Big job begins on new IUOE site
The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 926 brought out the right tool for the job to usher in the start of a new project on their new home for their Training Center operations.
With the ease of long practice, officials brought a small excavator into action as the boom lowered and brought back up a bucketful of dirt for the first shovelful to be dumped out ceremoniously during a June 10 event on their site next door to Cedartown Middle School.
There’s a lot more red Georgia clay for contractors to move to prepare the site for the training center, which will have 88 acres to expand upon in the coming years according to Local 926 Business Manager Mark Templeton.
He said during the ceremonies that contractors are soon to be hard at work on the facility that will bring another big investment into Polk County.
“We’ve got about $1.4 million invested in building a brand new, state-of-the-art facility right here with classrooms, bays for the equipment and training, for office space for the apprenticeships,” Templeton said.
He said the apprenticeship program ultimately takes four years to complete and usually runs in classes on a half-year basis of 10
participants at a time gaining 8,000 hours of experience. Those in training have to spend at least 196 hours a year in training at the forthcoming facility alone, but spend most of their time learning through experience on the job site.
“It’s an earn-while-youlearn program, where apprentices can still earn a check and take care of their families,” he said. “At the end of all this, the cost of all this is absolutely zero. They come out of it with a career ahead of them and at a place they call their own out here, because the members own this site.”
Ongoing training through careers continue as new requirements for Operating Engineers of heavy equipment are added with new vehicles and systems to learn, Templeton said.
Ultimately, that will bring additional people to Polk County from outside the community.
The International Union of Operating Engineers first began their training and apprenticeship program in 1969, and it was located for the past five decades on a 23acre site in Clayton County.
The Atlanta-based Union chapter consists of members who operate a variety of equipment on construction sites, from excavators and bulldozers to cranes and more.
Templeton also thanked local officials for their assistance in making the project work out for all involved. He also thanked members of the union and retirees who support the work that goes into bringing the new training center to reality.
He said the project is expected to wrap up sometime by the end of the year and hoped to be able to invite all to come back out in December to celebrate the opening of the new facility.
IUOE already has a small shop site on the property that was sold by the Development Authority of Polk County for the new training facility, as well as several pieces of equipment they use to train members and apprentices.