Local 290’s John Kosinski (second from right) accepts a Can Do Spirit Award for his organizing efforts at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Also pictured, l. to r., are IVP Tom Baca, Heather Baca, Intl. Pres. Newton Jones, IVPs George Rogers, Warren Fairley, and Larry McManamon, and Intl. Rep David Bunch.
Members encourage co-workers to join union at federal shipyards
AT THE 68TH annual Metal Trades Department Convention Oct. 24-25 in Las Vegas, stewards from two Boilermaker lodges earned recognition for their inplant organizing efforts.
John Kosinski of Local 290 (Bremerton, Wash.) and Allan Andrews, Melissa Lamerson, Keola Martin, Leo Miguel, and Larry Moore of Local 90 (Pearl Harbor, Hawaii) each received a Can Do Spirit Award for their efforts to get their co-workers to join the union.
Local 90 is one of several trade unions representing workers at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, located on 160 acres near Honolulu. Pearl Harbor, a major ship repair and overhaul facility for the Pacific Fleet, employs 4,500 people.
Local 290 is one of the trade unions representing workers at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Puget Sound was established in 1891. Located on 190 acres on the Sinclair Inlet of Washington’s Puget Sound, it is the largest and most diverse shipyard on the West Coast.
As federal employees, workers at both naval shipyards are not required to join the union as a condition of employment. So the Boilermakers initiated an in-plant organizing drive at the facilities to encourage union membership. As an incentive, members who get their co-workers to join the union receive a monetary bonus; those who excel in their organizing efforts also earn recognition through the Can Do Spirit Award.
Since Kosinski began participating in the in-plant organizing program he has signed up 16 new members. Together, Local 90 officers Lamerson, Martin, Miguel, and Moore have signed up 14 new members.
“Their efforts to increase the number of members in their collective bargaining unit means they will have a stronger representation at the bargaining table,” reports Intl. Rep David Bunch, who is the servicing rep at both facilities. “These stewards work hard to make their local stronger and more effective by increasing their membership numbers.”
