BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – County Road Commissions in both Oakland and Jackson counties have received new contracts, with significant gains in compensation, benefits, and workplace safety. Both Commissions are represented by Operating Engineers 324, after choosing the union in elections last year.
The Road Commission For Oakland County, comprised of approximately 220 skilled workers responsible for snow removal, road repairs, equipment maintenance, truck driving, and other jobs, voted to be represented by Operating Engineers 324 in April of last year. The 70+ members of the Jackson County Road Commission followed suit in October.
Jackson County ratified their new agreement in late June, and Oakland County followed in July, with the final approval coming from the Road Commission For Oakland County Board of Commissioners last week.
“We are proud to welcome these two great organizations and their hard-working members to our local,” said Ken Dombrow, Operating Engineers 324 President. “We worked hard side-by-side with each bargaining committee to get new contracts in place and were able to make significant improvements in their compensation, fringe benefits, but most importantly, to ensuring safer work environments and procedures.”
“We look forward to working closely with these workers and welcoming them to our training facilities to make their already-impressive skills even greater.”
“It has been my pleasure to get to know and work side by side with these new members in reaching a new contract,” said Operating Engineers 324 Business Representative Kevin Besonen. “The work they do every day is difficult but necessary, and the residents of their respective counties are better for having such great public employees working to keep their roads and infrastructure in good shape. This is the first contract in what I know will be a long and rewarding partnership.”
The Operating Engineers 324 Construction Career Center in Howell, Michigan is a 600-acre, state of the art facility training the next generation of Heavy Equipment Operators and Technicians. The members of Operating Engineers 324 have kept Michigan moving onward and upward for a century. With over 14,000 members, OE324 operate and repair the heavy machinery that propels construction on the roads, bridges, buildings, energy plants, pipelines, airports, and nearly every large-scale project in the state.
Highly skilled OE324 members operate cranes, dozers, trucks, excavators, and countless other equipment that is propelling us into the future. They are also on the forefront technologically, operating next generation equipment like robotic and remote-controlled machines and drones.
Operating Engineers 324 also represent the highly skilled Stationary Engineers who operate and tend complex boiler and HVAC systems, and the trained technicians who fix and repair this equipment and keep downtime to a minimum.