Operating Engineers possess a diverse set of skills.  The most visible of our members are found in the operation and maintenance of heavy construction equipment such as cranes, front-end loaders, excavators, backhoes, and forklifts.  Less obvious, but no less important, are our members who work in site survey, and another large group working in quarries and equipment houses.   

Local 4 members, virtually all from our Local Union, operated all of the cranes and heavy equipment used to construct Boston’s Big Dig.  While the Central Artery/Tunnel project was the largest public works construction project in our nation’s history, and nearly one thousand members were employed at its peak (summer of 2000), the overwhelming majority of our members work for our two hundred fifty employers and never set foot on the ‘Dig.’

The primary source of funding for the benefits provided by the Trust Funds are contributions to the Plans made by employers in accordance with their Collective Bargaining Agreements with the IUOE Local 4.

The Benefit Funds Office is best known to its participants through the:

Health and Welfare Fund,  which provides for a comprehensive insurance benefit plan for eligible members and their families.

Defined Benefit Pension Plan, which provides vested members and surviving spouses with retirement benefits for life.

The IUOE Local 4 Apprenticeship and Training Fund seeks to meet the needs of today while at the same time, preparing  for tomorrow. Through classroom and field training at the Local 4 Training Facility and on the job training, a Local 4 Apprentice learns to become a skilled Operating Engineer.