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

  • Southeast Area L-108's Loyd wins Apprentice of the Year, Great Lakes Area takes team honors
    The 2025 National Apprenticeship Competition concluded Wednesday near Savannah, Georgia, and the results are in: Congratulations to Nathaniel Loyd of Local 108 (Bessemer, Alabama) who earned top individual honors as the 2025 Boilermakers National Apprenticeship Program's Apprentice of the Year! And congratulations to the Great Lakes Area team, Cody Rasmussen of Local 107 (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and Michael Baer of Local 374 (Hobart, Indiana), for earning top team honors!  The annual United States national competition is conducted through the Boilermakers National Apprenticeship Program and was hosted this year at Local 26 (Statesboro, Georgia). Congratulations to the regional graduate apprentices who also represented their areas in the competition: Northeast Area, Jacob Pappada (L-154, Pittsburgh) and Harrison Johnson (L-237, Hartford, Connecticut); Western States, Kyle Brickey (L-242, Spokane, Washington) and Andrew Bronson (L-101, Denver); and Southeast Area, Jeffery Rawson (L-667, Winfield, West Virginia). Watch for a full recap, including photos and video, to come. — Aug 15
  • ARCA driver Shane Backes signs partnership with Boilermakers Union
    When the green flag waves at The Glen for tomorrow’s ARCA Menards race, the Boilermakers Union seal will make its auto racing debut with driver Shane Backes. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers has signed on to partner with Backes and Mad Scientist Racing. The August 8th race at Watkins Glen International in New York is the first of four ARCA Menards Series races in which the Boilermakers’ will partner with Backes. His Chevrolet Super Sport will carry the Boilermaker seal on its wrap, and the seal adorns Backes’ fire suit as well. ARCA racing is sanctioned by NASCAR, and the ARCA Menards Series is a feeder series for NASCAR. Backes has been racing since he was 11 years old. He’s raced in IHRA Drag racing and in The NASCAR dirt series. He hopes to add the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series to his repertoire next year. “We are constantly looking for new ways to attract and recruit the next generation of union Boilermakers,” said International President Timothy Simmons. “This ARCA Menards series is an incredible opportunity to introduce many racing fans to a new career path in the Boilermakers.”  Backes’ upcoming Boilermaker-sponsored races will be in Bristol, Tennessee; Kansas City, Kansas; and Phoenix, Arizona.    — Aug 7
  • 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 30 YEARS — Ralph Flores 25 YEARS — Mark Howard LOCAL 5 • FLORAL PARK NY 30 YEARS — Lester E. Blauvelt, Nicolas J. Carusone, Todd Lawton 25 YEARS — Joseph R. Gerwitz, Paul A. Gorman Jr., Daryl J. Hess, Christopher J. Sereno 20 YEARS — Michael Bauer 15 YEARS — Michael Charles, Nicholas M. DePolo, Gabriel L. Gladney,  Peter M. Houck LOCAL 13 • PHILADELPHIA 45 YEARS — Francis M. Andes, Richard Babcock Sr., David W. Bailey, David D. Bryan, John A. Carlisle, Kieran R. Carlisle, Dom Catrambone III, Dorsey J. Cluck, William Coleman,  John M. Cool, Robert W. Cooper Jr., Mark A. DiPaolo, John J. Enright, Gary D. Evans, Terry L. Freeman, Christian Geosits, Richard W. Gresko, Anthony W. Gurnari, Michael Impagliazzo, Jeffrey Kacmar, David J. Kondraski, William R. Krause, Ronald G. Macort, Mark E. Mangan, James E. Pearson, Robert J. Phillips, Bart J. Rowley III,  Roberto G. Sanchez, Dale R. Schaffner Sr., Dennis M. Smolar, Louis Tarnalicki, William C. Tatem, Guy M. Thibault,  Randy A. Wagner, George J. Wills Sr., Thomas H. Wright Jr. 40 YEARS — John E. Clark Jr., Joseph R. Demeter 35 YEARS — Jeffrey S. Berkey, Robert Condon, Earl Gordon III, Edward R. Storz, Michael A. Wiernusz, Michael J. Wozniak 30 YEARS — John G. Becker, Craig S. Chervanik, Frederick Denecke Jr., John C. Deputy, Andrew A. Euster, Richard Kelley, Richard M. Mallon Jr., Brian F. McCormack, James J. Monahan, Philip Sacchetti Jr., Lisa Stickley, Mark A. Timberg, Art Welcher  25 YEARS — Michael Angstadt, Richard Babcock Jr., Kristoffer Bailey, Michael P. Bray, Raymond J. Camp, Dominic Capitolo,  Joseph Colavita, Kris Coole, Ansel H. Coombs, Michael L. Crawford, Andrew Detwiler, Stephen F. Dymeck, Gene W. Faulls, Raymond J. Frantz, Mike Golphin,  James R. Green, David T. Gushue, Dean Hines, David M. Huffman, Stan M. Jankowski, James F. Jennings, John W. Kitchenman, Michael Kostecky Jr., Corey D. Laber, Daniel A. Long, Charles Long Jr., Joseph Mackiewicz,  Gerald E. Miller, William Monahan, Daniel Morris,  Thomas Neumane III, Joseph C. Newell, John A. Norton,  Shawn J. O’Malley, Brian M. Orio, Brian Pennington,  Davis L. Perry, Mark W. Pilger, Charles A. Premich,  Joel M. Ricahrdson, Todd M. Robinson, Francis J. Shickora, Robert J. Shipe, Paul Shiptoski, Kenneth G. Timmons,  Martin Williams Jr. 20 YEARS — Burton Blanch Jr., James Flanagan IV, Colin P. Geraci, Leonard G. Geraci, Wesley A. Jackson, Ryan Mahoney, Michael D. Patton, Brian Yanick 15 YEARS — Jo Bassininsky Sr., Patrick Bocchicchio, Kevin Boyle, Michael R. Cloeren, Michael Coyle, Frank T. Doerr Jr., Dominic J. Ferraiolo, James Gemignani, Nathan Guisewite, John P. Jones, Benjamin Kershner, Ernie G. Olavage, John R. Olear, William Rutherford, Gregory Shoback LOCAL 60 • PEORIA IL 60 YEARS — Harold Toureene 50 YEARS — Bruce Wheetley LOCAL 83 • KANSAS CITY MO 65 YEARS — Leonard M. Grimm 60 YEARS — Clinton A. Bevitt 55 YEARS — Leon M. Boydston, Lyle S. Clark, Cliff M. Rickard 50 YEARS — Johnny Armstrong, Richard Hendrickson, Harrell D. Lay, Richard R. Smith, Joseph S. Thoos 45 YEARS — Joseph F. Bowen, Earl L. Raney, Terry L. Schillig,  Michael Branstetter 40 YEARS — Shelby R. Cason, Mary J. Faulk, C. Keith Jordan,  Kenneth A. Marshall, Nicki G. Reeves 35 YEARS — Thomas D. Brant III, Tin T. Nguyen, Can Van Tran 30 YEARS — Wade F. Anschutz, Yen Nguyen, Terry Norris 25 YEARS — Brian V. Crider, Gregory P. Devereux, Martin R. Finley, Jason Hagler, Charles L. Hartquist, Jeffery R. Johnston, Randy J. Kalleck, Eugene T. Kinser, Carl Luttrull, Jim Martin, Ryan Oliveira, Tim Penry, Travis A. Shawn, Edward C. Teel, Richard Wentworth Jr. 20 YEARS  — Stephen R. Admire, Bill R. Brant, Earl Christine, Ronald E. Cole, Jeff Gehle, Aaron Haberer, William R. Harding, William L. Kling, Jesse D. Sandstrom, Randy J. Seely, Trung N. Tran 15 YEARS — Elton L. Bell, Tony B. Bradbury, Nicholas D. Cash, Eric Devney, Daniel C. Ewigman, Luke Lindsay, Angel Perez-Gonzalez,  Khiet H. Phan, Vladimir Shimko, Michael S. Storiale LOCAL 108 • BESSEMER AL 35 YEARS — Richard A. Perry 30 YEARS — Vernon Hadley, Wilmer D. Morris 25 YEARS — Jason W. Edmonds, Richard E. Edmonds Jr., Benny A. Eubanks, James B. Johnson Jr., Weston A. Nelson, Jonathan D. Payton, Dennis W. Pierce, John Ed Strenth III 20 YEARS — Clayton W. Butler, Sam J. Everette Jr., Brian S. Garrison, Lincoln M. Graham Sr., Shane L. Stinson 15 YEARS — Charles B. Potter LOCAL 614 • NEW LONDON CT 30 YEARS — Jeffrey Jordan LOCAL 647 • MINNEAPOLIS 70 YEARS — Robert G. Peterson 65 YEARS — Jack Tueck 60 YEARS — Curtis Kragero 55 YEARS — Howe Berlyn, Duane Carlson, Jack Eilefson, James Hedeen, Douglas Sargent, Roger Thomas 50 YEARS — David Bearinger, Hilla Bernard, Neil Cedergren, Randy Duke, Robert Folk, Gene O. Johnson, Leslie Klemetson, Rick Leinus, Terry Lind, Gene Miller, Allan Pietsch, James Peitz, Daniel Schultz, Paul Severson, Randy Tate, Randall Vosberg, Steve Waletko 45 YEARS — Curtis Bendickson, Lawrence Bill Jr., Robert Bistodeau, Elmer Bohn, Charles Drenth, George Fluey Jr., Mark Grewatz, Kenneth Gross, Kevin Knettel, Peter Leither, Thomas Niernhausen, Gerald Rabideaux, Darcy Sailer, Dwayne Tate 40 YEARS — Lloyd Ballman, Daniel Condon, Mark Dahlstrom, Bryan Fritz, Roger Olofson, Joseph Powers, James Rickard Sr. 35 YEARS — Gary Bartz, Gary Bee, David Fluey, Scott Hanson, Kory Olson, Jackson Stahlberg, John Steckler, Gary Szczur, Ferris Wiens 30 YEARS — Chris Chouinard, Jason Cook, Scott Grew, Scott Martin, Joseph Mittelsteadt 25 YEARS — Brent Abrahamson,  Scott Baker,  Matthew Bignell,  Chad Blonigen, Travis Dockter, Nick Duffing,  Gary J. Holter, Arlyn Olander 20 YEARS — Tony Donahue, Steven Forsberg, Timothy Gordon,  Craig Heath, Richard Langer, Nathan Rinerson,  David Strauss, Joseph Wiederich, Richard Zeman 15 YEARS — Daniel Amborn, Trey Bodensteiner, William Hietalati, Josh Loebs, Warren Ortenblad, Roy Rasch, Corey Roper, Randy Roundy, Mitch Tooke, Michael Weberg — Aug 6
  • L-105 raises $10,000 for local hospice
    Local 105 (Chillicothe, Ohio) raised $10,000 for Southern Ohio Medical Center Hospice in the lodge’s 30th annual golf tournament on May 24. The 25 teams participated in the outing hosted at the Elk’s Country Club in McDermott, Ohio.  "This year, we were fortunate enough to give Hospice a donation of $10,000, the largest donation we have ever given them. We are very thankful for everyone involved with this event and hope to keep it going for many years to come," said L-105 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Ledford. The donation, raised by the tournament and through the generosity of sponsors and volunteers, supports the vital work of SOMC Hospice in providing care to patients and their loved ones throughout Southern Ohio. — Jul 24
  • Urgent: Take action to protect Tennessee Valley Authority from privatization
    Breaking News Since 1933, the Boilermakers have been working with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build and maintain the infrastructure that powers the South. What began as a New Deal hydroelectric-focused endeavor has evolved over the past 90 years to coal, natural gas, nuclear and a planned, first-in-the-nation nuclear fusion generation facility. The generating assets within the TVA are diverse and efficient, delivering power to millions of southern households across seven states, powering the southern economy and stabilizing the national electric grid.  TVA is a federally owned power authority that has been operating in partnership with the IBB for nearly 100 years, producing millions of man-hours for generations. Since the Obama administration, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to privatize TVA. There are strong rumors that the Trump administration is considering privatization of TVA, meaning they would sell off the generating assets and infrastructure to the highest bidder, jeopardizing millions of Boilermaker man-hours. Additionally, privatizing TVA’s assets would cost families who live in the TVA jurisdiction an estimated additional $50 a month on their utility bill—a cost most working families cannot afford. Below is the Boilermakers' official statement urging against privatization of TVA. Boilermakers are strongly encouraged to contact their U.S. Senators using this action page link, which can and should be shared widely. The link will take you to an easy form that will automatically contact your Senator with a letter. It only takes a minute. This will help Boilermakers working on TVA projects and remind Washington that Boilermakers power America.   Boilermakers' official statement on privatization of the Tennessee Valley Authority  Kansas City, Mo. (July 23, 2025) — Following is the official statement of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, issued by International President Timothy Simmons, regarding U.S. Senate consideration of privatization of the Tennessee Valley Authority We urge the Senate to slow down any attempt to privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority, as any such effort would have devastating effects across the South and our nation.  Through the hard work of thousands of Boilermakers, TVA has been efficiently and effectively powering the South for over 90 years, building and maintaining a diverse portfolio of power generation assets across seven states. Disrupting TVA’s service to the South would, in turn, disrupt the nation, stalling out our ability to meet increasing power demands further stressed by the need to support the ever-evolving AI technology sector. In its current practice, TVA generates power that is affordable for every family and stabilizes the nation’s power grid. This is a classic case of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”  All Boilermakers are encouraged to contact their U.S. Senators using this action link. View the full statement PDF — Jul 23