SMWIA Designated Counsel
Chad E. Jones is proud, and honored to be named as a designated legal counsel for the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association. Like the SMWIA, Jones Law Firm is dedicated to helping and protecting the rights of hard working people and their families.
The SMWIA—the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association—is one of the most innovative, aggressive and progressive unions of construction workers, and one of the most significant unions representing railroad, shipyard and production employees in our industry. Sheet Metal Workers are united through collective bargaining agreements providing some of the best pay, benefits and opportunities in the industries where we work.
Chad E. Jones has spent his career helping people whether they were hurt at work or not. He has represented people hurt in Car Wrecks, Trucking Accidents, Workers’ Compensation cases, Social Security Disability Case, Medical Malpractice Case, Railroad Injuries, and Boat Injury cases. Chad E. Jones has been recognized by the State of Texas as one of only 2% of attorneys Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Just as special to him is the honor of being designated by the SMWIA as an approved and designated attorney for its union’s membership.
Chad E. Jones is licensed both in Texas and Nebraska, and will be glad to meet you and discuss your case.
Where are SMWIA members?
The Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association serves to protect and raise the living standards of over 150,000 skilled men and women employed throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. We work in the construction, manufacturing, service, railroad and shipyard industries.
They are working in America’s shipyards, building the Navy of the future, servicing North America’s railroad industry, performing an HVAC service visit to your home, or providing our expertise to construction and industrial work, Sheet Metal Workers are recognized for always being the best at the myriad of crafts they perform.
Ships : Sheet Metal Workers perform the work of our craft in both federal and private shipyards. Our members maintain and overhaul Navy ships in federal yards located in Norfolk, Virginia; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Bremerton, Washington; and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. We perform the work of our craft in shipyard building, offices, shops, warehouses and yards. Our members are involved in construction, retrofits and maintenance within the federal shipyard facilities that house the various shops, offices and warehouses.
In private shipyards, we do much of the same work with the exception that all newly constructed ships for the U.S. Navy are built in private shipyards. Private shipyards have depended on the Navy for work for the past 30 years, building every class of ship the navy used. Unfortunately, all new commercial ships have been built in foreign countries for a number of years; however, American shipyards have secured contracts recently to build various classes of vessels – most recent, four cruise ships. Our members have a long and proud tradition of building and maintaining ships for the U.S. navy and now we will be able to apply our skills to the building of commercial ships.
Rail: There are 39 SMWIA Local Unions whose members work in one phase or another in the Rail Transportation Industry. The officers of these Local Unions protect the jurisdiction of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association and with the Local Union members collectively work to enforce our Union Contract with each employer. Problems that cannot be resolved by the Local Union Committee with the employer are referred to a General Chairman in the District Council.
The Sheet Metal Workers' International Association United States District Council of Railroads was charted in 1982, an amalgamation of eleven (11) District Councils that dated back to the 1930s. The officers of the SMWIA Railroad District Council are the General Chairman, Secretary Treasurer and three full-time elected General Chairmen located in different areas of the country who assist the local unions and handle day to day problems with enforcement of the contract. There are also five members of the Council’s Executive Board. The District Council's office is located at 24 Columbine Avenue, Merrick, New York 11566, and the telephone number is (516) 485-4571.
Sheet Metal Workers are unique in the construction industry as the only trade that designs, manufactures and installs their own products. They are skilled craftspersons take ordinary types of flat metal and make them into specialized products for various duct and ventilation systems, as well as architectural and specialized metal fabrication. Members of the trade are proud of its special distinction: They not only build; they create.
Historical Events
January 25, 1888 – Representatives from Peoria, IL; Kansas City, MO; Omaha, NE; Memphis, TN; Dayton, and Youngstown meet in Toledo, OH to form the Tin, Sheet Iron and Cornice Workers’ International Association. The President was Archibald Barnes; Secretary was A.W. Chatfield; and Robert Kellerstrass was named Treasurer.
1927 – Sheet Metal Workers from Local 206 in San Diego, CA build a major portion of what became the “Spirit of St. Louis.” This is the plane Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in May 1927.
1942 – During WWII, a number of Sheet Metal Workers were engaged in “secret work” associated with development of an atomic bomb.
1962 – SMWIA becomes first union to offer its members accident insurance – protecting members at work and at home in cases of accidental death.
The mission statement of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association:
“TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN DESIRABLE WORKING CONDITIONS AND THUS PROVIDE FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES THAT MEASURE OF COMFORT, HAPPINESS, AND SECURITY TO WHICH EVERY CITIZEN IS ENTITLED IN RETURN FOR HIS LABOR, FROM A DEEP SENSE OF PRIDE IN OUR TRADE, TO GIVE A FAIR DAY'S WORK FOR A FAIR DAY'S PAY."
A significant portion of this information came from the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association website. www.SMWIA.com
The Texas injury lawyers at Jones Law Firm, P.C., handle all types of personal injury, FELA, and Jones Act cases in Bryan, College Station, Houston, Navasota, Brenham, Madisonville, Calvert, Huntsville, Centerville, Buffalo, Franklin, Rockdale, Giddings and Caldwell and throughout the state of Texas. Call Jones Law Firm, P.C., at (979) 823-7300 or fill out a free case consultation form to have your case reviewed by an experienced Bryan, TX injury attorney today.
