Brothers and Sisters,
This month, Local 150 did what Local 150 does best: we showed up. At the Illinois Tollway hearings, our members were organized, prepared, and ready to speak up for the roads, bridges, and connections Illinois will depend on for years to come. These hearings were about more than a toll increase. They were about future work opportunities, long-term infrastructure investment, and making sure operating engineers have a voice in the projects that will shape our communities.
In my last report, I talked about why the Illinois Tollway’s proposed toll increase matters for Driving Connections, its next 15-year, $26.5 billion capital program. This program would fund major improvements across the Tollway system, including work along the Reagan Memorial, Jane Addams, South Tri-State, and Central Tri-State Tollways. That means interchange reconstruction, bridge rehabilitation, widening, access improvements, traffic management, toll plazas, and fiber upgrades along key corridors.
We have already seen what this kind of long-term investment can do. The current $15.2 billion Move Illinois program has supported nearly 150,000 jobs since 2012, including an average of 5,600 construction jobs per year. That is real work for Local 150 members and real investment in the communities that rely on this infrastructure.
The Illinois Economic Policy Institute has also shown why these investments matter. Its research found that the Tollway’s nearly complete Move Illinois program generated just over $2 for every dollar invested. Since 2012, the Tollway has spent $14.1 billion through the program, resulting in $28.3 billion in economic output and $1.22 billion in state and local tax revenue. The point is simple: when we invest in roads and infrastructure, it pays off in jobs, safer travel, stronger communities, and more work for our members.
I also want to thank every apprentice, member, retiree, business agent, organizer, Officer, and Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting (IIIFFC) staff member who made time to attend hearings for Driving Connections. Many showed up during the day and in the evenings while still keeping up with their regular responsibilities. Thank you to everyone who encouraged members to attend, speak, and submit comments. Our voices matter, and because we showed up, they were heard.
The results show just how strongly Local 150 and IIIFFC showed up. Across 13 hearings in 12 counties, there were 447 verbal public comments, 92 online comments, and 14 written comments submitted at the hearings. Support for Driving Connections was strong, with 79% in support, 15% opposed, and 5% neutral. Local 150 members and staff, along with IIIFFC, made up 107 speakers, compared with 31 speakers from all other trades combined.
Our members and staff were ready, organized, and present at every step, and that made a difference. At several meetings, there were only one or two carpenters, a few laborers, and in some cases just a single iron worker, while Local 150 and IIIFFC continued to fill the room. Overall, support for Driving Connections outnumbered opposition by more than five to one, and IIIFFC and Local 150 speakers alone more than doubled the total number of opposing verbal public comments. That kind of teamwork matters because long-term infrastructure investment means jobs and future work opportunities for operating engineers.
That was exactly the feeling in the room at the end of July, when members filled the District 1 Union Hall for Local 150’s General Membership meeting. It was good to see so many members there and to talk through where we are as a union, what we have accomplished, and what we need to keep fighting for in the months and years ahead.
One highlight was our Gold Card Member Ceremony, where we honored 151 members. Of those, 46 attended dinner and the meeting, making it the largest group of Gold Card attendees we have ever had. We were also joined at dinner by 27 scholarship recipients and their families, all children of Local 150 members. As a quick sidenote, we only had three applicants for the Mechanic Tech scholarship, even though four scholarships are available. This two-year scholarship provides $5,500 each year, and skilled mechanics are more important than ever as modern construction equipment relies on smart diagnostics, electronic control units, and hydraulic automation. If your son or daughter wants to become a mechanic, please make sure they look into this scholarship next year.
At the meeting, several Gold Card members shared what Local 150 has meant to them, thanked our Officers, and more than one said this is the greatest Local in the nation. One member said he had traveled all over the country working with other Locals, and when they asked what makes Local 150 the best, he told members: “The answer lies with you. Being a Local 150 operating engineer isn’t just a career, it’s a privilege.”
The meeting also included proposed amendments to Local 150’s By-Laws, which members have heard about at District meetings and read about in the paper over the last few months. Our By-Laws had not been updated since 2019, after the 2018 IUOE Convention, so following the 2023 Convention, we had to take another full look at them. Any amendments made to the IUOE constitution adopted by the Convention must be inserted into the By-Laws, so we need to reprint them anyway. We went through them front to back, found some clarifications and updates that needed to be made, and took our time to make sure we got them right. The Executive Board reviewed and approved the proposed changes before they were brought to the membership for a secret vote. Associate General Counsel Rob Paszta then walked members through the updates, including properly labeling the jurisdictional map, updating District addresses, and making other necessary changes throughout the By-Laws. Members in attendance voted to approve the amendments.
Members also learned that Tom Bernstein will retire this October after more than twenty years of service to the Midwest Operating Engineers (MOE) Trust Funds and the members and families who depend on them. Tom came to us in June 2005 as Assistant Administrative Manager of the MOE Trust Funds after being hired by former President-Business Manager Bill Dugan, and he became Administrative Manager in 2014. Since then, Tom has brought professionalism, patience, and a steady commitment to protecting the benefits our members have earned. His work has strengthened the Funds, supported our Trustees, and helped make sure Local 150 families can count on the benefits they were promised. Because this was Tom’s last General Membership Meeting as Administrative Manager, the Officers and members thanked him for his service, and he had a chance to say a few words.
Since the By-Law vote took priority at the meeting, a motion was made and approved to defer my full report to the Engineer. Even so, there is still a lot to share and a lot for Local 150 members to be proud of. The same commitment we saw at the meeting and at the Tollway hearings carries into the everyday work of protecting jobs, building infrastructure, and keeping our benefit funds strong. The work outlook remains strong, and Local 150 continues to have a major presence across the construction industry. From road work in every district to the boom in data center construction, our out-of-work lists remain at all-time lows. That does not happen by accident. It comes from planning ahead, getting involved early, and making sure Local 150 has a seat at the table on major projects across Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.
The Pension Fund is projecting 30 million man-hours for 2026. That puts us above the previous high-water mark set in 2009 and far ahead of where we were in 2011 during the Great Recession. Those numbers tell the story of Local 150’s strength and the years of organizing, infrastructure investment, and steady work opportunities that helped get us here.
A big part of that strength is the amount of data center, solar, and wind work we are seeing. Even using conservative numbers, we are tracking roughly $96 billion in current projects and another $50 billion in upcoming work. Solar and wind account for about $20 billion, with more on the horizon. The Fight Back Fund has also started a data center campaign to push back on misinformation and show what these projects can mean when they are built the right way in communities like Hobart, Indiana, DeKalb, Illinois, and others. If you missed the data center special on WGN Radio with The Workers’ Mic, take time to listen. The bottom line for our members is simple: this work means long-term opportunities, steady demand for skilled operating engineers, and one more reason Local 150 needs to be involved early whenever major development is on the table.
Infrastructure work is another major part of the story. IDOT lettings within Local 150’s jurisdiction totaled $1.27 billion as of June 2026, up from $1.18 billion during the same period in 2025. Local 150 signatories were awarded $1.2 billion across 230 IDOT projects, and nine IDOT projects awarded so far this year include Project Labor Agreements. IDOT’s FY26-31 Multi-Year Program totals $32.5 billion, with $13.485 billion programmed within Local 150’s jurisdiction, including $2.61 billion in FY26 alone. We are also seeing important work in Indiana and Iowa. INDOT lettings within Local 150’s jurisdiction totaled $167 million as of June 2026, up from $155 million in 2025, while Local 150 signatories were awarded $127 million across 30 projects. Iowa DOT lettings reached $72.3 million, up from $31 million last year, with Local 150 signatories awarded $18 million across five projects.
It has also been a busy contract season, with important wins across our jurisdiction, including the Northwest Indiana Contractor Association, the Northwest Indiana Independent Building Group, quarry and landfill contracts, and the pipeline agreement, among others. The National Pipeline Agreement matters because we are still in a bigger fight over the future of natural gas. At the July Peoples Gas public hearing, many opposing comments focused on affordability, but did not fully address the safety and infrastructure needs tied to replacing aging natural gas systems. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: putting off pipeline work is the wrong approach. It may sound like a short-term solution, but delaying needed maintenance puts workers at risk, weakens critical infrastructure, and can drive up costs over time. Local 150 will keep paying close attention to the Peoples Gas rate case and the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) Future of Gas proceedings because this debate is about safety, reliability, affordability, and protecting the work that keeps communities running.
The ICC has said more than 1,000 miles of aging cast- and ductile-iron natural gas mains need to be retired and replaced by 2035, but that work cannot move forward unless the rate hike requests for both Peoples Gas and Nicor are approved. The ICC is expected to make a final decision later this year, and Peoples Gas still is seeking recovery for infrastructure and pipeline replacement costs.
We are seeing the same kind of reliability concerns on the electric side. At the same time, PJM has to explain how it will handle growing demand for electricity from large-load users, including data centers. Demand is rising faster than new supply can come online, and Illinois has lost dependable energy capacity without replacing it at the same scale. Battery storage will help, but even the 1.5 gigawatts currently slated for bid this month will not go live until around 2028 or early 2029, and it will not be enough on its own without new generation, transmission, and firm capacity.
Around the world, countries are racing to secure reliable power, and Illinois needs to do the same. At least nine communities have expressed interest in hosting new nuclear facilities, including places that already have nuclear power plants like Dresden and Byron, and all of that will take time. Local 150 will keep watching the data center debate, the POWER Act, and the broader energy reliability conversation closely, whether the next major action comes during veto session or in January.
That is why these infrastructure fights and our benefit funds are so closely connected. Every road project, energy investment, data center, bridge, and public works opportunity helps generate the man-hours that support our wages, benefits, and long-term security. When we fight for responsible infrastructure investment, we are also fighting for the Health & Welfare Fund, Retirement Enhancement Fund, RMSP, Apprenticeship Fund, and Pension Fund our members and retirees count on.
After such a busy season, it was also good to come together in a different way and celebrate the family side of Local 150.
We held our Annual Family Picnic on Sunday, August 2, welcoming a record 12,000 Local 150 members and families for one of our biggest picnics ever. I especially want to thank George Antos, Recording-Corresponding Secretary and Training Site Coordinator, and his staff for all the work they put in long before picnic day arrives. For more than six months, they plan, coordinate, prepare the site, and make sure every detail is ready. I am grateful to George and his team for the pride they take in making the picnic a success year after year. Thank you as well to our business agents, organizers, and the hundreds of volunteers who help with setup and keep everything moving throughout the day.
This General Membership meeting, the Tollway hearings, and the work in front of us all point to the same truth: Local 150 is strongest when we show up. We show up to fight for work, protect our benefit funds, improve infrastructure, and stand together when it matters. That strength did not come from one moment or one person. It was built over generations by members who had grit, patience, pride, and the confidence of knowing Local 150 had their back. We owe it to our Gold Card members to carry that legacy forward, and we owe it to the next generation to keep protecting the work opportunities, benefits, security, pride, and power that make this union strong
United We Stand. Divided We Fall.