Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Dallas Workers Organize with SMART

Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Workers at Dallas-area contractor Stratus Systems overcame the challenges in their path to organize with International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 68.

Since 2023, the workers partnered with Local 68 organizers to build an organizing campaign through sustained outreach, relationship building and the determination of trusted worker leaders. Following worker-to-worker outreach in early 2023 that quickly turned into an organizing campaign by the end of the year, workers filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In January 2024, they lost that vote. But the organizing team rebuilt support by strengthening worker engagement, forming an internal organizing committee and expanding worker-led communication. Out of 168 workers at the company, 96 signed union authorization cards. In early 2026, organizers secured a new NLRB election, then executed an intensive campaign featuring daily strategy meetings, rapid-response jobsite outreach, worker-to-worker messaging and strong support from volunteer leaders.

“Everyone was feeling excited because we knew that the workers knew the union had their backs by the workers’ smiles, honks and waves,” said organizer Yadriel Carrasquillo.

The new vote was successful and the workers joined SMART Local 68.