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Just in time for July 4, the International Union of Operating Engineers has called a strike after failing to agree on a new contract Friday. "It's safe to say the strike will affect hundreds of construction sites over the weekend," said Christopher O. Ward, the managing director of the contractors association told the Times.
Not only does this strike mean that high-profile projects like the foundation work for the Freedom Tower and the excavation of Water Tunnel No. 3 are on hold but hundreds of other projects across the city have lost momentum as well. Without the crane operators, or the Teamsters whose contract has also expired, it is incredibly difficult to run a construction site.
The main issue is the contractors' demand for productivity increases. Management officials say too many operating engineers do little work, asserting that many do little more than turn on and off lights and compressors.
...
Last Thursday, James. T. Callahan, president of Local 15, offered to sign interim agreements with contractors to allow work to continue at several of the largest, most important projects, like the Freedom Tower site.But Mr. Ward said the industry did not want to sign piecemeal, interim agreements, saying it instead wanted a citywide collective bargaining agreement.
And yet there is still hope that a deal can be reached before Wednesday so that not too much time will be lost (the July 4th weekend makes the crunch a little less painful). And in case you were wondering: The basic pay scale for operating engineers is $72.03 - $82.65 an hour.
Sunset Site by jShrued via Contribute.
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OK, how can I become an operating engineer?
$72-$82 an hour and some just turn off lights?!! Sweet!
sarc off.
Of course, we all get to pay for these cushy jobs by the extra amount we pay for buying or renting condos or office space. Sort of like the Mob tax on concrete and garbage disposal. Not that the teamsters give a damm.
Also, unless these people can design the crane they operate, they are operators not "engineers".
You know, I've always said that unions are for lazy people...the proof is in the pudding right here.
Are the guys in the no show job department on strike too? They gotta eat, too.
Just like everything else in life, the more important you are the more you get paid, regardless of the work you do. Without an operating engineer on a job site, nothing moves. No bricks, no elevators, no engines, no cranes, no bulldozers, NOTHING. They (I) get paid because it is a necessary job, and what we get paid is alot less than what these companies would lose if a job site is shut down. Also, in the hourly wages you see here, it does not mention how much is taken out of checks for benefits, training, and alot of other things. Also, training is very strict and the machines are very complicated to learn