Outstanding Relationship With Labor

Our members are committed to quality construction using credible, well accepted industry standards and employing a trained, professional workforce. On many levels, our contractors have an outstanding relationship with our labor partner, Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 36. Members receive wages commensurate with the skills they bring to the workplace. They also earn health insurance and generous pension benefits.

We value open and honest communication. Together – labor and management – we are establishing a vision for the future of the St. Louis Sheet Metal Industry.

SMACNA Local Chapter Benefits

SMACNA also provides many valuable benefits to our members. Our association offers contractors professional assistance in labor relations, legislative matters, research and technical standards development, safety, marketing, and management.

Our active local chapter promotes innovation by providing networking opportunities and by sponsoring forums for sharing best practices.
Locally, we offer a wide variety of educational programs for managers as well as for craftsmen.

We are proud of our enormously successful sheet metal apprentice training curriculum which is the core foundation for assuring a steady supply of skilled and safety qualified workers. Each year, our members invest $2 million in the St. Louis apprentice program.

Sheet Metal Worker’s Commitment to the Industry

For more than 100 years, we have supplied local contractors with qualified workers who are employed in residential, commercial, and industrial construction activities in both new construction and renovation. There is no sheet metal project that we cannot cover with our well trained craftspeople.

Job opportunities are expected to be excellent for sheet metal workers in the construction industry and in construction related sheet metal fabrication. Our apprentices know they'll earn a decent wage and receive generous benefits. The typical applicant is 30 years old, married with children and has attended college. Some have four-year degrees.

Jointly administered by our local and the area Sheet Metal Contractors, our apprentice training program is second to none. Apprentices receive 700 hours of intensive training, delivered by our gifted faculty in our recently expanded facility. Local 36 also offers advanced training and refresher courses for journeymen who want to upgrade their skills.

Safety and Substance Abuse Programs

For Local 36, one injury is one too many. For this reason, every member must pass two mandatory safety programs – Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) training and alcohol and drug testing – as a condition of membership at no additional cost to contractors.

All Local 36 apprentices receive 30 hours of OSHA training specifically geared toward the sheet metal industry. A portion of the training focuses on general OSHA construction standards, including personal protective and lifesaving equipment, materials handling, and hand and power tools, while 14 hours focus on the most important safety issues facing sheet metal workers, such as welding and cutting.
The construction industry faces higher rates of drug and alcohol use among its workers than any other field. A 2006 report by the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found among construction workers between the ages of 18 and 49, 21% admitted to illegal drug use over the past year and 13% admitted to heavy alcohol use.

Local 36 maintains one of the most stringent alcohol and drug testing policies in the construction industry today. All of our members are tested initially upon entering the apprenticeship program and may undergo random and due cause testing at any time.

These measures will reduce workers compensation costs and prevent accidents.