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2025 Atlanta Regional Training Seminar
10/27/2025
Training targeting Local Chairpersons, Local Presidents, Local S&T's and Local Legislative Reps
2025 - Organizing III
10/06/2025
Class Times 8am to 5pm Mon-Fri. This newly redesigned class for 2025 will focus on top-down campaigns. This class will be focused on providing the participants with practical, hands-on experiences of the skills necessary to educate non-signatory contractors about the values a union agreement provides their company. This class will be extensively devoted to supported role-playing, workshops, class discussions and minimal lecture. Participants will learn about developing an elevator pitch, working through the gate-keeper, initial meeting strategies, subsequent meeting strategies, and closing the deal.
2025 - Collective Bargaining
10/20/2025
Class Times 8am to 5pm Mon-Thu. This new class will assist SMART leaders in the research, preparation, and negotiation of collective bargaining agreements at the local, national, and multi-national levels. A key part of this class will be to bring leaders together to share experiences and best practices related to bargaining. Content will include a thorough analysis of the bargaining process. The final project for this class will include a mock bargaining session.
2025 - New Business Managers (Invite Only)
11/17/2025
Class Times 8am to 5pm Mon-Fri This program is designed for new business managers and expands upon the content in the new representatives’ classes by focusing on how to manage a local. The content is centered around teaching new managers to develop skills in local union management, managing staff, running meetings, strategic planning, organizing and growth, trust funds, and how to work with IA staff and much more. Participants will shape this course by sharing the challenges they have faced in their roles so that all can benefit from their collective experiences and best practices.
2025 - Collective Bargaining
12/08/2025
Class times 8am to 5pm Mon-Thu. This class will assist SMART Leaders in the research, preparation, and negotiation of collective bargaining agreements at the local, national, and multi-national levels. A key part of this class will be to bring leaders together to share experiences and best practices related to bargaining. Content will include a thorough analysis of the bargaining process. The final project for this class will include a mock bargaining session.
2026 - Bottom-Up Organizing
01/05/2026
Class is Monday through Friday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. | This class is designed to teach the skills organizers need to implement the bottom-up strategy as well as the mindset to make this strategy successful. As the first class of the year, the class will discuss and analyze the three different organizing strategies and learn the basics of working with labo(u)r boards, unfair labo(u)r practices, and salting. Participants will be assigned to a local that is trying to organize either Coleman Sheet Metal or Daniel Sheet Metal. Participants will learn how to make initial contact with the workers, rating worker’s union sympathies, identifying and recruiting leaders, establishing and training an organizing committee, signing authorization cards, internal worker actions, external actions to support the workers, and the election process. Almost every exercise in this class is part of the mock campaign that participants are involved in from day one.
2026 - Collective Bargaining
02/02/2026
Class is Monday through Thursday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. | Participants will engage in practical learning on key bargaining elements including member surveys, proposal development, strategic research, and use of the National Joint Adjustment Board. The course emphasizes interactive learning through group exercises, SWOT analysis, and mock negotiations using company-specific research. To enhance team dynamics and personal insight, students will complete the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, fostering awareness of individual negotiation styles and conflict resolution approaches. The program culminates in two intensive days of mock negotiations to solidify skills in a collaborative setting.
2026 - Effective Communications
03/02/2026
Class is Monday through Friday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. | This class is designed to improve and enhance the communication skills of local union leadership by focusing on clear, confident, and effective message delivery. Participants will refine their personal speaking styles, manage public speaking anxiety, and develop active listening skills to better engage with diverse audiences. They will also learn to give and receive constructive feedback while preparing and delivering introductory, informational, and persuasive speeches. Emphasis will be placed on bridging the gap between what leaders say and what audiences hear, especially in today’s polarized environment. The class includes hands-on learning through small-group exercises and role-play to build real-world communication confidence.
2026 - Advance Representatives
04/13/2026
Class is Monday through Friday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. | This class shifts focus beyond local union operations to the broader responsibilities that significantly impact members’ access to work. Participants engage with topics including identifying and empowering social leaders within their membership, relationship-building with political and industry stakeholders, and addressing traveler-specific needs (SMOHIT, SASMI, job bank, mental health). Additional modules explore strategic communication such as lobbying, media engagement, telling the local’s story, and navigating national agreements and mega projects.
2026 - Top-Down Organizing
05/04/2026
Class is Monday through Friday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. | This class introduces participants to the fundamentals of consultative sales, or top-down organizing. Participants will learn how to identify non-union companies, plan outreach strategies, craft elevator pitches, and navigate meetings with potential signatories. Emphasis will be placed on soft skills and persuasive communication to effectively convey SMART’s value to businesses. Working in small groups, participants will engage in realistic role-play scenarios. Each group will aim to successfully organize at least one company by the end of the week, based on their performance.
2026 - Production Institute Year 1
06/01/2026
Class is Monday through Thursday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. | This class is designed to teach union officials—including stewards—in the production industry the fundamentals of effective grievance handling and contract enforcement. Participants will learn how to identify grievable issues, conduct thorough investigations, write strong grievance statements, and navigate each step of the grievance process. Emphasis will be placed on the steward’s role in protecting the contract and maintaining member confidence through fair and consistent representation. The course will conclude with a mock arbitration, giving participants hands-on experience presenting and defending a grievance in a realistic setting.
2026 - Digital Communications
06/23/2026
Class is Tuesday through Friday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. |
2026 - New Representatives
08/24/2026
Class is Monday through Friday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. | Participants will learn about the SMART Constitution, constitutional obligations, labo(u)r law, time management, conflict resolution, charges and trials, decertification and raiding, collective and national agreements, jurisdictional issues, and the structure and function of the International and its funds. Set within a dynamic simulation, participants are assigned to one of six fictional locals—half facing decertification and half emerging from trusteeship with elections looming. Through an evolving storyline, they’ll navigate unresolved member issues at Coleman Sheet Metal or Daniel HVAC, switching between the roles of union officials and members in interactive exercises. As the week progresses, each local will uncover hidden challenges they must solve to avoid decertification or win their upcoming election, tying class content directly to real-world problem-solving.
2026 - Strategic/Pressure Organizing
09/14/2026
Class is Monday through Friday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. | This class teaches participants how to strategically disrupt companies performing work under SMART’s trade jurisdiction through targeted pressure campaigns. Participants explore core tactics such as strategic planning, SWOT analysis, and pressure tools, then apply those concepts in daily group exercises using research on real companies. Each day features head-to-head group competitions, with participants evaluated by their peers on contribution and effectiveness. The class concludes with participants developing and presenting a campaign plan for a company they researched prior to attending.
2026 - New Business Managers
10/05/2026
Class is Monday through Friday. Class times are generally 8:00 a. | This five-day leadership course equips new Business and Regional Managers with the strategic and practical tools needed to lead their locals into a stronger future. The class emphasizes proactive problem-solving, leadership accountability, and the development of Strategic Action Plans (SAPs). Through sessions on leadership principles, time management, decision-making, constitutional duties, legal compliance, organizing strategies, and community engagement, Managers gain the skills to manage daily operations, staff, and union growth effectively. Interactive exercises and peer collaboration drive home the importance of inclusive leadership, strong governance, and strategic planning. The week concludes with each participant presenting a customized SAP tailored to their local’s needs and goals. This class is only for Business Managers with priority in this class being given to newly elected Business and Regional Managers.
2026 - Labor/Labour History Train-the-Trainer
11/03/2026
Class is Tuesday through Thursday. Class times are generally 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. | This class will explore the rich history of labo(u)r struggles, key legislative milestones, and the evolving roles of unions in shaping the workplace and broader social policies. The history of SMART, including all crafts and varieties of work represented by our members, will be placed into the context of the broader fight for workers’ rights in the United States and Canada. As fewer of our new members come from union backgrounds today, this class will help build a spirit of trade unionism within our organization to help move it forward.