It is a testament to our members and contractors who worked the hours and made safety a priority.
L-374 accepts NACBE’s top safety award, the John R. Erickson award. L. to r. IP Timothy Simmons, L-374 BM-ST Brad Sievers, IVP-GL Dan Sulivan, NACBE Executive Director Ron Traxler and IST Clint Penny.
For the second year in a row, Great Lakes Area Local 374 (Hobart, Indiana) has earned the John F. Erickson NACBE Safety Award, announced Feb. 23, during the 2026 Construction Sector Operations Conference in Marco Island, Florida.
Each year, the National Association of Construction Boilermaker Employers recognizes local lodges for their members’ dedication to making and keeping workplaces safe. NACBE names one nationwide winner and one winner from each of the remaining U.S. sections. The awards are determined by the lowest injury rates followed by the highest percentage of Boilermaker man-hours worked for NACBE contractors participating in the NACBE safety index.
Top sectional winners were Western States, L-549 (Pittsburg, California); Northeast, L-667 (Charleston, West Virginia) and Southeast L-433 (Tampa, Florida).
“It is a testament to our members and contractors who worked the hours and made safety a priority,” said L-374 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Brad Sievers. “We are thankful and proud of our Local 374 brothers and sisters, as well as all the brothers and sisters who traveled to help man our work.”
NACBE Executive Director Ron Traxler talked about some of the past practices of decades ago and acknowledged what many know to be true: Too many times, regrettably, people have taken shortcuts that have led to near misses, or worse.
“I can assure it is a long ride home when you know you could have done something to prevent a fellow employee, partner, roommate or even a family member from getting seriously hurt or killed,” he said. “I hope no one in this room will ever have to experience that.”
As he presented the 2025 safety index it was clear, however, that this era emphasizes safety as priority. It was good news for all index reports: Compensable injuries were down from 3.58 in 2024 to 2.35 in 2025. Lost-time injury rates were down from .25 to .04. OSHA recordable injury rates went down for the first time in five years from 1.40 in 2024 to 1.09 in 2025, and OSHA recordable eye injuries were slashed by over 50% from 27 in 2024 to 11 in 2025.
“Working with a good safety culture and attitude spill over to everyone on the jobsite,” Traxler said. “One person can have an influence. One person in this room and one person on our jobsites can have an influence. Look around and look at your neighbor and say to yourself, ‘I will be that person.’”
