Sheet Metal Workers 73 wage & welfare bonds.
4% of the bond amount.
Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 — the SMART-affiliated local representing sheet metal workers and HVAC installers across the Chicago area, with its benefit funds office in Hillside, Illinois — requires signatory contractors to post a wage and welfare bond guaranteeing union-scale wages and contributions to the local's Welfare Fund. This is a private requirement of Local 73's collective bargaining agreement, not an Illinois statute. Premiums cost 4% of the bond amount, $100 minimum. Enter the amount your signatory agreement requires and your exact price appears at the application.
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Apply to filed in one sitting.
No long underwriting queue for the standard wage and welfare bond — enter your amount, consent to a soft pull, and file with the fund. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your business details, the bond amount your Local 73 agreement requires, and the effective date — plus a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Approved
Most wage and welfare bonds clear quickly. The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score. Larger amounts may get a brief review.
File with the fund
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 Welfare Fund office so your signatory status stays current. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the wage & welfare bond actually guarantees
Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 is the Chicago-area affiliate of SMART (the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers), representing sheet metal fabricators and HVAC installers, with its benefit funds office in Hillside, Illinois. Contractors who sign the local's collective bargaining agreement agree to pay union-scale wages and to remit contributions to Local 73's Welfare Fund.
The wage and welfare bond backs those obligations. It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and Local 73's Welfare Fund (the obligee / protected party). If a signatory contractor fails to pay covered wages or remit fund contributions, the fund can recover against the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. This is a private contractual requirement of the collective bargaining agreement, not an Illinois statute, so the amount is set per contractor by the fund's office rather than a fixed public figure. Enter the amount your signatory agreement calls for; premiums price at 4% of that amount, $100 minimum, and the application includes a credit consent that authorizes a soft pull only.
You need this bond if you are
One application, then a quick review.
Submit the application with the bond amount your Local 73 agreement requires. Most clear quickly; larger amounts may get a brief underwriter review, usually within 48 hours.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
Local 73 signatory status waiting on one bond.
Premiums from $100, priced at 4% of the bond amount. Enter your required figure and file with the fund the same day.