Reporterthe Boilermaker Vol. 43 No. 5Nov • Dec 2004

The Official Publication of theInternational Brotherhood of

Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders,Blacksmiths, Forgers, and

Helpers, AFL-CIO

http://capwiz.com/boilermaker http://www.boilermakers.org

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IN THESE PAGES

Alliance with DOL, OSHA, andother crafts complementsMOST drug & safety programs

INTL. PRES. NEWTON B. JONESsigned an agreement with the Depart-ment of Labor (DOL), the Ironworkers,the Carpenters, and the OperatingEngineers that commits all five organi-zations to strive for drug-free work-places through education and outreachprograms.

U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chaocalled the pact “a ground-breakingagreement to protect workers’ healthand safety.”

The Boilermakers Construction Divi-sion has long recognized the role alco-hol and substance abuse play in job-siteaccidents. Our MOST drug screeningand safety awareness programs weredeveloped to reduce those accidents.

“As a union, we are committed tokeeping our members safe on the job,”Intl. Pres. Jones said following the sign-ing. “Our MOST drug screening andOSHA-compliant safety training pro-grams have been very effective, reduc-ing the Boilermaker lost-time injuryrate by 94 percent since 1991.”

A 1998 Bureau of Labor Statisticsstudy showed that as many as 20 per-cent of workplace fatalities involve

drugs and/or alcohol. The MOSTdrug-screening program has virtuallyeliminated this problem in our craft.

By signing this agreement, partner-ship members are committing theirunions to work cooperatively toencourage drug-free workplacesthrough education, outreach, sharinginformation about best practices, andforums to help forge solutions.

“The Boilermakers look forward toworking with the DOL and othercrafts,” said Jones. “Our MOST pro-grams and tripartite meetings havealways focused on safety. This partner-ship will help us expand the work weneed to do to protect our members.” ❑

Bishop wins apprentice contestPaul Serio is second, WesternStates win team awardPAUL GEHRKE (Local 11, Helena, Mont.)and Geoffrey Schneider (Local 242,Spokane, Wash.) teamed up to earn theWestern States the 2004 BoilermakersNational Apprenticeship Team Award.

Winners of the individual competitionsare Dennis Bishop, Local Lodge 169,Detroit, with Paul Serio, Local 7, Buffalo,N.Y., taking second place.

The annual apprentice competition is aweek-long series of written and hands-ontests that cover every aspect of being aconstruction Boilermaker — from riggingand welding to Boilermaker history andCPR. Contestants earn a place in thenational competition by placing first orsecond in their area competition.

More information on the competitionand photos of the contestants can befound on pages 4 and 5. ❑ Dennis Bishop,Local 169,Detroit,celebrates winning the 2004 Boilermakers

National Apprenticeship Award.

Signing the drug-free workplace agreement are (l.to r.) Ironworkers Pres.Joe Hunt,Operating Engineers Pres.Frank Hanley,Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Carpenters Pres. Douglas J. McCarron, and Boilermakers Pres. Newton B. Jones.

Boilermakers join drug-freeworkplace partnership

WHEN GENCO’S DON POWELL gotthe job to build four selective catalyticreduction systems at the W. A. ParishGenerating Station and one each at theCedar Bayou and P.H. Robinson sta-tions, his executive board had a littlesurprise for him.

They explained that the engineeringwork had not been completed, so theywould need to be designing as theywent. Naturally, they wanted to knowwho he was going to get to do the work.

“Well,” Powell told them, “thatmakes my answer even easier. With thetripartite approach, I’ll use B&W andthe Boilermakers to get this job done on time.”

Powell’s confidence in the tripartiteapproach to tackling difficult assign-ments was well rewarded. All six SCRswere completed on time, with excellentquality work and low lost-time andrecordable injury rates.

Powell shared the story of his successwith over 400 Boilermakers, contrac-tors, and owner representatives whoattended the 19th annual BoilermakersNational Tripartite Conference, Octo-ber 4-8, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Conference participants spent fourdays discussing the most difficultaspects of completing industrial con-struction and maintenance jobs ontime, within budget, and safely. Prob-lems such as absenteeism, outagescheduling, recruiting, training, andretention are not easy to solve, but thecompanies and local lodges that taketripartite approaches are makingprogress where no one has before.

B&W’s Ken Wasilewski said thatTexas Genco’s success in the SCR proj-ect was a direct result of being open tothe tripartite approach.

“The company was very open to thetripartite approach and involving theconstruction workers in the decision-making early on,” he explained.

Ronnie Keck, BM-ES of the Lone StarDistrict Lodge, said the tripartiteapproach worked great for the Boilermakers on the job and for the district lodge.

“We met several times with Ken todiscuss manpower needs,” Keck said.“Boilermaker membership increasedduring this time, and we took in more apprentices.”

The SCR project lasted four years,from 1999-2004. Total man-hours for allcrafts on the job exceeded four million.In a letter thanking the members ofLocals 74 (Houston) and 132 (Galve-ston, Texas) for their excellent work onthe project, Powell said the project was“cost-effective” — an important goal onevery job.

And they worked safely.“With the tripartite approach, B&W’s

safety record improved,” Powell said.“We developed the ETSA — employeetask safety analysis — so each workercould identify and evaluate the dailyhazards of their job and address their approach.”

How much of a difference did itmake? Powell was very clear on that.

“Without the tripartite approach, wewould not have been successful in per-forming all this work in this timeframe,” he told the conference.

Reports stress progressTHE TRIPARTITE CONFERENCE hastwo major elements: reports from indi-viduals and committees on tripartiteefforts throughout the country, andcaucuses in which participants look atthe problems that refuse to yield to ourefforts and try to find new approachesto solving them.

Intl. President Newton B. Jonesstarted the meeting by reminding par-ticipants of the many successful pro-grams that have grown out of thetripartite meetings, including MOST’snationwide substance abuse screening,

safety training, and manpower reservecenter. But he quickly moved to theareas where we still need to do more work.

“We are also working on outageschedules, gain sharing, project man-agement, recruitment, and retention,”Jones said. “We are expanding tripartiteacross the country because we believelocalized tripartites can handle specificarea problems.”

For the first time, Canadian Boiler-makers made a presentation at the con-ference. Retired Canadian NationalTraining Trust Coordinator Bruce Ash-ton talked about the standardizedapprentice training they began in 1993,and nationwide efforts to raise careerawareness among younger workers.His presentation came on the heels ofEastern Canada’s first tripartite confer-ence early this year.

“We have held 12 annual apprenticecompetitions and have completed athree-year labor market study,” Ashtonsaid. “In 1994, we worked 4.7 millionman-hours in Canada. In 2003, weworked over nine million man-hours. I like to think the changes we made to the apprentice program made the difference.”

Ashton’s successor, Grant Jacobs,said they have launched a careerawareness program in 2004. Studiesshow that 40 percent of their 1997 workforce will be retired by 2008 (the U.S.faces a similar retirement picture). Tomeet manpower demands of thefuture, Jacobs said, “We are marketingBoilermakers through a Web site(http://www.boilermaker.ca), posters,brochures, and an educator’s tool kit.”

John Erickson, of the National Asso-ciation of Construction BoilermakerEmployers (NACBE), reported on thecontinued success of two programs thathave grown from tripartite awareness:Common Arc Welding Certificationand the NACBE safety index, whichtracks job-site accident rates.

He reported the 2004 Boilermakerlost-time injury rate as 0.48, quite adrop from the 8.42 in 1991, the first yearNACBE recorded accidents. The com-pensable injury rate is down from 58.43in 1991 to 12.50 so far in 2004. Ericksonestimates that over 20,000 lost-timeinjuries have been eliminated since1991, saving Boilermaker contractors atotal of $3 billion dollars.

The Common Arc welding test pro-gram also saves Boilermaker contrac-tors a lot money. In 1998, it cost over

Don Powell,Texas Genco: 'I'll useB&W and the Boilermakers to get myjob done on time.'

2 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004N E W S M A K E R S

ReporterNov • Dec 2004 Vol. 43 No. 5

Newton B. Jones, International President and Editor-in-Chief

Jerry Z. Willburn, Intl. Secretary-Treasurer

International Vice PresidentsLawrence McManamon, Great LakesSean Murphy, NortheastSam May, Southeast George Rogers, Central Joe Stinger, Western States Richard Albright, Western CanadaAlexander MacDonald, Eastern CanadaJim Hickenbotham, At-LargeOthal Smith Jr., At-Large

Editorial staffDonald Caswell, Managing EditorCarol Almond, Asst. to the Managing Editor

The Boilermaker Reporter is the official publi-cation of the International Brotherhood ofBoilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths,Forgers, and Helpers, AFL-CIO. It is publishedbimonthly to disseminate information of useand interest to its members. Submissions frommembers, local lodges, and subordinate oraffiliated bodies are welcomed and encour-aged. This publication is mailed free ofcharge to active members and retiredmembers holding a Retired Members Card.Others may subscribe for the price of $10 forthree years. Standard Mail (A) postage paidat Kansas City, Kan., and additional mailingoffices. ISSN No. 1078-4101.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:

The Boilermaker Reporter753 State Avenue, Suite 565Kansas City, KS 66101(913) 371-2640; FAX (913) 281-8104

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the Boilermaker

THE TRIPARTITE APPROACH isgaining believers. Representativesof four other construction unionsattended this year’s meeting.

Joe Hunt, general president of theInternational Association of Bridge,Structural, and Ornamental IronWorkers Union, brought his entireexecutive board.

“This is the first time in our his-tory that both of our full executiveboards are sitting down together todiscuss issues that make an impacton our industry,” he said. “I am con-fident that the Boilermakers and theIron Workers working together cangrow our unions, our signatory con-tractors, and our market share.”

Other unions officers attendingthe meeting included James GroganJr., general president of the Interna-tional Association of Heat and FrostInsulators and Asbestos WorkersUnion; Tom Patchell, general secre-tary-treasurer, and John Dugan,director of trade jurisdiction, both ofthe United Association of Plumbingand Pipefitting Industry Union; andRobert Klein, IVP-Tenth District ofthe International Brotherhood ofElectrical Workers.

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See TRIPARTITE page 3

Joe Hunt, general president ofthe International Association of

Bridge, Structural, and OrnamentalIron Workers Union B&W's Ken Wasilewski says Texas

Genco was very open to the tripartiteapproach and involving constructionworkers in the decision making.

Lone Star District Bus. Mgr. RonnieKeck tells of the affect the tripartiteapproach has had for his area.

Partners testify totripartite successNational meetingreveals there’s still more work to be done

THE CENTER TO PROTECTWorkers Rights (CPWR) hosteda five-day confined spacetrainer course in Kansas City,June 28, with plans to comeback next summer if grants are approved.

MOST sponsored the class,which was held at the Boiler-makers National Apprentice-ship Program’s nationaltraining center, a block fromInternational headquarters.

The hands-on-trainingincluded work with air moni-toring, ventilation, supplied-airrespirators, self-containedbreathing apparatuses, entry

procedures, retrieval proce-dures, and other aspects of per-mit-required confined spaceentry. The participants whocompleted the course received aCPWR 16-hour confined-spacecertificate, an OSHA 226 certifi-cate, and a CPWR train-the-trainer certificate.

According to MOST Instruc-tor David Haggerty, the coursecombines OSHA’s #226 three-day classroom-based program with CPWR’s two-dayhands-on program. Completingthe course qualifies participantsto conduct confined-spacetraining.

Twenty-two Boilermakersfrom nine local lodges, includ-ing three instructors from thenational training center, partici-pated in the class. ❑

MOST sponsors confined-space training in KC

At left: Confined-space trainees go into the hole to learnretrieval techniques and get used to wearing an SCBA — selfcontained breathing apparatus.

Nov • Dec 2004 the Boilermaker Reporter - 3N E W S M A K E R S

$500 for a company to test a singlewelder. Through simultaneous testing,the cost drops to less than $19 for theinitial test, and $6 a year for mainte-nance, saving the Boilermaker industryover $100 million a year. There are nowover 11,000 certified welders with 218 participating contractors and50,000 welder/contractor certificationsbeing maintained.

Erickson credits these successes to co-opetition: competitors cooperating.

MOST Administrator WilliamPalmisano said his organization isworking to provide a safe and produc-tive work site through drug screening,scaffold training, and safety programs.Since 1991, they have conducted over200,000 drug screenings. Their safetyprogram teaches proper safety proce-dures, defines safety hazards, keepsmembers current on new safety regula-tions, and reinforces incident preven-tion to reduce the number of accidentson job sites.

They are now working with OSHAtodevelop a 30-hour safety course.

Subcommittees tacklecontinuing problemsPAST TRIPARTITE conferences haveidentified six topics that all threegroups believe need to be addressed:gain sharing, absenteeism, projectmanagement, recruitment and reten-tion, outage scheduling, and respect inthe workplace. Each issue is beingreviewed and discussed by a subcom-mittee. Their reports also showed weare making progress in these areas.

The most visible success so far fromthese subcommittees is the new projectmanagement program, which debuted

in August. Twenty participantsattended the class. All reported satis-faction with the course. One studentwas offered a job within days of com-pleting it. Subcommittee Chair DavidZach, Nooter Construction, showed afilm describing the program andreported on its development.

The absenteeism subcommitteeseems to be making headway, too.National Tripartite Director JimMcCormick reported that the subcom-mittee’s seven-point plan to decreaseabsenteeism on construction projectswas approved by the MOST TripartiteCommittee. They have asked the Inter-national Executive Council to approvethe plan and refer it to the NationalJoint Rules and Standards Committee.

Thomas H. O’Connor Jr., president ofO’Connor Constructors, reported thatthe gain sharing subcommittee wouldlike to establish pilot programs in eachvice-presidential area. First Energy’sLarry Wargo reported that the outagescheduling subcommittee has beenstudying the Ohio Valley model of out-age scheduling, hoping to adopt it on anational scope.

Caucus reports point the wayON THE FINAL day of the conference,the three groups caucus independentlyand report on what they would like tosee the conference and the tripartitecommittees look at in the future.

Larry Wargo said the caucus of 62owner representatives are concernedabout how productivity relates tosafety and absenteeism. They alsoanticipate a big change in the workforce over the next five to ten years,owing to retirements. They are appre-hensive about manpower — the avail-ability of skilled craftsmen — as well asthe mix of apprentices, sub-journey-men, and journeymen. They want a

SMART card that works nationwide,providing information on drug testingand background checks.

Representing the contractors, TomO’Connor said health & welfare shouldbe a collective bargaining issue, thatowners should pass a uniform securitystandard that will meet legal require-ments, and that a tripartite committeeshould be established for foremanupgrades, adding supervisor trainingto the foreman class. He said contrac-tors would like to see uniform drugtesting requirements and random testing, including those on the out-of-work list.

Speaking for the union representa-tives, Intl. Vice Pres. George Rogerssaid members would like owners andcontractors to make better use of theMOST programs, especially drug test-ing and safety training. They believeabsenteeism would decline if contrac-tors were more consistent in handlingabsenteeism and if probationary hourswere increased. Absenteeism seems toincrease once an apprentice graduatesor a sub-journeyman advances.

Finally, the union wants to stop los-ing market share in expanding indus-tries. The union seems to get the dirtyjobs while the nonunion is getting thelong-term jobs. He asked what we can

do as union craftsmen to get 100 per-cent of the work.

Speakers look to the futureSEVERAL SPEAKERS spoke abouthow today’s economic and technologi-cal developments will impact our workin the near future.

William Sigmon, vice president offossil and hydro generation at Ameri-can Electric Power, stressed the impor-tance of working together duringuncertain times. He cited regulatoryprocesses, natural gas fires, nuclearpower, wind power, and operationalmargins as concerns.

Milan Racic, safety & health special-ist for the Boilermakers union, dis-cussed the health risks of heavy metalsin welding fumes. Several studies arelooking into the health effects of weld-ing fumes. Milan also spoke about anew ventilation system that showspromise in keeping heavy metalsbelow OSHAand NIOSH thresholds.

Keith Ferlin, a member of Local 359,Vancouver, British Columbia, is vicepresident of technical development forVenteX, the producer of the ventilationsystem Racic mentioned. Ferlin told themeeting about VenteX’s approach toproviding workers with clean, healthyair while they are on the job. ❑

Several speakers at the conference ta lked about how today ’s economic and technolog ica l developments

wi l l impact our work in the near future .

Hands-on andclassroom trainingleads to train-the-trainer certificates

Continued from page 2

Tripartite

Above: Carl Postlethwait, Local 667, Charleston, W. Va.,prepares a panel for insertion of a Dutchman duringthe welding/burning portion of the competition.

Below Left: Tim Fuller, Local 647, Minneapolis, Minn.,(top left) and Dennis Bishop need three hands to make sure they get their measurement right in thelayout exercise.

Below Right: Mark Solomon, Local 154, Pittsburgh,and Paul Serio use a water level to determine elevationwhile setting a tank in the rigging test.

THE BOILERMAKERS’ annualapprentice competitions are noflash in the pan. It takes monthsfrom the date of the first competi-tions until a national winner isnamed at the annual banquet inKansas City.

First there are local lodge com-petitions. Then each apprenticearea brings the winners from thelocal lodge competitions in theirarea together for another compe-tition. The top two contestants inthese competitions move on tothe national contest.

The national apprentice com-petition is a week-long series oftests that cover skills and knowl-edge from all areas of the con-struction work we do.

Contestants must completewritten tests, respond orally inidentification tests, and — ofcourse — get the job done withtheir hands. And those hands-ontests are more than mere exer-cises in hand-eye coordination orstrength. They require the com-petitor to solve problems usinghis knowledge of the field as wellas his skills in welding, rigging,and other aspects of the trade.

It’s a drawn-out process, but atthe end apprentices have a betteridea of where they rank amongtheir peers — the apprenticeswho came through the programwith them. The competition alsohelps them identify any areaswhere they need to improve.

At the same time, the appren-tices’ performance on the tests gives instructors insightinto how they can improve their programs.

In the end, a winner is chosen.But the competition is far morethan just a means for a handful ofapprentices to win some greatprizes. The competition is a greatlearning experience, a means forpersonal insight, and a chancefor graduate apprentices in eacharea and across the nation to getto know each other a little better.

That is an important goal, too,because these Boilermakers willbe working together on the joband in the union for many yearsto come. ❑

Annual skills contest lets graduate apprentices show skillswhile helping instructors see where to improve program

BNAPBNAPAPPRENTICE COMPETITION

4 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004A P P R E N T I C E C O M P E T I T I O N

1: Geoffrey Schneider heliarcs a tube in the welding/burning portion of the contest. 2: Winner of the annual Recognition Award, Richard Mooney, president of EMCOR/Hayes Mechanical,

Inc., talks about what it means to be a Boilermaker at the awards banquet. 3: Paul Serio demonstrates his CPR skills on a dummy during that portion of the competition. Safety, CPR,

and first aid are important parts of apprentice training and the apprentice competition. 4: Team Award winners Schneider and Gehrke take a measurement during the layout exercise. Few people

unfamiliar with Boilermaker work understand how much measuring and calculating is needed on the job.5: Michael Kibbey, Local 105, Chillicothe, Ohio, grinds a tube. 6: Mark Solomon, Local 154, Pittsburgh, identifies parts on a small boiler. Contestants identify hand and power

tools as well as parts of a boiler.7: Dennis Bishop signals the crane operator during the rigging/hand signals test.8: Michael Kibbey, (left) and Carl Postlethwait, Local 667, work together to roll a tube on a small package boiler.

Nov • Dec 2004 the Boilermaker Reporter - 5A P P R E N T I C E C O M P E T I T I O N

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Rick Mooney winsrecognition awardRICHARD MOONEY, president ofEMCOR/Hayes Mechanical, Inc.,was named winner of the 2004 Recognition Award. Mooney is vicechairman of the BoilermakersNational Joint Board and chairmanof the Great Lakes Area Apprentice-ship Program.

The Recognition Award is presented every year to an individualwho has given unselfishly to the benefit of the Boilermaker craft andour apprenticeship programs.

THE NATIONAL APPRENTICE com-petition gets the big headline — that’sonly fair. But the apprentices who com-pete at the area level deserve their fairshare of recognition, too. After all, tomake it to the national competition, youhave to win in your area.

First you need to show you’re the topapprentice in your local. Then you getto compete against apprentices fromlocals in your area. The top two appren-tices in each area advance to thenational competition, where they com-pete both as individuals and as a teamrepresenting their area.

This year, 33 lodges sent apprenticesto their area competitions. We reportedon the nine who competed for theSoutheast Area prize in the Sept.-Oct.Boilermaker Reporter. Here are the contestants — and the winners — in theNortheast, Great Lakes, and WesternStates competitions.

Solomon, Serio winNortheast titleMARK SOLOMON OF LOCAL 154,Pittsburgh, Pa., placed first in the Boil-ermakers Northeast Area Apprentice-ship Committee’s (BNAAC) 2004Apprentice of the Year Competition,May 10-14. Paul Serio of Local 7, Buf-falo, N.Y., placed second. Local 154hosted the competition.

Also competing were Marlon Apple-white, Local 5, New York; James Bod-kin, Local 13, Philadelphia; BrianFlynn, Local 28, Newark, N.J.; Christo-pher Tozier, Local 29, Boston; and Shawn Rooney, Local 237, Hartford, Conn.

Northeast area judges includedunion representatives IR Bob Heine,NE Area Rigging Instructor MartinSpencer, Local 5 ABM Tom Cook,retired Local 7 BM Jack Multere, retiredLocal 13 BM-ST Joseph Murray, Local28 Apprentice Coord. Jack Doherty, andretired Local 29 ABM Paul Meade. Con-tractor judges included John Cammuso

of Babcock Power, John Carey Sr. ofBoiler Erection & Repair, Matt Schmittof the Simakas Brothers Co., and retiredcontractor James Horkay.

Contestants were judged on theirknowledge of the International Consti-tution, referral procedures, agreements,and local by-laws as well as their boiler-maker skills. Hands-on events testedtheir skills in rope and knot splicing,rigging and signaling, burning, carbonarc cutting, welding, tube rolling,equipment use, and tool identification.

“This year’s contest was particularlyexciting because of the many improve-ments that were incorporated into allaspects of testing,” commented AreaCoordinator David Dupuis. “We’re try-ing to raise the standards by which allapprentices are measured.”

Bishop, Fuller win in Great LakesDENNIS BISHOP, LOCAL 169,Detroit, Mich., and Tim Fuller, Local647, Minneapolis, Minn., placed firstand second respectively in the annualGreat Lakes Area Boilermaker Appren-tice Program (GLABAP) competition.

The Great Lakes and Northeast areashold their annual competitionstogether, with each area providing theirown judges. This year’s contests wereheld at Local 154, Pittsburgh, Pa. Judgesrepresenting the Great Lakes areaincluded Intl. Rep. Tony Palmisano andRon Horner of GEM.

Also competing were Steven Flores,Local 1, Chicago, Ill.; Eric Wolf, Local27, St. Louis, Mo.; Brandon Allenby,Local 60, Peoria, Ill.; Richard Wallace,Local 85, Toledo, Ohio; AbrahamInghram, Local 107, Milwaukee, Wis.;Shaun Estes, Local 374, Hammond,Ind.; and William Dunmire, Local 744,Cleveland, Ohio.

The participants took the OSHA-10safety quiz and a written exam onrelated study lessons from 13 differentcontent areas. They also demonstratedtheir skills in rigging, air-carbon arc

cutting, layout, tube rolling, reeving,welding, tools, scaffolding, layout, and hitches.

Schneider, Gehrke winWestern States competition

GEOFF SCHNEIDER, LOCAL 242,Spokane, Wash., won the James F.Precht Award as this year’s top appren-tice for the Western States area. Paul

Gehrke, Local 11, Helena, Mont., placed second.

Also competing were Brian Ortiz,Local 92, Los Angeles; Gary Glass,Local 101, Denver; Kendra Smith, Local182, Salt Lake City; Cody Hollinger,Local 502, Tacoma, Wash.; AndrewBallew, Local 549, Pittsburg, Calif.; andDarryl Goldtooth, Local 627, Phoenix.

Sponsored by the Western StatesJoint Apprenticeship Committee(WSJAC), the annual competition washeld July 10-15 at the Local 242 trainingfacilities. Union judges includedRichard Skaugstad, Rodney Flores, andJames Umphenour, all of Local 242.Three contractor judges also partici-pated: Howard Minter of CBI, ClydeColliflower of Alstom/APComPower,and Tracy Reardon of Jamar.

The competition also included pres-entation of the Greg Streblow Scholas-tic Award to Dave Banderob of Local 11and recognition of service awards toKathy Streblow and John Monrean.

Western States Coordinator RondyCrawford sends a special thanks toLocal 242 BM Marlin McCurdy, Local242 instructor Marion Liebman, Local 4instructor Collin Keisling, and Local242’s office staff, Mary and Lisa, “for their assistance throughout the competition.” ❑

Dennis Bishop, L-169, Detroit, wonthe Great Lakes Area contest.

6 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004A P P R E N T I C E N E W S

Welding is an important skill testedin the Western States competition.

Area competitions are hard foughtTwenty-four lodges sendcontestants to Northeast,Great Lakes, andWestern States areacompetitions

Local 85 honors Rucker with training center

Retired Local 85 Bus. Mgr. Harlie‘Red’ Rucker thanks the crowd fornaming the training center in his honor.

ON LABOR DAY, LOCALLodge 85, Toledo, Ohio, dedicated its newly-renovatedtraining center, naming it in honor of former Local 85Business Manager Harlie “Red” Rucker.

“Rucker was instrumental inthe facility’s original construc-tion,” said Local 85 BM-ST Ger-ald Bullock. “It was hisforesight and dedication thatmade this training center whatit is today.”

Renovations include a 50-foot by 40-foot addition thathouses ten state-of-the artwelding booths, mezzaninesfor storage, and a new make-up-air system for ventilation. At their Labor Day picnic, Local 85 members unveil new training center’s name.

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Tim Fuller, L-647, Minneapolis, tooksecond prize in the Great Lakes.

MEMBERS OF LODGES affiliated withthe Indiana State Metal Polishers Con-ference met Sept. 29, in Kokomo, Ind.,at their first semi-annual meeting.

The conference has previously meton a yearly basis. At their 2004 annualmeeting, they voted to meet twice ayear to increase members’ educationalopportunities. Intl. Rep. Charlie Brock,conference president,conducts themeetings. Guest lecturers at the Sep-tember meeting included InternationalVice President Othal Smith, Jr., and staffmembers Len Beauchamp, WadeDavis, and Pam Dumler.

IVP Smith spoke about the need torecognize groups of employees whoare not union members and to helpthem join the union.

Beauchamp, director of research andcollective bargaining, outlined the

union’s structure by discussing theroles of members, lodges, conferences,divisions, and the International. Healso conducted a class on organizing.

Davis, education director and con-ference field director, led group partici-pation exercises to help identifydifferent personalities within a com-mittee and how best to utilize these per-sonalities when making committeeassignments.

Dumler, asst. to the director ofresearch and collective bargaining,explained the Family and MedicalLeave Act and the Health InsurancePortability and Accountability Act.

Lodges affiliated with the IndianaMetal Conference include M7, GrandRapids, Mich.; M68, Cincinnati, Ohio;M300, Aurora, Ind.; and M301, Edgerton, Ohio. ❑

Nov • Dec 2004 the Boilermaker Reporter - 7E D U C A T I O N & T R A I N I N G

BEING A LOCAL LODGE secretary-treasurer is not easy. Many people whohave held the job will tell you it’s thetoughest job in the local.

But that doesn’t have to be the case.The main reason it is viewed that way isthat it requires skills that most peoplenever develop — skills in record keep-ing, accounting, and reporting. Thesesubjects aren’t rocket science, but if youhave never been trained in how to dothem, they might as well be.

Gary Arrigoni knew that. As secre-tary-treasurer of Local 1234, Chicago,Ill., he learned the necessary skills andwas doing a good job.

Then he got an offer of a promotionthat would take him out of the bargain-ing unit. He realized that no one else inLocal 1234 knew what the job of secre-tary-treasurer entailed, and he didn’twant his successor to fall on his face. So he and International Rep. Howard Coleoffered a training class to help make thetransition as smooth as possible.

They invited not only the new Local1234 secretary-treasurer pro tem, FredSwaitko, but also Local 1234 PresidentRobert Smith, Chief Trustee JeanneWhite, and Trustees Fay Wenzel andJovan Djordjic. Trustees and the locallodge president need to understand thesecretary-treasurer’s job, too, in orderto do their jobs properly.

The one-day class, held August 20 atthe Holiday Inn in Skokie, Ill., was a

success. All those whoattended came awaywith a greatly expandedknowledge of the record-keeping and reportingwork the secretary-treas-urer does.

It was an eye-openerfor the trainees. Accord-ing to Cole, all the partic-ipants made the sameobservation: “I neverrealized how much isinvolved with being asecretary-treasurer.”

Now they do, and theirlocal will be better offbecause they all have abetter understanding ofhow the union works. ❑

Local 1234 training helps with transition

They came to learn the secretary-treasurer’s job.Seated, l. to r., are Robert Smith, Jeanne White, FayWenzel; standing, l. to r., Jovan Djordjic, Fred Swaitko,and Gary Arrigoni.

Secretary-treasurer passes knowledge along to his successor

Local 108 members learn job-site leadership

Indiana Metal Conferencestresses education

UCS offers computer-basedsteward trainingEXPERIENCED STEWARDS willtell you that you never stop learninghow to do the job. And new stew-ards will tell you that it isn’t alwayseasy to get started learning.

The International’s educationdepartment (913-371-2640) can help.Education Director Wade Davis andother International staff membersprovide steward-training classesand print materials that can helpnew stewards.

For those who can’t wait for a classto develop, there’s now a new alter-native — computer-based trainingfrom UCS, Inc.

Publishers of educational materi-als for union members and locallodge officers, UCS now offers intro-ductory steward-training over theInternet or from a CD-ROM. Theeight-part instruction providesinteractive scenario simulators thatput you in real-life situations tosolve real-life problems. An advan-tage of computer-based classes isthat you can repeat sections of theinstruction as many times as youlike to ensure you remember it well.

Purchasing the online UCS coursegives you six months’ access to theonline training. For an additionalcharge, you can participate in anonline forum moderated by UCS’s educators.

The CD ver-sion containseverything inthe online version, withoutthe need forInternet connec-tivity. Purchasing theCD version is a handyway for local lodges to ensurethat every new steward has access tosome basic training.

All students purchasing eitherversion of the training packagereceive a free copy of UCS’s stewardhandbook, “The Union Steward’sComplete Guide.”

The online training was intro-duced earlier this year and hasalready earned much praise frompeople involved in union-membereducation.

UCS offers a wide variety ofunion-oriented training material,including the Steward Updatenewsletter, cartoon and news articleservices for newsletter editors, andbooks on union activism, labor law,and collective bargaining, as well as books to educate your chil-dren on union history and how unions work.

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SAFETY SAVES LIVES,that’s clear. And in indus-trial construction, it alsodetermines who gets towork. For many yearsnow, owners haveinsisted that only con-tractors with good safetyrecords will do work attheir plants and onlyworkers who have beenproperly trained in safetyprocedures will beallowed on the job.

Local lodges aroundthe country are able toprovide their memberswith this necessary train-ing through safety pro-grams developed by MOST —Mobilization, Optimization, Stabiliza-tion, and Training — a joint Boilermak-ers-management trust.

In July, members of Local 587,Orange, Texas, attended safety trainingat their hall. The ten-hour course,approved by the Occupational Safetyand Health Administration (OSHA),was repeated over a three-day period tomaximize attendance.

Local 587 members Willie Craft Jr. and George Dronett, both certifiedOSHA instructors, conducted theclasses using slides and hand-outs provided by MOST.

James Kirkland, business managerand secretary-treasurer for Local 587,said nearly 100 members attended theMOST/OSHA safety program, updat-ing their safety awareness skills. ❑

Willie Craft Jr. shares his expertise in Local 587’sMOST/OSHA safety class.

Local 587 emphasizessafety training

ELEVEN MEMBERS OF Local 108,Birmingham, Ala., attended a leader-ship training program at the RimesGarden Suites, June 28-July 2.

Designed for journeymen who wantto become foremen and leaders on thejob, class topics include blueprintreview, rigging and lift calculation,how to become a valuable supervisorand leader, how to conduct safetymeetings, and useful corrective anddisciplinary actions.

James Binzer, Dusty Brasher, ScottCampbell, Guy Copeland, Raymond

Early, John Keith, Carl McCloud, BennyPate, Mike Robinson, Dwain Simmons,and Bruce Wilson were all selected toattend the class by their business man-ager, John Helvin, based on their skillsand potential to become effective fore-men and general foremen.

L. Dwain Smith, Terry Barnes, andRich Hope, all certified instructorsthrough the Boilermakers NationalApprenticeship Program (BNAP), con-ducted the five-day course. Smith andBarnes have been teaching this classsince 1985. ❑

GARY COOKSTON, retired presidentof Local 656, Chattanooga, Tenn., has been appointed to serve in theBoiler and Elevator Division for thestate of Tennessee.

Cookston, 56, worked over 37 yearsat Alstom Power and was an activeunion member. Over the years he has

served on International conventioncommittees as well as local insurance,pension, and legislative committees.

He has served as a shop steward,chairperson of the shop committee,and administrator of the collective bar-gaining contract.

While serving as local lodge presi-dent (he was elected in 1993), Cookstonalso served as vice president of the Ten-nessee AFL-CIO.

He is a charter member of the Ten-nessee Volunteer Industrial Council,where he served as chairman of themanufacturing section. ❑

Alstom credits Local 531’sskills and support for earlyjob completion

8 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004K U D O S

ALSTOM APCOMPOWER, Inc. andXcel Energy/SPS would like to extendour thanks to you (L-531 BM-ST W. K.Adams) and the members of Local 531(Amarillo, Texas) for the quality workperformed during the recent mainte-nance outage at Harrington StationUnit #1. The skilled and efficient sup-port provided by the Boilermakers onsite helped to enable the tight-sched-

uled water wall and air preheater proj-ects to be completed ahead of schedule.Those working on the outage should becommended for their exceptional per-formance.

As always, it is a pleasure workingwith the members of Local 531. Keepup the good work.

JEFF EDWARDS, const. mgr.APComPower, Inc.

American Boiler praisesLocal 667 for outage workI WOULD LIKE TO take this opportu-nity to personally thank you (GeorgePinkerman, L-667 BM-ST, Charleston,W.Va.), Mike Vanmatre (asst. bus.mgr.), and the members of Local 667for your help and cooperation during the last two outages at Allegheny Energy’s Harrison and Pleasants Power Stations.

American Boiler & Chimney Co. performed approximately 14,000welds and 350,000 Boilermaker man-hours over the last two years at these two stations.

The response time from the unionhall and the caliber of the men sent tothe job cannot be over emphasized.

Allegheny Energy has told us thesewere the best, fastest, and safest out-ages in their system.

The cooperation of the plant person-nel of Allegheny Energy, the supervi-sion of American Boiler & Chimney,and the Boilermakers of Local 667 isunparalleled and gives true meaning tothe tripartite concept.

We at American Boiler & Chimneyare proud to be associated with the officers and Boilermakers of Local 667 and hope to continue this special rela-tionship on many more projects in the future.

JERRY KAELIN, ownerAmerican Boiler & Chimney Co.

Day & Zimmerman commends Local 237 members for job well doneDAY & ZIMMERMAN NPS, Inc. (DZNPS) recently completed the Unit #6boiler outage for NRG at the Montvillestation. The outage consisted of a com-plete economizer replacement, burnerwork, and ash hopper tube replace-ment. Approximately 4,000 welds weremade with only two minor repairs.

Local 237 members (Hartford,Conn.) were outstanding in the per-formance of their duties, as well asinstrumental in setting a positive workattitude and direction for the manytravelers on the project. The Boilermak-ers performed their work in a safe,

high-quality manner with no problemsof late starts, early quits, or lack of pro-ductivity that can sometimes arise dur-ing long hours necessitated byextended overtime.

The foreman and stewards on bothshifts kept the work moving in a posi-tive direction and in a safe manner.Any concerns on behalf of DZ NPSsupervisors or NRG plant personnelwere handled immediately and withno further complaints.

RONALD J. HAX, project mgr.Day & Zimmerman NPS

L-11 memberearns acclaimBEN STEILMAN, a 28-year member ofLocal 11, Helena, Mont., has earnedacknowledgement in the “Third Editionof Welding Principles and Practices,” forhis help in reviewing the manuscript byauthors, Raymond J. Sacks and EdwardR. Bohnart.

Steilman is a certified instructor withthe Boilermakers National Apprentice-ship Program and has also served the past13 years as a trustee chairman and assis-tant business manger for Local 11.

When the publisher contacted theWestern States Apprenticeship office forhelp reviewing this book, CoordinatorRondy Crawford was quick to recom-mend Steilman for the job.

According to Local 11 BM-ST Bob Hall,Steilman is an outstanding instructorwhose leadership, he believes, led toLocal 11 earning the Don R. LacefieldLocal Apprenticeship Committee Awardfor the Western States the last two years.

“Ben does an excellent job and wewould be lost without him,” Hall said. ❑

Ben Steilman, 28-year member ofLocal 11, Helena, Mont.

Cookston appointed to serve in Tennesseeboiler and elevator division

Gary Cookston

You should apply for aBoilermaker scholarshipONE OF THE MOST POPULAR BENEFITSof being a Boilermaker is the college scholar-ship program that helps dependents of Boiler-makers get started with their collegeeducation. These one-year grants reward thehard work and success of young members ofBoilermaker families and encourage membersof the next generation of college-educatedworkers to remember the union advantage.

Boilermaker scholarships are open to highschool seniors who will be entering their firstyear of a two- or four-year academic programat a degree-granting, accredited college or uni-versity within one year of their high schoolgraduation and who are dependents of Boiler-maker members in good standing. A depend-ent may be a son, daughter, legally adoptedchild, or other dependent of an active, retired,disabled, or deceased member.

Winners are chosen based on a variety ofcriteria that include grades, standardized testscores, extracurricular activities, and a writtenessay on an assigned topic. Applications forthe 2005 awards are available now from your

local lodge and will be accepted from January1 to March 31, 2005. Applications postmarkedafter the March 31, 2005, deadline cannot beconsidered. Contact your local lodge to getan application. The International will notmail applications to individuals.

Some local lodges have their own scholar-ship programs. Scholarships are also availablethrough the Union Plus credit card program andsome state and regional labor councils. Forinformation on these scholarship possibilities,contact these organizations directly.

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Nov • Dec 2004 the Boilermaker Reporter - 9J O B S

A YEAR’S WORK came to a successful conclusion in Junewhen members of Local 680, St. Catharines, Ontario,watched a barge leave Port Weller Dry Docks, carrying theprocessing unit module they had just built toward the frigidwaters off Newfoundland.

The $20 million processing unit weighs 935 tons andmeasures 75 feet by 75 feet by 55 feet. It was built for the SeaRose, an 889-foot, floating production, storage, and offload-ing vessel owned by Husky Energy and PetroCanada. It will

produce oil from the White Rose offshore oil field located inthe Jeanne d’Arc basin, 271 miles east of St. John’s.

At peak, 200 Local 680 members, who work for CanadianShipbuilding and Engineering (CSE) at Port Weller, werebuilding the module. Boilermakers performed all but theelectrical work and some of the pipefitting. The mammothjob required more man-hours than they could supply, butLocal 680 members did all the fabrication, welding, andpainting, and most of the pipefitting work themselves.

Local 680 Bus. Mgr. Dan Langlois was at Port Weller theday they moved the module out of the dry docks.

“CSE hired an outside contractor to move the module.Using transporters, they moved the module about 200 feetstraight out Shop 3 to the barge that was going to transport itto the East Coast,” Langlois said. “Once they had it on thebarge, they had to turn it 90 degrees, move it forward, andthen lower it before our members could weld it in place. Itwas quite an impressive end to this year-long project.” ❑

L-680 members build module for offshore oil

Local 680 members pose by processing module they built. Photo by Frank Parhizgar, L-680.

B&W Canada reaches safety milestone

BOILERMAKERS AND OTHER construction craftsmenworking for Babcock & Wilcox Canada (BWC) PrairieRegion have completed 2.5 million man-hours without arecordable injury. Passing this milestone was announced byBWC’s Edmonton office in July.

Rick Albright, IVP for western Canada, said he was notsurprised by the news.

“We are driven by a determination that each and everymember arrives at the job healthy and returns home at theend of the day healthy,” Albright said. “It is our principalobjective.”

That commitment to safety was evident this year when theCanadian construction lodges backed a five-cent-per-hourcontribution to a national health and safety fund. The fundwill support a full-time safety director to promote healthand safety wellness on all construction, maintenance, andrepair projects within the Brotherhood’s jurisdiction.

“With the owner/client community, contractors, and locallodges working closely together to identify opportunities forimprovement, our industry’s health and safety require-ments will be better served and will benefit all stakehold-ers,” Albright said. ❑

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A transporter is used to move the 935-tonmodule 200 feet to the barge.

It looks like it could take off and fly.

Boilermakers built this water tower in 2003, and returned this year

to help make it look like a hot-air balloon. Employees at Caldwell’s fabrication plant in Louisville, Ky.,

built the 13-foot square by six-foot tall steel gondola

and NTL members installed the cables and gondola.

The tower is part of Victory Junction, a camp for children 7-15 with chronic or life-threateningillnesses.

10 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004E M P L O Y E R S P O T L I G H T

oO OT TO TOOT OUR OWNhorn, but Boilermakers

in our Stove and Metal Polish- ers Division are responsible for

helping create some of the most beauti-ful music in the world.

Members of Local Lodge M94 in Elkhorn,Wisc., work for the LeBlanc company makingFrench horns, Sousaphones, and other brasswind instruments sold under the brand nameHolton. Ask any brass band — Holton horns areamong the best in the world.

Frank Holton began making horns in Chicagoin 1898, having earlier found success as JohnPhilip Sousa’s first trombonist and inventor ofElectric Oil, a slide oil still in use today.

He moved his company to Elkhorn in1917, where they remain as the coun-try’s oldest continually operating windinstrument company. Local 94 of theMetal Polishers union began repre-senting Holton workers not long afterthe company’s creation.

In 1964 the G. Leblanc Corporationacquired Holton. They continue tomake horns bearing such names asCollegiate, Farkas, and Merker.

And the Metal Polishers — now adivision within the InternationalBrotherhood of Boilermakers —still represent the horn makers atthis famous factory. ❑

Zelbert Williams forms a trombone bell from a flat piece of brass that is bent and notched together for brazing.

Audelio Peralta prepares sections

for brazing

... and then brazes the stem to the flare, creating the French horn’s distinctive bell.

Cindy Camp solders a valve section together.

A valve section consists of all slides, inners, outers,

and valve casings.

Gerado Delgado spins a flare against a heavy mold called a mandrel to shape the flare.

Local M94 President Vicki Freitag and plant manager John

Bagnall with sousaphone branches before and after hydroforming.

This process involves placing the branch in a mold, plugging both

ends, and pumping water into it until pressurized.

N

Antonio Manriques wheel colors a sousaphone body.

Daniel Zarate prepares a horn for lacquering. Before it can

be lacquered, the horn has to be free of lint and imperfections.

Formed, assembled, lacquered andpolished, these tubas are ready to ship.

Nov • Dec 2004 the Boilermaker Reporter - 11E M P L O Y E R S P O T L I G H T

Moises Valadez hand-drags a French horn. Hard to reach

places must be colored and buffed by hand.

Holton’s newest model French horn, the H192, wasdesigned for Ethel Merker, world famous performer

and educator.

Julie Browning does some touching up

on a finished french horn.

Deb Eldred makes final inspection of a valve section after soldering it together.

ogether.

ers, outers,

oilermakers

in our

Stove and Metal

Polishers

Division

are responsible

for helping

create some

of the most

beautiful

music in

the world.

Frank Drohner bends tubes filled with pitch into parts of a slide. B

12 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004P O L I T I C A L A C T I O N

The Boilermaker blimp became a common sight atrallies and parades.

Signs like the one shown here appeared at asurprising number of rallies throughout the country.

There’s that blimp again— in Arizona, this time.

Local 19members pose in front of theBoilermakerbus at a rally in Philadelphia.

The Boilermaker bus traveled coast-to-coast,carrying our members and our message to the candidates.

Boilermakersrally in St. Louis.

THE 2004 ELECTIONS WILL go down in history for many reasons.

Clearly, it was one of the hardest-fought electionsever. Spending set new records as both presidentialcandidates spent more than any other candidateshave ever spent. Political action groups of all kindspurchased ads and get-out-the-vote campaigns likenothing anyone has ever seen before.

More voters went to the polls than ever before in thehistory of the country. Many of them were voting for thefirst time, inspired by voter-registration drives sponsoredby unions and other advocacy groups.

And Boilermaker members were right in the middle ofit all — not only registering voters, but also cheering at rallies, marching in parades, giving voters rides to thepolls, and keeping worker issues in the news and in thenational political debate.

Our preferred candidate for president did not win, butmany of the candidates we backed in congressionaland state races did win — and by comfortable margins.

Even more important, we made it clear that we arecommitted to protecting workers jobs, livelihoods, andlives. We made it clear that we will work for what wewant and we don't shrink from a tough fight.

Voters from union households made up one-fourth ofall voters in the 2004 elections, though only 12 percentof the work force is unionized.

Boilermakers take to the campaign trail

When John Kerry and President Clinton appeared on national television,the Boilermaker blimp was right beside them.

These photos are a tribute to the hundreds of Boilermaker members who gave unselfishly of their time and money this election year. They represent only a handful of the events

where our members put our message in the pubic eye.

For that, we thank you.

YOU put our name in newspapers across the nation and on national television shows.

YOU got people to look at our issues.

In politics, the fight is never over. This campaign has wounddown, but it hasn't gone away. It simply moved to another

level.The work YOU did this summer and fall will help our Department of Government Affairs talk to the U.S. Congress

next year. It will help our local lodge business managers and central labor councils talk to their state

and city governments.

And for that, the entire Brotherhood thanks YOU

Nov • Dec 2004 the Boilermaker Reporter - 13L O C A L L O D G E N E W S

It’s a Glidden family tradition at L-237

Local 237 family members, l. to r., Jeff Sanders, Daniel Sanders, Jason Gilmore, Mark Gilmore, BudGlidden, Amos Potter, and Jeff Glidden.

SIX FAMILY MEMBERS followed in the foot-steps of Bud Glidden by becoming membersof Local 237, Hartford, Conn. Together they

have 160 years of membership. Glidden, 71, startedworking for Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) in 1953.He joined the National Transient Lodge in 1954 andlater transferred his membership to Local 237. Heconvinced his father-in-law, Amos Potter, to leavehis job at the Maine Railroad and join him at CB&I.Potter, now 91, joined the union in 1954 and retiredwith 20 years of membership in 1974. Gliddenretired in 1993 with nearly 40 years of membership.

Glidden’s sons-in-laws — Jeff Sanders, 54, andMark Gilmore, 52 — joined Local 237 in 1970 and1971 and are still boilermaking. They have 34 and 33years of membership respectively.

Potter’s grandson, Jeff Glidden, 47, joined Local237 in 1975, and he currently has 29 years of membership.

Potter’s great-grandsons — Jason Gilmore, 30,and Daniel Sanders, 23 — started their boilermakercareers in 2001 and 2002, and together have fiveyears of membership.

IVP for Western Canada Rick Albrightreminds the crowd that “it isn’t where youare that counts, it’s where you’re headed.”

L. to r., L-555 Bus. Mgr. NormRoss, 50-year member FernDurand, IVP Albright, and 50-year member Jean Joyal.Durand and Joyal received 50-year membership rings.

OVER 400 MEMBERS and guests attended a gala event cele-brating Local 555 reaching its 50th year. The construction localheadquartered in Winnipeg, MB, has grown significantlysince a few dozen Boilermakers decided to affiliate with theInternational in 1954.

Featured guests included Manitoba Minister of Labourand Immigration Nancy Allan, Fort Garry MLA Kerri IrvinRoss (wife of Local 555 Bus. Mgr. Norm Ross), ManitobaExecutive Director of Apprenticeship & Trades Qualifica-tions Joe Black, Director of Apprenticeship Field OperationsShirley Walker, President of Boilermakers Contractors Asso-ciation John Schell, Business Manager of Manitoba BuildingTrades Dave Martin, and a host of leaders from area construc-tion trades, as well as Boilermaker business managers andInternational representatives.

Following dinner, several of the featured guests sharedremarks with the assemblage, and International Vice Presi-dent Rick Albright joined Local 555 Bus. Mgr. Norm Ross topresent rings to charter Local 555 members Fern Durand andJean Joyal to honor their more than 50 years of service.

And following the speeches, the party began, with musicfrom the Foster Martin Band and Doc Walker. ❑

The Triple-Nickle celebrates 50 years

Wal-Mart is no bargainNEXT TIME YOU’RE tempted by Wal-Mart’s“everyday low prices,” you may want to considerthe true cost of shopping at the retail giant. Wal-mart’s low prices don’t come cheap.

A congressional committee says that each Wal-Mart store employing 200 people costs taxpay-ers about $420,750 a year. That is the average cost ofpublic social services used by Wal-Mart workerswhose low wages and unaffordable health insur-ance make them eligible for government aid.

A full analysis of these hidden costs appears inEveryday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay forWal-Mart, a report from the minority staff of the U.S.House of Representatives Education and the Work-force Committee.

Here’s what taxpayers cough up for every Wal-Mart in their community:● $36,000 for free and reduced school lunches● $42,000 for housing assistance● $125,000 for federal tax credits and deductions

for low-income filers● $100,000 for Title 1 educational funds● $9,750 for energy assistance.For several months, Wal-Mart has been running tel-evision ads about how wonderful their healthinsurance is. What they don’t say is that only 38 per-cent of their employees get the insurance. Who paysfor the health care of the rest? Alarge part is paid byMedicaid — also funded with your tax dollars.

For more information on how Wal-Mart is costingtaxpayers money and harming communities, visitwwwwww..aaffllcciioo..oorrgg//ccoorrppoorraatteeaammeerriiccaa//wwaallmmaarrtt//wwaallmmaarrtt__11..ccffmm

Manitoba Minister of Labour and Immigration NancyAllan speaks about the good relationship between Local555 and the provincial government.

Manitoba Executive Director ofApprenticeship & TradesQualifications Joe Black talks aboutimprovements in Local 555’straining facilities.

Business Manager ofManitoba BuildingTrades Dave Martindiscusses the goodrelationship among thetrades in Manitoba.

14 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004L O C A L L O D G E N E W S

NNaattiioonnaall TTrraannssiieenntt LLooddggeeINTL. REP. SHON ALMOND reports presentation of pins for continuousyears of membership to the following: 60 YEARS – Charles Coburn; and45 YEARS – Ellis Steinhauser.

LLooccaall 11,, CChhiiccaaggooJOHN SKERMONT, BM-ST of Local 1,Chicago, reports presentation of pinsfor continuous years of membership to the following: 65 YEARS – John “Pat” Showalter;50 YEARS – Daniel Considine, EugeneForkin Jr.;40 YEARS – Charles Dobosiewicz, Robert Lambert, Rick Mooney;30 YEARS – Rich Bartos, Louis Benz,Edward Fals, Kevin Kavanaugh, Gerald Klem, Clayton Novak, Richard Purdy, Robert Raggio; and25 YEARS – Nicholas Anaya, RodneySwinson.

LLooccaall 8833,, KKaannssaass CCiittyy,, MMoo..ROGER ERICKSON, BM-ST of Local 83,Kansas City, Mo., reports presentationof pins for continuous years of mem-bership to the following: 45 YEARS – Larry Daugherty, Richard Ice;40 YEARS – Jack Armstrong; 35 YEARS – Jim Berry, Jim Weaver; and30 YEARS – John Wayne Calhoun, BillCarver, Richard Kirby, Louis Padilla.

LLooccaall 110011,, DDeennvveerr,, CCoolloo..HENRY MCCOY, BM-ST of Local 101,Denver, Colo., reports presentation of pins for continuous years of membership to the following: 40 YEARS – Roger Burch; and25 YEARS – David Burch, WilliamMendez.

LLooccaall 116699,, DDeettrrooiitt,, MMiicchh..JOHN MAREK, BM-ST of Local 169,Detroit, Mich., reports presentation of pins for continuous years of membership to the following: 50 YEARS – George W. Booth, Joseph J. Dubach, Bruce A. McLeod,Donald J. Rojem;

35 YEARS – Lawrence G. Bittner, JamesK. Bostedt, Fred C. Burger, Ronald W.Busch, John P. Card, Robert W. Card,Ova Fletcher, Marc P. Fluhart, TimothyG. Gapen, Jerry L. Golden, CasperGrubbs, Michael W. Jenerou, Daniel P.Kidd Sr., Michael T. Kidd, Earnest R.McDowell, Dale F. Nelmark, MichaelC. Parkhill, Eugene C. Rose Jr., RichardA. Sevrey, Richard H. Usher Jr., Robert(Bruce) Warnken, Larry L. Way, Larry J.Wilson, Kenneth G. Wyman, WilliamE. Zink; 30 YEARS – Timothy P. Acocks Sr., Fran-cis G. Bakara, Larry D. Campbell, Don-ald E. Collison, Harold P. Danula, JohnP. Donohue, Vincenzo S. Grillo, JerroldG. Harper, Phillip D. Hendrix, WilliamM. Kennedy, Gary D. Lindroth, LarryE. May, Phillip E. McCrum, William E.Nelson, Patrick D. Parcell, John F. Siira,Wayne D. Smoot, Donald P. Sterling,John J. Tischler Jr., Rodger R. Vanderville, Johnny W. Wright; and25 YEARS – James A. Bowers, RichardGrant, Timothy W. Parrish, RooseveltSweeney, and Rodney P. VanBrocklin.

LLooccaall 223377,, HHaarrttffoorrdd,, CCoonnnn..ANTHONY DEFRANCESCO JR., BM-ST ofLocal 237, Hartford, Conn., reportspresentation of pins for continuousyears of membership to the following: 55 YEARS – Salvatore Sessa;50 YEARS – John Ames, Clarence Britton,Dominic Concilio, John Dolan,William Souza;45 YEARS – Edmond Chicoine, RobertClark, William Sheridan, Paul Truken,Peter Vollero;40 YEARS – Edward Cyr, Rudolph Diaz,Thomas Fisher, Gerald Konopka, Gordon MacDonald, Paul Manning,Harold McFadyen;35 YEARS – Foye Belyea, Kenneth Corey,David Lester, William O’Hara, PerryPerkins, Robert Retkowski, Leon Rosengrant, Edward Silva, James Welch;30 YEARS – Chester Crouch, ClintonDaniels, William Edgerton, RichardFisher, Larry Jirkowsky, MichaelPanzo, Anthony Parlato, MichaelSabolesky, Daniel Sanders, Kent Ward,Francis Yolda;25 YEARS – Kenneth Bellelo, AlfredCivitello Jr., Herbert Hanson, BernardKenyon, Roland Moore, Manual Moras,Mark Pierce, Terry Royce, Donald Sad-owski, John Welch, James Wilson;20 YEARS – Fred Masciantonio, KennethNiedzwecki, Jeff Quirici, James Simon15 YEARS – Edmond A. Chicoine, AlbertCurbow, Robert Frazier, Robert Geisler,Scott Gluck, Jean Huard, DorothyLewis, Douglas Meyer, StephenPaganetti, Jon Perkins, Mark Pinard,Emmett Pizzoferrato, Robert Simon,Henry Tourtellotte, Dennis Trainor.

LLooccaall 337744,, HHaammmmoonndd,, IInndd..CHUCK VANOVER, BM-ST of Local 374,Hammond, Ind., reports presentationof pins for continuous years of membership to the following: 40 YEARS – William J. Francis, Jere Zapf;35 YEARS – Lynn E. Angermeier, Daniel P.Gayer, Paul L. Mericle, Tophel Secuskie;30 YEARS – James L. Anderson, Daniel F.Arrington, Thomas O. Benton, RonnieA. Brown, Randall E. Bryant, James L.

Choate, Paul L.Crowel, Joseph A.Deom, Patrick F.Heeke, John C. KnoxJr., Clarence C. Murphy, Thomas J.Nowak, Malcom T.Roberts, SylvesterRobinson Jr., Michael J.Schweitzer, Leslie D.Seydel, Roger C.Symons, Melvin E. Tennyson;25 YEARS – Terry Brown,Brian L. Brumfield,Gerold L. Bruton,Stephen W. Carr, Stanley R. Long, Francis J. Neylon,Thomas E. Stevens,Alan A. Watkins;15 YEARS – Richard J.Allen, Randall L.Bauer, Ken S.Chmielowiec, MichaelT. Helmick, George R.Kennedy, Charles E.Marsh, Mario San-sone, Bradley N.Schrombeck, Jon A.Schromobeck, Gene B.Shealy, Randy Tulo, andDavid L. Wiley.

Locals award service pins to members

NTL members Charles Coburn (left photo.) and EllisSteinhauser (r.) receive membership pins from Intl. Rep.Shon Almond. Coburn has 60 years; Steinhauser, 45.

John ‘Pat’ Showalter (front left), who worked his way up to CEOfor Andee Boiler and Welding, receives his 65-year pin fromLocal 1. Back row, l. to r., John Skermont, Jack Benz, DanRaggio, Jeff Murphy; front row, Showalter, Rus Showalter,Robert McDonough.

Receiving a membership pin are retired members of Local 237, l. to r., John Ames (50years), Edmond Chicoine (45), charter member Salvatore Sesss (55), Robert Clark(45), Alfred Civitello Sr., (40), with Local 237 BM Anthony DeFrancesco Jr.

Receiving service pins at the Local 83 October meeting are, front row, l. to r., JackArmstrong (40 years), Richard Kirby (30), John Wayne Calhoun (30), Bill Carver (30),Louis Padilla (30), Larry Daugherty (45); back row, l. to r., Jim Weaver (35), Jim Berry(35), BM-ST Roger Erickson, Pres. Larry Horseman, and Richard Ice (45).

Three Local 1 members receive their membership pins. Front row, l. to r., RobertSchwartz, Eugene Forkin Jr. (50 years), Rich Bartos (30 years), Robert Lambert (40years), John Skermont; back row, Ben Kosiek, and Jack Benz.

LLooccaall 774444,, CClleevveellaanndd,, OOhhiioo

Great Lakes Intl.Vice PresidentLarry McManamon presents a 55-year pin to Louis R. Jewel,retired BM-ST of Local 744.

Nov • Dec 2004 the Boilermaker Reporter - 15L O C A L L O D G E N E W S

From apprentice to combat medic is along road for Local374’s Larry Loper

and his family LAWRENCE (LARRY) W. LOPER II RETURNED homesafely in March, from a one-year tour of duty in Iraq.

Loper, 31, is an 11-year member of the 1-152nd Infantry Bat-talion of the Indiana National Guard in Jasper, Ind. He is alsoa fifth-period apprentice out of Local 374, Hammond, Ind.,who was called to serve his country as a line medic with theinfantry in March 2003.

As a combat medic, Loper faced danger andnew challenges everyday. He also worried abouthis family at home, and the challenges his wife,Jennifer, had to confront alone.

Raising four young children is a difficult task.With Larry away, Jennifer was trying to meet herchildren’s needs, perform all the householdchores, and work outside the home. She had tosoothe her children’s concerns about their father’sabsence while silently combating her own fearsabout his well being. It wasn’t long before Larryand Jennifer decided it would be best if Jenniferquit her job so she could devote all her time totheir children: Jayde, 6, Jacob, 5, Noah, 4, and Madelynn, 2.

In a very short time, this young family had beenseparated and their income cut to what little Larry earned from infantry duty. It was difficult, but they both agree the price of freedom

is worth the hardship.Despite the circumstances of war, Larry and Jennifer were

able to keep in almost daily contact through e-mail andphone. It made their separation a lot easier to bear.

Once back home, Larry took his family on a well-deservedvacation, then he was back at work as an apprentice for Local 374.

When asked about his experience in Iraq, Loper said itmade him proud to be an American and gave him an evenbetter appreciation for the lifestyle we enjoy in the States. Butmostly, it just made him glad to be home!

Top: Even in wartime, sunsets can be beautiful. Loper took many beforeand after photos of injuries he tended, but he also took photos of soldiersnear the end of a day.

Above left: Loper hitches a ride in a 1-152nd Infantry Battalion truck.

Above right: Loper not only cared for soldiers, but he tended the needs ofcivilians during his one-year tour in Iraq.

Bottom: War has no schedule, and no one makes a bed for you. Lopergrabs some much-needed sleep in the best place he can find.

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16 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004N A T I O N A L F U N D S

THIS IS A SUMMARY OF THE annual report for the Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust, Employer Identification Number 48-6168020, for January 1 through December31, 2003.

The annual report has been filed with theDepartment of Labor, as required under theEmployee Retirement Income Security Act of1974 (ERISA).

BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTBenefits under the plan are provided by the trustfund directly to participants or their beneficiar-ies. Plan expenses were $418,417,362. Theseexpenses included $25,579,819 in administra-tive expenses and $392,837,543 in benefits paidto participants and beneficiaries.

A total of 73,420 persons were participants inor beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the planyear, although not all of these persons had yetearned the right to receive benefits.

The value of plan assets, after subtracting lia-bilities of the plan, was $6,276,664,586 as ofDecember 31, 2003, compared to$5,536,160,357 as of December 31, 2002. Duringthe plan year, the plan experienced an increasein its net assets of $740,504,229.

This increase includes unrealized deprecia-tion in the value of plan assets; that is, the differ-ence between the value of the plan’s assets atthe end of the year and the value of the assets atthe beginning of the year, or the cost of assetsacquired during the year.

The plan had total income of $1,158,921,591.This includes employer contributions of$190,013,965, gains of $217,160,996 from thesale of assets, and net earnings from invest-ments of $751,746,630.

MINIMUM FUNDING STANDARDSAn actuary’s statement shows that enoughmoney was contributed to the plan to keep itfunded in accordance with the minimum fundingstandards of ERISA.

BBOOIILLEERRMMAAKKEERRSS NNAATTIIOONNAALL HHEEAALLTTHH && WWEELLFFAARREE FFUUNNDD SSUUMMMMAARRYY AANNNNUUAALL RREEPPOORRTTThis is a summary of the annual report of theBoilermakers National Health and Welfare Fund,Employer Identification Number 36-6090694, forthe fiscal year ending December 31, 2003. Theannual report has been filed with the Depart-

ment of Labor, as required under the EmployeeRetirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

The Boilermakers National Health and Wel-fare Fund has committed itself to pay certainmedical, dental, vision, and prescription drugclaims incurred under the terms of the plan.

INSURANCE INFORMATIONThe plan has an experience-rated contract withProvident Life and Accident Insurance Companyto pay all life and accidental death and dismem-berment claims.

Because it is an experience-rated contract,the premium costs are affected by, among otherthings, the number and size of claims. Of thetotal insurance premiums paid during the con-tract year which ended within the plan year end-ing December 31, 2003, the premiums paidunder such experience-rated contract were$2,147,502 and the total of all benefit claimspaid under this experience-rated contract duringthe plan year was $1,799,643.

BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTThe value of plan assets, after subtracting liabil-ities of the plan, was $112,391,154 as of Decem-ber 31, 2003, compared to $160,969,252 as ofDecember 31, 2002. During the plan year, theplan experienced a decrease in its net assets of$48,578,098. This decrease includes unrealizedappreciation or depreciation in the value of planassets; that is, the difference between the valueof the plan’s assets at the end of the year and thevalue of the assets at the beginning of the year,or the cost of assets acquired during the year.During the plan year, the plan had total income of$186,090,869 (including employer contributionsof $150,416,646, employee and retiree contribu-tions of $15,989,910, realized gains from thesale of assets of $4,335,335, earnings frominvestments of $11,535,236, and other incomeof $2,343,765).

Plan expenses were $234,668,967. Theseexpenses included $8,710,912 in administrativeexpenses and $225,958,055 in benefits paid toparticipants and beneficiaries.

BBOOIILLEERRMMAAKKEERRSS NNAATTIIOONNAALL AANNNNUUIITTYYTTRRUUSSTT SSUUMMMMAARRYY AANNNNUUAALL RREEPPOORRTTThis is a summary of the annual report for theBoilermakers National Annuity Trust, EmployerIdentification Number 48-1029345, for January1 through December 31, 2003. The annual report

has been filed with the Department of Labor, asrequired under the Employee Retirement IncomeSecurity Act of 1974 (ERISA).

BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTBenefits under the plan are provided from trustassets or through insurance or annuity contracts.Plan expenses were $44,397,791. Theseexpenses include $3,394,063 in administrativeexpenses and $40,487,185 in benefits paid toparticipants and beneficiaries. A total of 63,590persons were participants in the plan at the endof the plan year.

The value of plan assets, after subtracting lia-bilities of the plan, was $755,446,853 as ofDecember 31, 2003, compared to $660,917,438as of January 1, 2003. During the plan year, theplan experienced an increase in its net assets of$94,529,415. This increase includes unrealizedappreciation in the value of plan assets; that is,the difference between the value of the plan’sassets at the end of the year and the value of theassets at the beginning of the year, or the cost ofassets acquired during the year.

The plan had total income of $138,927,206(including employer contributions of$82,846,628, realized losses of $8,530,046 fromthe sale of assets, and earnings from invest-ments of $64,533,858).

YYOOUU MMAAYY RREEQQUUEESSTT AA CCOOMMPPLLEETTEE CCOOPPYY.. .. .. You have the right to receive a copy of the fullannual report, or any part thereof, for each ofthese funds on request. The items listed beloware included in each report:

1. An accountant’s report;2. Financial information and information on

payments to service providers;3. Assets held for investment;4. Transactions in excess of five percent of

plan assets.In addition, the Boilermaker-Blacksmith

National Pension Trust summary annual reportwill include the following:

5.Insurance information, including salescommissions paid by insurance carriers;

6.Information regarding any common or collective trusts, pooled separate accounts; master trusts, or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates; and

7. Actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan.

The Boilermakers National Health & WelfareFund summary report will include the following:

5. Insurance information, including salescommissions paid by insurance carriers;

To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or anypart thereof, of each of these reports write or callthe office of the plan executive administrator at754 Minnesota Avenue, Suite 522 (Suite 400 andZip Code 66101-2762 for the Annuity report),Kansas City, KS 66101-2766, phone - 1-866-342-6555 (913-342-6555 in the Kansas City area).

The charge to cover copying costs of the Boil-ermaker-Blacksmith National Pension TrustSummary Annual Report will be $136 for the fullannual report, or $0.25 per page for any part thereof.

The charge to cover copying costs of the Boil-ermakers National Health & Welfare Fund Sum-mary Annual Report will be $17.25 for the fullannual report, or $0.25 per page for any part thereof.

The charge to cover copying costs of the Boil-ermakers National Annuity Trust SummaryAnnual Report will be $37 for the full annualreport, or $0.25 per page for any part thereof.

You also have the right to receive from theplan executive administrator, on request and atno charge, a statement of the assets and liabili-ties of each plan and accompanying notes, or astatement of income and expenses of each planand accompanying notes, or both.

If you request a copy of the full annual reportfrom the plan executive administrator, these twostatements and accompanying notes will beincluded as part of that report. The charge tocover copying costs given above does notinclude a charge for the copying of these por-tions of the report because these portions arefurnished without charge.

You also have the legally protected right toexamine the annual reports at the main office ofthe plan, 754 Minnesota Avenue, Suite 522(Suite 400 and Zip Code 66101-2762 for theAnnuity report), Kansas City, KS 66101-2766,and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washing-ton, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S.Department of Labor upon payment of copyingcosts. Requests to the Department of Laborshould be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room,N5638, Employee Benefits Security Administra-tion, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 ConstitutionAvenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20210.

BBOOIILLEERRMMAAKKEERR--BBLLAACCKKSSMMIITTHH NNAATTIIOONNAALL PPEENNSSIIOONN TTRRUUSSTT SSUUMMMMAARRYY AANNNNUUAALL RREEPPOORRTT

THE SOARING COST of health care isa crisis facing all Americans. The rate ofhealth care cost increases has beenabove ten percent for the past fiveyears, contributing to the growingnumber of people who do withoutinsurance because they can’t afford it.

Unions and consumer advocateshave been sounding the alarm foryears. Now corporate chief financialofficers (CFO) are joining the chorus.

In a recent survey, Duke Universityresearchers found that two-thirds ofAmerica’s CFOs believe that makinghealth care more affordable should beone of President Bush’s top three prior-ities — right alongside reducing thenational budget deficit and improvingdomestic security.

Our negotiating committees have feltthe heat, as companies try to pass alongrising costs to employees. The thou-sands of construction Boilermakerscovered by our National Health andWelfare Fund are feeling the pinch, too.

The H&W fund has been especiallyhard hit because benefits are tied towork levels, and work levels havedeclined nearly 25 percent since 2002.Meanwhile, costs keep rising. In 2003,the plan’s assets dropped $48 million.The year 2004 did not provide relieffrom higher prices and less work.

Retirees see increasesIN OCTOBER, TRUSTEES of the fundtook the painful step of makingchanges to the plan to stop a possiblefuture shortfall. Every reduction in ben-efits and increase in costs is unpopular,but raising the monthly premium forretired Boilermakers electing Plan Xhas evoked the most response.

The family premium for those not eli-gible for Medicare will be $750 as of Jan-uary 1, 2005. That’s well below thenational average, but still a lot of moneyfor most retirees.

Yet even this increased premiumpays for only half of the cost of these

benefits. The rest comes from contribu-tions from those who remain activelyemployed. The fact that their hoursworked (and, consequently, contribu-tions) are down isn’t helping. Neither isthe fact that an increasing number ofBoilermakers are electing to retire early.

With no sign that the Bush adminis-tration intends to rein in healthcareprices, the future looks bleak. The fundmust reduce expenditures while rais-ing revenues. Those goals are difficultin good times. In a weak economy withuncontrolled inflation in healthcareprices, it will be doubly difficult.

Although participants in the planhave heard the negative steps taken tokeep the fund solvent — increasing pre-miums, reducing banked hours — theyhaven’t heard all the steps being taken.

Trustees use many methodsDAVID HANSON, executive adminis-trator of the H&W Fund, says theBoard of Trustees is working in many

areas. They have already renegotiatedagreements with providers, and stepsare being taken to improve administra-tive efficiency and improve service.

“While not readily apparent, thesechanges will result in millions of dol-lars in savings,” he told the Reporter.

“The Board, with input from theInternational union and plan partici-pants, continues to investigate ways tomore efficiently meet the needs of bothactive and retired plan participants,”Hanson said. “This includes the expan-sion of the PPO network, the possibilityof HMOs, and wellness programs.”

The fund’s efforts to reduce costs aregood, but eventually the fund needs tofind ways to bring in more revenue.And that means negotiating increasedcontributions from our employers.

Although it will be difficult, Intl. Pres.Jones says we will find a way to keepthe fund strong.

“We have no other choice,” he says.“Our members need healthcare.” ❑

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Average Wage Increases

2004 2.57% or $0.37/ hr. (17 facilities)2005 2.21% or $0.21/ hr. (17 facilities)2006 2.33% or $0.43/ hr. (6 facilities)

Paid Holidays

19 of 21 Provide average of 8.31 days

Sickness and Accident15 of 21 Provide sickness/accident

indemnity9 of 21 Set dollar amount – $267.65

avg. 31 weeks avg. time off5 of 21 Use percentage – 59.53% avg.

Vacation13 of 21 1 Week Paid16 of 21 2 Weeks Paid16 of 21 3 Weeks Paid11 of 21 4 Weeks Paid9 of 21 5 Weeks Paid2 of 21 6 Weeks Paid

Life Insurance/AD&D13 of 21 Provide Life Insurance7 of 21 Fixed - $19,143 avg. first year5 of 21 Based on annual salary

11 of 21 Provide AD&D Insurance7 of 21 Fixed - $17,857 avg. first year4 of 21 Based on annual salary

Shift Differential

2nd Shift – 14 of 21 Total14 use cents-per-hour ($0.51 avg.)

3rd Shift – 12 of 21 Total12 use cents-per-hour ($0.59 avg.)

Pensions20 of 21 Offer some kind of pension plan8 of 21 Offer 401(k)6 of 21 Company (defined benefit)1 of 21 RRSP Canada3 of 21 Offer Boilermakers-Blacksmith

Annuity Plan8 of 21 Offer Boilermakers-Blacksmith

National Pension Trust

8 of 21 Contribute cents-per-hour; Canadian lodge is $0.25/hr. infirst year, U.S. averages$0.71/hr. in first year

Other Provisions

15 of 21 Paid Funeral Leave7 of 21 Paid Jury Duty Leave6 of 21 Paid Military Leave (2 weeks)7 of 21 Safety Shoe Reimbursement5 of 21 Prescription Safety Glasses

Reimbursement6 of 21 Union Leave

A Summary Analysis of these Contract Settlements THIS ANALYSIS of the 21 agreements above, covering about 1, 115 employees, provides a perspective of trends in Boilermaker collective bargaining. It is based on information

provided by contract summary and transmittal report forms and was prepared by the Research and Collective Bargaining Services Department.

17 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004S E T T L E M E N T S

LLooccaall DD2277 –– IInnddeeppeennddeennccee,, MMoo..

CLGAW DIVISION WORKING DIRECTOR CAREY ALLEN reportscontract ratification, effective July 1, 2004 to April 30, 2008,for 50 members of Local D27, Independence, Mo., whomake Portland Cement at LLaaffaarrggee NNoorrtthh AAmmeerriiccaa in SugarCreek, Mo.

LLooccaall 8833 –– KKaannssaass CCiittyy,, MMoo..

JOHN SEWARD, a business representative for Local 83,Kansas City, Mo., reports contract ratification, effectiveSept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2007, for five Local 83 members whoperform boiler repair for PPlliibbrriiccoo SSaalleess && SSeerrvviiccee in Omaha,Neb., and effective June 1, 2004 to May 31, 2005, for Local83 members who repair low-pressure boilers for the CC.. GG..JJoohhnnssoonn BBooiilleerr CCoommppaannyy in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

LLooccaall 110077 –– MMiillwwaauukkeeee,, WWiiss..

JAMES GARFIELD, BM-ST for Local 107, Milwaukee, Wis.,reports contract ratification, effective May 1, 2004 to April30, 2005, for 33 Local 107 members who fabricate tanks forthe AAddvvaannccee BBooiilleerr && TTaannkk CCoo..

LLooccaall 111122 –– MMoobbiillee,, AAllaa..

AIP DENNIS KING and Local 112 Bus. Mgr. Danny Phillips,Mobile, Ala., report contract ratification, effective June 6,2004 to June 15, 2007, for 15 Local 112 members whomanufacture cardboard chemical barrels at GGrreeiiff.

LLooccaall 113322 –– GGaallvveessttoonn,, TTeexxaass

MARK THOMPSON, BM-ST for Local 132, Galveston, Texas,reports contract ratification, effective Oct. 1, 2004 to Sept.30, 2007, for 42 Local 132 members who fabricate andrepair heat exchangers for DDuunnnn HHeeaatt EExxcchhaannggeerrss.

LLooccaall 114466 –– EEddmmoonnttoonn,, AAllbbeerrttaa

WARREN FRALEIGH, BM-ST for Local 146, Edmonton, Alberta,reports contract ratification, effective September 1, 2004 to August 31, 2007, for Local 146 members who performfabrication work at AAllbbeerrttaa EExxcchhaannggeerr,, LLttdd.

LLooccaall 115588 –– PPeeoorriiaa,, IIllll..

INTL. REP. HOWARD COLE reports contract ratification,effective June 10, 2004 to Feb. 18, 2006, for nine members of Local 158, Peoria, Ill., who work with railroad trackmaintenance equipment at TTeelleewweelldd.

LLooccaall DD117744 –– LLoouuiissvviillllee,, NNeebb..

INTL. REP. MIKE ATCHISON reports contract ratification, effectiveJuly 1, 2004 to June 30, 2008, for members of Local D174,Louisville, Neb., who work for the AAsshh GGrroovvee CCeemmeenntt CCoo..

LLooccaall 119977 -- AAllbbaannyy,, NN..YY..

INTL. REP. MARTIN STANTON reports contract ratification,effective July 16, 2004 to July 15, 2006, for 45 members ofLocal 197, Albany, N.Y., who work at the followingcompanies: AAddvvaanncceedd WWeellddiinngg,, AAmmeerriiccaann BBooiilleerr,, aanndd TTrrooyyBBooiilleerr WWoorrkkss,, IInncc..

LLooccaall 119999 –– JJaacckkssoonnvviillllee,, FFllaa..

INTL. REP. CAM JUNCAL reports contract ratification,effective June 2, 2004 to Dec. 17, 2004, for 17 members ofLocal 199, Jacksonville, Fla., who work on lumber dryersat IIrrvviinnggttoonn--MMoooorree..

LLooccaall DD338811 –– LLaass VVeeggaass,, NNeevv..

INTL. REP. MICHAEL ATCHISON reports contract ratification,effective Oct. 1, 2004 to March 30, 2009, for 66 members ofLocal D381, Las Vegas, Nev., who work at the CChheemmiiccaallLLiimmee CCoommppaannyy.

LLooccaall DD442211 –– TTuullssaa,, OOkkllaa..

INTL. REP. LOYD SMITH reports contract ratification, effectiveMay 1, 2004 to April 30, 2009, for 84 members of Local D421,Tulsa, Okla., who produce Portland and Mason cement inbulk and bags for LLaaffaarrggee NNoorrtthh AAmmeerriiccaa.

LLooccaall 558833 –– BBiirrmmiinngghhaamm,, AAllaa..

INTL. REP. CAM JUNCAL reports contract ratification, effectiveNov. 1, 2003 to Oct. 31, 2006, for eight members of Local 583,Birmingham, Ala., who manufacture and repair vacuumtrucks for GGuuzzzzlleerr MMaannuuffaaccttuurriinngg.

LLooccaall DD559955 –– KKoossmmoossddaallee,, KKyy..

CLGAW DIVISION WORKING DIRECTOR CAREY ALLEN reportscontract ratification, effective May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2010,for 103 members of Local D595, Kosmosdale, Ky., whomanufacture cement for CCeemmeexx.

LLooccaall 664477 –– MMiinnnneeaappoolliiss,, MMiinnnn..

PAUL PENDERGAST, BM-ST for Local 647, Minneapolis, Minn.,reports contract ratification, effective May 1, 2004 to April30, 2007, for 125 Local 647 members who make stainlesssteel tanks and vessels for use in the food processing andpharmaceutical industries at DDCCII,, IInncc.

LLooccaall 665599 –– WWaarrrreenn,, PPaa..

INTL. REP. MARTIN STANTON reports contract ratification,effective June 1, 2004 to May 31, 2007, for 70 members ofLocal 659, Warren, Pa., who work at a CB&I plant owned byCCBB&&II CCoonnssttrruuccttoorrss,, IInncc.

LLooccaall 774444 –– CClleevveellaanndd,, OOhhiioo

PATRICK GALLAGHER, BM-ST for Local 744, Cleveland, Ohio,reports contract ratification, effective September 1, 2004 toAugust 31, 2007, for Local 744 members who work at RRCCRRSSeerrvviicceess,, IInncc..

LLooccaall 11991166 –– FFrraannkkffoorrtt,, NN..YY..

INTL. REP. ROCCO DEROLLO reports contract ratification,effective July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2007, for members of Local1916, Frankfort, N.Y., who work at UUnniioonn TToooollss CCoo.

New contract summariesAA bbrriieeff lliissttiinngg ooff rreecceenntt aaggrreeeemmeennttss ssiiggnneedd aanndd rraattiiffiieedd bbyy BBooiilleerrmmaakkeerr llooccaall llooddggeess

YYoouu ddoonn’’tt ggeett wwhhaatt yyoouu ddeesseerrvvee .. .. .... .. .. yyoouu ggeett wwhhaatt yyoouu nneeggoottiiaattee

THE UNION LEADERS pictured here work long hours tonegotiate the best benefits they can for our members.

Negotiating an agreement for Local D174members at Ash Grove Cement are, l. to r., DavidTiejen, Michael Smith, Vincent Gewinner, TerryCarlton, and Mike Atchison.

Negotiating an agreement for Local D381members at the Chemical Lime Co., are, l. to r.,John Fernandez, David White, Darrel Jones, andJohn Suarez.

Negotiating an agreement for Local 158members at Teleweld are, l. to r., Gary Morrison,Don Wilson, Tim Davis, and Mike Supergan.

NTL Deason, Gene L.NTL Riffle, Frank1 Garcia, Manuel1 Hill, Brian1 Hoigard, Richard1 Sias, Vernon V.5 Lacy, Richard M.6 Bettencourt, Frank6 Branducci, Orlando6 Middlestead, Oscar6 Tiedemann, Henry I.7 Harmon, George W.7 Mulhollan, Edwin L.7 Zasada, Donald9 Hancock, James11 Posey, Howard B.13 Napolitano, Niel27 Allen, Louis H.27 Bender, Jay C.27 Hager, Glenn W.29 Beaupre, John R.29 Thompson, Robert29 Toulouse, Rosaire A.37 Eckerl, John37 Martinez, Trinity F.

37 Wicker, Elga40 Mercer, Casey45 Hadley, Bobby L.45 Musselwhite, Ronald45 Strickland, Rudolph60 Grant, Ray A.60 Randles, Jason L.60 Wade, Royall72 Mills, Woodrow73 Fraser, Gerald79 Lequeux, Clyde J.83 Adams, Chester83 Birlingmair, David83 Davidson, Samuel83 Pruitt, Hanley83 Reyes, Lupe M.85 Irwin, Ralph E.85 Timmons, Robert R.92 Lowenberg, Kenneth E.92 Neiberger, Balteir92 Reynolds, Jessie L.92 Smith, Gregory W.92 Stec, Louis104 Dutcher, Rodney D.104 Johnson, Daniel G.S105 Holland, Jacob

107 Halsne, Timothy W.107 Klein, Harry J.112 Klug, Roland J.112 Smith, Michael H.128 Brann, Aloysiu128 Doktorchic, Steve128 Jacobs, Robert128 Mitchell, Herbert128 Palmer, James128 White, Kenneth132 Comeaux, James S.134 Williams, Albert V.146 Chiesa, Peter146 Dirksen, Engelbert146 Gowda, Mike146 Murguly, Leslie146 Roth, Philip154 Chambers, Charles154 Edwards, Charles W.154 Gabriel, Richard154 Schriver, Paul J.154 Wujs, John F.158 Kidd, Jesse169 Easley Sr., James C169 Meldrum, Cletus G.D179 Spera, Dominic J.

199 Nelson, Robert B.203 Fewer, Joseph203 Head, Alvin242 Baker, Bryan C.245 Santilli, Atillio363 Arnoldi, Frederick W.363 Moran, Robert E.363 Rea, Joen374 Hawks, Frank M.374 Mericle, Paul374 Rocks, Richard374 Timberlake, Ronald B.374 Zapf, Jere397 Eilenberger, Willard433 Fernandez, Elpidio443 Mueller, Reinhold F.449 Jome, Franklin453 Britton, J. D.453 Cooke, Ralph454 Justice, Calvin455 Hunnicutt, Louie D.487 Berkovitz Jr., Walter L.500 Manning, John W.502 Bergh, Richard D.502 Ehm, Otto J.502 Grove, Gerald E.502 Jackson, Daniel L.502 Jackson, Melvin D.532 Mercer, Charles

549 Redding, Charles A.582 McGraw, Charles E.582 Pierson, Alton J.582 Sanders, Willie L.587 Garner, John587 Halbert, Lloyd592 Rumple, Leroy J.610 Juniper, Jack614 Tougas, Raymond656 Hall, Fermon667 Bonecutter, William E.667 Foland, William E.667 Harman, John C.667 Shreve, Smith682 Mercer, Russell L.684 Jones, John 693 Deakle Jr., Vester E.697 Kainz, Louis D.723 Burk, Alvin752 Simmons, Earl1247 Eiting, Max1509 Schuldt, John F.1592 Frick, Richard1603 Beltz, Charles1603 Kisik, Manfred1603 Wade, James S.1637 Fitch, Casmer C.1934 Bloom, William E.

NTL Berginski, Frank J. $6,000.00NTL Butler, Carl W. 3,710.84NTL Deason, Gene L. 6,000.00NTL Haynes, Authel B. 6,000.00NTL Maddox, L. V. 6,000.00NTL Nyswaner, William 6,000.00NTL Roebuck, Lawrence 6,000.00NTL Rupert, Robert E. 6,000.00NTL Short, June T. 6,000.00NTL Short, Thomas C. 6,000.00NTL Smith, Alvin B. 6,000.00NTL Smith, John P. 6,000.00NTL Thompson, Robert J. 6,000.00NTL Thornhill Jr., Robert J. 6,000.00NTL Tumlinson, Delbert W. 6,000.001 Garcia, Manuel R. 6,000.001 Hoigard, Richard H. 6,000.001 Lemke, Harry 6,000.001 Sias, Vernon V. 6,000.005 Lionarons, Joseph 6,000.006 Banducci, Orlando 6,000.006 Bettencourt, Frank A. 6,000.006 Evans, Carl 6,000.006 Eymer, Gilbert 3,000.006 Gonzales Sr., Charles J. 5,000.006 Green, Utah Carl 6,000.006 King, Clifford B. 6,000.006 Marshall, John R. 6,000.006 Marshall, Raymond C. 6,000.006 McCain, Paul 6,000.006 Middlestead, Oscar 3,000.00

6 Miller, Orville W. 6,000.006 Perez, Briley G. 6,000.006 Purtee, Roy 6,000.006 Tiedemann, Henry I. 6,000.006 Wiggins, Curtis J. 6,000.006 Withers, William J. 6,000.007 Schwable, George 3,000.007 Zasada, Donald F. 6,000.0011 May, Kevan L. 11,445.3911 Ruby, Donald L. 2,996.9413 Kozlowski, Robert P. 6,000.0013 Myers, Robert L. 6,000.0013 Roma, Salvatore A. 6,000.0013 Sabatino, Joseph A. 6,000.0026 Exley, Waring D. 6,000.0026 Sikes, Lawton 6,000.0027 Allen, Louis H. 6,000.0027 Hager, Glenn W. 6,000.0027 Jenkins, Dennis J. 6,000.0027 Rost, George Frank 6,000.0027 Strickland, Isaish 6,000.0028 Flynn, James J. 6,000.0029 Beaupre, John R. 6,000.0029 Boudreau, Alfred W. 6,000.0029 Drinkwater, Charles J. 6,000.0029 Rowe, George M. 6,000.0029 Thompson, Robert L. 6,000.0037 Eckerl, John 6,000.0037 Wicker, Eliga 15,000.0040 Perry, Johnny R. 193.0540 Robbins, Kenneth C. 6,000.0040 Rose, Thomas H. 6,000.0045 Hadley, Bobby L. 15,000.00

45 Mussellwhite, Ronald 6,000.0060 Grant, Ray A. 6,000.0060 Hawes, Kelvin L. 15,000.0060 Randles, Jason L. 1,605.2360 Wade, Royall E. 6,000.0067 Weinpahl, Harold 6,000.0072 Anderson, Chris C. 6,000.0072 Beckley, Dean M. 6,000.0072 Blando, Gerald D. 6,000.0072 Devereaux, Harold R. 6,000.0072 Mills, Woodrow W. 6,000.0072 Sill, Ronald Albert 6,000.0072 Smith, Charles 6,000.0072 Stone, Grant H. 6,000.0072 Thomas, Kenneth E. 6,000.0074 Benson, Austin C. 1,491.8874 Martin, Woodrow W. 6,000.0074 Sirratt, LeRoy 6,000.0079 Ardoin, Jeffery F. 6,000.0083 Crawford, Doyle 6,000.0083 Davidson, Samuel 6,000.0083 Graham, Jack D. 6,000.0083 Meyer, Ray J. 6,000.0083 Pruitt, Hanley H. 6,000.0083 Root, John E. 10,276.0184 Burgoon, Wayne A. 6,000.0085 Duvall, Joshua J. 107.8085 Irwin, Ralph E. 6,000.0085 Luce, Albert J. 6,000.0085 Timmons, Robert R. 6,000.0092 Alcorn, Robert W. 4,500.0092 Colbert, James F. 6,000.00

92 Dubose Jr., Benjamin 6,000.0092 King, Frances E. 6,000.0092 Lowenberg, Kenneth 6,000.0092 Reddick, Robert Lee 3,000.0092 Reynolds, Jesse L. 6,000.0092 Runyan, Jeff T. 6,000.0092 Smith, Gregory W. 6,000.0092 Tolson, George B. 6,000.0092 Tripp, Harvey D. 6,000.0092 Vallelunga, Phillip 6,000.00100 Jackson, Samuel 6,000.00104 Archey, Emerson A. 6,000.00104 Dutcher, Rodney D. 6,000.00104 Fish, George A. 6,000.00104 Hebert, Leroy A. 6,000.00104 Olson, Gerard H. 6,000.00104 Pavlevsky, Victor 6,000.00105 Dill, Steven P. 6,000.00106 Maly, Fred F. 6,000.00107 Klein, Harry J. 6,000.00107 Mapes, George P. 6,000.00108 Butera, Joseph A. 6,000.00108 Pridmore, Arvil Lee 6,000.00109 Reeder, Harold E. 6,000.00110 Flowers, Pamela R. 1,938.63112 Marshall, Woodie L. 6,000.00113 Goff, Ida Mae 6,000.00113 Scharbor, Thelma F. 6,000.00132 Comeaux, James S. 6,000.00132 Mendoza, Enemencio 6,000.00132 Savage, Patrick S. 6,000.00154 Cogis, George J. 6,000.00154 Edwards, Charles W. 6,000.00154 Evans, Robert L. 14,799.75154 Gabriel, Richard N. 6,000.00154 Schriver, Paul J. 6,000.00169 Easley Sr., James C. 6,000.00169 Lux, Friedhelm 6,000.00169 Meldrum, Cletus G. 6,000.00177 Baenen, Jeffrey T. 8.50182 Finch, Leon P. 6,000.00182 Woodvine, Galen H. 6,000.00242 Baker, Bryan C. 12,729.75242 Chappell, Lloyd E. 6,000.00

WITH DEEP SORROW the International Brotherhood records the death of these members as reported to the InternationalSecretary-Treasurer’s office, and extends its heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved families.

IF YOU HAVE NOT yet been furnished this information, contact your local lodge, secure the beneficiaryforms, complete the required information and forward to the Administrative Office of the Pension Fund,754 Minnesota Avenue, Suite 522, Kansas City, KS 66101, at the earliest possible date. NOTE: These addi-tional death benefits can only be derived for members who worked under a collective bargaining agree-ment with an employer contributing to the Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust.

L O D G E & N A M E

THE DEATH BENEFIT PLAN under the Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust haspaid the beneficiaries of the following deceased members who were covered by the plansince the last issue of our publication.

L O D G E , N A M E & B E N E F I T

D E A T H B E N E F I T S

18 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004I N M E M O R I A M

Moving? Tell us where . . .Name

New Address

City

State or Province Zip

Local Lodge No. Register No.(Also please notify the secretary of your local lodge.)

Mail form to:Publications Department

753 State Avenue, Suite 565

Kansas City, KS 66101

(Allow five weeks for change of address.)Continued on page 19

Nov • Dec 2004 the Boilermaker Reporter - 19I N M E M O R I A M

242 Proctor, Henry C. 6,000.0072 DeFrees, Daryll E. 6,172.99305 Ellis, Jess 6,000.00305 Lamberth, Lamar A. 6,000.00316 McEldowney, John 6,000.00316 VanGlahn, Charles 6,000.00338 Hunter, Elmer T. 6,000.00338 Sanchez, Frank N. I. 6,000.00358 Sexstella, Joseph 6,000.00363 Arnoldi, Frederick W. 6,000.00363 Gambill, Rancy J. 2,420.55363 Norman, Scott A. 1,503.05374 Carnett, Clyde L. 6,000.00374 Hager, Steven J. 4,662.27374 Rocks, Richard 6,000.00374 Stover, Harold C. 6,000.00374 Timberlake, Ronald B. 6,000.00397 Eilenberger, Willard E. 6,000.00397 Klingel, Edward R. 6,000.00433 Anderson, Roscoe 6,000.00433 Farias, Raul 6,000.00433 Potter, Lee M. 6,000.00433 Walker, Charles J. 10,342.20449 Jome, Franklin W. 6,000.00453 Britton, J.D. 6,000.00453 Cooke, Ralph 6,000.00454 Martinez, Arthur 6,000.00454 Pinson, David E. 3,261.50455 Kirk, Ollis E. 6,000.00500 Smith, Harry L. 6,000.00502 Bergh, Richard Duane 6,000.00502 Ehm, Otto J. 6,000.00502 Grove, Gerald E. 6,000.00502 Jackson, Daniel L. 6,000.00502 Jackson, Melvin D. 6,000.00502 Stewart Jr., William R. 6,000.00507 Whipple, Donald E. 6,000.00531 Martin, Jessy Billy 6,000.00549 Gilliam, Charles R. 6,000.00549 Hoyt, Lloyd E. 6,000.00549 Kennedy, A. J. 6,000.00549 Redding, Charles A. 6,000.00549 Terry, Vondral L. 6,000.00549 Thomas, Gary E. 6,000.00568 Hovies, Stanley E. 6,000.00577 Allphin, Morris 6,000.00577 Farris, Olen 6,000.00582 Bennett, Robert R. 6,000.00582 Mascarella, Joseph 6,000.00

582 Pierson, Alton J. 6,000.00582 Sanders Jr., Willie L. 6,000.00583 Phillips, Oscar L. 6,000.00585 Young, George A. 6,000.00587 Garner Sr., John Edgar 6,000.00587 Halbert, Lloyd M. 6,000.00587 Peacock, Roy B. 4,500.00587 Poche, Curley J. 6,000.00587 Stewart, John N. 3,455.25592 Johnstone, Kenneth R. 6,000.00592 Rumple, Leroy Junior 6,000.00647 Byers, John J. 6,000.00651 Doucette, Irene V. 6,000.00651 Massie, Joseph Dyas 6,000.00651 Thompson, Gertrude 6,000.00667 Juniper, Jack E. 6,000.00667 Shreve, Smith 3,000.00687 Beylotte, Charlie 5,250.26688 Smith, Leslie G. 6,000.00

697 Kainz, Louis D. 6,000.00749 Powers, William T. 6,000.00752 Pelletier, Raymond J. 6,000.00802 Zabytko, Stanley 6,000.00807 Baision, Raymond 6,000.001086 White, Theophilus 6,000.001191 Taylor, John P. 6,000.001240 Miracle, Doyle 6,000.001248 Adams, Julia 6,000.001509 Bednarik, Michael L. 6,000.001509 Draifenig, Edward Jo 6,000.001509 Roberson Sr., Maurice 6,000.001509 Schuldt, John F. 6,000.001509 Zaidel, Leonard T. 4,000.001603 Qualk, Daniel J. 6,000.001603 Wade, James S. 12,000.001637 Fitch, Casmer C. 6,000.001666 Reed, Leonard W. 6,000.001670 Talbert, Beatrice 6,000.00

Continued from page 18

D E A T H B E N E F I T S

Henry Harden, 77HENRY HARDEN, 77, retired Inter-national vice president of the South-east Section, passed away at theCandler Hospital in Pooler, Ga., onOctober 8.

A 57-year member of Local 26,Savannah, Ga., Harden began hiscareer working maintenance at apaper company, Union Camp Corp.,in 1947. As a steward, he served onlocal negotiating committees and wasa member of the Boilermakers’ firstsummer training institute at the Uni-versity of Wisconsin’s School forWorkers in 1957.

In 1961, Harden was elected presi-dent of Local 26. He also served as busi-ness manager through 1968, when hebecame an International representativefor the Building Trades Unit, workinghis way up to unit director in 1975.

When the Construction Divisionwas established at the 25th Consoli-dated Convention in 1977, Hardenbecame its first director, a position heheld until the International ExecutiveCouncil selected him to be Interna-tional vice president for the SoutheastSection in 1983. He was re-elected atthe 1986 and 1991 conventions, retir-ing on Dec. 31, 1993.

Harden was instrumental in thedevelopment of the Construction Divi-sion and was a strong believer in mem-ber education, serving on theInternational’s scholarship committee,the National Apprenticeship Board,and as co-chairman of the SoutheastArea Apprenticeship Committee.

A W.W. II U.S. Army veteran,Harden is survived by his wife of 55years, Mary Heidt Harden; daughter,Martha Ortiz; son, David Harden; andthree grandchildren.

O B I T U A R I E S

Retired IVP Henry Harden1926-2004

The benefit programs listed below areavailable only to Boilermaker members

and their immediate families.*

Union Plus Credit CardCall: 1-800-522-4000

Mortgage & Real EstateAlso open to children & parents ofBoilermaker members.Call: 1-800-848-6466

Education Services Get expert advice on scholarshipsand other funding sources for collegeand job skills training. Call: 1-877-881-1022

Personal LoansCredit-qualified members are eligiblefor loans for a variety of uses. Call: 1-888-235-2759

Legal ServiceDiscounted legal help — first 30minutes are free. Visit: www.unionplus.org

Life InsuranceFor members, their spouses, andchildren. Call: 1-800-899-2782

Accident InsuranceCall: 1-800-899-2782

Health SavingsSave on prescription medicines,hearing, dental, and vision care. Call: 1-800-228-3523

Car Rental Discounts Call and give the ID number:

AAvviiss: 1-800-698-5685 AWD #B723700

BBuuddggeett: 1-800-455-2848 BCD#V816100

Union-Made Checks Call: 1-888-864-6625

Flower Service Call: 1-888-667-7779

North American Van Lines Call: 1-800-524-5533

For information on these programsand other member-only benefits, go to

www.unionplus.org*Retired members are eligible. Some

programs are not available tomembers outside the continental

United States, and not all programsare available in all states.

PPhhoonnee 11--880000--445522--99442255 ffoorrccllaarriiffiiccaattiioonn ooff eelliiggiibbiilliittyy..

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And when you use Union Plus programs, you know the service is as great as the savings. Plus, you’re entitled to special benefits just for union members, such as layoff and strike protection when you’re out of work.

Some union families could save up to $3,600 a year! How much can yousave? Just go to www.unionplus.org/savings and try the easy-to-useSavings Calculator for yourself. When it comes to savings, there really is strength in numbers!

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There’s strength in numbers…

I N THIS YEAR’S ELECTIONS, OURmembers and our union were moreactive than in any other election that

I can recall. We jumped in early, and weworked hard right up until the last vot-ing precincts closed.

I am enormously proud of the excel-lent job our Department of Govern-ment Affairs did. Director BridgetMartin and her assistants ShannonBrett and Abe Breehey were tireless intracking the polls, identifying placeswe might make a difference, and find-ing members who were willing to workon the campaigns in those areas.

And I must tell you that the work ourmembers did made me even prouder.Every place I traveled, members werevolunteering to register voters, workphone banks, hold rallies, and, on Elec-tion Day, to watch the polls to makesure that all our votes were counted.

As in every election, not all memberswanted us to support the same candi-dates. But when we polled our locallodges, we found a strong consensusbelief that working families were notbeing heard by the Bush administra-tion, and an equally strong consensusthat we should support an oppositioncandidate for president.

Once our union’s direction was clear,our members pitched in and workedfor that goal. That is how solidaritymakes us strong, in political campaignsand in all union efforts. We may dis-agree with each other while decidingon a course of action, but once thatcourse of action has been decided, wesupport it with the strength of all of ourmembers sticking together.

We entered the 2004 election earlierthan we usually do, because we felt wemust in order to make sure our voicewas heard in what promised to be ahotly contested election.

President Bush was involved in anunpopular war that threatened to dom-inate the campaign. Although thatissue is important, we did not want our

government or the nation to forget thatthe economy is still struggling, that ourtrade laws are encouraging companiesto move jobs overseas, that health careprices are out of control, and that work-ing families are losing ground indozens of areas that are the direct resultof government action.

By your energetic and disciplinedinvolvement in the elections, you wereable to keep these issues in front of thecandidates and the media.

Many of the candidates we sup-ported did not win, but that is to beexpected in politics, as in all unionefforts. When we negotiate a collectivebargaining agreement, we never geteverything we want. But that doesn’tstop us from negotiating the next con-tract just as strenuously.

We know that unless we negotiatewith the full strength and support of allour members, we get nothing.

Our nation was fortunate to bespared the divisive recount fiasco wesuffered in 2000. But that does not meanPresident Bush has a mandate to dowhatever he wishes.

He won re-election by the smallestmargin of victory of any incumbentsince 1828. The nation is still deeplydivided, with more than half opposingmany of the positions Bush holds mostdear. And I assure you that if Bushattempts to move forward in areas webelieve will harm our members, weintend to raise our voices in opposition.

But we can and will work with anyproposal that we believe truly benefitsour members.

One such idea is the Department ofLabor’s Drug-free Workplace Partner-ship. The Boilermakers were among thefirst unions to join this partnership, andwe look forward to working with theother crafts and the DOL’s OSHA inmaking our workplaces safer by mak-ing them drug and alcohol free.

Our Construction Division commit-ted to drug-free workplaces 13 yearsago, when our tripartite meetingsresulted in the MOST drug-screeningprogram. Our members work in dan-gerous places and with equipment thatcan be dangerous if mishandled. Thereis no room for error.

One study showed that as many as20 percent of workplace fatalitiesinvolve the use of drugs or alcohol.

Drug and alcohol programs are con-troversial. No one wants his or her gov-ernment or union deciding what theydo for recreation on their own time.

But we have a responsibility to pro-tect our members from harm. Whenany activity puts our members in dan-ger — whether that danger is economicor physical — we must take action.

When our government’s policiesdestroy our jobs, we take action. Whenan employer tries to exploit our mem-bers, we take action. And when theactions of our own members pose athreat, we take action as well.

Our Construction Division knowsthat safety awareness and drug-screen-ing reduce accidents. Since MOSTimplemented its drug-screening andsafety awareness training programs in1991, the lost-time accident rate for con-struction Boilermakers has beenreduced by 94 percent.

That means thousands of Boilermak-ers have avoided injury on the job in thepast 13 years. The cost savings to ouremployers can be counted in the hun-dreds of millions of dollars. Moreimportant, thousands of Boilermakerswent home to their families, unhurt.

If President Bush is looking for waysto bring this country back together, thisdrug-free workplace partnership is agood start. Our union can and willwork with the Bush administration inthis arena. ❑

Let’s hold on to the solidarity wedisplayed in the 2004 electionsWe face many challenges, but working together,we can face them with strength and move forward

We can and will workwith any government

proposal that trulybenefits our members

http://capwiz.com/boilermaker http://www.boilermakers.org

20 - the Boilermaker Reporter Nov • Dec 2004A M E S S A G E T O O U R M E M B E R S

MMaannyy tthhaannkkss ffrroomm tthhee ffaammiillyyooff EEdd MMaattttoocckkssTHE FAMILY OF ED MATTOCKSwould like to thank the InternationalBrotherhood of Boilermakers andeveryone involved with the organiza-tion for all the flowers, donations, andcards. We would also like to thank thepeople who attended the service.

We will never forget the kindnessshown to us. Ed was always proud tobe a Boilermaker.

BEV, CHERYLE, KATRINA, ANNA, MIKE,JOHN, and JANICE MATTOCKS andgrandchildren

QQuuiicckk aaccttiioonn ssaavveess KKnnoottttssaafftteerr hheeaarrtt aattttaacckkON SEPTEMBER 22, 2004, my hus-band, Richard Knotts, suffered a heartattack while working at Sun Phila inMarcus Hook, Pa. I would like tothank everyone for the quick responseof all those involved who saved hislife. I would also like to thank every-one for the thoughtful cards andphone calls from many of the brother

Boilermakers my husband hasworked with.

Rich and I would also like to thankeveryone for the donations.

DONNA KNOTTSPerryville, Md.

LLooccaall 111122’’ss PPhhiilllliippss ccaallllsshheellppffuull BBooiilleerrmmaakkeerrss ‘‘aannggeellss’’MY WIFE AND I are blessed to ownproperty in the resort area of OrangeBeach, Ala. Being of moderate meansand with high school and college-agekids, our money flow prevented usfrom properly insuring the property.

Hurricane Ivan dealt the area asevere blow, and the property hadsevere damage. While I was inspect-ing the damage after the storm, a truckstopped beside mine. The occupantrolled down his window and asked,“Hey, are you a Boilermaker?” He hadseen my tag and my shirt. This guy,his father, and brothers were presentand former members of Local 37, NewOrleans. He was in Orange Beach rep-resenting the Texas Southern BaptistDisaster Relief Team. They cut andremoved approximately 20 large

downed trees from my property andmany more from my neighbors’.

I can’t describe what it meant to meand hundreds of others in the area toreceive this assistance. Unscrupulouscontractors were charging ridiculousrates for tree removal; these helpfulfolks were a true blessing.

Please give to the mission fund inyour church, as I certainly will,because this is the way these angelsget to spread their wings. Angelscome in all forms: even Boilermakers.

DANNY G. PHILLIPSBM-ST Boilermakers’ Local 112Mobile, Ala.

CCaann wwee aadddd aa ccoosstt ooff lliivviinnggccllaauussee ttoo oouurr ppeennssiioonn ppllaann??I AM WRITING this letter to expressmy concerns on our pension. We[retirees] have not had any raise in ourpensions in three years. Yet, in thissame period, our non-retired brothersand sisters have negotiated them-selves $6,000 in raises.

Retirees pay the same propertytaxes, school taxes, state, federal, localtaxes, heating, oil, electricity, petro-leum, food, water, doctor, and dentist

bills as they do. Even Social Securityhas given us raises during this time.We definitely need a cost-of-livingclause in our pension plan.

BOB GRESKO, L-13 (retired)Danielsville, Pa.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Because future cost-of-living raises were not part of theoriginal formula, adding those addi-tional costs now would require reduc-ing future payouts in some other area.In other words, to add a guaranteedcost-of-living increase for current andfuture retirees, the fund would need toreduce benefits for future retirees.

Letters to the Editor

GGoott ssoommeetthhiinngg ttoo ssaayy??WE WELCOME LETTERS of fewerthan 150 words on topics of interest toour members and their families. Wedo not publish personal attacks onmembers or unsigned letters.

SEND A LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

The Boilermaker Reporter753 State Ave. Suite 570Kansas City KS 66101FAX: (913) 281-8104E-mail: dcaswell@boilermakers.org

Newton B. JonesInternational President