LOCAL 148 HISTORY

Union organizers were successful in throwing out a "company union" with help from the NLRB, and on January 7, 1941, the IUOE granted a charter to Local Union #148. The new local went on to win representation rights for all operations and maintenance workers within Union Electric (today AmerenUE) power plants. Leo Bachinski, Local 148’s first full-time business manager, would later ascend to the position of First Vice President of the International Union of Operating Engineers.

Following World War II, Union Electric embarked upon a long-term, half-billion-dollar expansion program. The company built large coal-fired power plants along the Mississippi River and, in later years, a nuclear power plant in central Missouri. Throughout these expansion years, Local 148 negotiated new job classifications, work rules and some of the best wage and benefit packages in the industry.

A key challenge to Local 148 members in the 1950s was a threat by the company to contract out all "outage" maintenance work. Outage work involves shutting down portions of a plant to overhaul turbines and other major machinery. Local 148 leaders developed an innovative plan for a traveling maintenance crew, preserving hundreds of jobs for their members. That plan is still in use today.

The 1950s also saw the formation of the local union’s own credit union, which provides financial services to our members and their families. The credit union is still in operation.

From 1965 to 1975, Local 148 members endured four strikes on the Union Electric properties. The strikes (two of which were initiated by Local 148 members and two by other unions) occurred because Union Electric management attempted to weaken the hard-won rights and benefits achieved by the unions over previous decades. Local 148 members stood firm during these strikes. And they refused to cross picket lines when other unions struck, even though one strike by an IBEW union lasted 100 days.

In 1970, four independent Operating Engineer locals in Illinois voted to join with Local 148. Members of these locals also worked in electric power plants as employees of Central Illinois Public Service Company (today AmerenCIPS) and Electric Energy, Incorporated. A fifth Illinois local merged with Local 148 in 1981. The mergers strengthened Local 148 and brought much improved representation to the scattered Illinois local unions.

In 1974, Local 148 opened the doors to a brand new union office and hall in Maryville, Illinois. Cutting the ribbon on the new facility was a proud moment for the local, which had leased office space at many temporary locations in the East St. Louis area since its founding.

From the mid 1980s to the present, Local 148 has worked to modernize its operations and to become much more active in various areas:

Local 148 leaders renovated the union hall and installed a modern computer system to handle grievances, finances and membership information. They designed a highly acclaimed in-plant referral program for members who experienced personal difficulties or drug and alcohol related problems. They started a popular charity bass tournament, now in its twelfth year, which is considered by many to be one of the best in the nation, with nearly $.5 million raised for the Leukemia Society, Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, and Cystic Fibrosis. They implemented a pro-active political action and legislative program to get labor’s message out to local politicians. And they began an aggressive organizing effort which succeeded in signing on five new units.

Local 148 continues to offer quality representation to its members—even in today’s tough labor-management environment. When members employed by Union Electric were faced with a multi-million dollar health insurance deficit in 1992, for example, union leaders succeeded—through grass roots mobilization, public relations efforts, political contacts, and head-to-head negotiations—to win concession from the company, including future protection against unpredictable health care increases. When Central Illinois Public Service Company locked out Local 148 members in 1993, Local 148 again mobilized its members, took its case to the public, and eventually convinced CIPS to end the lockout. Then, in an unselfish display of solidarity, Local 148 members remained off the job until IBEW Local 702 members, who had also been locked out, were allowed to return to work.

Local 148 has a proud past. The union is known for its integrity and for taking tough stances when required, even in the most difficult of times. Local 148 leadership is committed to working with other labor unions and friends of labor to preserve the rights and dignity of its members and to pursue the larger goals of labor for the benefit of all workers.