Brent Booker, General President
Laborers’ International Union of North America
Brent Booker became the 11th General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) on May 1, 2023. A proud University of Virginia graduate, and a third-generation member of Laborers’ Local 795 in New Albany, Indiana, he has devoted his career to creating job opportunities for working men and women. The son and grandson of LIUNA leaders, growing up he saw the difference that union membership made in people’s lives, often lifting entire families out of poverty and into the middle class.
As Secretary-Treasurer of North America’s Building Trades Unions from 2012 to 2022, Booker helped strengthen and modernize this broad federation of 14 building trades unions in the United States and Canada. He negotiated labor agreements that generated hundreds of thousands of workhours for building tradesmen and women on a wide range of construction projects, including offshore wind farms, microchip and semiconductor manufacturing plants, railroads, heavy industrial, and major civil infrastructure.
Brent Booker served as Secretary-Treasurer of Helmets to Hardhats, an organization dedicated to helping military veterans transition to construction careers. A passionate proponent of the ability of training and apprenticeship programs to transform both workers and communities, he served on the board of directors of TradesFutures, which works to bring historically underrepresented workers into the construction industry. Booker also served on the board of the Center for Construction Research and Training, and on several labor-management cooperation boards.
Prior to his appointment as General President, Brent Booker served as LIUNA Vice President and Special Assistant to the General President. Before moving to NABTU, he had been Director of LIUNA’s Construction Department from 2007 to 2012, having worked there from 2001 to 2007.
James T. Callahan, General President
International Union of Operating Engineers
JAMES T. CALLAHAN is the General President of the International Union of Operating Engineers, a diversified trade union that represents 400,000 operating engineers working as heavy equipment operators, mechanics and surveyors in the construction industry, and stationary engineers, who work in operations and maintenance in building and industrial complexes. IUOE also represents nurses and other health industry workers, public employees in a wide variety of occupations, and a number of job classifications in the petrochemical industry.
He was elected to a full term as General President at the 38th General Convention on April 28, 2013 after fulfilling the term of retired General President Vincent J. Giblin.
Callahan, a 33-year member and third generation operating engineer, moved up the union’s ranks from member to Shop Steward, Foreman, Trustee, and Business Representative to ultimately lead Local 15 in New York City as its 4th President and Business Manager in 2003.
Callahan began his career as an operating engineer in 1980. Proficient in all mechanical aspects of maintenance and repair, he was initiated as a shop mechanic in Local 15C. By 1993, he had worked his way up to maintenance foreman and was an integral part of the team that worked on the World Trade Center site in the aftermath of the terrorist bombing of the parking garage that killed and injured dozens of people.
Eight years later, as a local union Business Agent, Callahan found himself back at the World Trade Center. This time, he was one of the many operating engineers who responded immediately to the September 11 tragedy and he stayed on to work through the entire recovery effort at Ground Zero.
Callahan was elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Board in March 2012 and also serves on the AFL-CIO Executive Committee. In addition, he has been an Executive Board member of the New York City Building and Construction Trades Council, the New York City Central Labor Council, and the New York State AFL-CIO.
He and his wife, Fran, are the proud parents of three sons, James, Ian and Patrick.
Michael Coleman, General President
Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transport Workers Union
Michael Coleman assumed the position of SMART General President on June 1, 2023, having been elected by the SMART General Executive Council following the retirement of former SMART General President Joseph Sellers. In all, Coleman has more than 20 years of dedicated leadership at the local and international level. He played a crucial role during SMART’s second-ever General Convention in 2019, serving as secretary of the Constitution Committee and shepherding through 114 proposed amendments – helping to facilitate the democratic process of our union and positioning SMART for future success.
Coleman began his career as a SMART sheet metal worker in 1985, when he joined what was then Local 65 in Cleveland, Ohio (Local 65 merged with Local 33 soon after). After graduating into journeyperson status and honing his craft for several years, he ran for election as a member of the local’s executive board. From there, he became business representative, then Local 33 president and business manager in 2012.
At Local 33, Coleman cultivated a reputation for pursuing innovative strategies in order to organize more members, effectively structure benefit and pension plans, provide greater flexibility to members and more. He worked tirelessly to boost the local’s profile throughout northern Ohio and West Virginia and demonstrated a willingness to think outside the box in taking on the challenges our union faces.
Seven years later, upon the request of the SMART General Executive Council, Coleman moved to Washington, DC to work as SMART’s director of business and management relations. Shortly after that, General President Sellers asked Coleman to become assistant to the general president, a position in which he served until May 31, 2023.
KENNETH COOPER, International President
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Kenneth Cooper was appointed IBEW International President in 2023. He resides in Clarksburg, Maryland, with his wife, Gina. Together they have raised five successful and intelligent children, three daughters and two sons.
Cooper began his career in 1985 at Local Union 688 in Mansfield, Ohio, where he served a four-year apprenticeship to become a journeyman wireman. He served many roles at his local union, including steward, vice president, president, chairman trustee for the Pension Fund, chairman trustee for the Annuity, and chairman of trustees for the Health and Welfare Fund. In 1993 he was elected business manager.
Under his leadership, the local prospered, market share for construction grew, and organizing increased, including a successful organizing campaign at a manufacturing plant that added nearly 200 members to the small local.
He was also active in his community, taking on roles such as vice president of the Richland County AFL-CIO, co-chairman of the Richland County Building Trades, board member for the American Red Cross, United Way, Catholic Charities and Richland County Woman’s Shelter.
In 2002, Cooper relocated to Las Vegas, where he worked for Local Union 396 as the assistant business manager. While there, he was instrumental in organizing five new units of workers at Nevada Power Company and a new power-generating plant in Apex.
In 2006, IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill recognized his leadership skills when he asked him to serve as an international representative for the Fourth District of the IBEW, which covers Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
In May 2011, his hard work and dedication to the IBEW was again recognized when President Hill recommended to the International Executive Council that Brother Cooper be appointed as the international vice president for the Fourth District.
Delegates to the 38th International Convention elected him to a full term in September 2011 and re-elected him in 2016 at the 39th International Convention in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 2017, through his persistence and leadership, the IBEW celebrated one of the biggest organizing wins in its 125-year history when 1,418 Baltimore Gas and Electric Employees voted to be represented by our great brotherhood. He also successfully organized 39 out of 42 elections in 6 states for Asplundh tree workers.
In May 2017, then-International President Lonnie R. Stephenson asked Kenny to join him as International Secretary-Treasurer and serve the IBEW as his partner. Delegates to the 40th International Convention overwhelmingly elected him to a full term in 2022.
Under his stewardship, the National Electrical Benefit Fund grew from $13.9 billion to $16.1 billion. It earned an average investment return of 7.2%, placing the NEBF in the nation’s top ten percent of Taft-Hartley pension plans during his time in office.
IST Cooper also spearheaded NEBF’s investment in $650 million of infrastructure and private equity funds that generated superior investment returns and created jobs in the electrical industry.
Brother Cooper headed up the IBEW’s successful campaign to pass the Butch Lewis Act, which ensured the retirement security of millions of working people enrolled in troubled multi-employer pension plans.
He serves on the Executive Committee of the AFL-CIO and the Governing Board of Presidents for North America’s Building Trades Unions .
Eric Dean, General President
International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers
Eric Dean completed his apprenticeship in 1984 and became a journeyman ironworker in Local 63 (Chicago). As an accomplished ironworker, he worked for various contractors as a journeyman, foreman, and project superintendent throughout the Chicago area. From 1989 until 1995, he served as an apprentice instructor and earned the status of certified welding inspector. He became very involved in his local union serving as conductor, trustee, vice president, and business agent. Recognizing his leadership skills, General President Jake West appointed him general organizer for the International in 1999, assigning him to the Department of Ornamental, Architectural and Miscellaneous Metals (DOAMM). In 2005, he was elected as president of the Chicago and Vicinity District Council of Iron Workers. General President Joseph Hunt appointed Eric Dean as general vice president, effective August 4, 2008. General President Walter Wise appointed Eric Dean as general secretary effective February 1, 2011. The general executive council unanimously elected Eric Dean as general president, effective July 1, 2015.
James (Jimmy) V. Hart was elected President of the Metal Trades Department (MTD), AFL-CIO, by the MTD Executive Council to fill the unexpired term of the retiring President effective July 1, 2016.
Throughout brother Hart’s career as a trade unionist, he has served in a number of leadership positions at the local, state and national levels. Hart began his career in New York City as a member of Plumbers Local Union #1, UA. He was initiated into the union on March 1, 1976, where he rose through the ranks of membership as an apprentice, journeyman, instructor, foreman and local union officer. During his tenure in New York City, Brother Hart represented civil service employees and led government employee collective bargaining negotiations that yielded or protected some of America’s highest wages and most progressive workplace conditions enjoyed by municipal government employees.
In 1999, Brother Hart was appointed as a Special Representative and assigned to the state of New York and later Florida where he was in the forefront of building teams that were responsible for rebuilding and restoring the union’s pipe trades and state associations and councils to organizing and political prominence. He was subsequently elected international representative and served as director of the Metal Trades Maritime and Government Employees Department.
Hart served as UA key representative to the Metal Trades Department and as a Council trustee. During that time, Brother Hart worked with the Councils that comprise the Department in both an administrative capacity and as a liaison between the UA and the Department. This dual role allowed him to work with local unions and various MTD Councils to address financial, membership, record keeping and organizing practices, while instituting changes to help improve council management. His efforts improved branding, communication, political and membership outreach methods and ultimately provided new perspectives towards what works when building consensus among affiliated International and National Unions, the Department and its Councils.
Jimmy Hart was born and raised in Brooklyn, is a family man who loves the New York Mets and Jets and like all good Union Plumbers from Brooklyn hopes to pass on to his final reward while residing in Florida (God Willing). #JustSayn
Newton Jones, International President
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
Newton B. Jones has served as the Boilermakers International president since July 24, 2003, when the International Executive Council elected him to complete the unexpired term of International President Charles W. Jones, who resigned after 20 years in office. In July 2006, delegates to the Boilermakers 31st Consolidated Convention in Las Vegas unanimously re-elected Newton to a five-year term.
Newton has served the Boilermakers union in various capacities over the past 33 years ― as a construction boilermaker; organizer; director of organizing and communications; managing editor of the Boilermaker Reporter and Boilermaker Organizer newspapers; and as the International vice president of the Boilermakers’ southeast area.
Newton began his career as a field construction boilermaker in 1971, working in the jurisdiction of Local 454, Chattanooga, Tenn., on a Georgia Power project. In 1972, he joined Local 203 in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and worked on a refinery job. He later transferred his membership to Local 199 in Jacksonville, Florida, and worked mainly as a high rigger and as a certified pressure welder.
In 1981, Newton joined the International staff as an organizer; he was appointed director of organizing and communications in 1986. He was the principal architect of the Boilermakers’ Fight Back construction organizing strategy, an innovative and effective approach to organizing in the construction industry. As managing editor of the Boilermaker Reporter, he computerized the Boilermakers publications department, and oversaw the modernization of all computer operations at Boilermaker headquarters. As International vice president for the southeast area (1994-2003), Newton negotiated one of the largest increases to the wage and benefits package the area has enjoyed.
While working as a Boilermaker, Newton also attended the University of South Florida and Florida State University. He graduated from the Harvard Trade Union Program in 1985.
Terry Larkin, General President
International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers
Robert Martinez, Jr., International President
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
As the 14th International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Bob Martinez inherits a legacy that spans the history of the North American labor movement. Seasoned by his own 36-year union career, Martinez is committed to aggressively grow the union and protect the contracts and careers of nearly 600,000 active and retired IAM members.
Previous to his January 2016 installment as International President, Martinez had served since 2013 as IAM Headquarters General Vice President (GVP) with responsibility for the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center and the IAM’s Government Employees and Aerospace sectors.
A United States Navy veteran, Martinez began his IAM career in 1980 as a member of Local 776A in Ft. Worth, TX after being hired as an Aircraft Assembler at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth Division.
From 1980 to 1994, Martinez served in various positions with his local lodge before being appointed in 1995 as a staff member in the IAM Safety and Health Department. He also served as a Project Coordinator for the Re-Employment and Safety Training (IAM CREST) and for the Center for Administering Rehabilitation and Employment Services (IAM CARES).
In 1999, International President Tom Buffenbarger assigned Martinez to serve as the Southern Territory Education Representative with responsibility for training and education for IAM members in 14 southern states. In April 2002, he was appointed as a Special Representative and served in that capacity until joining the Executive Council in 2003 as the General Vice President assigned to the Southern Territory.
In addition to serving on the IAM Executive Council, Martinez sits on the executive councils of the AFL-CIO, IndustriALL, Guide Dogs of America, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), the Alliance for Retired Americans, the AFL-CIO Metal Trades Council, the Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation (EHDOC), America’s Agenda and the Economic Policy Institute.
Martinez was recently honored with Guide Dogs of America’s highest honor, the Gift of Sight Award, and the Cesar Chavez Award from LCLAA for his work on behalf of the Latino Labor Community.
Mark McManus, General President
United Association
The United Association’s chief officer is General President Mark McManus. In August 2016, Mark McManus was unanimously elected as General President at the UA’s 39th General Convention and on November 10, 2016, he assumed his new position leading the nation’s most progressive and influential trade union.
The General President is responsible for supervising the day-to-day affairs of the United Association and for decisions concerning internal union governance, as well as rendering decisions and adjusting disputes and other matters affecting the organization. He is the chairman of the UA General Executive Board, UA Strategic Planning Committee, and supervises the development and implementation of all major policies and programs of the United Association.
He represents the face of the United Association in dealings with high-level government officials, contractors, contractor associations, project owner organizations, fellow labor unions and the general public. Given his stature in the industry, the General President serves on various important boards, councils and committees, including the following:
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Local Union Officers and Employees Pension Fund
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UA General Officers and Employees Pension Fund
- AFL-CIO Executive Committee Member & Executive Council Member
- Vice-President of North America’s Building Trades Unions
- Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Metal Trades Department
- Board of Directors of Veterans in Piping (VIP) Program
- Board of Directors of Helmets to Hardhats
Kevin D. Sexton, General President
Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association of the United States and Canada
The OPCMIA General Executive Board unanimously approved the appointment of General Secretary-Treasurer Kevin D. Sexton to General President of the OPCMIA, effective February 1, 2023. He succeeds Daniel E. Stepano, who retired as General President on January 31, 2023.
After serving in the United States Army until 1984, he joined OPCMIA Local 518’s apprenticeship program in August of 1985. Once he completed the apprenticeship program, he continued working for signatory contractors in the area on various projects. In 1993, he was elected to the Executive Board of Local 518 and in 1996, was elected as President. He went on to be hired as Business Agent by then Business Manager Milton Warriner. Upon Milton’s retirement, he was appointed as Business Manager. Kevin served on numerous ERISA trust funds providing benefits to Local 518’s membership. He served the membership of Local 518 for 22 years.
In 2002, he was appointed as a Deputy International Representative. He was also elected Vice President of the Kansas City Building Trades and went on to be elevated to President of the Kansas City Building Trades upon the resignation of the President. In 2011, he was elected as Treasurer of the Missouri State Building Trades. The same year he was appointed to serve on the International Finance Committee and in July 2015, he was hired on staff as an International Representative.
In April 2016, he was appointed Vice President by General President Stepano and went on to be appointed to the General Executive Board and to serve as Assistant to the General President in February 2017. On April 18, 2018, the OPCMIA General Executive Board unanimously approved the appointment of Vice President Kevin D. Sexton to General Secretary-Treasurer of the OPCMIA, which positions he held prior to becoming General President.