Heat & Frost Insulators Local 37 — Evansville

Jurisdiction

Southwest Indiana, Western Kentucky, and Southern Illinois — Evansville IN, the Ohio River corridor across to Kentucky, and the southern Illinois coal-fields region

Local 37 organizes the Heat & Frost Insulators across the tri-state Ohio River corridor of Southwest Indiana, Western Kentucky, and Southern Illinois. Members worked the Vectren/CenterPoint Energy generating stations, the major aluminum smelters of the Ohio River valley, the Mead Johnson pharmaceutical complex, and the coal-fired power plants that dominated the region’s industrial era.

For state-specific filing deadlines, primary courts, and the per-state jobsite catalogs across the Local’s multi-state jurisdiction, see the partner state archives:

Notable workplaces in Local 37 territory

Through the asbestos era (roughly 1920s through early 1980s), Local 37 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 37 historical territory included:

Alcoa Warrick (Newburgh IN) · Vectren/CenterPoint A.B. Brown and F.B. Culley generating stations (Indiana side) · Big Rivers Electric Wilson and Coleman stations (Kentucky side) · Tennessee Valley Authority Shawnee Fossil (Illinois side) · Mead Johnson Evansville · the major Evansville hospitals · Whirlpool Evansville · the Ohio River barge and rail infrastructure.

These are categories of workplace, not an exhaustive list. Local 37 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

Local 37’s tri-state jurisdiction creates important strategic considerations for cross-state insulator careers. Indiana 2-year SOL, Kentucky 1-year SOL, Illinois 2-year SOL — the choice of where to file can be significant. The Ohio River industrial corridor was one of the most heavily insulated regions of the country.

Products Local 37 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 37 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 37’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 37. 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.