Welcome to Local 77’s Organizing Department

Call us and find out what you should be making an hour! 301-899-6900

.  We hope to give you the information that you need to better yourself in the construction industry.  Local 77 represents equipment operators in the construction industry.  We negotiate contracts with signatory contractors so that our members know what their pay and benefits are going to be over a period of years rather than having to come in and beg your boss one on one for a pay and benefit increase. 

There are a number of misconceptions about what it means to a nonunion equipment operator when they decide to go to work for a union contractor.  When an operator does this they are working for and get paid by that contractor.  They are working under the conditions and pay that have been negotiated between the contractor and the union members. 

The operator is not working for the union, nor paid by the union.  The union simply operates a "hiring hall" where union companies call to get skilled equipment operators when they are hiring,  This is also where union operators call to get on the "out of work list" when they are laid off, fired or quit their job.  When the operator registers with the hiring hall they fill out or update their "referral card".  This card lists all of the equipment that the operator is qualified to operate and willing to operate.  They also give a phone number that the operator will be at from 7am to 9 am and 4pm to 5 pm when the business representatives will call you for work opportunities.

When the operator goes to work for a contractor the operator can stay with that employer as long as the operator wants to stay and the employer has work for the operator.  We have members that have been with one contractor for 30 years and we have members that do not like to stay at one place for to long.  This is the choice of the member.  The local is here to offer employment opportunities for equipment operators and keep track of their benefits.

Local 77 also retains an administrator that maintains the retirement and health benefits that the contractors pay into on behalf of their operators.  Our benefits are in addition to the hourly wages.  With most nonunion contractors operators are paid an hourly wage and the employer withdraws money for 401k’s and health insurance and other withdraws.  This makes the hourly wage that might have looked good when they were hired drop for a family man $2 - $5 an hour.  Our hourly wage is the hourly wage with benefits paid in addition to this (wage$ + benifits$).  The operator pays administrative dues that are taken to pay for all of these services that average $.50/hr.   

We hope that you will contact us by email or phone (301-899-6900) and talk to one of our organizers and learn more about what you can do to better your equipment operating career.