Posts tagged International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
For first time in decades, Mountain Cement plant workers to vote for unionization
August 18, 2025 // This marks the first time since 1991 that a union election at the plant reached the threshold for a formal vote. Previous efforts failed to secure the 30% employee support required to trigger an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, which gives workers the chance to decide on union representation.
Boilermakers sue ex-president, demand he repay union nearly $500,000 he ‘misused’
August 3, 2025 // The Kansas City-based International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing the president it ousted two years ago, demanding that Newton Jones pay back nearly $500,000 of union money it says he misused. Filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the lawsuit says Jones has ignored the union’s order to reimburse the money he’s accused of taking.
Labor unions call on Trump to boost US shipbuilding against increasing Chinese dominance
February 20, 2025 // Last year under President Joe Biden, the unions filed a petition seeking to address China’s shipbuilding under Section 301 of the 1974 U.S. Trade Act, hoping to start a process by which tariffs and other measures could be enacted. The letter notes China manufactured more than 1,000 ocean-going vessels in 2023, while the United States made fewer than 10 ships. It adds that the Chinese shipbuilding industry received more than $100 billion in government support from 2010 to 2018, such that Chinese shipyards accounted for the majority of worldwide orders last year.
Union bosses across the nation cut large paychecks to family
January 9, 2025 // Every year, millions of dollars in dues paid by rank-and-file union members are collected by labor organizations and passed off to the family members of union bosses in the form of lucrative salaries, a Washington Examiner review of public records has found. Union bosses regularly employ close family relatives, such as children and spouses, in high-paying roles within their unions. Some of these roles pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. While union leadership has splurged on handsome salaries for their family members, and political expenditures intended to boost the Democratic Party, private union membership has continued its downward trend in recent years.
Opinion: Why union workers are abandoning the Democratic Party
October 15, 2024 // Scott Sauritch, the president of United Steelworkers Local 2227, drew significant public attention recently when he told a writer for the New Yorkerthat despite being a longtime Democrat, he would be voting for Donald Trump in November. He also said that most of the current rank-and-file members of the union planned on doing the same. “I don’t care what you see on TV,” Sauritch said. “The grunts in the lunchroom love Trump.”
Two former presidents among 7 Boilermakers union employees indicted for embezzlement
August 28, 2024 // “As alleged in the indictment, these defendants, including two former presidents of the Boilermakers Union, enriched themselves by spending millions of dollars in union funds for their own benefit, including for salary and benefits for no-show jobs, tuition, rent, luxury international travel, meals, vacation payouts, and unauthorized loans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Federal judge upholds ouster of Boilermakers union president by his own top executives
August 23, 2023 // In what he called a preliminary ruling from the bench, Chief Judge Eric F. Melgren, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, upheld a June 2 decision by the union’s top executives to remove Jones as president. “As of that day, Mr. Jones was removed from office,” Melgren said. The judge said he would issue a final, written ruling on the issue within the week. After the hearing, members of the union’s executive council said they’d unanimously elected former International Vice President Warren Fairley, who retired in February, to be the union’s new leader.
Kansas City, KS-based union in turmoil as execs head to court over president’s ouster
June 15, 2023 // The Kansas City, Kansas-based union filed a civil suit against three of its executives, requesting a temporary restraining order to prohibit the removal of International President Newton Jones after they issued a finding that Jones misused union funds for personal gain. Jones is refusing to step down, denying any wrongdoing and contending the officers had no authority to remove him. A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for 10 a.m. June 20 in the federal courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas. Chief Judge Eric F. Melgren, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, will hear the case. Jones, 69, also filed internal disciplinary charges against the three international vice presidents who removed him and another who brought forth the allegations, saying the four violated the union’s constitution. The remaining international vice president has sided with Jones against the others.
Looming rail strike could impact US economy ahead of holidays
November 17, 2022 // All 12 rail unions must approve their deals to prevent a strike, although no strike is imminent because all the unions have agreed to keep negotiating even if their members vote no, until a deadline early next month. Seven other unions have ratified the five-year deals that include 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. The focus now is on the three unions that have voted down their agreements and the remaining two that haven't finished voting.
Rail strike threat escalates as third union rejects deal
November 15, 2022 // The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) announced Monday its members voted against ratifying a tentative agreement with the major freight railroads, making IBB the third labor group to turn down the deal brokered by the Biden administration and upping the chances of a nationwide strike.