IUOE 474

Pooler, GA

Empowering Operating Engineers in Georgia

About Us

Heavy equipment operators and stationary engineers Union, located in Savannah, covering all of South Georgia.

Apprenticeship

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Apprentice Portal

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Training

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History

For over a Century Local 474 has built a rich history in the southern half of Georgia. Starting as The International Union of Steam Engineers – Local 474 was first chartered on August 14, 1911. The name later changed after the 1912 convention to The International Union of Steam and Operating Engineers, and then again in 1928 to what we know today as The International Union of Operating Engineers – Local 474. We are a mixed Local chartered in Hoisting & Portable, and Stationary in subsections (A), (C), and (R). Originally located inside the city of Savannah Georgia from 1911 until 2007 in various locations until it moved to the adjoining city of Pooler Georgia. There a modern office building with meeting and conference spaces was built and later in 2008 an Apprenticeship/Training Building was added to the site equipped with hydraulic, lattice boom, and overhead cranes for attaining certifications; trucks for commercial driver’s license training and testing; and several pieces of earth moving equipment for various classes and training.

Operating Engineers whether working directly for the constructors or through the multiple crane rental companies inside our jurisdiction have helped to build the electric and manufacturing industry in South Georgia to what it is today. We have played a major part in building every kind of power generating facility from coal, solar and hydroelectric to nuclear, including two units at Plant E.I. Hatch, two units at Plant Alvin Vogtle with two more units at Plant Vogtle set to become operational in 2021 and 2022. Local 474 has also been involved in the construction, maintenance and upgrades of multiple paper mills, chemical plants, breweries, and various other manufacturing facilities. Through Highway Heavy contracts in our earlier years we helped to build much of our jurisdiction major cities and surrounding areas infrastructure, from underground utilities and service lines to streets, interstates and bridges. We helped to build and expand several Military bases including the construction of the submarine dry-dock at Kings Bay Naval facility in St. Mary’s Ga. We have also been heavily involved in the natural gas industry by helping construct the Gas Terminal at Elba Island and later upgrading and expanding the site with modern equipment, we have constructed several pipelines traversing our jurisdiction, and through our crane rental operators we have helped to build not only industries but our communities as a whole.

Through organizing campaigns our stationary charter has represented and continues to represent many workers in the Brunswick and Savannah areas. In the past we represented the employees of Savannah Gas Company, which was bought out by Atlanta Gas Light, Hercules Powder in Brunswick, Kemira Waste Acid Neutralization Plant and many other small plants were all represented by Local 474. The workers at the Solenis (former Hercules Chemical) plant in Savannah Ga continue to be represented by Local 474 as do the Federal Courthouse workers in Savannah, Brunswick, Statesboro, Dublin, and Augusta Ga.

Through boom times and lean years Local 474 has striven to provide the best equipment operators in South Georgia to the many contractors we support across all available work fronts, and we will continue to do so into the future. With the continued maintenance on our existing plants and mills and the construction of new ones ever on the horizon; our crane, civil, rental fleet, and stationary operators all look forward to the future of Local 474 in southern Georgia. Through training and apprenticeship programs we will continue to grow and adapt to the ever-changing construction and maintenance industries and continue to provide the most qualified employees for our contractors.