[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 48 (Thursday, April 11, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE 110TH ANNIVERSARY OF BOILERMAKERS LOCAL 363

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                         HON. WILLIAM L. ENYART

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 11, 2013

  Mr. ENYART. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me 
in honoring the 110th anniversary of the Boilermakers Local 363 of East 
St. Louis, Illinois.
  By the late 19th century many of the skilled craftsmen who powered 
the Industrial Revolution were seeking to improve pay and working 
conditions through the formation of unions. Workers in the boilermaker 
and iron ship building trades had formed a union in Chicago as had 
boilermakers in Atlanta. These two organizations would merge in 1893 to 
form the International Brotherhood of Boiler Makers and Iron Ship 
Builders and, on March 22, 1903, Local 363 in East St. Louis, Illinois 
received its charter.
  Over the years the Boilermakers Union would continue to grow and 
diversify as other related trade unions merged with it. A Helpers 
Division was added in 1902 and Blacksmiths and Drop Forgers merged in 
1954. In 1984, the United Cement, Lime, Gypsum and Allied Workers 
merged, to be followed, in 1994, by the Stove, Furnace and Allied 
Appliance Workers. The Metal Polishers, Buffers and Platers would merge 
in 1996. As a result of these many mergers, the name of the union is 
now the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, 
Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers.
  Membership in the union grew in the 20th century as the needs for the 
skilled labor grew. At the dawn of the century, membership was about 
8,500 but had grown to over 350,000 by the end of World War II in the 
mid-1940s. There are currently 534 members in Local 363.
  Local 363 has always realized that its responsibility to its members 
also extends to those members' community. The list of organizations 
that have been assisted by the local's support include: the United Way, 
Special Olympics, the Illinois Cancer Society and the Boy Scouts.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 
leadership and members of Boilermakers Local 363 as they celebrate 
their 110th anniversary and to wish them continued success in the 
future.

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