Common questions
Getting started,
answered.
The questions we hear most often, about joining the local, the apprenticeship, and what membership in Sheet Metal Workers & Roofers Local 409 delivers. Don’t see yours? Reach the hall.
- How do I become a member of Local 409?
- No experience is required to start. Trade experience is an asset, not a requirement. You join through the apprenticeship: you should be 18 or older, have a high school diploma or equivalent and a valid driver's licence. It's a registered, paid apprenticeship leading to a Red Seal credential. Start on our training page or contact the union hall.
- What work do Local 409 members do?
- Local 409 represents three trades across mainland Nova Scotia: sheet metal workers, sheeter-deckers and roofers. Members work in HVAC installation, fabrication and service; architectural sheet metal and cladding; manufacturing; and metal and flat-roof systems, on the commercial and industrial projects that shape the province.
- How long is the sheet metal apprenticeship?
- In Nova Scotia the sheet metal program runs roughly four years (about 8,000 hours) combining roughly 85% paid on-the-job training with 15% classroom instruction, leading to a nationally recognized Red Seal credential.
- What benefits do members receive?
- Group health and welfare administered by BPA Group (drug, dental, vision, life and disability for members and their families), a jointly-trusteed pension built on every hour worked under the agreement and funded entirely by employer contributions, ongoing training, and confidential SMART mental-health and wellness support.
- Does Local 409 cover Cape Breton?
- No. Local 409's jurisdiction is mainland Nova Scotia. Sheet metal workers and roofers on Cape Breton Island are represented by Local 56. If you are not sure which local covers the work you are asking about, call the hall and we will point you to the right one.
- Do you represent roofers as well as sheet metal workers?
- Yes. The local's full name is Sheet Metal Workers & Roofers Local 409, and roofing is one of the three trades we represent alongside sheet metal work and sheeter-decking. Metal and flat-roof systems on commercial and industrial buildings are members' work.
- What do apprentices get paid?
- Apprentices are paid a percentage of the journeyperson rate set in the collective agreement, and that percentage steps up as you advance through the levels. Because the rates are renegotiated, this page does not print figures. Call the hall for the current schedule.
- I am a contractor. How do I hire Local 409 members?
- Contact the hall and we will walk you through becoming signatory and using dispatch. Signatory contractors get trained, ticketed tradespeople on demand across mainland Nova Scotia, without carrying the recruiting and training cost themselves.
- Is Local 409 part of a larger union?
- Yes. Chartered on November 1, 1945, Sheet Metal Workers & Roofers Local 409 is an affiliate of SMART (the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers) and represents members across mainland Nova Scotia.
- What collective agreement covers Local 409 members?
- Work in the jurisdiction is covered by a collective agreement bargained with the Nova Scotia Construction Labour Relations Association. It is not negotiated individually and does not depend on the employer: the same terms apply to everyone doing that work. The agreement sets the wage scale and the apprentice progression, the employer contributions to pension and to health and welfare on every hour worked, and the conditions around the rate including overtime, vacation pay, and travel and tool terms. Rates change when the agreement is renegotiated, so the current schedule held at the Halifax Union Hall is the authoritative source rather than any figure published online.