Legislative & Political Affairs
Legislative and Political Affairs
The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) represents more than 410,000 skilled workers who build, operate, and maintain the infrastructure that powers the North American economy.
The IUOE Legislative and Political Department works every day collectively with our local unions. We unite the voices of our members on bread-and-butter economic issues at all levels of government, including Congress, federal agencies, state and local governments, and the Canadian national and provincial governments.
These critical issues include:
- Infrastructure Investments – creating jobs
- Prevailing Wages – protecting IUOE members’ living standards
- Health Care – promoting accessibility and affordability
- Worker Safety – ensuring protections on the job site
- Pensions and Retirement – ensuring a secure and dignified retirement
- Training – promoting skill development and enhancement
IUOE is focused on key federal priorities in the United States Congress, including reauthorizing the Surface Transportation Act and strengthening the Highway Trust Fund. Long-term infrastructure investment is essential to building and maintaining America’s roads, bridges, transit systems, energy projects, and other critical infrastructure—while protecting strong labor standards and supporting workforce training.
IUOE helps policymakers understand the growing role operating engineers play in the nation’s digital ecology. Our members build data centers and advanced infrastructure—and provide the skilled operations and critical facility maintenance that keep these systems running safely and efficiently 24/7.
Politics is just one tool for us to get jobs and improve the quality of life for our members and their families. We have to keep politicians accountable to our members, not just at election time but year-round.
IUOE depends on the work and cooperation of local unions, their leaders, and rank-and-file members to do the heavy lifting to influence public policy – participating in calls to action through our Engineers Action Response Network (EARN) and by electing candidates at the local, state, provincial, and federal levels, regardless of party affiliation, who support key IUOE interests.
IUOE operates the Engineers Political Education Committee (IUOE/EPEC). EPEC Voluntary is the federal political action committee of the International Union of Operating Engineers in the United States, which raises money through voluntary contributions from its members and their families. IUOE then uses these funds to elect candidates and incumbents who will support IUOE members’ interests on key issues in the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the White House
Sign up for updates at the Engineer Action Response Network (EARN).