International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 955

Established in 1948, IUOE Local 955 is the Alberta chapter of the International Union of Operating Engineers and one of the largest IUOE locals in North America. Local 955 supports a diverse group of trades such as Heavy Equipment Operators, Crane Operators, Plant Workers, Mechanics, Welders, Custodians, Health Care Workers, and Clerical Employees. The Union represents the membership to secure fair wages and benefits, safe and healthy workplaces, and stable work hours. They also manage the job board to inform and dispatch members for work and provide safety and equipment-based training to ensure that members are ready for work.

The Union business is complex with a very large membership, serving over 100 agreements in place across Alberta. The advantages of employers contracting with a Union are far-reaching. The standardization of wage and benefit packages simplifies the overall task of managing a company’s payroll.

Working closely with the Union, they gain access to a ready-trained workforce with the appropriate certifications to be on the job site and complete the required work. This puts pressure on the Union to ensure the job posting and dispatch process meets the needs of both the membership and the employers to match the most qualified worker with the right job. With stakeholders competing for the time and effort of Union administration, the need for streamlined processes, stable infrastructure, and systems, as well as access to secure and reliable information is paramount. Serving the needs of the membership and employers can create significant inefficiencies that have lasting effects. UnionX is an organization that has come alongside Local 955 to help tackle these challenges to address the needs they have today to enable a better future.

Addressing these challenges is a large undertaking and requires an in-depth understanding of the Union’s business. With over a decade of experience working with Unions, UnionX is well equipped to leverage an agile approach to creating solutions backed by an understanding of the business. Leveraging the agile development methodology, Scrum, the UnionX team, and the Union team were in constant collaboration and communication. The team began learning the business and garnering an understanding of the challenges the Union faced to start to conceptualize solutions. From there, a product backlog of user stories was created outlining the desired functionality. The UnionX development team then began developing the functionality defined in the user stories while working in two-week increments called sprints. At the end of each sprint, the software and features developed as a result of the user stories were reviewed and any adjustments needed were made. The completed software was then launched and implemented by the Union to support serving their members. This agile approach and collaboration with IUOE Local 955 allowed UnionX to more effectively address the needs of the business and ensure cost efficiencies in doing so.

When UnionX first came on board, the Union was relying on a system that dated back to 1997. With their ever-growing requirements to manage the information of the membership and run the business, concerns were raised both for security risk and outright system failure. The administration was utilizing processes and workarounds that had become inefficient and frustrating for stakeholders. The current system and processes were deemed unsustainable to effectively serve the needs of the membership. With the work done to address the various challenges over the years for IUOE Local 955, the new systems and processes have fundamentally evolved the way the organization operates.

The new software suite runs virtually every aspect of IUOE Local 955’s business, down to producing accurate financials approved by professional auditors. The overall experience for the administration, members, and employers has been enhanced significantly. Streamlined processes enable easy posting of jobs by employers, access by members to bid on those jobs, and the ability to address all administrative requirements effectively.

Concerns with the ability to scale the system as requirements grow have been addressed with the ability to manage tens of thousands of members if required. The infrastructure is secure, efficient and now the backbone of the Union’s operation.

Local 955 is very pleased with what they were able to create with UnionX. They recognize that these systems and processes will continue to evolve along with the needs of the Union, and they understand the need to foster a strong relationship with a partner invested in their success is paramount. UnionX has become that partner, learning and growing to help serve the members and the businesses they support.

• Infrastructure that ensures the secure management of all member and Union information
• Reduced operational costs resulting from poor workflow and workarounds
• Software that effectively manages benefits, payroll and pension information for members and administration
• Ability to efficiently manage increasing amounts of data and financial information.
• Enhanced communication between Union management and members
• Easy access by members to health and wellness benefits, pension contributions, credential status and postings on job boards
• A software system that runs the breadth of organizational operations, freeing its people up to focus on what they do best and deliver an exceptional member experience