Headline News

Rail chiefs announce formation of Coordinated Bargaining Coalition

CLEVELAND and WASHINGTON, DC, November 1 — Top leaders of 10 rail unions announced today that their organizations will be participating in coordinated bargaining in the round of national negotiations that began on November 1, 2019. The unions comprising the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition are:

WITH DRUG COMPANIES developing new, life-saving treatments for once untreatable diseases, more and more families are asking their insurance companies to pay for these novel medications. According to a recent article in The New York Times, new treatments for rare diseases can cost millions, as was the case for a Boilermaker family highlighted in the article.

THE NORTHEAST AREA Tripartite highlighted initiatives in the Northeast Section, including a new training center and additional work gained for members. The biennial conference, held in Plymouth, Massachusetts, July 12-13, brought together owners, contractors and Boilermakers to address common issues facing the construction industry throughout the region.

RANDY TOCCI, WHO led Local D239 (Three Forks, Montana) through a three-month lockout last fall, was elected as Montana AFL-CIO president this past June in Missoula. He ran unopposed and began his term July 1.

Tocci told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that his experience with the lockout and the support L-D239 received from not only Boilermakers, but also from other labor unions, politicians and the community, inspired him to become more politically active in the labor movement and run for the position.

NEARLY 200 CURRENT and retired Boilermakers from Local 203 (St. John’s, Newfoundland) and guests gathered August 10 in Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital St. John’s from throughout the province and far beyond to celebrate the local’s milestone 50th anniversary.

AFTER A NINE-MONTH organizing campaign, 36 workers at Aggregate Industries in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, voted June 27 to join the Boilermakers union. The National Labor Relations Board certified the election results on July 9, and a negotiating committee is working on their first contract.

FROM INSPIRING STORIES about Boilermakers winning more work in shipyards to negotiating contracts that add back benefits corporations wrenched away from members, Industrial Sector Operations lodge leaders were inspired and equipped at the ISO Conference July 9-11 in Las Vegas.

Fossil fuels, safety, manpower among key topics

OWNERS AND CONTRACTORS joined the Boilermakers July 22-25 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to discuss industry challenges at the annual Western States Tripartite Conference. It was the 15th meeting of the group, which draws owners of refineries, power plants and other heavy industrial facilities, construction and maintenance contractors, and leaders from the Boilermakers International and local lodges.

BOILERMAKERS CHAMPIONED CARBON Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) technology at two key energy and climate events in Saskatchewan and British Columbia in May. The Boilermakers union partnered with Saskatchewan Building Trades to host a town hall on CCUS in Estevan, Saskatchewan, and participated in a panel discussion with the International CCS Knowledge Centre during the global CEM10/MI-4 conference in Vancouver.

THE UNION SPORTSMEN’S Alliance honored Bank of Labor with the Diamond Life Corporate Achievement Award this past June. The award is presented to USA’s industry partners that have surpassed the $1 million mark in supporting the organization’s mission.