International Operating Engineer - Fall 2019

Stationary Engineers
Providing a Quality Learning Environment
Starts in the Boiler Room
EVEN IN THE predawn shadows,
the school looms large over the park
across the street. Not only because
of its size - Western International
High School with its three-story
brick exterior is certainly massive
- but because of the community it
serves. Western, deep in the heart
of Southwest Detroit, is the most
culturally diverse public high school
in Detroit, with over 2,000 students.
So when Operating Engineers Local
324 member and steward Ben Gibson
enters the dark halls before 6:00 am to
begin his workday, eh is well-aware of
the impact it has.
Gibson goes through a narrow
wooden door and descends several
staircases, travels down a short hall,
and enters the cavernous boiler room.
Originally built to house the massive
coal boilers required to heat the
school, there is more space now. The
more modern, natural gas boilers are
certainly more space efficient, if still
massive.
When the weather gets cooler,
Gibson starts up the boilers, gets
them up to steam, and checks that it
is running right. Today, we’re in one
of those famous Michigan Indian
Summers, so he passes the boilers and
moves to his quiet office, where he goes
through his checklist for the day. In a
few hours, the halls will be teaming
with kids, and making sure they have
the best environment to learn is what
Gibson wants to ensure.
There will be messages and
requests, items around the school that
need attention. Ben Gibson prides
himself on doing it all. Western has
boilers for heating, and HVAC for
cooling. It also houses a full pool that
needs to be maintained. But that’s not
where it ends – he can be found doing
anything needed, from changing light
bulbs to fixing leaks.
Gibson makes a list and gets to
work.
Further north, in the Barton-
McFarland neighborhood in
Detroit, fellow Local 324 Stationary
Engineer and Steward John Strolger
is doing similar things to get David L.
Mackenzie Elementary-Middle School
ready for class. Strolger is new to this
school, coming over after spending
the last 7 of his 38-year career as an
Operator at Nolan Elementary-Middle
School. Mackenzie is a newer school,
built in the last few years, and Strolger
is using his accumulated knowledge to
familiarize himself with the facilities
and fix a few nagging issues.
A drainage issue has been a
nuisance of late, so he puts on boots,
and heads outside to see why water has
been accumulating in an area beside
the staff parking lot. Later in the day,
he will be showing Sharanae Marion
around – she will be joining staff as an
Engineer trainee herself and working
with him at the school. She has recently
finished her certifications, and Strolger
is looking forward to the help.
Combined, Gibson and Strolger
have 80 years of experience as Operating
Engineers, but they are just two of the
dozens of Local 324 members working
for GDI Integrated Facility Services in
Detroit Public Schools. When both
hired in, the Detroit Board of Education
oversaw Engineers in the facilities, but
it has long since been handed over to
private companies to manage.
GDI oversees the building
maintenance, operation and even
cleaning. Additionally, their new
partnership with Local 324 in the most
recent contract includes an investment
in training, one that both Stewards
agree is one of the most valuable things
they can receive. Having both come
through IUOE apprenticeships, they
both testify to the value of education.
And after decades of service, both
speak highly and freely about the
advantages of being a part of a union.
Gibson started his career 40 years
ago and has worked in the Detroit
Public Schools the entire time. Over
the years he has served as a Steward,
was active in both Locals 547 and,
after the merger, 324, and seen many
changes.
“A school like this used to have five
or six Engineers,” he explains, “but
as the years went by and financial
situations being what they were, it’s
usually much fewer now. It used to be
all about boilers. Some had 24-hour
crews. And of course, HVAC. Now, it’s
about everything.”
Gibson shares duties with Kevin
Bennett, who has been with Local 324
for three years. Bennett also Engineers
at the nearby Amelia Earhart School.
“We’re like firemen – some days,
there’s not much to do. But a lot of days
we spend running around putting out
fires.”
Strolger’s path has been similar. In
1980, he was working as a custodian
for Detroit Public Schools and noticed
a group of guys who seemed more
relaxed than he was and asked what
they did for the school.
“They said they were the Stationary
Engineers. I wanted to know how they
got their job and what they did. They
said, ‘they don’t pay me for what I do,
they pay me for what I know,” Strolger
laughs. “So I figured I wanted to know
what they knew. I had never even been
in a boiler room!”
Like Gibson, he joined the
Apprenticeship program with what was
then Local 547, and upon graduation,
started working for the City of Detroit
on fountains, pools and in the city
marina. When the opportunity arose,
he went over to DPS.
Both credit their Apprenticeships
for helping them become the
Engineers they are today. “It makes
a difference in skills, in knowledge,
in education,” says Gibson, but adds,
“and professionalism. When you can
be trained by the best engineers, you
learn how to be professional.” Gibson,
who also works part time at both MGM
Casino and the University of Detroit
Dental School, shares what he tells
young Operating Engineers when he
talks to them.
“Reputation is everything. The
better your reputation is, the better
opportunities you are going to get.”
Strolger adds the importance of
lifelong learning. “I never stopped
taking classes, learning new things.”
With the new contract between GDI
and Local 324, he intends to use his
stewardship to help younger Engineers
by “sharing the knowledge” he’s gained.
Both are proud of their long
careers, and of the work they and their
coworkers do daily. They are also
thankful for their union, and for unions
in general.
“My family is union. Both my
daughters are UAW. My wife was CWA
at AT&T before she retired. The union
has been very good to me. I’ve had a
fruitful career, and I’ve enjoyed it.”
Gibson breaks out in a grin. “I still
enjoy it!”
Gibson shares a joke he feels
explains a lot. In it, a baker, a carpenter
and an Engineer are sentenced to
death by the guillotine. The baker
puts his head in, but the contraption
doesn’t work, and he is freed. The
carpenter does the same, but again it
jams, and he too is let go. The Engineer
is brought up to the device, but before
they do anything else, he turns to the
executioner.
“You know, I can fix that.”
For Strolger, what he does is easy to
explain.
“I check, I maintain, and I operate
my equipment. Daily. That’s what I do.
I am an Operating Engineer.”
[article & photos]
Dan McKernan, IUOE Local 324
14 INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
FALL 2019 15