Local News

Littoral combat ship will be named USS Detroit

MEMBERS OF LOCAL 696 reached another milestone October 18 with the launch of the U.S. Navy’s LCS 7 into the Menominee River at the shipyard of Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wis. Marinette Marine is a subsidiary of Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.

Local 1 • Chicago

JOHN F. RIEL BM-ST of Local 1, Chicago, reports presentation of membership pins to the following:

LOCAL 158 (Peoria, Ill.) members and their families turned out in good numbers September 1 for the annual Peoria Labor Day Parade organized by the West Central Illinois Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Members of the lodge are employed by Komatsu America Corp.’s Peoria Manufacturing Operation, Mining Division. They build large (up to 360-ton payload), off-road mining trucks for mining applications around the world. They also support mining equipment produced at other Komatsu facilities, such as bulldozers, excavators, and wheel loaders.

Twenty-seven Boilermaker dependents earn awards totaling $50,000

THE BOILERMAKERS’ International Executive Council scholarship committee announced the winners of its 2014 scholarship program this past April. The committee awarded $50,000 to 28 recipients, with $40,000 being allocated to U.S. applicants and $10,000 to Canadian applicants.

Adventure takes more than five months

IF YOU EVER plan to hike the 2,186-mile Appalachian Trail, Dola Holland has some advice. Pack light. Bring rain gear. Plan on cold weather, even in the South.

Holland, a member of Local 29 (Boston) and his 4-year-old black lab, Miss Kay, made the five-and-a-half-month trek in 2013, starting in Maine on June 11 and ending in Georgia on November 23. It was a trip that had captured his imagination for some time, especially as the trail meanders close to his home near Plymouth, Vermont.

L-83’s Horseman partners up with Army vet from Mississippi

THE INTERNATIONAL UNION and Local 83 (Kansas City, Mo.) made substantial donations to the annual Wounded Warriors “Fishing for Freedom” tournament on Truman Lake recently, becoming one of the event’s primary sponsors, along with IBEW Local 124, also of Kansas City.

Hosted by the Leavenworth, Kan., Bass Fishing Club, the tournament matches up wounded veterans with boat-owning volunteers who want to give something back to those who have given so much in the service of our nation.

Local 1 • Chicago

JOHN F. RIEL BM-ST of Local 1, Chicago, reports presentation of membership pins to the following:

• 40 YEARS — Louis Benz; and
• 25 YEARS — Jeffrey Deinema, Michael Hagan.

Local 83 • Kansas City, Mo.

JOE LEWANDOWSKI, BM-ST of Local 83, Kansas City, Mo., reports presentation of membership pins to the following:

A LOCAL 83 (Kansas City, Mo.) blood drive conducted August 8 at the lodge’s training center held special meaning for those who donated to the Red Cross effort. The collection was named for Conon Kennedy, the two-year-old son of member Kris Kennedy and his wife, Melaina. Conon passed away Jan. 15, 2014, following a struggle with Crohn’s disease. Conon had received a bone marrow transplant and numerous blood infusions before succumbing to the disease.

Massive facility reflects lodge’s growth, fulfills needs

LIKE THE OIL sands region where most of its members work, Local 146 in Edmonton, Alberta, has seen substantial growth in recent years — and with that growth has come the need for expanded administration and training facilities.

On June 14, the local cut the ribbon to formally open its new Boilermaker Apprenticeship and Mechanical Training Centre, located adjacent to its union hall. The event coincided with the lodge’s annual barbecue, which was held on the grounds of the centre.

STEFANIE HAMILTON, OWNER of The Beach House, a home-based salon in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, says she needs nails in her life to keep her in touch with her feminine side. That’s because she spends most of her workweek inside boilers and on vessels. “As a member of the Boilermakers union, everything I do right now is oil- and gas-related,” says Hamilton, who has been welding professionally for about seven years.