Education and Training

Union marks 53rd year with School for Workers

THE BOILERMAKERS union marked its 53rd year of participation in the annual summer training institute at the University of Wisconsin’s School for Workers (SFW) in Madison July 12-16. Twenty-six local lodge leaders attended the Basic class; the Advanced class was not held this year.

Participants received training from SFW professors as well as International staff on topics geared to a broad understanding of the labor movement and skills that are essential to union leadership development.

Protecting your members means ensuring they are not disciplined unfairly, but it might also mean finding a way to protect them from someone with anger issues.

FORMER LOCAL D106 (Mason City, Iowa) Secretary-Treasurer Thomas Jon Witham was sentenced to 21 months in prison Dec. 8, 2009, for embezzling $52,037.19 from the lodge over a four-year period. He was also ordered to make full restitution.

The Department of Labor investigated Witham after the International became suspicious of his activities, and indicted him in July 2009. He pleaded guilty in September.

NEARLY TWO DOZEN Canadian Boilermakers attended the first field supervisor leadership training course ever held at Local 146 (Edmonton) Oct. 26-27, 2009. The course covered 10 topics related to a supervisor’s day-to-day job responsibilities.

“There is a big demand for formal training for this level of supervision,” said Grant Jacobs, Canadian National Training Coordinator. “The industry wants competent construction supervisors with formal training and on-the-job experience running the work.”

When you’re going into a grievance meeting where differing opinions of the facts of the case may be aired, it’s a good idea to avoid name-calling.

Fund-raisers finance education program

LOCAL LODGE 60 (Peoria, Ill.) announced the recipients of its fifth annual scholarship award on Sept. 3. A total of $6,000 was awarded to 12 scholarship applicants. The one-year, $500 grants were awarded to every 2009 candidate — all Local 60 Boilermakers or their dependents. Only Local 60 members — or the spouse, child, or grandchild of a Local 60 member — are eligible for this scholarship award.

From 2nd-year apprentices to 35-year members, Boilermakers yearn to learn

[+]Enlarge

Employing a few basic strategies can improve your investigations and thereby improve your chances of winning.

Twenty attend course in Kansas City

TWENTY CONSTRUCTION BOILERMAKERS from 15 lodges attended the MOST (Mobilization, Optimization, Stabilization, and Training) trust’s project management program in Kansas City, Mo., July 26-31. The week-long course “provides instruction on how to manage projects in a business-like manner and make decisions that positively impact project goals and provide an overall benefit to the owner, the contractor, the Boilermakers union, and other union crafts,” said Roger Erickson, MOST safety representative.

Twenty-six Boilermaker dependents earn awards totaling $50,000

THE BOILERMAKERS’ INTERNATIONAL Executive Council scholarship committee announced the winners of its 2009 scholarship program April 14. A total of $50,000 was awarded to 26 scholarship recipients: $38,000 to United States students and $12,000 to Canadian students.