International Operating Engineer - Summer 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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International Union of Operating Engineers
AFL-CIO
general officers
James T. Callahan, General President
Brian E. Hickey, General Secretary-Treasurer
Russell E. Burns, First Vice President
James M. Sweeney, Second Vice President
Robert T. Heenan, Third Vice President
Daniel J. McGraw, Fourth Vice President
Daren Konopaski, Fifth Vice President
Michael Gallagher, Sixth Vice President
Greg Lalevee, Seventh Vice President
Terrance E. McGowan, Eighth Vice President
Mark Maierle, Ninth Vice President
Randy Griffin, Tenth Vice President
Douglas W. Stockwell, Eleventh Vice President
Ronald J. Sikorski, Twelfth Vice President
James T. Kunz, Jr., Thirteenth Vice President
Edward J. Curly, Fourteenth Vice President
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Kuba J. Brown, Chairman
Brian Cochrane, Trustee
William Lynn, Trustee
Joshua VanDyke, Trustee
Barton Florence, 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
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Washington, D.C., 20036
From the General President
A WHIRLWIND OF spring activity
for our union has eased into a steady
and productive summer construction
season. A few weeks after adjourning
a very successful and energizing 39th
General Convention, we welcomed
hundreds of people to the new
International Training & Conference
Center for the official Grand Opening.
Brothers and sisters from around
the International joined busloads
of contractors, industry leaders and
equipment reps for a morning of
presentations, facility tours and an oldfashioned
Texas barbecue. Already,
the Training Center is buzzing with
activity, hosting an array of classes in
various H&P, Stationary and Pipeline
disciplines. New equipment keeps
being added and course offerings are
expanding. Members should look over
the class schedules at www.iuoe.org/
training and consult with their local
Training Directors to take advantage of
this world-class facility.
Our emphasis and expansion of
training opportunities is coming at the
perfect time for our union. Reports
from around the International say that
this will be one of the best years for
Operating Engineer man-hours this
decade and the federal government
figures are backing that up. According
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs
in the construction industry have
come roaring back, adding about 2
million since 2010. This past June, the
unemployment rate in construction
fell to 4.7% from a high of 27.1% in the
worst year of the recession.
To be sure, these are good times for
the Operating Engineers who build and
maintain North America. Our skills are
in high demand, but we still face serious
threats to our lives and livelihoods.
The enemies of unions and unionized
workers are pushing even harder as
some of their attacks on prevailing
wages, collective bargaining and safety
standards have found success recently.
Politics has become a four-letter
word in our hyper-partisan society
today. Most folks are so sickened by
all of the noise that they would rather
just tune out and not talk about it. That
is understandable, but dangerous. We
ignore it at our own peril. This struggle
has many fronts and we need to be
engaged because we all have a stake in
it.
As we go to print, our brothers and
sisters in Missouri are fighting to repeal
a so-called “right-to-work” law pushed
by corporate-financed, national antiunion
lobby groups. Our in-state
Locals have been heavily engaged, first
in gathering the signatures to put the
repeal on the ballot, and now knocking
on doors and making phone calls to
get every union member and every
member of their family out to vote. It is
hard, but necessary work if we are to be
successful. I know our members there
are fighting for every vote and leaving it
all out on the field of battle.
That level of activism is needed
in many more states and provinces
where we live, work and raise our
families. Local, state and federal
elections have a profound impact on
our profession. In the United States,
we have seen a systematic roll back of
labor and workplace safety standards
as the balance of power has shifted
to more conservative, managementfriendly
appointments at places like
the National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) and the Occupational Safety &
Health Administration (OSHA).
The most glaring recent example
was the Supreme Court decision in
Janus v. AFSCME. The appointment of
Justice Gorsuch after the last election
tilted the court decidedly right and
pro-business. Therefore, it was not
surprising that the ruling favored the
corporate “right-to-work” position,
forcing unions who bargain for public
employees to represent a worker at the
bargaining table or in a grievance even
[James T. Callahan]
if that employee does not pay dues or
agency fees.
The creation of a class of free
riders—those who benefit from union
contracts, but who don’t contribute
anything—is old-fashioned union
busting. The only way to turn this
around is to elect labor candidates
and create pro-labor majorities in
state legislatures and the Congress to
enshrine workers’ rights into law.
This takes time and commitment,
but most of all it takes engagement by
each one of us. Some will volunteer on
a campaign and others may even run
for office. But all of must participate in
our democracy and vote. And when we
do, we should prioritize our livelihoods
and workplace safety above all else. It
is our collective strength as one union,
spanning two countries, that creates
prosperity for all.
Enjoy the summer. Work safe.
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
SUMMER 2018 5