About Local 49 - History

IUOE Local 49 was formed in 1927. Today we are more than 13,000 men and women in Minnesota, North and South Dakota with contracts for highway/heavy and building contractors, well drillers, equipment repair shops, welding shops, sand and gravel suppliers, counties, municipalities, hospitals, school districts, cemeteries, and more.

Our philosophy is very simple. We believe that all workers are entitled to a fair and just share of America's wealth. Trade Unions exist because workers want a fair share of the wealth their labor produces. We are not organized to be a social club or to build the prestige of individuals: Our sole and only purpose is to advance the welfare of workers and working families.

Our mission is equally simple. Our founders realized that In Unity There Is Strength. Unionized workers pledge to work together maintaining and improving their wages, benefits and working conditions through collective bargaining. Only through unity can a trade union successfully fulfill its purpose and provide all workers the dignity, security and respect they deserve. Our mission, as stated in our Constitution is, "to organize all persons working in the jurisdiction of this International Union without regard to race, creed, color, sex, religion, age, or national origin."