Headline News

WORKERS ACROSS CANADA are hailing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s announcement of a $35 billion shipbuilding program under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.

NRC approves first licenses since 1978

THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY Commission (NRC) on Feb. 9 approved the first licenses to build nuclear reactors in the United States in more than 30 years – and much of the skilled labor involved will go to union Boilermakers.

The $14 billion project will add two new 1,100 Mw Westinghouse AP1000 reactors (units 3 and 4) at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (Plant Vogtle) in eastern Georgia. The plant’s existing reactors (units 1 and 2), which produce 1,200 Mw of electricity each, began operating in the late 1980s.

Will impact airline, railroad employees

A U.S. COURT of appeals has upheld a rule change by the National Mediation Board toward fairer union representation elections for airline and rail employees. The new NMB rule, issued in 2010, establishes that a majority of employees who vote in union elections — rather than a majority of eligible voters — is required to win. Under the previous rule, which had existed since 1935, employees who did not vote were counted as “no” votes.

BY A VOTE of more than two to one, Boilermaker freight rail workers ratified a new National Railroad Agreement Jan. 4. The agreement provides...

Program places military veterans in construction jobs

CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER Stephen Harper, along with provincial and local politicians, joined with Boilermakers and military veterans at the Local 146 Training Center in Edmonton, Alberta, January 6 to kick off Canada’s new Helmets to Hardhats (H2H) program. The program is a government, labor, and business partnership designed to recruit transitioning military veterans into construction jobs through the Canadian Building Trades.

LOCAL 1620 (PORTLAND, IND.) President Bill Coleman, l., and Sec.-Treas. Mike Landess stand near the Indiana statehouse, where unions and their supporters are rallying against state Republican lawmakers who have vowed to push through "right to work for less" legislation. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has stated publicly that he will sign the legislation if it reaches his desk. Democrats plan to offer an amendment to let voters decide the measure, rather than politicians.

Boilermaker-backed event raises $90,000, draws 200

“WHEN THE BOILERMAKERS do something, they do it right,” said Union Sportsmen’s Alliance Executive Director Fred Myers on a warm and breezy day in Kansas City, Mo. this fall.

AN ASSOCIATED PRESS story published Dec. 15 offers more evidence that America’s middle class is shrinking — and that working families are suffering. In fact, more than 146 million Americans, nearly half the population, are now classified as either poor or low income.

Citing the latest census data, the AP article noted that the middle class has been hammered by stagnating wages and high unemployment, compounded by eroding government safety nets.

AREA TRIPARTITE GROUPS in the Western States and the Southeast held their 2011 conferences in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho (Aug. 22-25), and in Destin, Fla. (Oct. 24-26), respectively. The meetings gave owners, contractors, and Boilermakers an opportunity to address issues facing the construction industry.

THE 26TH ANNUAL MOST Tripartite Conference held at Myrtle Beach, S.C. Oct. 2-6 examined a host of industry developments, with an emphasis on pending U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations and their impact on coal-fired power plants. But before addressing those developments, participants took time to acknowledge long-time MOST Administrator Bill Palmisano, who will retire at the end of the year.