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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
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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
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Boilermakers win Nichiha vote to unionize Over the weekend, workers at Nichiha in Macon, Georgia, voted in favor of unionizing with the Boilermakers union. More than 250 workers turned out for the vote, with 55% voting “yes” for the union. Nichiha manufactures fiber cement siding panels that are primarily used in residential construction. Southeast Area Organizer Carlos Brooks led organizing efforts, which began several months ago. Among his organizing tactics, he used texting and social media campaigns, as well as fliers and other visual material. Most importantly, Brooks and others maintained a Boilermaker presence at the Nichiha facility to talk with workers and answer questions. “This was a highly vocal campaign,” Brooks said. “I spent significant time at the gates and responding to employees’ concerns via text messages.” He said that throughout the campaign workers raised serious concerns about their work environment, including promised raises that were never delivered, unsafe and extremely hot working conditions, unfair promotion practices and more. Nichiha’s attempts to discredit the Boilermakers union failed. “The success of this campaign was led by Brother Brooks and assisted by Erica Stewart (Diversity Organizer and Recruiting Coordinator, M.O.R.E. WIF),” said Don Hamric, Executive Director-ISO/Director of Research and Collective Bargaining. “They used their years of experience as union leaders to listen to the employees’ grievances and offered suggestions on how to combat those grievances.” Several Boilermakers from Brooks’ home local, L-D23 (Clinchfield, Georgia), also assisted with the campaign: Retiree Milton Taylor, Secretary-Treasurer Edwin Allen, Jr. and Trustee Chairman Riccardo Askew. “Ultimately, Nichiha workers’ unity and determination made this win possible,” Brooks said. “It’s a milestone that will shape a better future for them and their families, and it’s the beginning of positive changes ahead.” The Nichiha win comes on the heels of a recent victory Brooks led organizing Sherwin-Williams in Birmingham, Alabama, a campaign he began simultaneously with the Nichiha campaign and another still in the works at Trojan Battery in Stonecrest, Georgia. The M.O.R.E. Work Investment Fund has supported these organizing efforts. “I’m excited about the future of our union and the futures of these workers who are joining us as Boilermaker brothers and sisters,” Brooks said. “This organizing work makes me proud to be a union Boilermaker. These are more hard-working Americans who will have the voice on the job they deserve.” — Jul 14
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The state of our union: Pressing forward on a better path It is no secret that our union has been through some trying times. I don’t need to go further on what has transpired in our industries, our world and even within our own union over the past few years; we all lived through these things together. The Boilermakers union is no stranger to challenges and change. Time and again in our history, when industry innovations have threatened to make our crafts obsolete, we too have innovated and risen to greet new opportunities and evolve. Time and again in our history, when external or internal issues have shaken us, we have rolled up our sleeves, set differences aside, rallied, regrouped and refocused on what’s right and good for our union and the men and women we call brothers and sisters. Time and again, we have come through these trials stronger; we have made difficult and necessary changes; and we have pressed forward, set forth on a better path. That is where we find ourselves today. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is secure, it is prosperous and it is growing. For the first time in many years, we have had successful organizing campaigns, with multiple campaigns currently in progress throughout the country. We are hiring recruiters nationwide to build our Boilermaker workforce. We are aggressively going after work we may have lost in the past—and in new industries where our craft belongs but has not yet been. We have restructured our organization, and as a result, we are leaner, we are meaner and we are more financially sound than we have been in five years. We are working together and implementing better programs and better processes. We are innovating the way we promote our union and more nimbly seizing improvements and new problem-solving approaches. We are data driven. And we have changed. We are focused on the people we are obligated to serve: the members. You. The Boilermakers who work 1,000 feet up on the top of a stack. The Boilermakers who, right now, are crawling through an economizer. The Boilermakers who got up before the sun this morning to mill talc or make cement. The Boilermakers who drive forklifts third shift in manufacturing warehouses, who get greasy repairing locomotives, who contort themselves into the tightest corners of the sweltering inner-bottoms to weld the keel of a U.S. Navy vessel. The Boilermakers who keep the U.S. and Canada going. It bears repeating: We are working together, all of us—because the better we, as a union, work together, the better our union can serve the members we represent. That is the state of our union today. We have come a long way and we’re in good shape. I’m proud of where we are today and where we are going next. We cannot stagnate; we cannot—and we will not—stop. We must press forward. — Jul 8
- CSO highlights increased demand for union Boilermakers — Jul 3