America’s Work Force Union Podcast’s “Best of 2023” coverage continues with the April 27 interview with then Laborers’ International Union of North America General President Terry O’Sullivan, who discussed his retirement and tenure as the leader of LIUNA.
On March 28, several weeks before the International’s 120th anniversary celebration, O’Sullivan announced he would retire. He took the reins of General President in 2000, becoming one of the longest-tenured General Presidents in LIUNA history. During the interview, O’Sullivan shared several stories about his time as LIUNA’s leader and discussed how his leadership team made a difference for the union’s members.
Early in his tenure, O’Sullivan focused on organizing and growing the union. He recalled how members joined together during the 2006 LIUNA leadership conference and drove one of the largest membership increases in union history. For the union to move forward, it must increase both man-hours and membership, said O’Sullivan. He discussed how this philosophy helped accelerate LIUNA’s recruitment efforts.
O’Sullivan also talked about several changes at the International level besides his retirement. Some of these changes included the seven of the 16 members of the LIUNA Executive Board retiring by May 1. This left a new generation in charge, with new General President Brent Booker in charge, someone O’Sullivan truly believes in. This change will be good for LIUNA, and under Booker’s guidance, the new generation of leaders will have all the tools to succeed, O’Sullivan said.
For more information from O’Sullivan’s appearance, please listen to the show above.