Local Lodge 11 Honored with Coveted Charles W. Jones Award

Local Lodge 11 Honored with Coveted Charles W. Jones Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kansas City, KS (October 8, 2014) – MOST, the non-profit tripartite safety and training arm of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), presented the Charles W. Jones award to Local Lodge 11 (East Helena, Mont.) during the 2014 National Tripartite Alliance Conference held October 6-8 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Jess LaBuff, business manager/secretary-treasurer for Local Lodge 11, accepted the award on behalf of the lodge’s 190 members. “I am honored to accept this prestigious award on behalf of our hard-working members who spend countless hours of their own time to train and perfect our craft,” said LaBuff.

Chartered in 1982, the lodge has work jurisdiction for the state of Montana and maintains two training centers. One is located in East Helena, adjacent to the union hall and the second one, Spense Bensen Training Center, is located in Colstrip, Mont.

The Charles W. Jones award, designed to promote the use of MOST Programs, is presented annually to the local lodge. According to IBB International President Newton B. Jones, the award “encourages members to participate in MOST and continue achieving the highest levels of safety and training in the industry.”

President Jones presented the award during the 25th Anniversary of the MOST National Tripartite Alliance Conference on October 7, 2014. To win the national award, a local must have the highest percentage of members participating in seven of the 17 MOST programs: MOST OSHA 10/30 Program, MOST Common Arc Program, MOST Substance Abuse Program, MOST Scaffolding Program, MOST Steel Erection Program, MOST Rigging Program and MOST Leadership Program.

The award is named after the late Boilermakers’ International President Emeritus, Charles W. Jones, who led the effort to establish the national MOST labor-management trust fund in 1989, and vigorously pushed its expansion over the years. The award encourages the use of the MOST programs and rewards a local lodge and its members for their commitment to and participation in MOST. In addition to this recognition bestowed at the annual National Tripartite Alliance Conference, the local lodge recipient is presented with a cast silicon bronze statue depicting a 1930s-era Boilermaker holding a rivet gun. Members of Local 11 represent the fourth local to receive the award and recognition.