What the Operating Engineers can do to make you a Competitive Union Contractor

Managing today’s employment needs requires considerable time and money for recruitment, screening and training of additional employees as your workload increases. The applicants "off the street" often lack the motivation or the necessary skills to adapt to your needs in a timely manner.

The International Union of Operating Engineers celebrated its 100^th anniversary recently and has had an active part in the building and development of the State of Texas. Operating Engineers Local 450 has three offices and represents over 100 operators in the State of Texas, which allows for a network of dispatching to your firm anywhere in the state.

On a national level, the parent organization, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO represents over 100 local unions with approximately 400,000 members in the United States. If your company is involved in multi-state operations, you can contact any of the locals, thereby giving you access to the same skilled craftsmen as you have experienced in Texas.

As you review this site, note the many ways labor and management can work together to meet your needs today and into the 21^st century.

Operating Engineers Local 450 desires to establish a working relationship with your Company. You have assurance that these pages are only meant to explore our new programs and find ways to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship. Any discussions or electronic messages concerning this site are not to be construed that the Company has engaged in bargaining with the Union.

The Operating Engineers has, in our research of companies in Texas, identified the following areas that affect your bottom line and concern your operations. We would like to make your company aware of the programs and services we offer to address these concerns and serve as a basis for future discussions. Areas of discussion would include:

1. Full Term & Project Only Agreements

1. Full Term Agreements
2. This is a collective bargaining agreement between certain individual contractors and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 450 governing work, conditions and wages in the State of Texas for a specific length of time. This agreement is based on the competitive rates negotiated by the Operation Engineers and the general contractors for the area.
3. Project Agreements

1. Safety & Health
2. Safety is a cost item when bidding work. Industrial injuries and health problems can eliminate the bottom line profit for a job. Our people are trained to work safely. They have received training from individual contractors in the past. The Operating Engineers also offer an extensive safety and awareness training course at our training center.
3. Availability and Portability of Employees

1. The Operating Engineers Local 450 has people available for immediate dispatch to your job sites with one phone call to the local area office. Each of our offices maintain a list of operators with the skills required to complete your project in a timely manner.
2. A Texas firm may utilize its own operators throughout the State of Texas without interference or restriction from the Union. Companies outside of Texas desiring to perform work within the State of Texas may also use their own operators. However, there shall be a pre-job conference held to determine the ratio of out-of-state company operators to Texas operators.

1. Flexibility of Jurisdiction
2. One concern of many contractors is jurisdictional problems between crafts. This concern is raised both in the assignment of work as well as keeping a crew productive.

   The Operating Engineers and the other Building Trades Unions have a good working relationship here in the State of Texas. We believe that our relationship here is as good, if not better, than the relationships anywhere in the country. We have long agreed that each craft has a history of what work we are most productive doing. We do not claim their work, nor they ours.

3. Training
4. The Operating Engineers has training for both the Apprenticeship Program as well as for Journeyman upgrading their skills. Some of the course offered are Excavation Standards Training, First Aid, HAZMAT along with HAZMAT refresher and CDL testing.
5. Apprenticeship Program
6. The Local 550 training program is registered with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT), U.S. Department of Labor. The Texas Journeyman and Apprentice Training for Operating Engineers is a joint effort with the contractors that have collective bargaining agreements with the Union. Together, we train qualified men and women to safely and efficiently handle heavy machines so the construction industry can be assured that a pool of skilled workers will be available for future construction projects.
7. Operating Engineers Pension Plan
8. The International Union of Operating Engineers Central Pension Fund has numerous ways to earn credits for a retirement pension. It is possible for employees to earn Credited Past Service, Credited Future Service & Military Service. These credits could be granted based on records from past hours worked per year for each individual. Some employees could be eligible for "Vesting Past Service" provided they has at least one hour of service reported to the Fund after January 1, 1989. A copy of the current plan is available for your review.
9. Operating Engineers Health & Welfare Fund
10. The Operating Engineers Health & Welfare Fund was established and is maintained by a Joint Labor-Management Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is divided equally between Employer Trustees appointed by employer representatives and Employee Trustees appointed by the participating unions. The Board of Trustees has engaged Associated Third Party Administrators to perform the daily administration of the Plan.

    Eligibility for the benefits provided by the Plan is earned under the hour bank. The hour bank system under which hours reported by Contributing Employer are accumulated for the Active Employee’s credit in an hour bank account, much in the same manner as funds accumulated in a savings account.

    The Plan provides family coverage for employee and their dependents and includes comprehensive medical benefits, with an aggressive lifetime maximum of $500,000.00, life insurance, prescription drug benefits and vision benefits. There is a network of PPO doctors and hospitals which enable the employees to save on his/her health care cost. A Summary Plan Description is available upon request.

    The Operating Engineers is able to provide medical coverage for all of your non-bargaining unit personnel. This coverage would be identical to the coverage provided to your operators.

11. Operating Engineers & Contractors Labor-Management Cooperation Trust Fund

As Operating Engineers, we believe in order to insure our signatory contractors continue to be competitive in today’s marketplace, Labor and Management must be partners. Through better cooperation, we can better overcome the hurdles of contracting in today’s economy. With this thought in mind, the Operating Engineers International Union has developed our LMC program.

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We would like to have an opportunity to make a no obligation presentation to you and/or your representatives and provide any additional information you might desire. We firmly believe that a partnership between your firm and the International Union of Operating Engineers can help you meet your present and future needs enabling you to maintain a competitive place in the construction industry.