HR0609 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0609 LRB102 23459 ECR 32633 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Working conditions for construction and stationary workers in the late 1800s were appalling; their wages for 60-to-90-hour work weeks were equally miserable, and benefits were practically non-existent; and

WHEREAS, In an effort to change those conditions, eleven pioneering individuals met in Chicago on December 7, 1896 to form the National Union of Steam Engineers of America; and

WHEREAS, A year later, the first Canadian workers joined the fledgling union; to reflect this expansion across the border, the union's name was changed to the International Union of Steam Engineers; and

WHEREAS, Members of the union flocked to San Francisco to rebuild that majestic city after it was turned to rubble in the earthquake of 1906; thousands of operating engineers also moved mountains in the next few years while digging the Panama Canal; and

WHEREAS, As steam-driven construction became widespread across the U.S., more and more construction workers joined, and the union changed its name at its 1912 convention to reflect this new composition in the first decade of the new century, becoming the International Union of Steam and Operating Engineers; and

WHEREAS, As members began working with internal combustion engines, electric motors, hydraulic machinery, and refrigerating systems as well as steam boilers and engines, the word "steam" was dropped from the union's name, and in 1928, it became the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE); and

WHEREAS, As the organization progressed, it attracted workers from the public sector, making it a truly diverse trade union; and

WHEREAS, Passage of the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, which guaranteed construction workers' wage rates on federally financed projects, helped the union weather the after-effects of the Great Depression and maintain its progress; and

WHEREAS, IUOE would later see thousands of its members contribute to America's war efforts as members of the U.S. Navy's Seabees; the Seabees were skilled construction men who built bases, airfields, and roads in war zones, including the beaches of Europe, the DMZ of Korea, and the jungles of Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, IUOE's growth and progress was fueled greatly at the end of World War II when the Federal Highway Trust Program came into existence, creating thousands of jobs for operating engineers; and

WHEREAS, In the following decades, the union persevered through boom times and lean times and is still going strong today; and

WHEREAS, Projects that are critical to Illinois' commercial, education, transportation, health, energy, and logistics systems are built by and are monuments to the skills of the members of the IUOE; and

WHEREAS, IUOE is building a better tomorrow for its members and all American and Canadian citizens, and Illinois plays an important role in the leadership of the organization; James M. Sweeney, local 150 President-Business Manager, is the General Secretary Treasurer of the IUOE, serving in the second highest office in the International Union; in addition, operating engineers have been vocal supporters of infrastructure modernization and currently work statewide on projects funded by the Rebuild Illinois capital plan; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 on its 125-year anniversary; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to IUOE, Local 150 as a symbol of our esteem and respect.