WHO WE ARE

About Us

Insulators Local 33 represents specialists in mechanical insulation and firestopping.  Our members receive the highest level of training and certification through our DOL recognized apprenticeship program. Recognized as the best in the industry, our members also receive industry-leading wages and benefits.

For more than 100 years, we’ve set the bar for certification and professional standards across the industry, delivering excellent results, on-time and on-budget.

Our members, in partnership with our contractors, help end users save money, reduce energy consumption, and avoid costly future mediations. Through up to date training, our members have current knowledge in state of the art industry techniques to ensure quality and customer satisfaction.

We’re proud to be the leading choice of colleges, hospitals, municipalities, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, commercial and residential developers, and more across the state of Connecticut.

Why Unions?

The freedom to form unions is a basic human right. In 1935, the US Government enacted the National Labor Relations Act that said, “Employees shall have the right to form…labor organizations…to bargain collectively…(and employers may not) interfere with…the exercise of…this right.” In 1948, the US joined four-fifths of United Nations member states to ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which included the right of all people to come together in unions.

Workers form unions because there is power in numbers. Where unions are strong, employers must bargain collectively to set the terms and conditions of employment. The demand for profits must then be compromised with fairness toward workers.

Leadership

SENIOR OFFICERS

Don Scoopo

Business Manager | Financial Secretary

John Hoey

President | Organizer

Nicholas Hoyt

Vice President 

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS

Richard Cellar

Paul Creech

Steve Lavoie

David Harrell

Francis Maloney

RECORDING SECRETARY

Peter Birrittella

SGT. AT ARMS

Carson Fournier

UNION TRUSTEES

Paul Creech

Rich Cellar

Nicholas Hoyt

APPRENTICESHIP

Don Scoopo

Apprenticeship Coordinator

Peter Birrittella & Richard Cellar

Instructors

FUNDS

Rodney Snipes

Funds Administrator

Don Scoopo

Funds Trustee

John Hoey

Funds Trustee

Francis Maloney

Funds Trustee

Nicholas Hoyt

Funds Trustee

Billy Karas

Funds Trustee

Peter Karas

Funds Trustee

INSULATORS LOCAL
33 HISTORY

In January 1913, J.E. Simonds, W.J. Jones, R.L. Chamberlain, E. Steinback, E.J. Kiley, A. Shoard and H. Schewinacker bound together in solidarity to form and become charter members of Local 33, Connecticut. From the foresight of our founding members, through the generations of fathers, uncles, brothers, and now, our sisters, Local 33 persevered through each decade. Even in challenging times, we have always remained loyal to our Local and the principles upon which it was founded. From the Great Depression, to the economic boom of the 50’s and 60’s, to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, we have endured every economic cycle and we remain strong.

Continuously advocating for better wages, benefits and working conditions and fulfilling the vision of our founders, subsequent generations were able to secure Pension, Healthcare, and Annuity plans. These benefits have provided our members a higher quality of life and a dignified retirement. We also established an Apprenticeship, Training and Education Program, which provides continued education for our members, and a pathway to a career in the trades. In partnership with our signatory contractors, through collective bargaining agreements, management and labor diligently fought to maintain and preserve all of our benefit plans.

Our contribution to the Country’s energy policy and lessening our dependency on foreign energy resources is often overlooked. Properly installed mechanical insulation greatly reduces energy consumption and the production of carbon dioxide. For over 100 years, our members have contributed to energy conversation helping preserve the environment for all to benefit.

From cement, canvas and asbestos to fiberglass and PVC jacketing, the Insulation Industry has evolved over the years. While the materials and applications have changed, one thing has remained a constant; the IAHFIAW was one of the first trade unions and remains at the forefront of green technology. Our degree of professionalism is our trademark, from insulating basic plumbing lines to installing insulation to the head of a nuclear reactor. We are proud of our profession and our contributions to an energy independent America.

The officers and members of Local 33 recognize those who came before us and the sacrifices they made that has contributed to our success for over 100 years. We understand that it is our responsibility to build upon the foundation they left us. As we look back on our history, we look forward to the future as we welcome new members to share in the continued growth of our organization.

International
History

The International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers (HFIAW or Insulators) is a trade union in the United States and Canada.
In 1903, Local No. 1, now known as Pipe Coverers Union No. 1, out of St. Louis sent out an invitation for other trades to join with them in an affiliation with the newly formed National Building Trades Council of America. The interested locals that responded to the call for the formation of a national union met for their first convention on July 7, 1903. Our constitution was drafted and approved, by-laws were adopted, A.J. Kennedy of Chicago was elected the first president of the organization, and an assessment of $1.00 per member was levied on each local union to pay expenses of the convention.

The following year a formal name was adopted: the National Association of Heat, Frost and General Insulators and Asbestos Workers of America. On September 22, 1904, the AFL issued an official charter designating the Asbestos Workers as a national union. AFL President Samuel Gompers signed the charter of affiliation for our international union on October 31, 1910 to represent our association with several Canadian locals.
Our second president, Joseph A. Mullaney, served in that capacity for 42 years from 1912-1954. Our union became affiliated with the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL on July 22, 1938.
Both World Wars created an economic boom for the construction industry and an urgent need for the skills of Insulator and Asbestos Worker craftsmen. Asbestos Workers played a crucial role in reconstruction of U.S. naval forces, including all but one of the major vessels sunk at Pearl Harbor.
After WWII, membership reached a pinnacle of just over 23,000 as existing local unions broadened their apprenticeship programs and opened their doors to new members. New local unions were chartered and our organization was poised for unprecedented expansion of the nation’s infrastructure in the decades to come.

By the 1980s, frightening new evidence had confirmed long-held suspicions that workers who were exposed to asbestos died in hugely disproportionate numbers from cancer. After many years of argument, industry and government denials and research supported by our own union, we were finally able to gain worldwide medical acceptance of the link between asbestos and disease. Thanks to our dedication and the leadership of the late General President Andrew Haas, the medical community, industry and government now recognize the danger and have adhered to union recommendations to establish, enact and enforce regulations to minimize such exposure to carcinogens in the future that are still used to this day.
For over 100 years our union has endured, through good times and bad, in peacetime and at war, through economic depression and prosperity, in favor and out of favor with governments and politicians. Through it all we not only have survived; we have flourished. We are one International Association made strong by our members’ dedication to excellence and to the highest traditions of trade unionism. This is the legacy we have been given and the legacy we wish to pass on to those who follow.

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