Boilermaker Union News and Updates

  • Apprenticeship instructors gather for training
    The Boilermakers National Apprenticeship Program assembled apprenticeship trainers for its third biennial National Instructor Conference in Oaklawn, Illinois, May 6-9. Throughout the conference, instructors from all U.S. sections engaged in hands-on experiences, which included interactive learning and exploring teaching tools and training product exhibits. Classes included bottle safety, updates on the Learning Management System, Helmets to Hardhats, first aid, an instructor forum and recruitment. — Jun 10
  • Local 549 hosts Whole Child event
    Local 549 (Pittsburg, California) hosted a busload of eighth grade students at their training center on April 12, an event sponsored by the Whole Child Institute. The institute facilitates hands-on learning and career exploration within the building trades. Retired school superintendent Tom Torlakson launched the Whole Child Institute to reach children in underserved communities throughout California, offering them solid career path options. — Jun 7
  • Grant funds women's welding class at L-237
    Thanks to a Department of Labor workforce grant, L-237 (East Hartford, Connecticut) offered women a training class to acquire the skills necessary for employment in the union construction trades. Instructors for the Women Can Weld Apprenticeship Readiness Class were L-237’s Martha Bjornberg and L-237’s lead apprenticeship instructor Eddie Chicoine.  — Jun 4
  • L-237 woman welds her way through life
    Martha Bjornberg started with the Boilermakers as a permit worker back in 1989, when the building trades weren’t all that welcoming to women. She worked twice as hard, doing jobs no one else would do, to prove she belonged in construction.  At age 17 she was lost and searching, trying to escape an abusive living situation, when a man asked her about her life. And when she was done telling her story, he invited her to stop by the shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia.  — Jun 3
  • Official Statement of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
    OFFICIAL STATEMENT   Kansas City, Mo. (May 23, 2024) — Following is an official statement of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers: The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers learned today that a former employee, Mr. Tyler Brown, has pled guilty in Kansas City, Kansas, Federal Court to violations of federal law concerning misuse of union funds. — May 23