LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan and General Secretary Treasurer Armand E Sabitoni Announce their Retirement

Washington, D.C. (March 28, 2023) – Terry O’Sullivan, General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North American (LIUNA), is retiring effective April 30 after serving as General President for almost 24 years.

LIUNA has been O’Sullivan’s life’s work and his commitment has always been rooted in his devotion to the cause, purpose, and mission of the Labor movement. “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 to lift the burdens, struggle, and strife of those who are fighting for a foothold in the middle class.”

Armand E. Sabitoni, LIUNA General Secretary-Treasurer and New England Regional Manager of the union, also announced his retirement effective April 30 after serving as General Secretary-Treasurer for over 22 years. Amongst other things, Sabitoni is recognized for the incredible increase in the union's assets and always fighting for safer job sites for the men and women of LIUNA.

“This union has been more than a career. 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,” Sabitoni said.

With these changes, 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. Booker said he is humbled to be the next General President of LIUNA. “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. It is both an honor and a formidable challenge to be named to follow Terry.”

Michael F. Sabitoni, a second generation laborer, is a LIUNA Vice President and 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,” Sabitoni said. “I am honored by the trust and confidence the General Executive Board has placed in Brent and I and pledge to work tirelessly to earn it every day on behalf of the members of this union that I love.”

LIUNA is among the largest and most aggressive trade unions in the United States and Canada. Its half-million members build the infrastructure that runs the economy. LIUNA members also work in the federal sector and public service sector jobs, including those represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, which is affiliated with LIUNA.

Under O’Sullivan’s leadership, LIUNA built a reputation as the infrastructure and energy union, and its members instantly became recognizable in their trademark orange which powered the union’s visibility from jobsites to political rallies. He is known as an aggressive and militant leader whose fiery speeches in support of working people galvanized and inspired audiences.

Terry O’Sullivan and Armand E. Sabitoni are the second-longest-serving officers in their roles as General President and General Secretary-Treasurer of LIUNA. When elected, they were among the youngest union leaders in the nation.

During O’Sullivan’s leadership, LIUNA significantly increased resources for organizing and dramatically grew the union’s political action committee, launching it into the ranks of the top five PACs in the U.S with a political presence and power felt across the country.