Dale D. Pierson
International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, AFL-CIO
Dale D. Pierson became General Counsel to the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, AFL-CIO, on May 1, 2002. Prior to that time, Dale worked in private practice representing labor unions, fringe benefit trust funds, and individual workers since his graduation from Northwestern University Law School in 1982. Throughout his career, Dale has been proud to work with some of the best lawyers in the United States in helping working people secure fair wages, adequate healthcare, and a comfortable retirement.
Dale believes that the most important protection working people and their families have is the right to bargain collectively over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of their employment. Protection of the right to strike in support of those goals is essential.
In 1995 and 1999, Dale served as Labor Counsel to the Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7, in its negotiations for collectively bargained agreements with the City of Chicago. Since beginning the Local 150 Legal Department in 2002, Dale has worked with a team of lawyers and legal professionals that is second to none. They have successfully coordinated the legal strategy in multiple strikes, helped pass the Workers’ Rights Amendment, and continue to defend the First Amendment rights of Scabby the Rat.
Born on the southwest side of Chicago, Dale is a lifelong White Sox fan. Throughout high school and college, Dale worked for his family’s union construction company as a laborer, carpenter, and equipment operator. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Dale based his NIU Master’s degree in labor history on his thesis, “Peter J. McGuire and the Origins of Pure and Simple Unionism.” It was at NIU where he met his wife of 44 years, Loretta “Lori” Pierson. She retired from her job as a legal secretary for Jenner & Block, and now has more time for several quilt guilds, numerous nieces and nephews, playing Wordle, and monitoring the Royals.
