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BREAKING: Boilermakers win Sherwin-Williams organizing campaign The Boilermakers union celebrates its second organizing win within just two months, as workers at Sherwin-Williams manufacturing and distribution operations in Birmingham, Alabama, voted today in favor of unionizing. Among 84 total workers, 72 voted, with more than 50% in favor of unionizing. “Their biggest issues were pay, their benefits and safety on the job,” said Southeast Area organizer Carlos Brooks, who headed up the campaign. “It was really exciting to help them and to be a part of impacting change and empowering the workers.” This was the first organizing effort led by Brooks—one of three campaigns he is leading. International Rep Mitch Beasley and ISO-Executive Director Don Hamric assisted. “Carlos Brooks deserves the credit for this win,” said Hamric. “He hit the ground running and stayed ahead of what workers needed to make sure they understood what was at stake.” “The utilization of digital means by Brother Brooks was instrumental in winning the campaign,” added IVP-Southeast Area Jeff Campbell. “I believe this is just the beginning of organizing success in the Southeast Section.” Brooks said the key was educating workers on the benefit of having a voice at their workplace through a union and being able to sit down to negotiate a contract. “The entire process was a great experience from start to finish,” he said. Next steps will be for the new Sherwin-Williams Boilermakers to elect their bargaining committee so they can begin working toward negotiating their first contract. “With this win for the workers at Sherwin-Williams, last month’s win at BWXT in Virginia and our work at Siemens in California, we are affirming our commitment to growing our union,” said International President Tim Simmons. “These campaigns demonstrate the new direction our union has taken. I could not be more proud of our organizing team.” Brooks said he’s looking forward to continuing his work and ramping up the next organizing campaigns. “I’m just really excited about the future of where organizing is going,” he said. “I’m excited about where our organization is going, the future of Boilermakers’ organizing and finding different ways to reach more employees and impact new members.” Know a company that needs to organize a union? Visit www.formaunion.com — Apr 10
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Boilermakers organizing nets a win and a setback The Boilermakers union welcomed 145 new members in March after workers in the machine shop micro-unit at BWXT, Lynchburg, Virginia, voted in favor of unionizing. According to Northeast Area organizer John Bland, workers contacted Local 45 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Kevin Battle in late December seeking information and help organizing. He said workers were fed up with working conditions and constantly changing rules. The Boilermakers and other unions had attempted at least three prior organizing efforts at BWXT since 2008, so some of the machinists had heard the message about how unionizing could provide a voice for them on the job. The time was right to organize. “As soon as Kevin got the call, everyone got moving on it,” Bland said. M.O.R.E. Work Investment funds helped support the Boilermakers’ organizing efforts. Workers inside the unit were especially key in communicating and ultimately making the campaign a success. Because BWXT is a secured nuclear operation, the massive facility is not accessible to visitors, such as union organizers. For security purposes, even inside the facility some units, areas and workers are off-limits to one another. “The workers took charge early on,” agreed IR Tim Tolley, who was part of the IBB organizing team. “These guys were shot out of a cannon and came to us organized and ready to go forward. You could tell they were fed up. It was a perfect storm for organizing.” He echoed that the biggest catalyst for the workers to unionize was the “constantly moving goal post” as the company continuously changes rules and conditions. While wages usually are an issue, at BWXT it was more about the way workers were being treated and disrespected at work. “This time organizing worked because we had more people that were tired of being bullied. They wanted true change,” said Chris Davis, who’s been a BWXT machinist for 19 years. “I’m most looking forward to getting a contract and a set of rules.” Tolley said the machinists are set to elect their bargaining committee in early April so they can get to work on their first contract. “The things they’re asking for are attainable,” he said. “We told them we couldn’t promise anything but a seat at the table, and that’s exactly what they’re looking for. Now, they’re looking forward to negotiating their first contract.” Unfortunately, a vote in March at Siemens Mobility in Sacramento, California, was a no-go to unionize—at least for now. For more than a year, Boilermakers had been working with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers as “Siemens Workers United” to organize more than 1,600 workers who manufacture light rail vehicles for a variety of transit agencies. Siemens is a global company headquartered in Germany. While the company is generally union-friendly in Germany, many of Siemens’ North American operations have resisted unionization. Workers interested in unionizing in Sacramento rallied around issues such as inadequate health and welfare benefits, low pay, pay disparity, gender inequality, safety and poor working conditions, such as extreme heat. Lawrence Garcia, a four-year employee who works in the coach weld shop, said the wages are too low, especially considering cost of living in the area. “I know guys who work 12-hour days or 10-hour days just to keep buying rent. I even know guys who work two jobs, just to keep from going on the streets,” he said. “The pay is not worth it.” Until recently, welders at Siemens were paid less than the $20/hour McDonald’s worker wage dictated by California. Alan Scovill, a weld inspector who’s worked for Siemens for a decade, told The Sacramento Bee that he hadn’t been to a doctor in three years. He pays $500 month from his paycheck for his family’s health insurance coverage, and he can’t afford the medical co-pays. While reasons to unionize were plentiful, the campaign faced some unique challenges. In addition to the usual union-busting tactics from the company, organizers also had a daunting task to reach workers on a massive campus – 60 acres, 11 buildings and many different departments – plus, communicating to workers in six languages and with multiple cultural nuances. Organizers from the Boilermakers and IBEW worked daily, building allies, dispelling myths, answering questions, knocking on doors and deploying myriad tactics to help workers understand what unions are and how unionizing gives workers a voice and a seat at table through collective bargaining. The M.O.R.E. Work Investment Fund provided organizing support and communications resources, including billboards, signage, fliers, digital ads and social media presence, and materials were translated into multiple languages. The unions also gained support from global unions IG Metall and IndustriALL, the California Federation of Labor Unions, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California and prominent local and state congress members. At the end of the day, it wasn’t enough to overcome Siemens Sacramento’s anti-union tactics and secure the 50% “yes” vote. This time. The unions must wait a full 12 months before petitioning for another union vote. That’s time to continue building positive momentum and for those who voted “no” this time to see if Siemens will live up to the promises they made in fighting against the unions. “If Siemens chooses now to make positive changes for workers, it’s because of the courage of workers standing together,” said organizer Pablo Barrera. “Although we didn’t win the vote, we are amazed by the courage of the hundreds of workers who stood together for a better future for their colleagues and their families,” said IVP-Western States J. Tom Baca. “This is not the end. It’s just the beginning, and the fight goes on.” Read a December 2024 Boilermaker Reporter article about earlier Siemens organizing work Read more — Apr 9
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After decades, Boilermakers return to Scherer and Yates with union contract Thanks to the M.O.R.E. Work Investment Fund, Boilermakers out of Local 26 (Savannah, Georgia) have regained work they lost over 30 years ago. Boilermakers signed a three-year contract with two Southern Company facilities, Plant Scherer and Plant Yates, for maintenance work. In a significant shift, non-union contractor Zachry lost its contract, and Day & Zimmermann secured a maintenance contract for both Yates and Scherer. And Southern Company usually bids out new builds or outage work to union contractors, which means even more work. “We utilized the M.O.R.E. funding to get these contracts in order to be competitive enough to get that work,” said Mike Autry, International Rep and Recruiting and Training Coordinator for the Southeast. “If it’s been more than five years, we have additional M.O.R.E. Fund agreements to utilize to get into a plant,” Autry said. “We can use the M.O.R.E. Work Fund to lower the hourly bidding rate to be more competitive with non-union bids.” Local 26 BA/ST Johnathon Bates said the last major maintenance work Boilermakers performed at Scherer was in 1994. While some work was done at Yates in 2013-2014 during its conversion from coal to gas, there had been no significant presence at Scherer for decades. “The M.O.R.E. Fund was the biggest factor in getting this work,” Bates said. “It allowed us to lower wages to be competitive with non-union rates.” For maintenance, Scherer will maintain a crew of 20-25 Boilermakers year-round. However, during outages, workforce numbers could swell to as many as 300. At Yates, currently, five Boilermakers are performing maintenance. “This is the first project we’ve received through the M.O.R.E. Fund,” Bates said. “Since Plant Vogtle finished in 2022, we lost three-fourths of our man-hours. Scherer will double our man-hours. It’s a lifesaver for us.” Bates said the process for accessing M.O.R.E. Work Fund resources was straightforward. “The request goes through Boilermaker leadership,” he explained. “Once we outlined how helpful it would be for our local and district, it passed without issue.” At Yates, there’s currently an outage on the existing units, followed by another in May and a third in the fall. Looking ahead, Bates noted three new gas-fired units are going to be built at Yates, all outside of the M.O.R.E. Fund agreements, and Boilermakers will gain man-hours from that new construction. Outages will occur twice a year on the new gas-fired units, with larger outages every nine or 10 years requiring approximately 60 Boilermakers for at least a month. Plant Scherer is currently undergoing an outage, with 65 members on site. Another outage in the fall will employ over 200 workers. Beyond securing a contract, the Boilermakers have also recruited new members from these plants. Since Zachry withdrew from Sherer, 14 workers joined the Boilermakers. The union has gained four new members from Yates. Additional recruiting, also funded through the M.O.R.E. Fund, is currently underway to bring more Boilermakers to both jobs. “M.O.R.E. has given us the opportunity to secure this work,” Bates said. “Our Boilermaker leadership and Day & Zimmermann have been instrumental in this. They’ve been phenomenal.” — Apr 8
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Notice for L-85 Boilermakers: Cigna contract negotiation resolved Bon Secours Mercy Health has resolved an issue impacting Local 85 Boilermakers’ health care providers participating in the Cigna network. As of April 1, 2025, Bon Secours Mercy Health providers will remain in network with Cigna as part of a multi-year agreement. “We are grateful to the Boilermakers National Funds for their work monitoring the situation and addressing the issue,” said L-85 BM-ST Tim Timmons. “We’re glad this is resolved and that members can continue using their health care providers in network.” Read Bon Secours' full statement. — Apr 2
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ISO Conference set for July in Las Vegas Local lodges planning to send representatives to the 2025 Industrial Sector Operations Conference in Las Vegas have until June 13 to register for the event and for hotel rooms at the group negotiated rate. The conference is set for July 30 to Aug. 1 at Caesars Palace and will include plenary sessions, workshops, industry caucuses, special training sessions and an exhibit area. Registration for the conference must be made online at boilermakers.org/iso2025. Each person attending the conference must complete an individual registration. A link to the group hotel reservation is provided on the conference website as well, but hotel rooms can also be reserved in the Boilermakers’ room block by calling 1-866-277-5944 and using reference “2025 Industrial Sector Operations (ISO) Conference,” group code SCISO5. IBB requests that hotel reservations in this block be limited to one reservation per delegate, to ensure all delegates have an opportunity to book at the special rate. Local lodges are responsible for all transportation, hotel and per-diem expenses incurred by their conference representatives. All Industrial Sector local lodges and Construction Sector lodges representing members in the Industrial Sector are expected to send at least one representative to the conference unless financial constraints make it impractical. Agenda details will be added to the conference website as break-out topics, instructors and featured speakers are confirmed. Tentative session topics include local lodge representation, external and internal organizing, bookkeeping, pension, safety, legislative issues and industry-specific topics. Hotel Reservations Click here ISO Conference Registration Click here — Mar 27