Local Lodge 69

OSHA recordable rate drops below 2.0 for first time

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of Construction Boilermaker Employers (NACBE) presented its annual safety awards to the 2012 top-performing locals from the Boilermakers’ four U.S. vice-presidential sections March 4, during the Construction Sector Operations conference held at Marco Island, Fla.

Local 69 (Little Rock, Ark.), representing the Southeast section, took national honors with zero lost-time accidents, zero compensable injuries, and zero OSHA-recordable injuries. L-69 BM-ST Rodney Allison accepted the award.

GRADUATE APPRENTICE Blaine Coulter, Local 169 (Detroit), won first place at the 25th annual Boilermakers’ National Apprenticeship Competition, held Sept. 23-27 at L-169’s training center in Dearborn, Mich.

Cutting-edge Turk Plant uses less coal and water, reduces emissions

THE FIRST-EVER commercially-deployed, ultra-supercritical power generation unit in the United States is under construction in southwest Arkansas — and Boilermakers are playing a leading role in the project.

The $2.1 billion, 600-MW J. W. Turk Jr. Plant will feature the latest environmental controls, according to majority owner Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), an American Electric Power (AEP) operating company.

Donations build Brotherhood’s political strength

LODGES, VICE PRESIDENTIAL sections, and individual members that excelled in raising money for CAF and LEF in 2010 received special recognition during the LEAP conference in Washington, D.C., March 21.

NEARLY TWO DOZEN members of Local 69 (Little Rock, Ark.) and other Boilermaker locals joined about 500 union members and supporters in a march on the Arkansas state capitol in July to urge support for the Employee Free Choice Act. The legislation would make it easier for workers to form unions, letting them decide whether or not to conduct secret ballot elections — instead of the employer making that decision.

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.

“Sum Boilermaker” wins in Oklahoma

RETIRED L-69 BM-ST Donnie Ray Jones is living his dream, breeding and racing horses. A Boilermaker since 1976, Jones served two terms as the lodge’s top officer before calling it quits last year.

NEARLY TWO DOZEN U.S. and Canadian business managers met in Kansas City, Mo., July 27-31 for new officer training. The event was hosted by Construction Division Services (CDS) in conjunction with the Education and Training Services Department.

“We had an excellent group that stayed focused the entire week on the curriculum we developed for new business managers,” said CDS Director Skipper Branscum. “Our goal was to introduce these leaders to the various programs and resources that are available to help them succeed.”