We are members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers. Boilermakers have been working in Canada since the start of the industrial revolution in the early 1700s. The members of our union have been building the industrial landscape of Canada since the 1890s. Our trade is a major builder of today’s industrial revolution – in the shipyards, petrochemical plants, pulp mills, steel plants, steel fabrication shops, mines, power plants, cement plants and military bases. Boilermakers are involved in the fabrication, installation, maintenance, repair, inspection and operation of the equipment that keeps Canada’s economic engine moving forward.
As Boilermakers, we are required to be trained through apprenticeship programs as Boilermakers, steel fabricators, welders, millwrights or non-destructive technicians. Most members of our union have more than one qualification.
Canada’s Boilermakers union is founded on the principle that in a democracy, good unionism is good citizenship. The purpose of our union is to:
- implement the exercise of the natural right of workers to organize so they may more securely work with dignity;
- establish freedom and security;
- enable members to participate actively in self-government;
- unite in one International Brotherhood so that all workers are eligible for membership without discrimination on the basis of religion, race, creed, colour, national origin, age or sex;
- secure and improve wages, hours, working conditions, and other economic advantages for our members through collective bargaining and advancement of our standing in the community and in the labour movement.
We are here to work with the business community and different levels of government for the betterment of our industry and society.