Affiliations
No local
stands alone.
Local 512 represents sheet metal workers and roofers across Newfoundland and Labrador. Here are the councils, associations and agencies behind that work, and what each one actually does.
01
Building trades
Local 512 is an affiliate of Trades NL, the umbrella body for the province's building and construction trades unions, and holds a trustee seat on its executive board.
Trades NL, the Building Trades of Newfoundland and Labrador, coordinates the interests of fourteen building and construction trades unions and their international affiliates across the province. Trades NL lists Sheet Metal Workers, Local 512 among its affiliates, and Local 512 holds a trustee seat on its executive board.
That matters on the big jobs. Newfoundland and Labrador's major construction work runs through project agreements covering all the trades at once, so the trade beside you is held to the same training and safety standard, and the trades speak together rather than one local at a time.
Nationally, the building trades coordinate through Canada's Building Trades Unions.
02
The international union
Local 512 is an affiliate of SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.
Local 512 represents sheet metal workers and roofers across Newfoundland and Labrador, and is a chartered affiliate of SMART. Canadian locals coordinate nationally through the Canadian Conference of Sheet Metal Workers and Roofers.
That connection is what makes the ticket portable. The Red Seal a member earns here is recognized by locals across Canada and the United States, which matters in a province whose work has always moved with the projects.
03
Labour relations
The provincial agreement between Local 512 and the Construction Labour Relations Association sets the terms on every signatory job.
Wages, hours, dispatch rules, working conditions and benefit contributions come from the collective agreement between Local 512 and the Construction Labour Relations Association (C.L.R.A.), and apply on every signatory job in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The agreement is the reason the rate is the same whoever the contractor is, and the reason it can be enforced rather than argued about job by job. A copy is available to members through the members' area.
04
Training & certification
Apprenticeship is registered with the province's Apprenticeship and Trades Certification Division, with in-school training through the College of the North Atlantic.
Sheet metal apprenticeship in Newfoundland and Labrador runs four years and roughly 7,200 hours, combining in-school block-release training with on-the-job hours under signatory contractors, and leads to Red Seal certification.
Apprenticeship and trade certification in the province are administered by the Apprenticeship and Trades Certification Division of the provincial government, which registers apprentices and sets the trade standards. Academy Canada runs the pre-employment Sheet Metal Worker program, 32 weeks plus a two-week work term.
Beyond the ticket, members upgrade through the local's own courses and certifications, and through SMART's international training programs.
05
Health & safety
Workplace injury coverage and prevention in this province run through WorkplaceNL, alongside SMART's own occupational health institute.
Workplace health, safety and compensation in Newfoundland and Labrador are administered by WorkplaceNL, which handles injury claims, prevention programs and employer coverage across the province. Construction-sector safety training is also delivered through the provincial construction safety association.
SMART maintains its own occupational health arm, SMOHIT, covering the hazards specific to the sheet metal trade, and national reference material comes from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
06
Benefits & pension
Group health and welfare is administered by BPA Atlantic, with a defined-contribution pension built on every hour worked under the agreement.
Members and their families are covered by group health and welfare administered by BPA Atlantic, including drug, dental, vision, life and disability coverage. The pension is a defined-contribution plan built on every hour worked under the collective agreement.
The agreement also funds a training fund and confidential employee and family assistance support.
Across Canada
The other SMART locals.
Local 512 is one of twenty-one SMART sheet metal and roofers locals across Canada. Members transfer, work travels, and the trade is the same one everywhere. If you are outside Newfoundland and Labrador, the local below covers your area.
Alberta
- Local 8Edmonton and Calgary
Saskatchewan
- Local 296Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert
Manitoba
- Local 511Winnipeg
Ontario
- Local 30Toronto and the GTA
- Local 47Ottawa and Eastern Ontario
- Local 235Windsor, Essex and Chatham-Kent
- Local 269Kingston
- Local 285Toronto, residential, gas and fabrication
- Local 397Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario
- Local 473London and Southwestern Ontario
- Local 504Sudbury and Northeastern Ontario
- Local 537Hamilton, Niagara and Brant
- Local 540Mississauga, production
- Local 562Kitchener, Waterloo and Wellington
New Brunswick
- Local 437Saint John, New Brunswick and PEI
Locals without a link do not publish a public website. Call this hall and we will point you at the right one.
07
Straight answers
- What building trades council does Local 512 belong to?
- Sheet Metal Workers Local 512 is an affiliate of Trades NL, the Building Trades of Newfoundland and Labrador, which coordinates fourteen building and construction trades unions and their international affiliates across the province. Trades NL lists Local 512 among its affiliates, and the local holds a trustee seat on its executive board.
- Who bargains the collective agreement for sheet metal workers in Newfoundland and Labrador?
- The provincial agreement is between Sheet Metal Workers Local 512 and the Construction Labour Relations Association (C.L.R.A.). It sets the wages, hours, dispatch rules, working conditions and benefit contributions that apply on every signatory job in Newfoundland and Labrador.
- How does the sheet metal apprenticeship work in Newfoundland and Labrador?
- The apprenticeship runs four years and roughly 7,200 hours, combining in-school block-release training with on-the-job hours under signatory contractors, and leads to Red Seal certification. Apprenticeship and trade certification in the province are administered by the Apprenticeship and Trades Certification Division of the provincial government, with in-school training delivered through the College of the North Atlantic.
- Which body handles workplace injury and safety in Newfoundland and Labrador?
- WorkplaceNL administers workplace health, safety and compensation across Newfoundland and Labrador, handling injury claims, prevention programs and employer coverage. It is the province's equivalent of the WSIB in Ontario or the WCB in Nova Scotia. SMART also maintains its own occupational health institute, SMOHIT, for hazards specific to the sheet metal trade.
- Who administers Local 512 members' benefits and pension?
- Group health and welfare is administered by BPA Atlantic, covering drug, dental, vision, life and disability for members and their families. The pension is a defined-contribution plan built on every hour worked under the collective agreement, which also funds a training fund and confidential employee and family assistance support.