IUOE Local 181: A Legacy of Union Pride

Since 1903, IUOE Local 181 has played a vital role in shaping the workforce behind Kentucky and Southern Indiana’s infrastructure. From highways and bridges to pipelines and industrial projects, our members have built the foundations of progress. Over the decades, we’ve fought for fair wages, workplace safety, and industry-leading training, ensuring Operating Engineers are equipped for success. Explore our history and see how Local 181’s legacy continues to pave the way for future generations.
  • Operating Engineers Meeting at New Headquarters

    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.
  • Operating Engineers Shaking Hands And Reviewing Plans

    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.
  • Operating Engineers Building A Bridge

    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.
  • Operating Engineers Building A Dam

    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.
  • Local 181 Working On The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant

    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.

IUOE Local 181: Infrastructure Milestone Timeline

  • Category: Tennessee River

    Project: Kentucky Lock/Dam

    Date Range: 1938 - 1944

  • Category: Cumberland River

    Project: Wolfe Creek Dam

    Date Range: 1941-1951

  • Category: Cumberland River

    Project: Dale Hollow Dam

    Date Range: 1943, 1948, 1949, 1953

  • Category: Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant

    Project: Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant

    Date Range: 1951-1956

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Greenup Lock/Dam

    Date Range: 1954-1962

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Markland Lock/Dam

    Date Range: 1956-1964

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Meldahl Lock/Dam

    Date Range: 1961

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Cannelton Lock/Dam

    Date Range: 1963-1966

  • Category: Cumberland River

    Project: Laurel River Dam

    Date Range: 1964-1974

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: John T. Myers Lock/Dam

    Date Range: 1965-1977

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Newburgh Lock/Dam

    Date Range: 1966-1975

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Smithland Lock/Dam

    Date Range: 1971-1980

  • Category: Power Plants

    Project: AEP Rockport, IN Power

    Date Range: 1983 - Present

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Olmsted Lock/Dam

    Date Range: 1995 - 2018

  • Category: Automotive Plants

    Project: Toyota

    Date Range: 1996 - Present

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: William H. Natcher Bridge

    Date Range: 1998 - 2002

  • Category: Hospitals

    Project: Owensboro Mercy Hospital

    Date Range: 2010 - 2013

  • Category: Power Plants

    Project: Cannelton Hydroelectric Dam

    Date Range: 2010 - 2016

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Milton-Madison Bridge

    Date Range: 2011 - 2014

  • Category: Hospitals

    Project: Deaconess, Evansville

    Date Range: 2012 - 2015

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Lewis and Clark Bridge

    Date Range: 2013 - 2016

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Abraham Lincoln Bridge

    Date Range: 2013 - 2015

  • Category: Automotive Plants

    Project: GM Corvette Plant Expansion

    Date Range: 2015 - 2016

  • Category: Power Plants

    Project: TVA – Combined Cycle Gas Plant

    Date Range: 2015 - 2017

  • Category: Automotive Plants

    Project: Ford Bosk

    Date Range: 2021 - Present

  • Category: Hospitals

    Project: Louisville VA

    Date Range: 2022 - Present

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: Sherman Minton Bridge

    Date Range: 2022 - 2024

  • Category: Ohio River

    Project: I69 Twin Bridges, Henderson, KY

    Date Range: 2024 - Present

  • Category: Automotive Plants

    Project: Ford KTP

    Date Range: Unknown

  • Category: Cumberland River

    Project: Barkley Dam

    Date Range: Unknown