IUPAT Building Union Power Summit

DC16 Leadership and Members were proud to come together with our IUPAT Brothers and Sisters from across the country for the first-ever Building Union Power Summit in Las Vegas.

What made this summit so powerful was not just the size of the gathering, but the purpose behind it: bringing union leadership together with the members who are on the jobsite every day, doing the work, facing the challenges, and carrying the strength of our union in their hands. This connection between leadership and the rank and file is what truly builds lasting union power.

Throughout the summit, members learned from one another, shared real jobsite experiences, and developed skills that strengthen our union from the inside out. Conversations focused on stronger bargaining strategies, building meaningful union democracy, developing the next generation of leaders, and understanding how mentorship and solidarity directly impact our ability to win better wages, safer working conditions, and respect on the job.

But building union power is about more than training sessions or workshops—it is about understanding who we are as a labor movement. It is about knowing our history: the struggles that built our unions, the sacrifices made by those who came before us, and the victories that were only possible because workers stood together when it mattered most. When we understand where we have been, we gain clarity on where we need to go—and what we must do to get there.

That history reminds us that nothing we have was given to us. Every right, every benefit, every improvement in our industry was fought for by workers who refused to stand alone. And today, it is our responsibility to carry that fight forward, to protect what was won, and to expand it for the generations that follow.

That solidarity was put into action when more than 400 IUPAT members took to the streets alongside UNITE HERE Local 226 members fighting for their first contract. Standing together in moments like these is what union power looks like in real time—workers supporting workers, across trades and across industries, because an injury to one is an injury to all.

Building union power means educating our members, developing new leaders, honoring our history, and standing together. When we build power from the membership up, we strengthen not only our union, but the entire labor movement and the future of working people everywhere.

#DC16 #IUPAT #UnionPower #UnionStrong #Solidarity #OneUnionOneFamilyOneFight