Let’s go far—together. Let’s organize.

In 1778, a group of journeymen printers in New York City organized to demand an increase in wages. They got what they wanted, and it’s one of the first recorded organized labor efforts in America.

Eight years later, in 1786, printers in Philadelphia organized the first strike within a single trade, gaining a minimum wage of $6 a week. And in 1794, the idea of sustained trade union organization was born with the formation of the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers in Philadelphia. The cordwainers (shoemakers) union only lasted a few years, but in that time, the workers banded together, organized to fight for the working conditions they wanted—and deserved.

Child labor laws. Safety standards. The 40-hour work week. Weekends. Fair wages. Fair treatment. Seniority rules. Fair contracts. These are just a few things we’ve achieved throughout the history of the labor movement because workers realized that by raising their voices together—by organizing—they had power and strength to make change. It was true in 1778, and it’s true today.

Two of the most important things we do as a labor union are:

1. Represent, to the best of our abilities, the current members we’ve already organized.

2. Organize.

We organize in collective bargaining for stronger contracts. We organize to flex our combined strength through pickets, protesting practices that are wrong. We organize to rally around legislative policies and the people who support our work as Boilermakers—and all working men and women throughout the U.S. and Canada.

We also organize to make our union and the labor movement stronger. To unionize more workplaces and give more workers a say and a vote on the job. To provide representation as part of our larger Boilermakers union.

We organize to add more voices and turn up our collective volume so that Boilermakers—the workers who make America and Canada run—cannot be ignored.

In this issue of The Boilermaker Reporter, you will find a few examples of recent organized activities, from a practice picket at the NASSCO shipyard to ratify a better contract, to organized efforts to get SB 740 passed in California—which creates more work opportunities for Boilermakers—to our efforts with contractor partners to ensure fair wages and the best quality work.

Dave Johnson, a writer and former senior fellow at Campaign for America said: “Unions have been fighting the 1 percent vs 99 percent fight for more than 100 years. Now, the rest of us are learning that this fight is also our fight.”

He’s right. And it’s high time that our union steps up our game. Especially now, as unions are gaining favorability in North America, we must organize more workers and more workplaces. Now, more than ever, we must organize and work in solidarity every day as Boilermaker brothers and sisters.

To go far. Together.

In solidarity,

 

Warren Fairley

International President