The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)represents more than 400,000 members in 123 local unions across the U.S. and Canada, including operating engineers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, surveyors in the construction industry; stationary engineers in building and industrial maintenance; nurses and other health care workers; and public employees.

Our Local

Although we are a Stationary Engineer Local, many would be surprised at the diverse and varied kinds of work our union members perform. The Local represents members in school districts, zoos, hospitals and medical centers, food processing and distribution centers, city and county governments, laundries, property management organizations, and utility districts.

Each organization where we have members has its own unique rules, policies, and procedures which must be taken into account when labor agreements are negotiated; many of our union standards are common to all locations. The concept of seniority in job selection, promotion, lay-off, and recall is a concept we strive to achieve for all members, regardless of the type of organization in which they work. “Just cause” for discipline or discharge, equal employment, license requirements, holiday and vacation language, benefits, shift premiums, medical insurance language for members and their dependents, and pensions are benefits and topics that are common among most, if not all, of our groups.

Not all subjects of bargaining are created equal.  To some people, wage increases are more important than pension increases.  Others may value health care benefits more than either wages or pension.  Some may consider language regarding job security, contracting out, or seniority to be of primary importance.  The priorities are as many and varied as our membership.  Just as we do not value all subjects of bargaining the same, the law does not treat all subjects of bargaining the same.

   The courts have decided that some subjects of bargaining are mandatory, while others are permissive, and still others are illegal.  Mandatory subjects of bargaining are wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.  Permissive subjects of bargaining are those that are not mandatory, or in other words, those that are outside of the scope of wages, hours, and working conditions, and not illegal.  Illegal subjects of bargaining are those that conflict with either state or federal law.  Examples of mandatory subjects of bargaining are: wages, pension, health and welfare, hours, seniority, management rights, discipline, grievance procedures, and health and safety issues.  Examples of permissive subjects of bargaining are: definition of the bargaining unit, union-recognition clause, internal union affairs, and settlement of unfair labor practice charges.  Examples of illegal subjects of bargaining are: closed shop clauses and hot-cargo clauses.

   The law treats mandatory, permissive and illegal subjects of bargaining differently.  The difference comes into play when one party to the bargaining insists on a subject to impasse.  While there is a duty to bargain, there is not a duty to reach an agreement.  There is nothing illegal about an employer insisting on a mandatory subject of bargaining to impasse.  This is not so with permissive and/or illegal subjects of bargaining.  A party to a bargain commits an unfair labor practice when it insists to impasse on either a permissive or an illegal subject of bargaining.

   Not all subjects of bargaining are created equal.  Different people place different values on different subjects.  And the law requires us to bargain some subjects, and also makes it illegal to insist on bargaining others.

It is important to many Americans to secure a good union job with a wage that can support a family, provides health and welfare, and a good retirement.

   Many people in our society who are currently taking shots at public employee retirements forget that most public employees work for a lesser salary than their counterparts doing the same job in the private sector. Most times when people talk about those “huge” retirements, they are using the salaries of the highest earners in the public sector, such as large city managers, not the employees with union representation. The average public employee in Western Washington earns about $20 an hour. Let’s say an employee started working in the public sector 30 years ago for an employer participating in Washington’s Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), when they retire they will be making around $25,000 per year.  And public employees receive little-to-no health-care coverage as part of their retirement.

   A recent conversation got around to public employee retirements and it was said that, “We have to do something about all these huge public employee retirements; we just can’t afford them.” But it could not be determined where the information about public employee retirements was heard or who it was about exactly. Remember to consider the source when you hear information like this and to find out exactly who it is about.

   And let’s talk about the importance of employers keeping their promises and honoring their agreements and about how the government had stepped in to dismantle the airline pilots’ pensions and how unfair it was to deny retirements to people who had worked for them as part of their compensation packages. Think about the time in your life when you may not be able to work and need your retirement.

 “To remember the loneliness, the fear and the insecurity of men who once had to walk alone in huge factories, beside huge machines—to realize that labor unions have meant new dignity and pride to millions of our countrymen—human companionship on the job, and music in the home—to be able to see what larger pay checks mean, not to a man as an employee, but as a husband and as a father—to know these things is to understand what American labor means.”

Adlai Stevenson speech September 22, 1952

Not surprisingly, unions are very important to many Americans.  The difference in union jobs is that union positions pay better, have better hours, better benefits and do not always end in the dreaded layoffs that plagued families too many times.  More than that, union jobs give people a voice, so they are more inclined to participate in their own future, using the union to speak up to address wrongs that they witnessed by management done both to them and their fellow coworkers. 

    Some of the most important life lessons taught by unions are to value honesty, cooperation, reasonableness, and most importantly, personal and professional dignity or pride in a job well done.  It is believed all of these values are what makes belonging to a union so powerful. Unions help people to develop personally by investing in what they do professionally. 

   The National Labor Relations Board explains that the purpose of the creation of the National Labor Relations Act was to protect some of these core values.  “Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy.”  The key here is the idea that by working together, both the employees through their unions and management, we all can promote the values of working people which will benefit not only the employees and the employer, but also society as a whole.  Indeed, the AFL-CIO’s mission statement sums it up well when it states, “The mission of the AFL-CIO is to improve the lives of working families, and to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation.”  Notice that the AFL-CIO’s mission is not just for union members or union families, but to improve workplace rights for all people.

   What IUOE members need to realize is the difference between having a voice and being stifled in the workplace.  If you speak with some employees that are unorganized and work for non-union employers, you will notice that they have to accept whatever the employer gives them or risk losing their jobs.  However, you have the fortune of a collective bargaining agreement and union membership which means that you have a voice and you have rights.  The ability to have grievances filed on your behalf gives you rights, the ability to have the union to arbitrate grievances gives you rights, the ability to go to union meetings, vote and speak up gives you rights.  But you have to know your rights and take an active role in them.  You cannot take them for granted.

   It may be easy with the current middle class ideas of eight-hour workdays, weekends off, and improved wages to take for granted what many people fought for through the labor movement.  However, realize that nation-wide union memberships have declined significantly to around 11% in 2010 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Additionally, there are some powerful forces at play attempting to destroy the unions.  The answer to this problem is to be informed and get involved.

GET INVOLVED WITH YOUR UNION

If you want to keep what you have, every member needs to get active to preserve their rights. Union membership is about participating in what is happening within your bargaining unit.

By attending meetings, you get updated on things that are happening at your workplace, and information is shared on things that are being discussed at Labor/Management Meetings throughout the year at these meetings.

Generally, your shop stewards are there to be your first line of communication if something is not right within the workplace. Seek those stewards out if you find yourself being questioned about something you are being accused of, or if you believe you have a grievance. They are there to help you.

And, as always you can make a call to your business representative.

TIP:  Know your contract, and know your employee rights.

ORGANIZE!

SOLIDARITY

The Dictionary defines "Solidarity" as: union or fellowship arising from common responsibilities and interests, as between members of a group or between classes, peoples, etc.: to promote solidarity among union members.