International Brotherhood of Boilermakers - The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers, AFL-CIO

  • International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Statement About Plea of Former International Secretary-Treasurer Kathy Stapp
    On December 19, 2024, the former International Secretary-Treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Kathy Stapp, pled guilty to conspiracy to assist the racketeering activity of former officers and employees. Ms. Stapp was not charged with the receipt of any funds improperly. Ms. Stapp resigned from the IBB on August 25, 2024, after she was indicted on multiple charges. Under new leadership, the IBB is committed to ensure that these abuses never happen again. The IBB has implemented new procedures and safeguards to ensure that the misuse of IBB funds cannot happen again. “Our leadership is committed to repairing the damage from the past while positioning the union for the future,” International President Timothy Simmons said. “We will never allow the misdeeds of our former leaders to tarnish the hard work and dedication of our members.”                    Dated: December 20, 2024 — Dec 20
  • L-128 hockey team scores big for Easter Seals Ontario
    The Local 128 Boilermaker Hockey Team has made a difference on and off the ice this season by participating in the Brad May Celebrity Classic in support of Easter Seals Ontario, a charity dedicated to helping children and youth who have physical disabilities. Through an exciting fundraising campaign, the team rallied its members, sponsors and community to contribute over $42,000 to this worthy cause. Funds raised will go towards essential mobility and accessibility equipment, such as wheelchairs and ramps, as well as summer camp opportunities for children with disabilities. The Boilermakers were prominently represented at the tournament, showcasing their commitment to the organization and charity. Brother James Fisher, L-128 Business Representative, was chosen to perform the ceremonial puck drop at the All-Star game, alongside NHL Alumni Brad May, TSN’s Rod Black, and the Easter Seals Ambassadors of Ontario. — Dec 18
  • Locals award service pins
    The following pins have been presented in recognition of continuous years of service in the Boilermakers union as reported by local lodge leadership. Note: Local lodge leaders can now submit service pins for fulfillment and inclusion in The Reporter here. LOCAL 1 • CHICAGO 60 YEARS — Jack Benz 55 YEARS — Gary Ames, Richard Carlson, Daniel Durkovic, Robert Eisenhammer, William Feeney, Charles Hayes, Jim Hess, Barry Jeleniewski, Larry Nolan, Emil Priesol 50 YEARS — Ernie Gossett, Jack Ruby 45 YEARS — Roland Leavitt, Bobby Lowe 30 YEARS — Kevin Maddix, Ricardo Molina 25 YEARS — Christopher DeCaigny, Anthony Danta, Brett Hamilton, Jaime Haro, Kurt Kelleher, Michael Mager, Isaac Rayes, Charles Sneed, Brad Spiess, Terry Tye 20 YEARS — Ryan Bolz LOCAL 5 • NEW YORK 35 YEARS — Mark Peponakis, Russell Rogers, James Solly 30 YEARS — John Blauvelt, Blaine Carusone, Kevin Farrell, Kevin O’Brien, Jonathan Smith, Thomas Stelfox 25 YEARS — Gerald Penfield 20 YEARS — Moises Fernandez, Scott Goodberry, Jason Hunter, Rocky Ramphal, Stephanie Thompson, Anatoliy Vovna, Shamus Waldron 15 YEARS — Colin Ambellan, Shawn Chesebrough, JeZrey Dunworth, Charles Falcone, Jonathan Gibli, Jared Hite, Michael KniZen, Brian Lonergan, Steven Manchester, Radeew Mohabeer, Glenn Stevens, Victor Urena, James Zyniecki LOCAL 26 • SAVANNAH GA 55 YEARS — Larry G. Davis, Charles T. Deal, Fredrick C. Helmuth, Walter J. Hickox, Wilfred C. JeZers Jr., Willie Oliver, Walden J. Ware 50 YEARS — Leon Able, Fred O. Baggett, Melvin Baker Jr., William S. Bashlor, Vernon J. Baxter, Samuel B. Beard, Barry N. Bethune, James E. Blakewood Jr., Wade L. Brower, Johnny D. Burkhalter, Jimmie A. Copeland, Darrell W. Daley, Walter (Phil) P. Douglas, Ronnie E. Fail, Robert J. Groover, James D. Harrison Sr., Bobby R. Hickox, Donald L. Ivie, Mikel R. Johns, Ellis R. Knight, Jack R. Lanier Jr., Archie T. Lanier, Milton J. Morgan, William D. Morrow, Douglas R. Noel, Frank D. Owens Jr., Milton C. Rahn Jr., David Frank Riggins, James R. Smith Jr., David E. Stone, George J. Strickland, Earl C. Tyson, Jack M. Vickers, Roger L. Way Jr., Thomas B. West 45 YEARS — James G. Able, William M. Andrews, James A. Brower Jr., Michael H. Clanton, Luis A. Cordero, Thomas R. Crews, Charles M. Davis, Kenneth R. Drake, Charles (Mike) M. Garrett, Charles S. Grimsley, Irie S. Harkleroad, James C. Holbrook, James M. Holton, Winton D. Howard Jr., Gerald F. Hulett, Charles W. Johns, Larry G. Jumper, Billy J. Lane, Michael F. Lay, Kenneth E. Leggott, Jackie W. Madaris, Raymond Mills, Vernon R. Pitts, Larry F. Quigley, Madison (Matt) Rushing, David L. Smith, Ronald L. Smith 40 YEARS — Danny Bruce Crews, P. W. Cummings Jr., Taylor H. Haskel, Albert E. Klein Jr., Ernest D. Pack, Larry D. Womack 25 YEARS — Garrett S. Beaumier, Derek C. Howell, James A. King, Barry L. McDonald 20 YEARS — Johnathon Mitchell Bates, Homer Allen Bennett Jr., Sherril H. Black, Barbara J. Bolton, Reginald D. Bryant, Michael L. Byrd, Donald L. Carlton, Don W. Clevenger, Dennis E. Crews, Eric R. Crumpton, Bruce Davis, Charles M. Fields, Gary M. Filla, Johnny Hawkins, Michael A. Huls, Shannon N. Hutcherson, Robert M. James, Chad E. Johns, Norman W. Lee, Jerry Leggett, Arthur F. Martin, Robert K. Mask, Keith M. Massey, Daniel Mathie, Scotty L. Matthews, Michael W. McCranie, David McKendree, Carlton H. McLeod, Gerald Miller, William A. Morris Jr., Phillip S. Pavo, Timothy P. Piercy, Michael S. Pitts, Archie C. Rish, Patrick A. Roberts, Kenneth R. Sanders, Raiford D. Scarbrough Sr., Christopher L. Scott, Kelvin K. Shannon, Crantford E. Smith Jr., Dwight Strickland, Frank P. Walls, Todd W. Wilcox, Paul Wilkes 15 YEARS — Warren Rex Anderson, Greg Bacon, Robert N. Baker, Travis W. Bowman, Herschel A. Brown, Jimmy Parnell Byrd Jr., Rodney Carver, Allen F. Clark Jr., Chadwick R. Clark, William D. Cooper, Timothy L. Davis, Charles A. Diehl, Tony Ryle Foskey, Willis L. Garrett II, Jerimey Gibson, Bobby E. Hightower, Cecil D. Hill, Garry Hines, Hansford C. Hunter, Sterling Irvin, Issac Johnson Jr., Justin A. Jordan, David D. Lilly, Scott M. Maniscalco, Brandon Massey, Kevin M. Miller, Chess Moxley, Terry L. Parker, Chad E. Pierce, Devin L. Pierce, Michael Preston Sr., Arnold D. Purcell, Ricky P. Salter II, Justen B. Smith, Willie F. Spatcher, Scott Tibbitts, Arthur T. Tolbert Jr., Gregory B. Torrance, Leonard Allen Troupe, Kevin Wardle, Cecil W. Young LOCAL 45 • RICHMOND VA 60 YEARS — Perry A. Day, Fred A. Gaither, Edward T. Powers, Lewis K. Powers, Louis F. Takovich Jr. 55 YEARS — R. Barry Dowdy, John C. Hall, Chris C. Haynes, Charles A. Kenney, P. Robert. Madrigal, Chester C. McCrackin, Leo D. McVicker, Martin J. Phillips, Thomas D. Scott, JeZrey C. Viar 50 YEARS — Harry Amend, Stephen V. Anderson, Lawrence R. Bell, Gary H. Biddenger, Richard C. Blight, Patrick L. Bonner, Ian Charles, W. Dennis Covington, James A. Crawford, Jimmy W. Gray, L. Steve Hammond, Phillip D. Kendrick, V. Steve Knight, John H. Lucas, Michael A. Lyons, Thomas R. Mantiply, Paul F. Mockabee, Hobert B. Myers, Frank E. Phillips, Daniel W. Shirk, John R. Shorb, Donnie L. Simmons, Wayne D. Smith, Dale T. Stevenson, George W. Taylor Jr., Jenira Thompson, Robert D. Whetsell Jr., C. William Wright 45 YEARS — Robert T. Barfield, Wilbur F. Brown, James R. Burrows, George W. Crouch, Wade L. Dillow, Cecil R. Dorsey, Charles T. Geilfuss, Robert W. Gray, James R. Green, R. Kevin Hall, C. Michael Heaps, Wayne H. Johnson, Dennis Kuhn, Frank S. Liptak, James D. Lynch, Michael M. Matkins, David C. Miller, William F. Mitchell, Clark J. Moon, Dennis A. O’Neil, Dale T. PfeiZer, James F. Phillips, John C. Pierce, Gregory A. Powell, Donald C. Rexrode, Bobby G. Rohrbaugh, Russell G. ShaZer, Ronald W. Shehane, Richard H. Sheppard, Steven P. Shorter, Larry L. Turner, Mark D. White 40 YEARS — Donald J. Margensey 35 YEARS — Steven P. Bomar, Richard C. Buckson Sr., Steven W. Croft, Charles A. Dunn, Stanley J. Harper, Dennis O. Hartman Sr., Michael J. Herd, Michael R. Junkins, Steven M. Junkins, Gary L. Kephart, Paul D. Kuykendall, T. Craig McCracken, John D. McIntosh, Roger D. Moyers, Steven E. Platt, Timothy W. Shake, Luther A. Smith, Michael L. Takovich, Gary W. White, Randy K. Wilson, Clyde A. Witt Jr., Lonnie M. Wright 30 YEARS — Carlos G. Cintron, Brent M. Corvin, Gerry Llewellyn, Joseph L. Nickey, Dale Marty. Sites Jr., Denzil D. Smith 25 YEARS — Douglas W. Armbrester Jr., John S. Beard, Charles J. Hall, Burnell R. KauZman, Richard Knotts, L. Shane. Mobley, Harold T. Timbrook, Daniel J. Weber 20 YEARS — Daryl W. Almond, Donald T. DudenhoeZer, William T. Hinson, Elwood C. Hyre II, Donald L. Keeter, Stephen A. Lantis, Derek J. Long, Franklin L. Price, Donald C. Rexrode II, Albert T. Robinson, Paul N. Snider, James R. Stanley 15 YEARS — Robert B. Burton, Cody A. Catlett, Russell W. Crosco, Phillip D. Embry, Jimmie Howard. Harrison, William S. Hutcheson, Kevin D. Lockhart, Michael O. Quillen, Brandon C. Stumpf, Jared H. Turner, Seth J. Vance, Wesley B. Vance, William G. Washington, Justin D. York  LOCAL 83 • KANSAS CITY MO 60 YEARS — James Parsons 55 YEARS — Ronald L. Hoyt, Ronald Pettinger, Joseph Super 50 YEARS — Vincent Alagna, Earl Davis, William Ehmke, Thomas E. Guilfoyle, Ricky Hastings, James F. Holland, Richard B. Kirby, Edward Lacey, Louis L. Padilla, Richard Racette, Lowell Robling, Richard A. Scott 45 YEARS — Donald Abeln, Michael W. Collins, Jess F. Laster, Kelly Lykins, Brad L. Myhr, David Pachmayr, Kenneth G. Smith, Kirk Stanley 40 YEARS — John Oswald 35 YEARS — William H. Adams Jr., James Brichacek, Mike T. Clifton, Elmer Duane Dorrough, Brian A. Jones, Robert G. Mueller, Kevin T. Myers, Donald F. Onnen Jr., Kenneth R. Patrick, Steven B. Rakes, Paul Roark, Larry T. Rowe, John Seward Jr., Dale Sharp, Ronald L. Sundquist, Christopher Woods, Kent D. Zoz 30 YEARS  — Dave Bryson, Robert Crosthwait Jr., Leonard J. Dalbey, Scott A. Daniels, William Scott Durham, Thomas A. Hardison, Dale Ray Leach, Joseph Lewandowski, Lia Nguyen, Michael Phillips, Ronald Stallard 25 YEARS — Kelly A. Alterman, Edward Amador, Robin Burianek, Wesley Graham, Gary W. Griblin, Casey Jensen, Steve Lake, Clarence O. Leonard, Chad Wayne Lucas, Harold E. Morris, Lloyd Myers Jr., JeZ Parrish, Brian Pettinger, Grady Smith, Darren Stroder, Brandon C. Wahwassuck, Shannon Wiatt 20 YEARS — Terry Dowell, Donald Hensler, Aaron Waldrop 15 YEARS — Ralph Bennett, James Brooks, Dennis Burlingame, Brandon Clark, Ryan Conley, James F. Deatherage, Dustin Devore, Lyman Lloyd Estep, Jonathan Fagan, Larry Grotewiel, Lynn Holmes, Bradley J. Horn, Robert Imondi, Roni Jenkins, Brandan J. Kafka, Lonny Kirk, Michael Locke, Michael Mayotte, CliZord Noah, Richard S. Peve II, Brandon David Reusch, Ronald E. Robinson, John A. Speichinger, Daniel Stockwell, Jack Trent, Michael Wahwassuck, John Wenzel, JeZrey Wilson LOCAL 106 • CINCINNATI OH 45 YEARS — Mike Orlando 35 YEARS — Ron Anderson, Andrew Stapf 30 YEARS — JeZ Weitz, Tom Sienkiewicz 25 YEARS — Hershel Asher, Tracy Dickerson, Mike Raisor 20 YEARS — Tony Shockley, William Rust, William Newsom LOCAL 108 • BESSEMER AL 45 YEARS — James D. Finneran LOCAL 169 • DETROIT 70 YEARS — Bruce McLeod 60 YEARS — Dale Foster 55 YEARS — Thomas Aitken, David Angle, Avner Bashman, James Bostedt, John Card, Ova Fletcher, Timothy Gapen, Charles Gaskin, Jerry Golden, Daniel P. Kidd Sr., David Krzyzanski, Dale Nelmark, Michael Parkhill, Richard Sevrey, Robert Bruce Warnken, Larry Way, Kenneth Wyman, William Zink 50 YEARS — Roger Arend, Michael Audia, Wallace Barron, Earl Bushong, Michael Byrnes, Bruce Campbell, Larry Campbell, John Castonguay, Harold Danula, John Donohue, Peter J. Gannon, Daniel Godfrey, Vincenzo Grillo, Gregory Guidry, Phillip Hendrix, Dennis J. Jackson, Joseph Jones, Allan W. Kidd, Terry Kuzala, Andrew Lawson, Roy Lewis, Archie R. Long Jr., Mark Mankowski, John Marek, Patrick Miller, Randy Mitter, William Nelson, Dave J. Rinna, James Robb, Wayne Smoot, Clinton Strawn, David Tacie, Charles Taube, John Tischler Jr., Dwight Tobaison, George Tromp, Gerald Skip VanBuren, Rodger Vanderville, Nelson Wallaker 45 YEARS — Timothy Brewster, Stephen Buys, David Campbell, Kent Damron, Steven Dunn, Richard Jenerou, Dale McElvany, Timothy Parrish, Daniel Rheaume, JeZrey Rokuski, David Schmitt 40 YEARS — Gordon Durham, James Guertin, Burl Hill, Carl Profrock, Douglas Thennes, Alfred Glenn Williams 35 YEARS — Richard Bruno, Lori Custer, William Dodge Jr., Michael A. Dodson, Steven Harbenski, William M. Jenerou, Billy R. Keener, Frank Wimmer 30 YEARS — Richard Castle, John Mitch Doss, James Easley, Gregory Jacobs, Craig Lanzon, David McMullen, Timothy H. Miller, Norman Pennell, Robert Sevrey, Roosevelt Sweeney Jr. 25 YEARS — Otis Autman, Terrence Card, Zerbin Dean, Gary Deneau, JeZrey Harmon, Timothy Henderson, Michael Irwin, Mark Ivey, Daniel P. Kidd Jr., Christopher F. Kidd, Matthew Klecker, Carl Kopsi, Jeramy Kriesel, Jason Kuntze, Paul Kurian, Joseph Lambrix, Neal Marsh, Kevin McNutt, William Meinheit, John W. Miller Jr., Tyrone Montgomery, Timothy Parker, Christopher Patrick, Louis Reno, Robert Shukait, Michael E. Trischler Jr., Adam Way, Minelous Young 20 YEARS — Bradley Flisnik, Josue Fuentes, Nathan Gardner, Anthony Herrera, Marc Lanzon, Lyle E. Leavitt II, Ilias Margaris, Mark Miller, David Milon, Kyle Mowrey, Mark Olson, JeZrey G. Rohn, Anthony Suban, Donald Vogan, Max Westphal, Chanol Wilkie-Jones, Brian Wimmer, John Winterbauer LOCAL 344 • RIDGECREST CA 25 YEARS — Darren Clark, John Reynolds, Paul Ubricht, Donald West, William Wilson 20 YEARS — I. Acevedo, J. Bosley, John Dean, Vincent James, R. Jimenez, C. Latanya, Robert Lyttle, Christopher Padilla, Saravut Salacheep, 15 YEARS — Joab K. Amoni, Jose L. Ayon Jr., Raymond G. Bega, Sean Burgess, Jason T. Coleman, Ray Darele, Roger M. Daug, Christopher DeLeon, Michael P. Drouin, Jacob M. Furst, Sherwin M. Galiza, Fernando Galvez, Nathan R. Geurts, John B. Hoggatt, Robert Knickelbein, Anthony M. Lair, Robert Lampkin Jr., William O. Lowe Jr., Joshua Luis, Joshua McDonald, Jason T. Melnick, Carlos Morales, Ron M. Neal, Jorge L. Paniagua, Felipe Rodriguez, Daniel Schandl, Brandon J. Smith, Demian C. Thomas, RaShawn Wright LOCAL 374 • HOBART IN 60 YEARS — Philip Faucett 55 YEARS — Paul Rogier, Robert Styka 50 YEARS — Joseph Struzik 35 YEARS — James Kizer 30 YEARS — JeZery Fleck, Lauren Gehlhausen, Kenneth Iseman, Jason King, Randolph Kooken, Nick McDowell, Brian Willis, Robert Zatarski 25 YEARS — Michael Aders, Daniel McWhirter, Jerry Timberlake, Robert Werner 20 YEARS — James Bantz, John Bramlett, Lee Hauter, Christopher Jackson, Brian Moree, Zach Pendleton, Jamie Sahagun 15 YEARS — Owen Johnson, Robin Purvis 10 YEARS — John Petro LOCAL 555 • WINNIPEG MB 55 YEARS — Robert Bishop, Robert Ell, Clarence Lipinski, Ray Morphy, Richard Posehn, Stewart Smith 50 YEARS — George Dheilly, Roy Ducharme, Wayne Hanson, Dennis Hassan, Wayne King, Lance Stark, Rod Thorne, Don Wudrick, Eric Zimmerman, Mel Zoroneck 45 YEARS — Hugh Alguire, Bill Chapman, Peter Donovan, Randy Dukart, Darrell Gaebel, Richard Joyal, Pat Monaghan, Ron Schellenberg, Seppo Vesa 40 YEARS — Ken Hiebert, Ron Wilson 35 YEARS — Lyle FeiZer, Jason Ross, Lonny Schellenberg, Darwin Willis 30 YEARS — Terence Delaurier, Jason Delaurier, Richard Fisher, James (Lee) Smith, Brent Wilgosh, Randy Zuk 25 YEARS — Kim Bellman, Michael Hall, Willie Henderson, Dustin Hill, Michael Keilback, Myles Munro, Triston Nicolson, JeZ Shaw, Tony Stark, Doug Werner, Bob Wiens LOCAL 614 • NEW LONDON CT 20 YEARS — Dean Ambot, Dale Bates, Gregory Bell, Michael Bushek, Benny Contreras, Robert Dupuis, Greg Emard, Daryl Frink, Patrick Gauthier, Paul Kelly, Peter Klick, William Licciardi, Bjorn Liese, Nickolas Racicot, Thomas Sheppard, Elicarlian Torres, Kelvin Waheed, Wayne Watson 15 YEARS — Christopher Bell, Dean Bowen, Eric DeSaulnier, JeZrey Fleck, Wayne Haapala, Alexander Johnson, Christopher Kelly, Frederick Korn IV, Alfred Kovalik, Anthony Mancini, Scott Marchione, Joshua McCabe, Jon Morris, William Perry, Thomas Racicot, Matthew Robbins, Mark Scepanski, Steven Smith, Anthony Ziccardi LOCAL 647 • MINNEAPOLIS 80 YEARS — Eugene E. Archambault 55 YEARS — Riley J. Jester, Russell J. Mehrman, Rex W. Novek, Lawrence F. Pruter, David E. Riley 50 YEARS — Gregory G. Anderson, Jay M. Arendt, Wayne M. Cooper, Michael J. Horsch, Mark S. Jackson, Charles P. Leimgruber, Archie R. Maki, Gerald L. Piatz, Mark W. Shape, Rolf M. Sondergaard, Carey V. Tribbett, Duane O. Willhelm 45 YEARS — Dan S. Cassidy, Wayne P. Goerger, Daniel Laplante, Randy P. Lewis, Michael R. Quinn, Timothy L. Schleicher, Eugene Skaj, Glenn R. Weismann 40 YEARS — Michael F. Engbrecht 35 YEARS — Dale D. Hollister 30 YEARS — Lyle Christianson, Roger Ellingson, Charles A. Leingang 25 YEARS — Dustin G. Johnson, Jeremiah J. Klein, Kevin R. Pellersels, Jamie L. Schauer, Dana M. Seil, Wayne J. Szczur, Luke A. Voigt 20 YEARS — Travis M. Lewis 15 YEARS — Wesley A. Fredrickson, Patrick F. Ryan LOCAL 650 • LAKE CITY MN 45 YEARS — Brad Weberg 40 YEARS — Robert Bauer, Douglas Dick, David Diepenbrock, Norman Hager, Francis Halling, Monte Hurlburt, Larry Luhmann, Kris Nickelsen, JeZ Wettern 35 YEARS — Dale Adler, JeZrey Heisler, Bryan HuZman, Thomas Loechler, Daniel Pearson 30 YEARS — Shawn Bauer, Pamela Breuer, Chad Briggs, James Heitman, Mark Kent, Tim Klein, Scott Markham, Duane Miller, Bruce Mounts, Nate Nickelsen, Kevin Norton, John O’Flaherty, John Schurhammer, Rick Solum, Lee Swanson, Karen Thorie 25 YEARS — Jake Flodquist, Svjetlan Milosavlevic, Jason Ohde, Daniel Walker 20 YEARS — Bruce Arens, Michael Berger, Brian Ebersold, Zvezdan Kurtaljevic, Harry Linscheid, Timothy Pote, Joseph Roemer, Ryan Sharp LOCAL D480 • CHARLEVOIX MI 10 YEARS — Stephen Kretovic — Dec 13
  • You are the union
    A few months ago, I had the honor and privilege to walk in the banner parade with almost 100 Boilermaker sisters as part of our union’s delegation at the Tradeswomen Build Nations conference. I consider myself fortunate to have been among other Boilermaker allies, marching in support of our sisters, and I am grateful to have experienced firsthand the powerful pride, the untiring enthusiasm of these women. As I walked alongside them, I had a wonderful opportunity to talk with them, hear their stories—what led them to a career in the Boilermakers—and learn about their families, their ideas, their challenges and their concerns for the future. Many spoke openly about their hopes, their needs and their worries for our union—some unique to the experience of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, and some universal to all who call ourselves Boilermakers. This should not be the case, but it is a rare and valuable thing when a leader at any level has the chance to hear frankly and directly from the members they are called and charged to serve—whether that’s from Amanda from Local 37 in New Orleans or Bryan from Local 158 in Peoria, Illinois, or Sandiso from Local 146 in Calgary, Alberta.  In fact, the primary responsibility of leadership is the duty of service to the members who are, themselves, the Boilermakers union; to look out for members’ best interest today and build a solid structure for our organization’s thriving future. Over these past months, I have made this a priority: Whenever it is possible, I want to visit with and listen to working Boilermakers and retirees.  I want to see what you make, visit your union hall, find out what’s bothering you, gather your ideas, dispel myths and answer your questions. As I have done this so far, what I’ve learned is that no matter where we come from, what industry we work in or how long we’ve been on the tools—no matter our differences—we, as Boilermakers, all want the same things. We want jobs that provide good wages. We want benefits that take care of us and our families. We want to be treated fairly. We want to retire with dignity. We want to come home safe from our jobs every day. Our work together as a union is how we achieve those things. And so, I commit that I will continue to listen to you—so that together we can grow stronger, united in solidarity; together, we can build our union through a robust recruitment strategy; together we can more aggressively organize to fight against unfairness and fight for what is right and good. Together, we can “shout a little louder,” as our sisters chanted in the parade march, and make our mighty Boilermaker name known loud and clear. Together, we can build a better future. — Dec 13
  • U.S. Court of Appeals denies Jones, upholds August 2023 decision
    The U.S. Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit issued its opinion on December 5, upholding the original August 2023 decision by federal Judge Eric Melgren, denying former International President Newton Jones’ appeal. Melgren found in favor of the International Vice Presidents who, as the International Executive Council, sought to uphold Article 17 charges against Jones, resulting in his ouster. “We are humbled and grateful the U.S. Court of Appeals saw reason in our actions. This was a stressful and trying time, but it was necessary,” said International President Timothy Simmons, who was among the International Vice Presidents filing Article 17 charges against Jones. “This confirms the IEC’s original action was proper and conducted in accordance with our constitution. We will continue to move forward and serve our members.” The Court of Appeal’s opinion summarized the series of events, which began in February 2023 when Jones allegedly admitted during an IEC meeting that he had spent union funds to travel to Ukraine with his wife. Then-International Vice President Simmons investigated the claims of financial misconduct and shared what he discovered with International Vice Presidents John Fultz, J. Tom Baca and Arnie Stadnick. In April 2023, IVP John Fultz brought Article 17 charges against Jones based on evidence alleging Jones had directed back pay to his wife while she was living in Ukraine, had spent union funds on private dining by his family and, as he had noted to the IEC, had spent union funds to travel to his private residence in Ukraine. During the Article 17 hearing on May 30, which Jones did not attend, Fultz presented evidence that Jones paid his wife over $100,000 for work she never performed; had spent about $40,000 on union-expensed meals for himself and family near his home in North Carolina; and had spent over $20,000 on flights to his home in Ukraine. Details of events leading to the May 30 hearing and makeup of the hearing committee and voting members are available in the full court document link below, as well as further details about the original case. On June 2, the IEC voted, finding Jones in violation of the constitution, removing him from office, stripping him from membership and directing him to pay back all misspent money. Jones, however, refused to step down and continued retaliatory actions against the International Vice Presidents who had acted against him. He filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas in an attempt to stop the IEC’s action. After hearings on June 20 and in July, just ahead of Melgren’s 2023 decision, Jones suddenly retired on July 31 and attempted to appoint his successor. In their opinion document, the appeals panel pointed to a letter Jones sent to lodge officers “bemoaning the ‘ugly … smear campaign against me and my wonderful wife.’” Ultimately, however, the district court affirmed the IEC’s decision to remove Jones, as “binding and entitled to full effect.” Jones filed a notice of appeal to challenge the decision, and a federal appeals panel consisting of three judges reviewed the case and decision, reviewed the union’s constitution and heard oral arguments from attorneys representing Jones and the International Vice Presidents (full audio is available in the link below). The panel unanimously affirmed the lower court’s decision. “I would encourage members to read the full opinion,” said Simmons. “There is a lot of helpful, detailed information in how the judges arrived at their decision after reviewing our constitution and dispelling the former president’s attempts to wrongly use the constitution in his defense against our Article 17 charges.” The opinion states, in fact, that “the Vice Presidents took significant steps to ensure the integrity of President Jones’s hearing.” It is important to note that this is a separate legal matter from another ongoing and pending federal case against Jones and other former employees of the union. Information about those matters will be provided to membership as it becomes available at the conclusion of federal court findings.   Read the full opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals: Full opinion   Listen to the oral arguments from both parties’ attorneys: Listen here — Dec 12