International Union of Operating Engineers

Want to join an elite membership of skilled craftsmen and women who are trained to be the best? Looking for a defined benefit pension? Excellent healthcare for you and your family? A generous annuity plan? If you answered “Yes”, then the IUOE’s equipment operator apprenticeship is right for you.

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More Than Excellent Wages

Our Apprentices Have An Opportunity To Build A Career In The Construction Trades

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Learn With The Best

West Virginia was one of the first states to require CCO certification in their crane certification law and Local 132 was the first location in the country to host an N.C.C.C.O. (National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators) practical exam. Training includes: training on various pieces of equipment, Crane and Rigging, CDL, Excavation & Trenching, GPS Dozer/Grader, and Pipeline.

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Earn While You Learn

Certified WV Equipment Operators are in high demand across the United States. As an apprentice with the IUOE Local 132 you will develop industry skills while you earn top wages and enjoy excellent benefits, including: Competitive Wages, Defined Benefit Pension Plans, Health Insurance, plus HAZMAT, CPR/First Aid, and 10-hour OSHA Construction Safety certifications. Training is provided at no cost to apprentices.

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Unlock Your Future

The IUOE and our contractor partners are deeply committed to addressing the workforce needs of WV’s construction industry, but we can’t do it without YOU! Our apprenticeships pave the path to a thriving career in the construction trades, offering boundless opportunities for personal and professional growth. Unlock your future as an equipment operator with the IUOE.

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Join A Brotherhood Of Skilled Craftsmen & Women

The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), is a progressive, diversified trades union that primarily represents Operating Engineers – those construction workers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, and surveyors in the construction industry, and Stationary Engineers, who union members who work in operations and maintenance in building and industrial complexes, and in the service industries. The IUOE also represents nurses and other health industry workers as well as significant numbers of public employees engaged in a wide variety of occupations.

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Our History

On May 1, 1935, ten men organized and filed for a charter under the banner of the International Union of Operating Engineers. This was the formation of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 132, Charleston, West Virginia. By the end of the year, there were 34 members. There were 2,718 members in Local 132 entering the year 2000.

What We Do

The men and women of the Operating Engineers operate and maintain various types of power-driven construction machines, such as bulldozers, cranes, pile drivers, power shovels, derricks, earth graders, loaders, and tractors which dig, scrape, and move great amounts of earth or hoist large quantities of building supplies. Operating Engineers may also be required to service their machines and move the machine from one construction site to another.

WV Operating Engineers Union Jurisdiction Map

Work Anywhere In West Virginia

The IUOE Local 132 covers all 55 counties throughout the state of West Virginia. Local 132’s training facility is conveniently located north of Charleston, West Virginia off Interstate 77 at the Medina Exit #154, containing 230 acres of mountainous terrain that is ideally suited for training. The facility has four full-time instructors who guide both apprentices and journeymen through training on various pieces of equipment.

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