After just three months of a formal organizing campaign, workers at General Dynamics NASSCO in Bremerton, Washington, voted 24-12 in August, saying yes to joining the Boilermakers. The campaign’s success was part of a strategy that began with groundwork laid months earlier, seeded initially by NASSCO worker Robert Futch.
Futch knew the value of a union. He is a third-generation union man, worked 14 years as an Ironworker and, most recently, was a Local 104 (Seattle) Boilermaker at Pacific Ship Repair & Fabrication Inc. before it went bankrupt.— Sep 4
A milestone in maritime history was marked on Armed Forces Day, May 21, 1960, with the christening of the super carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey. Members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers now shuttered Lodge 801 were on hand to share in the spotlight and excitement along with many distinguished guests.— Sep 3
When politicians support the issues that benefit Boilermakers, Boilermakers support politicians. That’s why when Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, who is running for reelection, invited Carlos Brooks and Edwin Allen Jr. to attend a recent event in Macon, Georgia, they showed up.— Aug 27
Workers at Ash Grove Cement in Midlothian, Texas, voted 65-25 in favor of unionizing with the Boilermakers after a swift organizing campaign that began just a month ago.
The rapid success of the campaign is especially remarkable in a notoriously anti-union, right-to-work state like Texas. Carlos Brooks, Southeast Organizing Coordinator, M.O.R.E Work Investment Fund, gives credit to the Ash Grove workers.— Aug 21
In March, the Department of Homeland Security waived the Jones Act at the Defense Department’s request after the Strait of Hormuz closed and energy prices spiked. It is the broadest waiver since 1950 and covers roughly 670 categories of energy and agricultural goods. The waiver allows foreign-built, foreign-flagged and foreign-crewed ships to carry cargo between American ports. It was extended in April, then extended again Aug. 17.— Aug 20
