Laborers' International Union of North America

The Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA, stylized as LiUNA!), often shortened to just the Laborers' Union, is an American and Canadian labor union formed in 1903. As of 2017, they had about 500,000 members, about 80,000 of whom are in Canada. The current general president is Brent Booker who was appointed in 2023. There are nine regions across North America; these regions are further divided into 500 local unions. LIUNA Local 183 of Toronto is the largest construction local union in North America, and is led by Joseph Mancinelli.

History

1900–1920

LIUNA's origins stretch back to the 19th century when local construction unions began popping up across the United States. Then, in March 1903, Samuel Gompers, the President of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), successfully persuaded various local construction unions from across the US to unite in order to consolidate power in their fight against unfair labor practices.

As a result, on April 13, 1903, the International Hod Carriers and Building Laborers' Union (IHC and BLC) was established at its founding convention in Washington, DC. At the convention there were 25 delegates from 23 unions in 17 different cities in attendance. During the course of the convention the delegates elected a General President, Herman Lilien, a General Secretary-Treasurer, Harold Stemburgh, and adopted a Declaration of Principles. Also, the delegates were able to produce the union's first charter, which claimed jurisdiction over:Wrecking of buildings, excavations of buildings, digging of trenches, piers and foundations, holes, digging, lagging, sheeting of said foundations, holes, and caisson work, concrete for buildings, whether foundations, floors or any other, whether done by hand or any other process, tending to masons, mixing and handling all materials used by masons (except stone setters), building of centers for fireproofing purposes, tending to carpenters, tending to and mixing of all materials for plastering, whether done by hand or any other process, clearing of debris from buildings, shoring, underpinning and raising of old buildings, drying of plastering, when done by salamander heat, handling of dimension stones.Nine years later, in 1912, the IHC and BLC experiences two name changes.