About the Boilermakers

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is a diverse union representing workers throughout the United States and Canada. Our members are employed in heavy industry, shipbuilding, manufacturing, railroads, cement, mining, and related industries. We construct and repair electric power plants, refineries, pulp and paper mills, and steel mills. We build naval ships and commercial tankers, repair locomotives, make cement, and mine coal, gypsum, and talc. We forge tools for industry and make consumer goods.

Our union grew out of the Industrial Revolution and the demand for steam power. Organized in 1880, we are one of the oldest unions in the United States. We are headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas (since 1893) and service more than 250 local lodges across North America.

Our highly-skilled members have built nuclear and advanced coal power plants, solid rocket boosters for the Space Shuttle, and military ships, including various classes of submarines and the U.S.S. New York amphibious transport dock (launched in late 2009), which includes steel from the Twin Towers. We also built the structural sections for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis (which includes 900 tons of stainless steel—more than any other project in the world) as well as the world’s first nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. Nautilus.

The Boilermakers have played a key role in history. We built machinery to construct the Panama Canal and thousands of ships to help win two world wars.

We are a progressive, forward-thinking union that has established national funds for pensions, health and welfare, and an annuity trust. Our apprentice programs in the United States and Canada are some of the best in North America. We participate in an alliance with construction industry contractors and owners that has resulted in numerous union/management innovations for improved safety, manpower availability, training, and cost savings.

The Boilermakers union has long been politically active, with a permanent presence in Washington, D.C. We aggressively promote and defend the rights of our members and indeed those of all workers.