Heat & Frost Insulators Local 19 — Milwaukee

Jurisdiction

Milwaukee metropolitan area and Eastern Wisconsin — Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, and Racine counties

Local 19 organizes the Heat & Frost Insulators across the Milwaukee industrial region — the historic capital of American brewing and heavy equipment manufacturing. Members were dispatched to the major breweries (Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz), the Allis-Chalmers tractor and turbine works, the A.O. Smith Corporation manufacturing complex, Harley-Davidson, the major paper mills of the Fox River Valley to the north, and the network of We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service generating stations.

For state-specific filing deadlines, primary courts, and the full jobsite catalog within the Local’s territory, see the partner state archive:

Notable workplaces in Local 19 territory

Through the asbestos era (roughly 1920s through early 1980s), Local 19 members were dispatched to facilities throughout the jurisdiction — many of which are now documented in federal NESHAP filings, state regulatory databases, and public asbestos litigation records. Major workplaces in the Local 19 historical territory included:

Miller Brewing Milwaukee · Pabst Brewing · Schlitz Brewing · Allis-Chalmers Milwaukee tractor and turbine works · A.O. Smith Corporation · Harley-Davidson Capitol Drive · Allen-Bradley · Briggs & Stratton · We Energies/WEPCO Oak Creek, Pleasant Prairie, Port Washington, Edgewater generating stations · Point Beach Nuclear · the Fox River paper mills (Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble Green Bay) · the major Milwaukee hospitals · Marquette University.

These are categories of workplace, not an exhaustive list. Local 19 dispatch records held by the Local’s business office contain the specific job-by-job assignments for individual members. For an active or retired member pursuing an asbestos claim, those dispatch records are typically the foundational evidence establishing which jobsites the member was on and when.

Why this Local matters for asbestos claims

The Milwaukee brewery and heavy-equipment manufacturing complex was one of the most extensively insulated industrial regions in the country. Local 19 members worked thousands of insulator-hours at facilities now documented in federal NESHAP filings.

Products Local 19 insulators handled

Insulators in any jurisdiction worked the same general categories of asbestos-containing products through the asbestos era. The specific manufacturers varied by region, contract, and decade:

  • Pipe covering — Magnesia, calcium silicate, fiberglass-asbestos blends (Owens-Corning Kaylo, Johns-Manville Magnesia, Pittsburgh Corning Unibestos)
  • Block insulation — Calcium silicate or 85% magnesia block (details on AsbestosIndex)
  • Insulating cement — Dry-mixed asbestos cement, hand-applied to joints and irregular fittings — historically the highest-fiber-release product insulators handled
  • Refractory products — High-temperature furnace and boiler linings (refractory brick)
  • Gaskets and packing — Flange gaskets, valve packing (Garlock, John Crane, Anchor Packing)
  • Asbestos cloth and millboard — Outer wrapping, fire blankets, jacketing
  • Spray fireproofing — W.R. Grace Monokote and competitor products applied to structural steel

See the Asbestos Products page for the full catalog of products documented in insulator-era exposure.

If you or a family member is a Local 19 insulator

You have one of the most-documented exposure histories of any trade in U.S. occupational-health research. The medical literature has tracked your trade specifically since the 1960s. Your union health funds have actuarial data going back decades. The manufacturers that supplied your jobsites have funded over $30 billion in asbestos bankruptcy trust funds — many of which are still paying claims.

Free, confidential case review with an attorney experienced in insulator asbestos cases:

(314) 588-0558 — O’Brien Law Firm

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.

This page documents the historical context of Local 19’s jurisdiction in asbestos exposure research. It is not produced by or endorsed by the International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators and Allied Workers or Local 19. Information is drawn from public asbestos litigation records, federal NESHAP filings, state regulatory databases, and public industry-publication histories. Rights Watch Media Group LLC is an independent media publisher; O’Brien Law Firm is the editorial sponsor of this site.