Founded in 1896, it currently represents roughly 400,000 workers in approximately 123 local unions and operates nearly 100 apprenticeship programs.

In 1896, 11 individuals met in Chicago and formed the National Union of Steam Engineers of America, the forerunner to the IUOE.

One year later, the organization began to admit Canadian members and changed its name to the International Union of Steam Engineers.

They also were part of many other important construction projects, including San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Chicago’s Sears Tower (renamed Willis Tower in 2009), Toronto’s CN Tower and Sky Dome (renamed Rogers Centre), New York’s Empire State Building and Holland Tunnel, the Statue of Liberty, Vancouver’s Lions Gate Bridge, the Alaskan pipeline, the Hoover Dam and countless others.

[5] The purpose of the ITEC is to provide hands-on training and education for union members in North America on new technologies and methodologies in construction such as excavation, drones, earthmoving, crane operation, mechanics, welding, and OSHA guidelines.

Additional industry partners include Lincoln Electric, Genie, DeWalt, Proto, Mac Tools, Lenox, John Deere, Caterpillar, Komatsu, and Simformotion.

The Local 49 Training Center located in Hinckley, Minnesota offers a comprehensive apprenticeship and educational program.

Local 49 has partnered with the Minnesota Virtual Academy to offer Operating Engineers pathway to high school students.

Students participating in the pathway will take a series of classes that will prepare them to enter Local 49’s Operating Engineers Apprenticeship Program.

[18] IUOE Local 99 is a Stationary Engineer union representing approximately 3,500 members in the DMV area, including Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and southern Maryland.

Based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Local 99 is under the leadership of Business Manager Donald Havard and President Frank Barile.

In 2013, IUOE Local 115, along with the BC Building Trades Union, had tried to overturn permits given to a Murray River coal mine near Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia to hire 201 Chinese temporary workers to work on a new mine owned by Chinese nationals.

Local 150 represents the most traditional Operating Engineers (Hoisting and Portable, Heavy-Highway, Building Trade, Quarry, Landfill, and Underground) employees in the International.

[26] Local 158, now comprising three united but semi-autonomous districts is led by Business Manager Jonathan Lanse, and based out of Glenmont, New York.

Members consist of traditional Operating Engineers (heavy-highway and bridge, building trade, quarry, road, river dredging and port work, oil and natural gas pipeline construction and maintenance, sand and gravel pits, asphalt and concrete plants, wind and solar construction, and more) and Stationary Engineers (building and facility operation and services such as custodial, security, HVAC, boiler, chiller, lighting, plumbing, welding, etc.

The three heavy equipment training centers, serving Washington, Idaho, and Alaska offer apprenticeship programs, and journey-level skill improvement courses.

[33] Local 825 covers New Jersey and the 'lower counties' (Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Sullivan and Delaware) of New York State.

[34] Local 877 is a Stationary Engineer union representing approximately 1,400 members and covers Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, and Vermont.