Pete Ielmini, Executive Director of the Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust (LMCT), told the America’s Work Force Union Podcast that the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act has cleared the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee by a unanimous 54-0 vote. The measure would require audits of all federal buildings to include mechanical insulation inspections every four years, a change labor leaders say would cut energy waste and save taxpayer dollars across an estimated 350,000 federal facilities.
Ielmini also outlined the Insulators Union's push to expand the firestopping work performed by its members, arguing that firestopping is a life-safety necessity that building owners too often prioritize only after tragedy. He closed with an update on the Insulators’ Member Assistance Program, emphasizing anonymous access to mental health and substance use support for union members and their families.
After years of navigating shifting party control of Congress and shutdown threats, Ielmini said the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act finally achieved what advocates have been chasing: clear, bipartisan committee approval.
The bill cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously, 54-0, with Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, sponsoring the measure. Ielmini said he was in the room for the vote and watched lawmakers move from partisan debate on a prior bill to rare unanimity on mechanical insulation.
“The Federal Mechanical Installation Act is out of committee. It was approved by the committee unanimously, 54 to 0.” —Pete Ielmini
For the LMCT and the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, the vote is more than a talking point. It changes the legislative pathway.
Ielmini said the bill is expected to proceed under a House “suspension” process, reserved for measures considered noncontroversial and typically free of major budget impacts.
“What a suspension bill is … it is a bill that has no controversy whatsoever, it has no financial implication on it, and it’s basically a no-brainer.” —Pete Ielmini
If the bill reaches the House floor under suspension, passage becomes more likely, though Ielmini cautioned against assuming anything is guaranteed.
The policy argument is straightforward: properly installed mechanical insulation reduces energy loss in federal buildings, thereby lowering operating costs over time. Ielmini framed it as a taxpayer issue, noting the federal government has roughly 350,000 buildings.
Ielmini also emphasized the long-term value of the advocacy campaign itself. Even before a final vote, he said, the process has forced Congress to learn what mechanical insulation does, why it matters and how preserving energy translates into public savings.
“It’s not just a bill,” he said. “Sometimes we have to look at the journey and see the value of that as well.”
On the Senate side, Ielmini said the effort is moving, but the next key step is securing a sponsor for a companion bill.
He said the LMCT has been in dialogue with U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s office, but the bill has not yet gained traction there, despite what he described as an absence of substantive objections.
The goal, he said, is to find a Republican senator to introduce the Senate version and then move it through committee to match the House timeline.
“We’re still looking for a co-signer to be able to sponsor the bill on the Senate side.” —Pete Ielmini
Ferenc asked about vote thresholds in the Senate. Ielmini said he believes the bill would require a two-thirds vote, while noting that the Senate process begins with committee action.
The second half of the conversation turned to firestopping, a long-running focus of Ielmini’s labor-management outreach.
He described firestopping as the work of sealing penetrations through fire-rated walls — the holes created for plumbing, electrical lines and HVAC — so that smoke and flame remain contained within a compartment long enough for suppression systems and responders to do their job.
“Fire stopping is designed to save lives.”—Pete Ielmini
Ielmini drew a sharp distinction between the two trades’ value propositions: mechanical insulation saves energy and money, while firestopping prevents deaths.
He argued that mechanical insulation contractors are well-positioned to perform firestopping because they are typically on site near the end of construction, when penetrations are visible and final sealing work is required. The materials and specifications, he said, often align with a mechanical insulator's scope of work.
Still, he acknowledged there is contractor hesitation, citing concerns about bidding, insurance and liability. To address that, the LMCT has offered a Firestop Market Recovery Program for roughly a decade, bringing together union leaders and signatory contractors to map a path into the market.
Ielmini said the program recently held its largest session yet in Philadelphia, hosted by Insulators Local 14, with contractors from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
A key messenger, he said, is a contractor who has built credibility by succeeding in firestopping work: Superior Insulation and its co-founder, Tom Dake Sr.
Ielmini said hearing the “how-to” from a contractor carries more weight than hearing it from the labor-management trust.
“A successful contractor is teaching other contractors the secret sauce.” —Pete Ielmini
The strategic aim is to grow the share of firestopping work performed by union insulators and persuade building owners, general contractors and mechanical contractors that union insulators are the experts.
Ferenc asked whether building owners are starting to understand the importance of firestopping.
Ielmini’s answer was blunt: too often, they do not recognize the stakes until after a fire.
He described the recurring pattern: a disaster, an investigation and a brief period of heightened attention — followed by a return to cost-cutting habits.
He also described efforts to reach insurers and federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to incorporate firestopping into its inspection routines. Those efforts, he said, have been difficult.
To underscore the stakes, Ielmini cited a 17-story apartment building fire in Brooklyn that killed 19 people, including seven children. He said the flames did not leave the originating unit, but smoke filled the entire building in seconds.
His point was not simply that firestopping matters. It was that the technology exists and the cost is modest compared to the price of preventable death.
“Fire stopping is not that expensive compared to what we’re facing when it comes to property damage and life and death,” he said.
Ielmini closed his appearance with an update on the Insulators’ Member Assistance Program, noting that it is expanding across the United States and Canada.
He emphasized that the program is anonymous and designed to support not only members but also spouses and children — the people most likely to notice when someone is struggling.
He framed mental health as a safety issue, drawing a comparison to the normalization of drug and alcohol testing on job sites. Workers can pass a test, he said, and still be carrying heavy stress about a child’s addiction, domestic violence at home, depression or suicidal thoughts.
“You can’t evaluate someone’s mental health on a job site, unlike a urine test.” —Pete Ielmini
His argument: contractors and unions have made safety a daily priority through training and meetings. The next step is treating mental well-being as part of the same safety culture.
The episode offered a snapshot of how union-led policy and training efforts intersect: legislation aimed at reducing waste in federal buildings, market expansion to protect lives through firestopping work and a growing commitment to mental health resources for union members and their families.
For Ielmini, the message remained consistent across all three: prevention is cheaper than crisis response, and safety — whether in buildings or in workers’ lives — requires systems that are inspected, maintained and supported.
Legislation like the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act only moves forward when we stay loud and informed. Hear the full conversation with Pete Ielmini and other labor leaders on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast.
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