09/02/2026
A MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICERS OF IUOE LOCAL 57:
After nearly 50 years of dedicated service, Business Manager & President James J. White is transitioning into retirement from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 57. Jim does not want any special recognition or spotlight. However, we feel he should be recognized with some words of gratitude:
Jim is an absolute legend to this Local Union.
A fourth-generation member, Jim began his career as an apprentice in 1978. Although he has run every piece of equipment out of this Local, he spent most of his time as a crane operator out of the hall performing marine work and steel er****on projects. He was also an apprenticeship instructor for 16 years. He served as an Organizer and Business Agent before being elected Business Manager and President in 2008. His leadership extended beyond our Local, serving as Secretary of the Northeastern States Conference of Operating Engineers, Secretary of the Rhode Island Hoisting Engineers Licensing Board, Trustee of the International's General Pension Fund, and being elected an International Vice President in 2022. Long before his service to Local 57, Jim proudly served our country as a Petty Officer First Class with the United States Navy Seabees.
For nearly five decades, Jim answered every call with the same purpose: to leave this local union stronger than it was when he found it.
Some of his most notable achievements stuck out: He reignited the spirit of unionism amongst the membership. New generations of members know what it means to carry their union card and how to preserve and protect it. When Jim took over as Business Manager in 2008, the market collapsed and triggered the Great Recession which brought our benefit trust funds to its knees. Since then, his poise and determination not only recovered our retirement benefits but exceeded to where they are today—which is fully funded and thriving with great benefits for retirees and their families. He upgraded our facilities with a brand-new union hall moving from Providence to Johnston next to the training facility. He completely modernized and transformed the Apprenticeship and Skill Improvement Program into Rhode Island’s largest and most comprehensive apprenticeship program. Jim would run a tight ship in the day-to-day operations as Business Manager. He ensured his staff served the membership with efficiency, respect and dignity. And in an era where external entities seek to chip away at what generations of Operating Engineers built, Jim has ALWAYS stood as the barrier between this Local and those who threaten to diminish its future. Under his leadership, Local 57 has grown much stronger.
On behalf of the officers, staff, and members of IUOE Local 57, thank you, Jim, for a lifetime of leadership, loyalty, and service. The legacy you leave behind will reverberate through these walls long after today. Congratulations on a well-earned retirement!
