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Members work at one of DTE Energy’s longest maintenance outages

MEMBERS OF LOCAL 85 (Toledo, Ohio) have successfully completed a maintenance outage for DTE Energy at its Monroe, Mich., power plant.

MEMBERS OF ST. LOUIS Local 27 earned praise at their June meeting from David Strubberg, plant manager at the AmerenUE Rush Island Power Plant. Strubberg thanked the members for their outstanding performance, safety, and productivity during the plant’s annual spring equipment renovation in March.

Navy awards additional contract, guaranteeing work through 2012

MEMBERS OF LOCAL 1998 (National City, Calif.) witnessed the successful launching of the USNS Charles Drew Feb. 27. It was the 10th in a series of 12 ships the members are building; the remaining two are in various stages of construction at the San Diego shipyard. But the best news of the day quickly followed: The Navy was awarding them another contract to increase the total number of ships to 14, guaranteeing them steady work through 2012.

L-667 members help retrofit advanced chilled ammonia technology

LAST SEPTEMBER, AMERICAN Electric Power’s (AEP’s) Mountaineer power plant in New Haven, W.Va., began doing something no other plant in the world has ever done. It began capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from a slipstream of exhaust flue gas and pumping it deep underground below the plant for permanent storage in a saline formation. The validation project required retrofitting an advanced chilled ammonia system to the existing coal-fired plant — work performed by members of Local 667 (Charleston, W.Va.) and other building trades.

Members have been repairing ships at FMFCS in Halifax since 1927

MEMBERS OF LOCAL 580 (Halifax, Nova Scotia) earned recognition in the August 2009 issue of The Newsletter, the official publication of the Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Scott (FMFCS), for their repair work on two Canadian naval vessels: the HMCS Ville De Quebec, a Halifax-class frigate in service since 1993, and the HMCS Iroquois, an Iroquois-class destroyer active since 1972.

Retrofit to cut gas emissions at Ohio coal-fired plant

ONE OF THE largest-ever environmental retrofit projects for FirstEnergy is nearing completion at the W.H. Sammis Plant in Stratton, Ohio. Over 450 Local 154 (Pittsburgh) members, along with Boilermakers from neighboring lodges, have been working on the project in seven consecutive outages. With completion scheduled for 2010, the $1.7 billion retrofit is expected to further reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) by 95 percent and nitrogen oxide (NOx) by at least 64 percent.

MEMBERS OF LOCAL 37 (New Orleans) and 433 (Tampa, Fla.) are big supporters of their respective — and rival — state colleges: the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators. Yet they were able to put aside their differences for the common good — in this case, the fabrication of a converter and sulphur burner for Central Maintenance and Welding at the Mosaic Phosphates Plant, formerly known as the Uncle Sam Plant, in St. James, La.

Power plant is first to be built in San Diego County in almost 30 years

NEARLY 100 MEMBERS of Local 92 (Los Angeles), along with 20 Boilermakers from neighboring lodges, have completed 26 months of work at a new generating project in San Diego County, Calif.

New economizers are part of university’s energy conservation project

MEMBERS OF LOCAL 28 (Newark, N.J.) working for new Boilermaker contractor AB&P Mechanical completed a waste heat recovery system in July as part of an energy conservation project at Princeton University.

AS AMERICANS WATCH jobs disappear, economist Dean Baker says we could reduce unemployment if the federal government would offer tax incentives to employers who shorten their standard work week or work year.