Letters

We would like to thank Local 83 and all the Boilermakers for their kindness during these trying times. This is a long, rough road [for Dale Hunt and his family, due to his serious illness], and if not for the union, I don’t know where we would be. Even during a difficult economy, the Brotherhood still stands strong and united. We are so thankful for the union and all its benefits. So if anyone ever gets to wondering if it’s all worth it, trust me, it is — and your brothers have got your back.

All of your cards and heartfelt prayers mean so much to our family.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the reception held on March 18th to celebrate my 50th year as an active Boilermaker. Special thanks to Glen Aker, Ernie Aker, [L-73 BM-ST] Kevin Chaisson, and “Big” Joe Linthorne, for providing music. Thanks also to Derek Carey, Kevin Chaisson, [L-73 President] Marcel Losier, [IR] Kent Oliver, and [retired IVP] Sandy MacDonald for the gifts presented on behalf of Local 73 and the International.

BY ALL ACCOUNTS, the Montour Unit #1 Spring 2011 boiler outage [in Washingtonville, Pa.] was a huge success. We would like to thank you [BM-ST James Banford], Jack Borzell [L-13 business agent], your staff and the Boilermakers of Local 13 for making this possible. Jack’s constant attention to the Montour site is very much appreciated and helped a great deal in achieving our goals. You should be pleased to know that not only did the Boilermakers of Local 13 perform above our expectations, they once again completed a major outage ahead of schedule and under budget.

I am writing this letter to commend and thank the members of Local 627 [Phoenix] who worked on the Cholla Unit 1 horizontal superheat project [Joseph City, Ariz.]. The Boilermakers removed and replaced 384 superheat assemblies and made 1,600 welds in 26 days. We x-rayed 240 welds, with no rejects. They managed to do this with wind delays, crane breakdowns and other obstacles. APS [Arizona Public Service, owner/operator] was very pleased with this outage. The project was completed with an excellent safety record and ahead of schedule.

Every now and then Boilermakers pull off a task others think is next to impossible. Recently members working in the jurisdiction of Local 363 [East St. Louis, Ill.] achieved such a feat.

THE PURPOSE OF this letter is to express our appreciation for the outstanding performance of the Local 199 Boilermakers supplied by you [BM-ST Carl Ferguson] and assigned by W.W. Gay Inc. to perform the baffle plate work on the Deerhaven Plant unit 2 for Gainesville Regional Utilities. [Babcock Power affiliate Riley Power Inc. subcontracted the work to Gay.]

Local 29’s Giannone vows to beat cancer

I retired in March 2010 at age 55, and am so proud to have been a union Boilermaker. I worked all over the country, and I know there are no better brothers and sisters in the world than the field members I have met [since joining Boston Local 29 in 1980].