This is the next post in our series that will take a deeper look at each of our affiliates. The series will run weekly until we’ve covered all 63 of our affiliates. Next up are the Boilermakers (IBB).
Name of Union: International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
Mission: Uniting members across multiple industries and occupations in the union’s common endeavor of improving each other’s lives and lifestyles through union representation.
Current Leadership of Union: Timothy Simmons serves as international president. He began his Boilermaker career on a boiler outage in 1999, working out of Boilermakers Local 108, in Birmingham, Alabama, at the Alabama Power Miller Steam Plant. He has served as a Local 108 business agent/secretary treasurer, District Lodge 3 officer, director of National Recruitment Services, director of Construction Division Services and assistant to the international president. In October 2022, the International Executive Council voted unanimously to elect Simmons to fill the international vice president Southeast vacancy, effective Feb. 1, 2023, upon the retirement of Warren Fairley. Fairley briefly came out of retirement to serve the union as international president during a time of transition. Upon his final retirement in August 2024, the International Executive Council elected Simmons to serve as international president.
Clinton Penny serves as international secretary-treasurer, and the Boilermakers have five international vice presidents: J. Tom Baca (Western States), John Fultz (Northeast), Arnie Stadnick (Canada), Dan Sulivan (Great Lakes) and Jeff Campbell (Southeast).
Current Number of Members: More than 60,000
Members Work in: Constructing and repairing electric power plants, refineries, and pulp, paper and steel mills; building naval ships and commercial tankers; repairing locomotives; making cement; mining coal, gypsum and talc; forging tools for industry; and making consumer goods.
Industries Represented: Heavy industry, shipbuilding, manufacturing, railroads, cement, mining and others.
History: The Boilermakers are one of the oldest unions in the country, rising out of the Industrial Revolution’s demand for steam power in 1880. The Boilermakers have been a part of many major events in American history, helping to build structural sections of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis; the machinery to make the Panama Canal; the world’s first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus; the USS New York amphibious transport dock (which includes steel from the Twin Towers); military ships and various submarines; nuclear, gas-fired and advanced coal-fired power plants; and the aluminum-based fuel for the space shuttle’s solid rocket boosters. The Boilermakers had been headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas, since 1893, and moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in 2024. There are now more than 200 Boilermaker local lodges across North America.
Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: The Boilermaker Reporter provides news and information useful to workers in the industry. The Boilermakers have established national funds for pensions, health and welfare, and an annuity trust. They also provide education and training, including one of the best apprentice programs in the country, and are partners in an award-winning alliance with construction industry contractors and owners, resulting in innovations for improved safety, manpower availability, training and cost savings.