The MTD is proud to announce that James T. Callahan, the General President of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), has joined the Department’s Executive Board.
Callahan, a 32-year member of the IUOE and a third generation operating engineer, rose from member to shop steward, foreman, trustee, and business representative before becoming President and Business Manager of IUOE Local 15 (located in New York City) in 2003.
In 1993, as a maintenance foreman, he was an integral part of the team that worked on the World Trade Center site in the aftermath of the terrorist bombing of the parking garage that killed and injured dozens of people.
Eight years later, as a business agent for the local, Callahan found himself back at the World Trade Center. He was he was one of the many operating engineers who responded immediately to the September 11 tragedy and stayed on to work through the entire recovery effort at Ground Zero.
Callahan was elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Board in March 2012. In addition, he is an Executive Board member of the New York City Building and Construction Trades Council, the New York City Central Labor Council, and the New York State AFL-CIO.