National Stabilization Agreement of the Sheet Metal Industry

National Stabilization Agreement of the Sheet Metal Industry

The National Stabilization Agreement of the Sheet Metal Industry (SASMI) Trust Fund is a Taft-Hartley trust governed jointly by the SMART union and the SMACNA contractor association. Founded to stabilize earnings for itinerant sheet metal workers, the fund collects employer contributions and disburses them through a range of welfare benefits including sick leave, maternity pay, and a healthcare reimbursement account. The trust's investment program spans private markets and public securities, with an asset mix that includes private credit, real estate, hedge funds, infrastructure, and secondaries. SASMI frequently co-invests in the same private market funds as the Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund, its sister vehicle. Geographic exposure is concentrated in North America, though infrastructure commitments occasionally reach international developed markets. The fund operates from a single office in Falls Church, Virginia. Kenneth Colombo serves as Fund Administrator, while trustees John Daniel and Donald Dunn represent SMART on the board. Total benefits paid reached $1.8 billion as of June 2025. The trust maintains a close operational link with the SMART-SMACNA Partners In Progress industry association, which coordinates labor-management initiatives across the sheet metal trade. SASMI's structural distinction lies in its benefits-centric mandate — few Taft-Hartley trusts combine unemployment stabilization with a private-markets portfolio designed to fund member travel and healthcare accounts. The dual governance of union trustees and contractor-association trustees creates a capital-formation model where return targets must balance liquidity demands against long-duration illiquid commitments.