Local 549 and the Rosies’ Red Oak Revival

Rennae Ross knew how to fix the rusted-out gunnery platform.

Ross, a Local 549 (Pittsburg, California) Boilermaker, thought this as she toured the SS Red Oak Victory—the last surviving vessel out of 747 World War II ships built at Kaiser Shipyard in Richmond, California.

Now berthed as a floating history museum not far from where she was built, the SS Red Oak shows her age in weathered wood and tarnish. Volunteers do their best to keep up with repairs. But on her bow, the gunnery foredeck was off limits to visitors like Ross—a spot that would otherwise provide a fantastic vantage of San Francisco Bay and the perfect photo perch for history-loving tourists and visiting veterans. Rust had gobbled massive, jagged holes in the deck plate, making it unsafe.

But Ross knew how to fix it.

“I said, I can do that,” she recalled. “I spent the majority of my career replacing old tank roofs and things like that, and it’s exactly the same thing.”

Exactly—just on a boat; a vessel built in part by the original WWII Rosie the Riveters. And Ross, who is a “modern-day Rosie,” a business agent for her local lodge and a U.S. Marine veteran, wanted to do something about it.

L-549 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Randy Thomas, was touring the ship with Ross and fellow L-549 Boilermaker Angel Greer. He remembers Ross and Greer lighting up at an idea: Could Boilermaker women work on the ship and help restore a piece of American history?

Local 549 was on board, and as the idea marinated informally over some months, real connections began forming that aligned Ross, Greer, Local 549 and several organizations that could make it happen.

For starters, Local 549 and the Western States Section have a longstanding partnership with Rosie the Riveter Trust, the philanthropic partner of Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historic Park. The SS Red Oak Victory is one of a dozen sites in Richmond comprising the urban national historic park.

In 2024, Ross and Greer had traveled to Washington, D.C., with Rosie the Riveter Trust and met 30 of the original Rosies when the Congressional Gold Medal was bestowed to honor all World War II Rosies. There, they met K. Lynn Berry, who is the Superintendent of Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historic Park.  

Ross reached out to float her SS Red Oak Victory idea with Berry when they met, and afterward, she says, “the emails started flying. We started getting people from the Richmond Museum Association and others involved, and before you know it, it’s like, ok, this is happening!”

The idea quickly grew, tying in a variety of organizations, donors and other union craft who decided union tradeswomen would work together over a two-week period, calling it the Victory Ship Revival Project with the goal to complete a punch list spiffing up the SS Red Oak. The project just needed a date. With Rosie the Riveter Trust’s 25th anniversary on the horizon, 10 months away, what better way to honor the original Rosies and the national park dedicated to them? And, what better way to raise awareness of Rosie Trust, the SS Red Oak and its benefactors, not to mention the Boilermakers and other union trades?

“The Victory Ship Revival Project became the flagship project helping celebrate the park’s 25th anniversary and we were thrilled to add it to our year of exciting events,” said Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director of Rosie the Riveter Trust. “Boilermakers have been with us each step of the way. I just give my gratitude to (IVP-Western States) Tom Baca, because without him, we wouldn’t have been introduced to the incredible support and the work of what it really takes to be a Boilermaker.”

Ross, Pritchard and representatives from all organizations involved began planning logistics for the work to take place Aug. 17 to Sept. 1, a media day Aug. 21 and sponsorships.

“We had a lot of our signatory contractors come in, and they were big supporters,” Ross notes. “We were able to get equipment, tools, consumables and, obviously, all of the labor donated.”

PMI donated KNAACK boxes full of consumables, tools and equipment. Nooter and B&W provided funds and other vital equipment for the work event. Of note: B&W built and installed the original boilers on the SS Red Oak Victory—which still run today. Oceanwide Repair, one of the signatory ship repair shops, helped with consulting and re-bent the original handrails to be re-installed.

As plans shaped up, Rosie the Riveter Trust and the SS Red Oak Victory used their communications channels to get the word out. News outlets were interested in seeing what the modern-day Rosies were up to and eager to tell the story of the SS Red Oak Victory. By the time the formal media day celebration rolled around, major media outlets, including the L.A. Times, TV networks and others had already paid a visit to the vessel to catch the women at work.

Modern-day Rosies, including Boilermakers, Pipefitters, Ironworkers and members of the pile-drivers’ union, among others and including a few men, started demolition, dismantling old railings, tearing out rust-eaten patches, and lowering pieces from the ship by rope—all under the leadership of Ross serving as foreman. Then the next phases began: cutting out gussets, adding repatch, sanding, grinding and, of course, welding. Lots of welding.

“We’re making it sturdy—and for aesthetics,” Greer said. “Nobody wants to come out and be like ‘there’s a hole in your metal!’ How safe would you feel on a ship with holes in it, sitting on water?!”

“Our L-549 Boilermaker Women at Work Committee immediately just rallied behind it and were so excited,” Ross said. “They all wanted to volunteer 100% of the time, but we know that’s just not possible.”

She said everyone in all the crafts worked well together and learned from one another. Additionally, women new to the trades got a chance to work with journeywomen and have new hands-on experiences.

“We’re able to let people get that experience they might not have been able to get on a jobsite yet,” she said. “We’re bringing apprentices and teaching them. Here, we have the time to sit down with them and show them how to gouge and to load a stinger and just let them know it’s going to be ok.”

L-549 helper Anna Doyle made her first welding pass outside of a welding booth adding a patch on the bow under the watchful instruction of Greer.

“It felt like it all just clicked. It was so nice to be able to apply what I’ve learned in the shop in real life,” Doyle said, beaming with pride and high-fiving Greer. “Working with Angel was awesome. She’s super helpful. She’s guiding me, she’s helping me and she’s giving me real life experience right now. It feels good. Really good.”

Also working with the modern Rosies were the SS Red Oak Victory volunteers—a core group of crew, mostly retirees and veterans, who work regularly to maintain what they can.  Mark Epperson, Director of the SS Red Oak Victory, said of the 35 regular crew volunteers, only 20 can do restoration work.

“This has been a godsend, and we were so delighted when we met Rennae,” he said. “She’s been the ramrod of this whole thing. I’ve met all the modern Rosies who’ve been out here, and I think I’ve talked all of them into volunteering [regularly]. The crew is so impressed with the professionalism, expertise and dedication. This project has really jump-started us to be able to finish.”

By finish, he means their ultimate restoration goal: Making the SS Red Oak Victory ready to safely sail and move closer to Rosie the Riveter National Park Visitor Center on the other side of Santa Fe Channel.

With all hands on deck, work only stopped for lunch breaks, sundown and, of course, during the media day celebration speeches.

Media day brought more news crews, dignitaries and elected officials out to talk about the project, tour the ship and watch the modern Rosies at work. News coverage spanned far beyond the Bay Area and resulted in later interviews with the BBC and a long-form CBS piece that will air at a later date.

But the most important guests were four original WWII Rosies, tucked under a tent to quietly witness their work restored.

“This is wonderful,” said Marian Sousa, who was a draftsman at the Kaiser Shipyard from 1943-1944. “And for them to want to volunteer is fantastic.”

For Jeanne Gibson, who was a welder at Todd Pacific Shipyard in Seattle during WWII, watching the Boilermaker women gave her hope. “It means they’re going to carry on,” she said.

That’s exactly Ross’s intention.

“I still can’t stop smiling,” she said. “Every time I think about that—that full-circle moment for them as well, and just the honor of being on board such an amazing vessel, because of the history it has. The fact that this was all spearheaded by Boilermakers is something that makes me really proud.”

After the two-week revival project, work remains to be done on the SS Red Oak Victory and is ongoing. Tradeswomen volunteers and regular crew volunteers continue working their way along her decks and railings, but their work has already put a shine on the ship and its history museum. Plus, it's raised awareness for volunteers, funding and put unions, skilled trades and tradeswomen in the spotlight.

“My hope is that we’ve honored the Rosies, but also that we’ve highlighted and honored the hundreds and thousands of Boilermakers who worked out here during WWII,” Ross said. “We continue to honor the legacy of the Rosies, but also the Boilermakers and this remaining piece of Boilermakers’ history as well.”

As for the gunnery deck? Ross is fixing it.