MEMBER RESOURCES.
For more member information and updates, click the button to access our Members Portal.
Learn More About Online Heavy Equipment Classes for High School Students
Welcome to the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 website. My name is Jason George and I am the elected Business Manager/Financial Secretary for the Union. Local 49 was formed in 1927, and we have a proud tradition of fighting for the rights of workers in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. We represent heavy equipment operators/mechanics and stationary engineers that work in the following industries:
During the last few decades in which organized labor has been under attack across the nation, Local 49 has managed to grow, and we are now at a membership of 14,000 active members strong. We are one of the largest trade unions in our region. We are also part of the 400,000 member strong International Union of Operating Engineers with Local Unions covering the United States and Canada.
Local 49 negotiates and enforces large private construction agreements that cover thousands of workers and hundreds of employers. We are proud to partner with one person firms, as well as some of the largest construction companies in America.
Local 49 also negotiates and enforces hundreds of stand alone private and public agreements representing shops as small as 2 people, and as large as 700. We represent workers under nationwide agreements in pipeline construction and maintenance as well. We are a large Local with a diverse membership that touches every aspect of infrastructure in our region.
Local 49 also provides world class benefits to our members. In conjunction with our employer partners we manage one of the largest privately funded health care plans in the region providing health care for more than 38,000 people that includes our members, their spouses, and dependents. We also partner with our employers to provide the best heavy equipment training in the industry, spending millions of dollars per year on direct training, all privately funded. Our Local and our employer partners, are the largest contributor to the 2nd largest Pension fund in America, the IUOE Central Pension Fund. Our Pension Fund is 95% funded and currently has zero withdrawal liability.
Our members are the most highly skilled workers in all industries they work in. Local 49 has earned respect in these industries among workers, within the business community, and within the political and regulatory arena. We are active, we are mobilized, and we stand together.
Local 49 has a long history and our members are very proud of their Union. Local 49 members are respected across the nation for their work ethic and skill. Our members build and maintain the infrastructure of this region and nation, and it is truly an honor to work for them.
For more member information and updates, click the button to access our Members Portal.
Do you want to earn wages and benefits that afford you a good lifestyle without racking up student loan debt?
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Do you have skills as a heavy equipment operator but aren’t getting paid what you deserve or lack benefits?
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Do you want your job to have meaning, and to help build our country?
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If you answered yes to any of these questions – becoming a member of our Union is the future you are looking for.
Local 49 is now hiring for a Public Employee Business Agent position based in St. Cloud. View the job description and requirements here. To apply for this position, you MUST…
READ MORELocal 49 received 47 completed scholarship applications this year from a diverse and competitive group of individuals. Ten grants were awarded for $2,500 each, up from $1,000 in previous years….
READ MOREConnie Smallman, a Local 49 member and operating engineer with Kraus-Anderson, won the Outstanding Craftswoman category in Finance & Commerce’s 2022 Top Women in Construction Awards last week. Read more…
READ MOREA longtime member and business agent’s commitment to Local 49 is having a ripple effect beyond his lifetime. When Jack Guy, of Gilbert, Minnesota, died just before his 90th birthday…
READ MOREUPDATE: Connie Smallman was named the winner in the Outstanding Craftswoman category. As a young girl, Connie Smallman learned to use power tools and, with her dad’s help, built her…
READ MORELocal 49 thanks Minnesota Congressman Pete Stauber for backing much-needed updates to the Davis-Bacon Act regulations that will directly benefit operating engineers. Approved in 1931, the Davis-Bacon Act requires contractors…
READ MORELearn more about our non-partisan approach to politics, and what IUOE Local 49 is doing to create jobs and protect our collective bargaining rights.
LEARN MOREAt Local 49’s Training Center we are committed to the best possible educational opportunities for members of IUOE Local 49
VISIT PAGEThe Operating Engineers Local 49 Health and Welfare Fund is a self funded multi-employer health plan with approximately 38,000 participants. The Fund is overseen by a board of trustees made up of both Labor and Management.
VISIT PAGEWe have updated our wage rates.
Find current rates here.