Breaking Ground
Breaking Ground educates listeners about why union labor and solidarity is more important than ever! Operating Engineers Local 3 is the largest construction trades local in the U.S., representing over 38,000 members across a four-state jurisdiction of Northern California, Northern Nevada, Utah and Hawaii, including the mid-Pacific Islands. From heavy equipment operators, crane operators and mechanics, to surveyors, construction inspectors, highway maintenance workers, police officers and other public employees, Local 3 represents the men and women who drive this country’s economy. Stay informed as we tackle important topics for labor including trends in our digital world like the gig economy and automation, as well as organizing tactics, labor politics and interviews with union leaders and members.
Episodes
25 episodes
New Breaking Ground podcast available with OE3 Public Employee Director Tim Neep and Business Agent Michael Moore
Did you know Local 3 represents close to 10,000 Public Employee members throughout Northern California and Northern Nevada, and this representation includes a 90 percent success rate when it comes to handling grievances, pay issues and discipli...
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Episode 25
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40:19
IUOE Legislative Report
Hear straight from the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Legislative and Political Director Jeff Soth, as he discusses Labor’s gains during the current administration and what’s at stake during this critical Election Year. He wo...
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Episode 24
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47:12
2024 Election Season Kick-Off with OE3’s Political Department
Please enjoy the Election Season Kick-Off podcast from Local 3’s Political Department, which includes Political Director Chris Snyder and Deputy Political Director Patrick Boileau. Learn how the political process works, from how union endorseme...
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Episode 23
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54:17
Breaking Ground with Stockton Business Agent Michelle Gianelli
Local 3 Stockton Business Agent Michelle Gianelli has asked questions her whole life, and it’s this curiosity that has helped her succeed in her career, in the field, as an instructor at the CA Training Center, as a dispatcher in Stockton Distr...
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Episode 22
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27:49
A talk with Utah District Rep. Brandon Dew
Learn about the almost 30-year Local 3 member’s early days working in the pit in Utah, as well as his climb to becoming the Utah District Rep. and Union Trustee today. Utah district Rep. Brandon Dew is also an active member of coalitions, has h...
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Episode 21
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34:24
Breaking Ground with OE3 Burlingame District Rep. / Trustee Charley Lavery
Local 3 Burlingame District Rep. / Trustee Charley Lavery has built a lifetime around union activism. The Irish immigrant recalls how becoming a Local 3 member revolutionized his life and the life of his family. He has used his story of unionis...
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Episode 20
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39:14
A Talk with NCIC Director Dina Morsi
NorCal Construction Industry Compliance (NCIC) Executive Director Dina Morsi discusses the NCIC's role in protecting workers from wage theft, holding non-compliant contractors accountable and ensuring a level playing field for contractors biddi...
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Episode 19
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20:41
OE3 Political Action Committee (PAC) interview
Sacramento District 80 Political Action Committee (PAC) members Frank Fuller, Travis Damiani and Miguel Gonzalez explain how the PAC works, how members can participate in their PAC and how these committees determine which local candidates do or...
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Episode 18
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21:54
Breaking Ground with Dolores Morales
An in-depth interview with Local 3 member, County Employees Management (CEMA) president and Hollister City Council Member Dolores Morales, who discusses what the union movement means to her, how engagement in politics is a necessity and how car...
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Episode 17
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24:21
Overcoming Political Division in a Divisive Political Year
The country is perhaps more divided right now than ever, and as we sit in the middle of an Election year, it is even more troubling. We, as a union, must find a way to get united. The way to do that is by coming together and rallying around our...
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Episode 16
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59:39
Beating all Odds
OE3 District Rep. Mike Pickens gets really honest about his childhood struggles and how finding a career through Job Corps and then Operating Engineers changed the course and direction of his entire life. His insight and journey helps point tho...
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Episode 15
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49:01
Cranes
Get an insider's perspective on the Operating Engineers Local 3 crane world, from crawler cranes to tower cranes in this latest episode of OE3's Breaking Ground podcast. Topics include how to get in the seat, income, what operating cranes was l...
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Episode 14
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59:02
Organizing the Unorganized
Local 3 Director of Organizing John Curtin provides a candid perspective on organizing unions today. What does a Local 3 organizer do? Why does it benefit any construction or Public Employee entity to get organized...
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Episode 13
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30:16
A mental health expert weighs-in on available help for those who may be struggling right now
For Local 3's twelfth podcast, "Breaking Ground," mental health expert Christina Torizzo explains all that Kaiser has to offer for people who may be struggling with severe or mild mental health issues during these strange pandemic times. There'...
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Episode 12
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31:15
OE3's Technical Engineers
Listen to Local 3’s 11th Breaking Ground Podcast: Everything there is to know about OE3’s Technical Engineers What is a Local 3 Technical Engineer? Hear from experts John Rector, Sacramento District Rep., and Michael Strunk, Testing...
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Episode 11
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46:24
Everything there is to know about Local 3’s Public Employees
Listen to Local 3 Public Employee Director Tim Neep and Senior Business Agent Mike Eggener discuss the Local 3 Public Employee Department, including our Craft and Maintenance Unit 12 division. From who they are and what they do, to contract neg...
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Episode 10
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58:04
A Pension Talk with Local 3 Treasurer Nate Tucker
Do you have a Local 3 Pension negotiated into your Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)? Have you ever wondered how this Pension is funded, when it started or how it’s doing right now? Get the history of Local 3’s Pension, how you can calculat...
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Episode 9
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43:46
So .. how does one get accepted into the Local 3 Training Center Program in California? And … what’s a career in the Trades look like?
The Operating Engineers Local 3 Journeyman and Apprentice Training Center (OE3 JATC) is nationally recognized as one of the biggest and best training programs in the country, producing skilled and trained Operating Engineers every year, who ent...
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Episode 8
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44:22
Union wins against giant mining corporation takeover
After the giant mining companies Newmont and Barrick formed a joint-venture in Elko, called Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), it was obvious they wanted Local 3 out. The union had been representing workers at the mines since 1965, and we weren’t just go...
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Episode 7
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42:05
Breaking Ground digs deep about the mental health aspects of COVID and how members can get help
Join Local 3’s Business Manager Dan Reding and Assistance and Recovery Program (ARP) Director Tamra Luft, as they discuss how COVID-19 has created a pandemic beyond physical illness. It has also created a mental health pandemic. People are stru...
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Episode 6
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39:50
Politics is Everything!
Hear from Local 3’s Political Director Chris Snyder and the IUOE's California-Nevada Labor Lobbyist Tim Cremins talk about what’s at stake for unions politically this year. How does Labor Lobbying work? How do unions vet the candidates they end...
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50:22
Business Manager Dan Reding interviews Sacramento business agents Jesse Greer and Mario Cardoza
New business agents Jesse Greer and Mario Cardoza talk about what it’s like being a staff member of Local 3. They both have over 15 years of experience in the field and discuss with Business Manager Dan Reding the surprises and challenges comin...
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40:19
Halfway To Hell, The Workers And Unions That Built The Golden Gate Bridge
In this episode, we listen to famed local actor Danny Glover, a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artist (SAG AFTRA). SAG AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform Ameri...
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28:34
President Steve Ingersoll & Financial Secretary Dave Harrison
Join us as we talk with Operating Engineers Local 3 President Steve Ingersoll and Financial Secretary Dave Harrison as they discuss their backgrounds, how they’ve kept Local 3 working through the COVID-19 crisis and how political activism will ...
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41:08