IUOE Local 181: A Legacy of Union Pride
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A New Home for Local 181: The Move to Henderson, KY
IUOE Local 181 was chartered in 1903 in Evansville, Indiana. The charter was moved from Evansville, IN to Henderson, KY due to a lawsuit filed, wanting to establish a new charter in Kentucky. This case, Wilcox vs International Union of Operating Engineers was filed in McCraken Circuit Court and was settled on December 7, 1953 with an agreement that there would be one Local, IUOE 181, that would establish the “headquarters” of Local 181 would be located in Henderson, KY. During this time, the Commonwealth of Kentucky state legislature passed a law requiring a union to have their headquarters located in the same state where the majority of their membership resided. Because of this, the charter was moved from Evansville, Indiana to Henderson, Kentucky in 1954. -
Rebuilding America: The Post-War Workforce Boom
At the end of World War II, America’s Greatest Generation returned home to restart their American dream – building a new life, starting a family, and rebuilding America!
Waiting for the opportunity to help this generation was IUOE, Local 181 – never in the history of our young nation was the need for skilled trades people in more demand. Organized labor would assemble a new workforce. -
Transforming the Landscape: The Need For Modern Infrastructure
In the late 1940’s, our nation needed new roads, bridges, dams, industries and cities. The need for construction projects in Southern Indiana and the Commonwealth of Kentucky was great and demanding. The mighty Ohio River needed to be tamed, therefore aging dams on the river needed to be replaced. The nations highway and secondary roads needed repairs and replacement. The WWII war production industry was being transformed to the needs of a civilian economy. What was now needed, was a workforce that could provide heavy equipment operators for cranes, bulldozers, and road equipment. This began a new partnership with returning veterans and IUOE, Local 181. -
Wolfe Creek Dam & the Rise of Local 181’s Workforce
Major work started with the completion of Wolfe Creek Dam, a project that was suspended during WWII. Work to complete the dam resumed in the late 1940s. At this time, IUOE Local 181 grew to a robust five-thousand-member organization by the early 1950’s. This is when the recruitment of a post war mobilization workforce with construction skills began. -
Powering Progress: Local 181 and the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
Then came the blockbuster announcement for the “atom” plant to be built in Western Kentucky located in Paducah. Now the demand for a trained workforce was a national necessity and thousands of skilled workers would be required including the following crafts: carpenters, electricians, boilermakers, iron workers, and operating engineers!
The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PFDP) construction was announced near Paducah, Kentucky in Western Kentucky and was selected over seven other sites in the nation with work beginning in 1951.
Thus, began the era when IUOE Local 181 began a partnership helping build the largest projects in the region. -
Forging 72 Miles of Steel: Cinergy Piling Crew Milestone
Cinergy’s Construction Site H-Pile Alliance Project stands as a testament to determination and precision. ICI’s piling crew drove an astonishing 3,129 steel piles measuring 120 ft and another 6,250 pieces at 60 ft—enough material to stretch 72 miles end-to-end. That translates to 19,150 tons of steel, ample to fill 224 loaded railroad cars.
The achievement belongs to a skilled team—Teddy Johnson, John Boudro, Chad Cupp, Chad VanMeter, Stan Williams, Mike Swope, Rodney Schiff, John Fithian, and Leroy Wease, with Bert Blount, Dave Resenbeck, Jeremy Stone, and Jack Street Jr. leading the way.
IUOE Local 181: Infrastructure Milestone Timeline
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Category: Tennessee River
Project: Kentucky Lock/Dam
Date Range: 1938 - 1944
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Category: Cumberland River
Project: Wolfe Creek Dam
Date Range: 1941-1951
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Category: Cumberland River
Project: Dale Hollow Dam
Date Range: 1943, 1948, 1949, 1953
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Category: Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
Project: Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
Date Range: 1951-1956
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Greenup Lock/Dam
Date Range: 1954-1962
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Markland Lock/Dam
Date Range: 1956-1964
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Meldahl Lock/Dam
Date Range: 1961
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Cannelton Lock/Dam
Date Range: 1963-1966
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Category: Cumberland River
Project: Laurel River Dam
Date Range: 1964-1974
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Category: Ohio River
Project: John T. Myers Lock/Dam
Date Range: 1965-1977
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Newburgh Lock/Dam
Date Range: 1966-1975
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Smithland Lock/Dam
Date Range: 1971-1980
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Category: Power Plants
Project: AEP Rockport, IN Power
Date Range: 1983 - Present
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Olmsted Lock/Dam
Date Range: 1995 - 2018
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Category: Automotive Plants
Project: Toyota
Date Range: 1996 - Present
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Category: Ohio River
Project: William H. Natcher Bridge
Date Range: 1998 - 2002
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Category: Hospitals
Project: Owensboro Mercy Hospital
Date Range: 2010 - 2013
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Category: Power Plants
Project: Cannelton Hydroelectric Dam
Date Range: 2010 - 2016
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Milton-Madison Bridge
Date Range: 2011 - 2014
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Category: Hospitals
Project: Deaconess, Evansville
Date Range: 2012 - 2015
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Lewis and Clark Bridge
Date Range: 2013 - 2016
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Abraham Lincoln Bridge
Date Range: 2013 - 2015
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Category: Automotive Plants
Project: GM Corvette Plant Expansion
Date Range: 2015 - 2016
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Category: Power Plants
Project: TVA – Combined Cycle Gas Plant
Date Range: 2015 - 2017
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Category: Automotive Plants
Project: Ford Bosk
Date Range: 2021 - Present
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Category: Hospitals
Project: Louisville VA
Date Range: 2022 - Present
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Category: Ohio River
Project: Sherman Minton Bridge
Date Range: 2022 - 2024
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Category: Ohio River
Project: I69 Twin Bridges, Henderson, KY
Date Range: 2024 - Present
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Category: Automotive Plants
Project: Ford KTP
Date Range: Unknown
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Category: Cumberland River
Project: Barkley Dam
Date Range: Unknown