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MEMORANDUM

To:       All U.S. Business Managers

From:   James T. Callahan, General President

Re:       Treasury Department Report on Benefits of Unions to the U.S. Economy

The Biden administration, through the Treasury Department, issued the first-of-its- kind report and confirmed what the Operating Engineers and organized labor have always known: strong unions benefit all workers, not only union members, and contribute to a more robust and resilient economy. The new report from the Treasury Department outlines the important role unions play in addressing the challenges faced by the American middle class by:

• Raising the wages of union members by about 20 percent across the economy compared to non-union workers. For the construction industry, the “union difference” is even bigger! In 2022, workers represented by construction unions earned $1,319 a week compared to weekly earnings of $976 for non- union workers. That’s a dramatic difference of over 35%!

• Improving fringe benefits like health care and retirement, as well as workplace procedures, such as grievance policies and predictable scheduling. Delivering health care benefits for union members and their families reduces the “army of the uninsured” and keeps working people from relying on taxpayer-supported health care.

• Creating a fairer economy that reduces inequality. As unionization has gone down since the 1950s, inequality has gone up. Unions also promote equality through anti-discrimination policy and setting wages without regard to race, sex, or other potential biases.

• Generating “spillover effects” that extend well beyond union workers. Competition means workers at nonunionized firms see increased wages too. Unions advocate for workplace safety and other public policies (like Davis- Bacon prevailing wages) that can pull up standards in whole industries.
   

The AFL-CIO and labor friendly think tanks have been promoting the benefits of unions for generations, but having the credibility of the Department of Treasury advocate for unions supports our cause. It is another demonstration of President Biden making good on his commitment to be the most pro-union president in American history.

Polling by the AFL-CIO also shows that unions have over a 70% approval rating with the general public, and 88% of workers under 30 support unions. It truly is a great time for the Operating Engineers to seize the moment.

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IUOE Applauds the Biden Administration’s Leadership to Update Prevailing Wage Rules

WASHINGTON, DC — The following statement was issued by James T. Callahan, General President of the International Union of Operating Engineers, in support of the Department of Labor’s final rule to update Davis-Bacon Act regulations:

“The Operating Engineers applaud the Biden administration for taking decisive action to reduce rampant wage theft from workers on federal construction projects. Thousands of workers are cheated every year on projects funded by taxpayers. In 2017 alone, nearly 8,000 workers were victims of wage theft. Stealing workers’ wages also harms the federal taxpayer and the community where the project is located.
It must stop.

The system of Davis-Bacon prevailing wages is one of the key pillars that created the great American middle class. Unfortunately, years of neglect and systematic attacks chipped away at that pillar, making it weaker and weaker.

The Biden administration’s update and modernization of the regulations will turn the corner. Updating Davis-Bacon Act regulations will strengthen the middle class. It will improve enforcement, reduce cheating, and ensure taxpayers obtain the quality craftmanship that they deserve. In short, it protects taxpayers.

The timing is critical. It has been 40 years since DOL last updated the regulations. With the once-in-a-generation Biden infrastructure law generating record employment in construction, surpassing 7.9 million construction jobs for the first time in American history, modernizing the rules to reduce fraud will improve integrity of the billions of dollars of construction activity funded by the federal government.

Operating Engineers look forward to rebuilding America with an updated prevailing wage regulation. Thank you, President Biden and Vice President Harris, for this overdue modernization of a key law for construction workers and this pillar of the American middle class.”

The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) represents over 400,000 working people across the United States and Canada. Members of the IUOE are primarily operating engineers, who work as heavy equipment and crane operators, pipeliners, mechanics, and surveyors in the construction industry, and stationary engineers, who work in operations and maintenance in building and industrial complexes.