WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: A collage of photos taken by WNYLaborToday.com at SMART Local 71’s new Training Facility in the City of Buffalo where the International Union’s Region 1 Apprenticeship Competition was held late last week and into the weekend, drawing 40 participants from SMART Locals across New York State, Eastern Massachusetts and Western Connecticut.  Competing Apprentices showcased their skills through written and practical events in various areas of sheet metal production.  Judging was performed by industry experts, who then awarded prizes to the winners at a celebratory banquet.   (WNYLaborToday.com Photos)

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – It took 30 years, but it was worth the wait for SMART (Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation) Local 71 to host the International Union’s Region 1 Apprenticeship Competition at the Buffalo Building Trades Member Union’s new Training Facility in the City of Buffalo, where 40 Apprentices from SMART Locals across New York State, Eastern Massachusetts and Western Connecticut got the chance to showcase their skills through written and practical events in various areas of sheet metal production. 

“Local 71 ‘hasn’t hosted one of these in thirty years because, quite frankly, we didn’t have a (training) facility like this,’” Business Manager Paul Crist told WNYLaborToday.com during the event held at the Union’s $1.3 million Training Center, which was officially opened in July 2021.  “‘But thanks to our Members’ investment, and (funding that came from New York) Empire State Development, we now have such a place that we can showcase.’”

“‘It took a lot of work to get ready (for the competition) and we’re proud to have such a place to do it,’” Crist continued.  “Our Members ‘love it’ (the Local 71 Training Facility) and those from out of town ‘are impressed by it.’  For our Apprentices, ‘it’s an opportunity have their skills judged, meet their Brothers and Sisters (from other SMART Locals) and make friends in the Trade.’  ‘We hope they enjoyed their time here at Local 71 and the places they visited’ (such as what Downtown Buffalo offers and nearby Niagara Falls) during their off-time.  ‘And with the new (NFL Buffalo Bills) stadium to be built (in Orchard Park over the next several years), some of them might be back (to actually work on its construction).”

The Apprentices came from several SMART Locals, including: Buffalo; Rochester; Syracuse; Albany; New York City and Brewster, New York; Boston; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Connecticut.  Under the watchful eyes of Proctors, they took part in a series of competitions in seven disciplines, ranging from architectural metals to industrial fabrication to HVAC work and testing and balancing.

SMART Region 1 Field Representative Len Liebert from the International Training Institute in Pittsburgh was also in attendance and told WNYLaborToday.com: “Going to these competitions is part of my job and ‘what we are seeing here is leaving us with a lot of hope because these Members are taking a lot of pride’ (in their work).  ‘They are here to win, but they’ve already won - they’ve met others from their fellow Locals and are networking and finding out what they have in common.’  ‘That’s the best thing they’ll take away - memories of the people they met.’”

Liebert said he was “impressed” with Local 71’s Training Facility, which he added “has potential for growth.”  “Technology has been the ‘biggest change in our industry and (SMART) is passing all of that down to our Apprentices through our local JATCs.’  ‘We are looking to see more Women get into our Trade, as well as more Minorities - and we’ve made a lot of progress (in those areas) because you can earn while you learn and avoid a lot of college debt.’  And, (because of older Members retiring) ‘we need to get people up to speed as quickly as possible to fill those gaps.’”

Local 71 Training Coordinator Tim Benner (pictured above, in the middle - with Business Manager Crist on the left and Business Representative Tim Benes on the right), whose “been doing this for about ten years now,” told WNYLaborToday.com: “This is ‘really an unbelievable event.’  We’ve been planning it for a year ‘and now we’ve pulled off a great competition.’  ‘I’m very proud.’”

Right now, Local 71 has 62 Apprentices in its system with as many as seven getting ready to graduate to Journeyman status, but Benner says the Union “could take another twenty.”

Nick Hoffman (pictured below, on the left) and Nick Ickowski (pictured below, on the right) are Apprentice Members of Local 71, which represents 325 Members working in the Building Trades, another 150 in Production and another 150 Retirees.

Hoffman, a second-year Apprentice, and Ickowski, a fourth-year Apprentice, both formerly worked Non-Union.  While both said they were “proud” to be part of the competition, they were even more proud to be Members of a Union with SMART Local 71.

“This is ‘quite humbling.’  ‘I’m here to prove myself and my Local.’  (Those from other Locals who are competing in the event) ‘are excited.’  It’s a ‘fun’ event,” Hoffman said of the competition.  “‘But what I like about being in a Union is that you are treated like a human being’ (as opposed to working Non-Union).  Unions ‘play by the rules, we take OSHA (U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration) courses and there’s safety on the worksite’ (for those who work there).

Ickowski, meanwhile, said it was “really cool” to meet his SMART Brothers and Sisters from the other competing Locals as his Union “is all one family.”

“I’m competing in industrial welding and you have to get it together, especially when you head into the welding booth,” he said.  “I worked Non-Union, ‘but I’m doing way much better now.’”

Added Training Coordinator Benner: “We’re ‘definitely proud of both of them’ (Hoffman and Ickowski).  ‘They give us high hope.’”

Local 71 Business Representative Tim Benes hopes to duplicate what his SMART Local has done in the future if Hoffman and Ickowski are an example of what can be accomplished.

“Recruitment ‘has been way better, for sure.’  We have two-hundred on our (Apprenticeship) waiting list,” he said, adding: “What interests them is ‘the pay, number one.’  ‘And being part of the Union, number two.’  ‘They’re interested in making something’ (better in their lives).”

Dave Nieman, President and Owner of Buffalo-based Merz Metal, who’s been part of the Buffalo JATC Board for the past 10 years and was a Member of SMART Local 71 himself, was also in attendance and told WNYLaborToday.com: “It’s ‘very important to get the younger generation involved (in the Trade) because it builds a strong’ organization.  ‘And I’ve never seen anything like this.’  ‘It’s great Local 71 is getting more of their guys involved.’”

Paige Bright (pictured above) out of Local 83 in Albany is a 27-year-old, third-year Apprentice and a Certified Welding Inspector.  She served as a Proctor during the competition.

Asked by WNYLaborToday.com why she became a SMART Member, Bright replied, with a laugh: “Financing and budgeting.”

Bright then admitted she “grew up in the Trade” that her Father worked in.  A Member of Smart Local 19 out of Philadelphia, Bright said her Dad’s profession “‘took good care of (her family)’” - which made an impression on her, even at a young age.

“I also ‘knew’ guys who were in the Local ‘and they were very passionate about their work.’  I had gone into the Medical Field – in Dental Radiology, even though I initially wanted to be an Auto Technician (but was dissuaded by others who did not see it as Women’s job),” she said.

It really hit home for Bright, years later, after she and her boyfriend drove into a thruway stop and she realized the ductwork, HVAC and pipework was a project she worked on.

“It was ‘surreal,’” Bright said.

This was her first experience at a SMART Apprenticeship Competition, but says she was “excited” after being approached to be a Proctor at the Buffalo event. 

“I ‘love this and I’m proud of it.’  ‘We’re a family, we have a voice and there is a great amount of attention to detail,’” Bright said.

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: For More On SMART Local 71’s Training Center, Read: “This Was The Place To Be” - SMART Local 71’s ‘Commitment To Breathing New Life Into Blighted Property Hailed’ By NYS Lt. Governor Hochul, Who Officially Helps Open The Union’s New Training Facility On Buffalo’s East Side At www.wnylabortoday.com/news/2021/07/27/buffalo-and-western-new-york-labor-news/this-was-the-place-to-be-smart-local-71-s-commitment-to-breathing-new-life-into-blighted-property-hailed-by-nys-lt.-governor-hochul-who-officially-helps-open-the-union-s-new-training-facility-on-buffalo-s-east-side/