Introduction

In troubled times, despite declining membership, union members, especially those in craft unions, given reasonable choice, maintain allegiance to their organizations. The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), AFL-CIO, is composed of men and women who work as heavy equipment operators and mechanics in construction and related industries, and as the operators and maintainers of physical plant systems in factories, office buildings, hospitals, schools, and other facilities. The former are called “hoisting and portable engineers”; the latter are “stationary engineers.” As the quotations below indicate, IUOE members are fully capable of speaking for themselves, not only about their work but also about their union affiliation and the external conditions that affect their working lives. Excerpts from interviews with retirees and operating engineers currently working at the trade provide a vivid picture of the roller coaster ride IUOE members have experienced over the past thirty-three years, as well as what they consider the importance of union representation. As such, they provide an appropriate lead-in to a book that essentially tells their story.