
annually produces some of the top trainees in the country!
Why
choose a Union Local No. 19 Sheet Metal Worker? Good
sheet metal workers are true craftsmen and women. Each one is required
to have been fully trained in a wide variety of disciplines...and to use
these talents, both mental and physical, on a daily basis. This assures
you of getting a skilled professional, worthy of the respect the Sheet
Metal Industry has proudly earned.
How
do I find out more about a career in the Sheet Metal Industry? The
majority of our students complete the training and go on to have productive
careers in the construction industry. If you would like to find out
more about the Apprentice program, and the opportunity for an exciting
career in the Sheet Metal Industry, CLICK
HERE.
Early years of the SMWIA
With the
metal product industries becoming increasingly active in the mid 1800’s,
many young people began to turn their craft into a trade. The small owned
shops were run by relatives, neighbors, and close associations building
small and cooperative relationships eventually leading into the establishment
of craftsmanship and togetherness which continues in the city’s labor force
today. In the late 1800’s, the working conditions for trade workers became
excruciating with many hours and low pay. Risking their jobs, these men
began protesting and establishing unions nationally including Local 19
having its charter signed on December 10, 1887 with the established name
of The Metal Roofers, Tin Plate and Sheet Iron Workers Protective Association
and a participation of less than fifty members.
The
first minutes recorded for Local 19 were on August 13, 1900 and the first
recorded election was held on October 26, 1900 where notable figure James
McGerry become the clerk of elections, Michael Sheil was elected to the
presidency, and John Steveline became Recording Secretary. With more detailed
notes beginning the following year, evidence shows that thirty-one new
members joined the Local within that year. Meetings then began to be regulated
after 1903 and the merger into the International. Through brief documentations
of the meetings held in 1903, it shows that a group of members were sent
to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to attend a conciliatory convention. At this convention
it is said that the number “19” was assigned to the local and that they
joined with other locals to merge into the already-existing Amalgamated
Sheet Metal Workers International Alliance.
With
advertisements in German newspapers such as The Times of North America
and Tagsblatt, membership within the local reached nearly one thousand
at the end of World War I. With the strike in 1921 membership dropped to
two hundred, increased after, and then quickly went back down to two hundred
during the Great Depression. After this rough time memberships continued
to increase with the attraction of employment opportunities and substantial
wage and fringe benefits. Although membership numbers were not given to
union workers until 1903 and even then only journeyman were given one,
there was still a long list of men who stayed members for long periods
of time.
In
1924, Local 19 received a second charter issued by the International Association
known as The Sheet Metal Workers International Association. Between the
years of 1903 to 1982 in order to create larger and stronger locals, Local
19’s jurisdiction extended to covering about twenty eight counties.