Stove Workers, Metal Polishers Gather for SFEAW Conference
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Vol. 37 No. 6 the Boilerma k e r Nov • Dec 1998 The Official Publication of the In t e r national Br ot h e r hood of Bo i l e r makers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Re p o rt e r Helpers, AFL-CIO Stove Workers, Metal Polishers EL E C T I O N gather for SFEAW conference AN A LY S I S First conference for both Union voice parts of SFEAW Division gets heard emphasizes education High turnout of union L O C A L LODGE LEADERS f rom the families puts pro-worker Stove, Furnace, Energ y, and A l l i e d candidates in House Appliance Workers (SFEAW) division of the Boilermakers met at Paducah, UNION MEMBERSmade a critical Ky .’s Executive Inn on Oct. 23 and 24 to d i ff e rence in this year’s elections. discuss the state of their division and Nationwide, unions joined together learn ways to improve service to their to educate their members, get them members. Nearly 90 people from 26 reg i s t e r ed, and then make sure they local lodges attended the second voted. These efforts were successful. S F E AW conference – the first one to N u m e rous exit polls on election include members from the Metal day show that nearly one-fourth of Po l i s h e r s . all voters came from union house- Speeches, discussions, and work- Intl. Vice President Thomas Kemme opens the SFEAW Division Conference, with holds. More important, union voters shops provided opportunities for all Intl. Sec.-Treas. Jerry W il l b u r n (l.) and Intl. President Charles W. Jones by his side. w e re well informed on the candi- attenders to learn more about how the dates and voted for pro-worker can- International operates and what they bers get out the vote for candidates Mexico. Plant closings threaten the via- didates by a two-to-one margi n . can do to assist local lodges. Delegates who support our positions.” bility of the entire division. Experts had predicted that the had ample time to speak to Jones told members how much trade Intl. Secre t a r y - Tre a s u rer Jerry Z. Republican Party would gain a fili- International staff and discuss some of policy affects the SFEAW division. It is Willburn opened his remarks by prais- b u s t e r- p roof majority in the Senate the difficulties they are facing. d i fficult to bargain with a company ing the division for holding onto mem- and add 25-40 seats in the House, Intl. Pres. Charles W. Jones was the t h reatening to move your plant to Continued on page 3 giving the radical faction of that first speaker. He asked those assembled party the inside track on passing anti- to work hard to get out the vote for pro- worker legislation. worker candidates in the November But neither prediction panned out. elections. Harkening back to his own Tri p a r tite conferen c e Workers succeeded in voting out youth, he reminded the group of just two of labor’s most visible and vocal how recently the U.S. passed the laws opponents in the Senate, Al D’Amato establishing Social Security, the mini- keeps building steam (R-NY) and Lauch Faircloth (R-NC), mum wage, the 40-hour week, and and kept them from gaining any legalizing unions. All those laws were More than 300 owners, employers, & Boilermakers seats in that house. In the House of passed during the 1930s, in the midst of Re p r esentatives, pro-worker candi- the Great Depression. Now, many meet for productive three-way discussions dates picked up five seats, forc i n g members of Congress, most of them Speaker Newt Gingrich to step down Republicans, would like to do away THE TRIPA RTITE a p p roach to the officers who support them made and leaving the GOPin disarray. with all of those laws. a d d ressing issues within the boiler the first day of the conference sound N u m e rous state-level initiatives “W e need people in Washington who industries is gaining momentum. More like a Boilermaker testimonial. that would have harmed workers will fight for working people, not contractors and owners show up each International Vice President Michael we r e also rejected by voters, includ- against us,” he told the crowd. “We [the y e a r, and the ideas and cooperation Murphy welcomed guests and moder- ing an attempt in Oregon to silence International] are fighting hard for that result from these meetings contin- ated the conference, followed by open- un i o n s . your interests in Washington, but we ues to contribute to improvements in ing remarks from International The legacy of the 1998 elections can’t get anywhere unless our mem- s a f e t y, pro d u c t i v i t y, and Boilermaker Pr esident Charles W. Jones. remains unclear. The GOPstill con- ma n - h o u r s . I V P Newton B. Jones made the first tr ols both houses, and they still pro- This year’s tripartite conference in p resentation, updating members on mote an anti-worker agenda. But the Myrtle Beach, S.C., hosted 62 owner the Boilermaker Advantage marketing results show that unionized workers re p resentatives and re p re s e n t a t i v e s pr ogram. He showed the slide pres e n - have clout. Candidates ignore our f rom 70 dif f e rent contracting firms. tation he has developed to assist local votes at their own peril. Praise for the skilled work and can-do See page 8 for more. attitude of Boilermaker craftsmen and Continued on page 3 L-83 members build Davenport’ s biggest drye r Nearly 13 feet high and 100 feet long, this steam tube dr yer is largest in co m p a n y ’ s 115-year history WEIGHING IN AT466,000 pounds, this 12-foot, 10-inch by 100-foot stain- less steel steam tube dryer is the large s t rotary steam tube dryer in Davenport Machine’s 115-year history. It was built by Boilermakers, of course – out of Local 83, Kansas City, Mo. It took two 60-foot long flat rail cars with specially designed pivoting sad- dles to deliver the dryer. Located in Davenport, Iowa, the company employs 15 Local 83 mem- bers who produce dryers for the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, and mineral p rocessing industries. Chartered in It took two rail cars to deliver this 100-foot long steam tube dryer built by Local 83 1916, Local 83 has rep r esented employ- members in Davenport, Iowa. Photo submitted by L-83 member and shop ees at Davenport Machine since 1947. ❑ st e w a r d, Ken Ehlers. the Boilermaker Reporter 2 Nov • Dec 1998 H I S T O R Y IST Gilthorpe’s grandson makes donation to arch i v e s Thomas Gilthorpe “Gil” Reiling (r.), grandson of Intl. Sec.-Treas. William J. Gilthorpe (1894-1914) donates photos to Intl. Pres. Charles W. Jones (c.) and Archivist T om Wands for display at the Boilermakers National Archives in Kansas City. THOMAS GILTH O R P E “Gil” Reiling Ship Builders in 1894. He served 20 was only five years old in 1915, when years in this office, retiring in 1914. his grandfather, Intl. Secr e t a r y - Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1844, Tre a s u rer William J. Gilthorpe, died. Gilthorpe came to America with his But he still remembers his grandpa and b ro t h e r’s family in 1859. In 1860, he the Boilermakers union, where his became a boilermaker apprentice in m o t h e r, Clara Jane Gilthorpe Reiling, New Orleans. In 1865, he was one of 13 worked as his grandfather’s secret a r y . boilermakers working on vessels when In October 1998, Reiling donated they became engaged in battle at photos from his personal collection to Mobile Bay. Reiling remembers his the Boilermakers National A rc h i v e s . grandfather saying that he was so busy He and his wife, Mabel Anne (who working on the boiler that he didn’t passed away in 1994), had spent nearly realize he was in the middle of a battle! four years collecting these photos while Gilthorpe joined the local orga n i z a - gathering information for a family tree. tion of boilermakers in 1866 and was In return for Reiling’s donation, elected financial secretary in 1874. Boilermaker Ar chivist Tom Wands pre- Reading about the International sented him with copies of photos Bro t h e r hood of Boiler Makers and Iron a l ready in the A rchives’ files. He also Ship Builders in 1890, Gilthorpe con- made Reiling copies of biographical tacted the union and formed a branch information on his grandfather from a in New Orleans – Local Lodge 41, 1908 issue of the Boilermaker Journal wh e r e he served as rec o r ding and cor- and copied a charter that included Intl. respondence secret a r y . Se c . - T reas. Gilthorpe’s signature. Upon consolidation, Local 41 was Gilthorpe was elected international renamed Local Lodge 37. Local 37 se c re t a r y - t re a s u r er at the first consoli- Boilermakers continue to work in the dated convention of the International shop, construction, shipbuilding, and Bro t h e r hood of Boiler Makers and Iron marine industries.