ABSTRACT
Despite the highly skilled nature of the hoisting and portable and stationary engineer crafts and despite the union’s desire to present itself as a ready source of skilled workers, the IUOE was notably reluctant to follow the lead of most craft unions in developing formal apprenticeship programs. A union functioning in an industry of stable employment could leave training to the employer, the individual, or to the community. Once the majority of an establishment’s employees signified in an NLRB election their preference for a union as their collective bargaining representative, it really did not matter that there were other potential employees available who were as capable of doing the jobs as the incumbent employees (although that fact might encourage an employer to hire replacements during an economic strike). But in a high turnover situation like construction, an employer with access to skilled labor outside the union could soon dissipate a union majority and had little reason to accede to union demands. The IUOE was dependent on the skills of its members, but there were difficulties in the apprentice route and alternatives to it.
