Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship Training Skilled Operating Engineers

What is the apprenticeship program?

The Local 139 apprenticeship program is meant to accommodate heavy equipment operators with little to no experience in the field. With a total of 6,000 hours of on-the-job training for the entry-level operator, experience levels are broken down into four 1500-hour pay periods. This allows applicants with limited experience to be placed at a level appropriate for them.

IUOE 139 Trustees

Daniel Sperberg – Training Director – Operating Engineers Local 139

Mary Jane Debattista – Retiree Representative to the Board

Labor Trustees
  • Terrance McGowan – Board Chairman – Operating Engineers Local 139
  • Steve Buffalo – Operating Engineers Local 139
  • Mark Gauf – Operating Engineers Local 139
  • Shane Griesbach – Operating Engineers Local 139
  • Shaun Mc Hugh – Operating Engineers Local 139
Management Trustees
  • Tom Wolf – Board Secretary – Edgerton Contractors
  • Dekek Allen – AGC of Wisconsin, Inc.
  • Mary Wilcox – Super Excavators, Inc.
  • Tim Peterson – James Peterson Sons, Inc.
  • Matt Marcellis – Executive Director – Allied Construction Employers Association (ACEA)
Training Center

Our Training Facility

The Joseph J. Goetz training site in Coloma consists of nearly 400 acres of rolling Kettle Moraine hills and services every member of Local 139, no matter their skill level. Skill improvement courses held in the off-season are typically three weeks long and either hands-on or in-the-seat, depending on the weather and which class you attend. Training Center Website

In-seat training is conducted with a generous supply of late model equipment acquired through the equipment loan program, in which contractors and heavy equipment dealers donate the necessary tools we need to further our skills and heighten our safety awareness.

What Makes Our Training Site the Finest in the Country?

A Highly Trained and Helpful Staff

Contractor & Equipment Dealer Participation

An Ideal Site Location in West-Central Wisconsin

The Strong Support of Our Membership

Join Us: Your Path to a Better Future, Today!

The active members of Local 139 allocate money from their negotiated pay raise to fund this program and assure that state-of-the-art training is available for apprenticeship and journeyworker training. Dividends include a well-trained, safe, and proficient workforce that makes it easier to strive towards better working conditions with great economic benefits! To join the Local 139 Apprenticeship Program, call the Coloma Training Center at (715) 228-4911 to schedule an appointment.
Become an Apprentice