International Operating Engineer - Winter 2018

International Operating Engineer
(ISSN 0020-8159) is published by the:
International Union of
Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO
1125 17 th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
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above). Include your new address,
registration and local union number.
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International Union of Operating Engineers
AFL-CIO
general officers
James T. Callahan, General President
Brian E. Hickey, General Secretary-Treasurer
Jerry Kalmar, First Vice President
Russell E. Burns, Second Vice President
James M. Sweeney, Third Vice President
Robert T. Heenan, Fourth Vice President
Daniel J. McGraw, Fifth Vice President
Daren Konopaski, Sixth Vice President
Michael Gallagher, Seventh Vice President
Greg Lalevee, Eighth Vice President
Terrance E. McGowan, Ninth Vice President
Mark Maierle, Tenth Vice President
Randy Griffin, Eleventh Vice President
Douglas W. Stockwell, Twelfth Vice President
Ronald J. Sikorski, Thirteenth Vice President
James T. Kunz, Jr., Fourteenth Vice President
Got Big
News
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from Your
Local
We want to
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trustees
Kuba J. Brown, Chairman
Joseph F. Shanahan, Trustee
Edward J. Curly, Trustee
Brian Cochrane, Trustee
William Lynn, Trustee
International Operating Engineer
appreciates the stories and
photos we receive from
local affiliates throughout
North America. Send us your
submissions or ideas for stories
you would like us to consider.
Send your submissions, plus
photos (digital images are
preferred), to Jay Lederer
at jlederer@iuoe.org, or mail
1125 Seventeenth Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C., 20036
From the General President
DURING THE TWO WEEKS that
the Olympic games were contested,
millions caught a glimpse of some of
the most talented athletes in the world.
What they didn’t see is that they are
also the best trained in their field. Just
like the seemingly effortless pick by a
crane operator or the smooth new road
left in the wake of a road crew, most
people don’t think about the hours
spent perfecting those skills.
Training is what makes IUOE
equipment operators and stationary
engineers the first choice among
owners, contractors and building
management companies. Right now,
IUOE members are in demand like
never before. Our pre-apprenticeship,
joint apprenticeship, pipeline and
stationary training programs are
flooded with applications, steadily
adding new equipment and expanding
training opportunities.
The amount of work and increasing
demand for skilled Operating
Engineers makes the Great Recession
seem like a distant nightmare. But it
wasn’t that long ago that we had over
twenty-percent unemployment in
construction.
During those down years, we also
endured a barrage of coordinated and
well-funded attacks on labor unions.
They blamed working people with
collectively bargained contracts for our
nation’s economic misery. They used
their political muscle to pass ‘right to
work’ laws and repealed prevailing
wage protections at every opportunity.
They divided working people.
Now that we are in the midst of an
economic and building boom cycle,
these same opponents say things like
“skills gap” and “worker shortage”
to further their anti-union agenda.
They have also called for expanding
temporary foreign worker visas to fill
the so-called gaps. And they continue
to divide working people.
They are scam artists and can’t
have it both ways. They can’t cut
wage standards and then yell “worker
shortage.” They can’t call for more
apprenticeships, while defunding
programs that would expand them.
And they can’t revoke legal work status
for immigrants who have acquired
skills and hold union cards here, so
they can replace them with temporary
workers with no rights at lower rates.
We must not let them divide us
anymore.
The fight back has begun where it
should, at the grassroots. In state and
local elections and at county council
meetings and legislative committee
hearings, working people, including
many IUOE members, are stepping up.
Working-class candidate and proud
Local 68 member Dahlia Vertreese was
recently elected Mayor of Hillside, New
Jersey. The Sussex County Council in
Delaware listened to the organized
opposition of their union constituents
and voted down a ‘right to work’
ordinance. And Locals 101, 148 and
513 helped lead a successful statewide
petition drive in Missouri to put
a repeal of ‘right to work’ on the ballot
later this year.
I applaud those who have decided
to take a stand and fight back in the
political arena. We need more folks
like these. A simple check-in with
your Local at a membership meeting
or through a phone call or e-mail will
get you plugged into the efforts in your
community.
In addition, we should continue to
showcase what we do and how great
we do it. I have been fortunate to
travel throughout the International,
visiting Locals and seeing first-hand
the value we bring through our training
programs.
Many locals already hold annual
or semi-annual open houses to
allow public officials, industry
representatives, and thousands of
[James T. Callahan]
young people to see us in action.
Others go out to recruit at job fairs and
career days. These events engage our
local communities and put a positive
face on our members, our union and
our movement.
The surge of new Operating
Engineers entering the trade and
moving through our various training
programs is coming at an important
time. We are not only building the next
generation of Operating Engineers,
but we have a chance to build another
generation of union activists. I know
many members share their experience
and expertise with these mostly young
men and women. Take a minute to
share some union wisdom too.
The systematic weakening of
our collective bargaining rights and
prevailing wage standards is a serious
threat. We won’t reverse the damage in
one election or one legislative session.
But little by little, we can stop this race
to the bottom.
Thank you for the work you do each
and every day. Thank you for taking the
time to mentor a new member. Thank
you for stepping up in your community
to serve. We have an opportunity
to make positive change this year.
Working together, I know we will.
Work safe.
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
WINTER 2018 5