Local 24 member writes book on the life-changing power of the sheet metal trade

A lot has changed in the many decades since sheet metal workers first organized in 1888. Back then, “tin knock­ers” were known for their snips and hammers; today, technological advancements like AutoCAD and artificial intelligence have not just shaped the way we work, but the world in which we live.

However, one thing has not changed: the pride that comes with being a skilled tradesperson. Being able to drive past a building and say, “I built that.”

That precise feeling is what Local 24 (central Ohio) member Roger Hoover drew upon when he titled his 2026 book, I Built That! And So Can You. Now available for purchase via Braughler Books, the 128-page book was called a “must read for students” by the Urbana Daily Citizen.

“We don’t have any books about anybody doing anything in the trades,” Hoover said in a recent interview with SMART. “I couldn’t find anybody who has written about it … and I thought, ‘Well, why not me?’”

Hoover, now 72 years old, joined our union in 1972. The sheet metal trade changed his life: Over the decades, he enjoyed a fulfilling career building his community, providing for his family and, following over 40 years in the industry, retiring with the comfort of a union-negotiated pension.

That was in 2016. After nine years of retirement, he came back to work to help build a General Motors plant last year — just 1.9 miles from his house.

“The first job I came out on was probably the best job I was ever on,” said Hoover, who has since been working on a data center project. “I really didn’t know how much pride I had in what I did until I came back, and then realized: Wow, this is really a great way to make a living.”

Hoover has enjoyed his return to the tools — but the fact that he even could come back to work is part of what inspired him to write I Built That! And So Can You.

Over the years, he said, he asked countless sheet metal workers whether they were happy they joined the trade. The nearly universal answer was “yes.” When he asked those same sheet metal workers if they would encourage their children to enter the trade, the answer, he explained, was frequently “no.”

That disconnect, resulting at least in part from American high schools’ unrelenting effort to push students to go to college rather than consider the skilled trades, has helped lead to today’s workforce shortage, he argued. There’s also the fact that despite the essential role SMART members play in communities across North America, very few people actually know what sheet metal workers do.

To that end, I Built That! was born.

With such an extraordinary range of experience — working in the industry as an appren­tice, draftsman, foreman, estimator, field supervisor, project manager and instructor — Hoover’s book has plenty of insights for both current members and future sheet metal workers. It includes stories from throughout Hoover’s career, which spans from the years predating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to the high-tech data centers that he and thousands of other SMART members are helping build today. He has witnessed many innovations throughout his years in the trade — and he played a key role in more than a few.

One such project was one of the first-ever industrial solar panel jobs in the United States, where despite having little relevant experience, Hoover’s problem-solving skills — developed over the span of his career — helped with its success.

“That makes me such a proud member, because we really have been on the forefront of a lot of things,” he said.

Hoover has also played a part in helping our union and our industry expand. Starting in the 1990s, he partnered with SMACNA to deliver leadership classes across the United States and Canada, and he authored the Basic Sheet Metal Estimating Manual through the same partnership.

Today, with the publication of I Built That! And So Can You, he aims to keep spreading the gospel about working in the sheet metal industry, particularly to young people who may otherwise think the only road to job security is a college degree.

“People don’t understand what we do, and they don’t understand the incredible, incredible opportu­nity that’s available for kids coming into the industry, and with no debt,” Hoover said, adding:

“There’s a great amount of pride that goes into being a sheet metal worker. We do things that nobody else can do.”