LIUNA General President O'Sullivan announces retirement
Pictured above, Laborers’ International Union of North American (LIUNA) General President Terry O’Sullivan [Left] and Armand E. Sabitoni, LIUNA General Secretary-Treasurer and New England Regional Manager [Right]
Laborers’ International Union of North American (LIUNA) General President Terry O’Sullivan announced his plan to retire effective April 30, after leading the union for almost 24 years.
“There has been no higher honor or privilege than to represent, defend and fight for the strong, proud and united men and women of LIUNA,” O’Sullivan said. “Each and every day I have served as General President, I have been awed by the power of this union.”
Besides O’Sullivan, Armand E. Sabitoni, LIUNA General Secretary-Treasurer and New England Regional Manager, also announced his retirement, effective April 30, after serving as General Secretary-Treasurer for over 22 years.
Sabitoni is recognized for overseeing a significant increase in the union’s assets and fighting for safer job sites on behalf of LIUNA members.
“This union has been more than a career,” Sabitoni said. “It has been a calling and I can think of no greater purpose than to have served this great union that has helped so many working people build better lives.”
Under O’Sullivan’s leadership, LIUNA built a reputation as the infrastructure and energy union, and its members became recognizable by their trademark orange, worn on both job sites and political rallies. He is known as an aggressive leader whose fiery speeches in support of working people galvanized and inspired audiences.
O’Sullivan and Sabitoni are the second-longest-serving officers in their roles as General President and General Secretary-Treasurer in the history of LIUNA. When elected, they were among the youngest union leaders in the nation.
Following the announcements, the LIUNA General Executive Board unanimously elected Brent Booker as the new General President and Michael F. Sabitoni as LIUNA’s new General Secretary-Treasurer.
Booker is a third-generation laborer, a LIUNA Vice President and former Secretary-Treasurer of North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU).
“The strength of LIUNA rests on the foundation built by generations who came before us,” Booker said. “Terry O’Sullivan strove to leave LIUNA better than how he found it. He succeeded, far surpassing the bar he set for himself as a fierce warrior for Laborers and the working class.”
Michael Sabitoni is a second-generation laborer and a LIUNA Vice President, as well as Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer of the Rhode Island Laborers’ District Council.
“I look forward to working with General President-elect Brent Booker as he takes the helm as LIUNA General President,” he said. “I am honored by the trust and confidence the General Executive Board has placed in Brent and I.”
LIUNA has more than a half million members in the U.S and Canada, working in the construction and energy industries. LIUNA also represents over 70,000 public employees.