IAM Local 31 Keeps North Omaha Powering Forward

For more than 70 years, IAM Local 31 Machinists have kept the power moving at Omaha Public Power District (OPPD).

When the lights come on across North Omaha, much of the work that keeps that power flowing happens behind the scenes, and in the hands of skilled IAM Local 31 Machinists who maintain and repair some of the power plant's most critical equipment.

Since 1954, Local 31 members at OPPD's North Omaha Power Plant and other OPPD facilities have been responsible for the high-precision mechanical maintenance of heavy rotating equipment, including steam turbines, generators, pumps and fans.

At North Omaha, Local 31 members service five generating units powered by a combination of natural gas and coal. Their work ranges from routine preventive maintenance to complete equipment overhauls, custom fabrication and emergency outage response.

The equipment they maintain is massive and complex. Members work on steam turbines and generators, boiler feed pumps, coal pulverizers, air preheaters, large pumps and fans, and many other critical components that keep the plant operating.

"The work IAM Local 31 members perform at OPPD takes an incredible level of skill, precision and experience," said IAM Midwest General Vice President Sam Cicinelli. "For more than seven decades, these Machinists have demonstrated what it means to take pride in their craft and understand the responsibility that comes with keeping critical infrastructure operating. Their knowledge and dedication are a vital part of the power system serving the Omaha community."

When a major steam turbine requires an overhaul, Local 31 members bring specialized knowledge and craftsmanship to the job. They can completely tear down, rebuild and balance these enormous units, ensuring the equipment is ready to return to service.

That level of expertise doesn't happen overnight. It is built through years of hands-on experience, training and knowledge passed from one generation of Machinists to the next.

A recent tour of the OPPD facility highlighted the important work Local 31 members perform every day and the generations of IAM members who have helped build that legacy.

Inside the Local 31 shop, that history is impossible to miss. Photographs of Local 31 retirees line the shop wall, creating a lasting tribute to the Machinists who came before today's members.

Those photographs represent decades of skilled work, dedication and service, and a union legacy that continues with every generation of Local 31 members.

From preventive maintenance to major rebuilds and outage response, IAM Local 31 members are there when the work needs to get done.

For more than seven decades, IAM Local 31 Machinists have helped keep OPPD's power infrastructure moving, proving once again that skilled union workers are essential to keeping our communities running.