ALT Mike Hellstrom moved up within the Laborers’ International Union of North America in 2022 to manage the construction union’s Eastern region, covering 45,000 workers in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Delaware and Puerto Rico. Lately, he has been focused on keeping the Hudson River rail tunnel project on track. LIUNA endorsed New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill in last year’s election, in part due to her support for the train tunnel megaproject. Hellstrom served on a Sherrill transition team committee focused on energy affordability and reliability.

ALT David Bolger, a lifelong union man, was proud of helping to pass the Construction Justice Act, which establishes a $40 an hour minimum wage for construction workers on affordable housing projects in New York City. Bolger is now working with the New York City Council on legislation to protect construction workers from extreme heat. Anthony Vita, a veteran laborer himself, has expanded the grievance department at Local 79 from a one-man show to a division that has collected over $30 million on behalf of the membership. Pawel Gruchacz, who started out as an asbestos handler, now is at the helm of LIUNA Local 78. Within the 3,000-member union, he created a new legal department and reformed the pension fund, which resulted in pension increases for members.