Local Lodge 263

Boilermakers from 15 lodges work together on major Syncrude job

THE SPRING 2012 Syncrude outage in Fort McMurray, Alberta, was significant for several reasons, according to L-146 (Edmonton) member Denis Lafleur. First, it was one of the largest outages in the Oil Sands region, involving work on Syncrude’s 37-1 plant that included two furnaces and a 256-ft. vacuum tower (one of the world’s largest). Second, the successful project brought together field construction Boilermakers from 15 locals on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border.

Donations build Brotherhood’s political strength

LODGES, VICE PRESIDENTIAL sections, and individual members that excelled in raising money for CAF and LEF in 2011 received special recognition during the LEAP conference in Washington, D.C., April 23-26.

CAF stands for Campaign Assistance Fund. As the Boilermakers’ political action fund, CAF money goes to support worker-friendly candidates for the U.S. House and Senate.

Injury rates drop across three categories

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of Construction Boilermaker Employers (NACBE) presented its annual safety awards to the 2011 top-performing locals from the Boilermakers’ four U.S. vice-presidential sections March 5 during the annual Construction Sector Operations conference held at Marco Island, Fla.

Local 263 (Memphis, Tenn.), representing the Southeast, took national honors with zero lost-time accidents, zero compensable injuries, and zero OSHA-recordable injuries.

AFTER SEVERAL DAYS of attending conference sessions and visiting the Hill to lobby for Boilermaker priorities

Twenty attend MOST training session

MEMBERS FROM A dozen local lodges met in Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 15-20 to expand their skills under the MOST Project Management Training Program. MOST (Mobilization, Optimization, Stabilization, and Training) is a pioneering labor-management trust fund designed to address issues in the construction industry through innovative programs and collaboration.

Northeast & Great Lakes

Toth and Buskey win Northeast; Vodraska and Woods win Great Lakes

THE NORTHEAST AND Great Lakes areas held their 23rd annual joint graduate apprentice competitions May 4-8 at Local 5 Zone 197 (Albany, N.Y.). The top two finishers in each contest will represent their areas in the national contest in Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 27-Oct. 1.

Local 40 places first for third consecutive year

FOR THE THIRD year in a row, a Local 40 (Elizabethtown, Ky.) member has won the Paul D. Wedge Memorial Award for the Outstanding Graduate Apprentice of the Southeast Area. William Dietsch took the top honor at the competition, which was held July 28-31 at Local 433 in Tampa, Fla. Christopher Carpenter of Local 667 (Charleston, W.Va.) was the runner-up.

On June 13 Boilermaker apprentices from the Southeast Area Joint Apprenticeship Committee (SAJAC) Program marched in a Flag Day parade in Jacksonville, Fla. Joined by SAJAC instructors, they represented Florida Locals 199 (Jacksonville) and 433 (Tampa), South Carolina Local 687 (Charleston Heights), and Tennessee Local 263 (Memphis).