On January 20, 2025 at the annual winter meeting of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), General President James T. Callahan announced his retirement[1]. The IUOE, founded in 1896, claims 410,000 members and is the 10th largest AFL-CIO union in the country. Callahan took over as General President in 2011.
Recently, Callahan was informed of criminal charges against him, brought by the U.S. Dept. of Labor (DoL). According to the DoL’s website: “On December 5, 2024, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, James Callahan, General President of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) (located in Washington, D.C.), was was charged in an information (an information is a formal accusation of a crime by a government attorney rather than a Grand Jury and raises no inference of guilt. -eds.) one count of false statements in labor organization officer and employee reports, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(b). Callahan failed to disclose tickets, hospitality, and transportation he received from a vendor with which the union did business on LM-30 reports he filed covering 2019 through 2023. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.”[2]
According to a press release [5] by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, dated Jan 29, 2025, Callahan has plead guilty and faces sentencing on May 19, 2025. As a condition of the guilty plea, Callahan must repay the union $315,000 for the tickets and amenities he received. Callahan received free tickets and hospitality to over 100 sports, concert and theatre events.
John Downey, former Business Representative for IUOE Local 542, and who, at the time of Callahan’s retirement, was the latter’s Chief of Staff, and who, in December 2024 was named 14th General Vice President of the international union, was elected Callahan’s successor by the IUOE International Executive Board on January 21, 2025. [3],[4]