General President Coleman’s 2025 Holiday Message to SMART Members
Brothers, sisters and friends,
I want to wish you and your families a very happy holiday season. No matter what you celebrate — Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or your own tradition — this is a special time of year. I hope each and every one of you gets the chance to enjoy time with family and friends: observing your family traditions, cherishing the ability to see loved ones, and reflecting on the things we all value as working people.
The holiday season also gives us a chance to reflect on the past year.
Brothers and sisters, we faced some huge challenges in 2025. We had to fight back against attacks on our jobs, on our collective bargaining rights, even on our basic freedoms. Above all, we had to face constant attempts to divide us. To make us afraid of each other — of our own SMART brothers and sisters.
That’s why one of the things I’m most grateful for, this holiday season, is our union.
Just like everyone has their own holiday traditions and celebrations, we have our individual differences across SMART. That’s natural — we span different countries, states, provinces, backgrounds, industries and beliefs. But no matter what those differences are, we are a union family. And we all believe in the right to good jobs, the right to have a good life and the right to be able to spend time with the people we love, whether during the holidays or any other time of year.
All of those values — and our ability to see them come to fruition in our lives — come from our common ground: our solidarity. And I believe that’s a big part of what we all celebrate during the winter holidays. The spirit of giving, the idea of common humanity, the practice of extending a hand and helping those in need. I see members doing all those things in communities across North America, whether participating in Toys for Tots toy drives, helping pack meals for elderly neighbors or simply making sure our fellow SMART brothers and sisters are doing okay. That makes me so proud to represent you, and that is the true character of our union.
So as we close out the year, I hope you’ll join me in recommitting to our unity. Together, let’s stand united, all of us having each other’s backs, in 2026 and beyond.
As always, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the many members and SMART families who are working during the holidays. The essential jobs you do to build and move our two nations will never go unappreciated by your union brothers and sisters, and we all thank you.
So again, happy holidays to you and your families. Enjoy the season, and please stay safe.
In solidarity,
Michael Coleman assumed the position of SMART General President on June 1, 2023, having been elected by the SMART General Executive Council following the retirement of former SMART General President Joseph Sellers. He was reelected in August 2024 by delegates to the Third SMART General Convention in Las Vegas, Nev.
Coleman began his career as a SMART sheet metal worker in 1985, when he joined what was then Local 65 in Cleveland, Ohio (Local 65 merged with Local 33 soon after). After graduating into journeyperson status and honing his craft for several years, he ran for election as a member of the local’s executive board. From there, he became business representative, then Local 33 president and business manager in 2012.
SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, is one of North America’s most dynamic and diverse unions with 230,000 members. SMART’s members produce and provide the vital services that move products to market, passengers to their destinations and ensure the quality of the air we breathe. We are sheet metal workers, service technicians, bus operators, engineers, conductors, sign workers, welders, production employees and more. With members in scores of different occupations, we advocate for fairness in the workplace, excellence at work and opportunity for all working families.