• Sean McGarvey

    President, North America's Building Trades Unions

    A glazier by trade, Sean McGarvey is the President of the North America’s Building Trades Unions.

    Sean began his career in 1981 in Philadelphia, PA with Glaziers Local Union 252 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), and subsequently worked his way up through various leadership positions within the IUPAT.

    In 2005, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer of North America’s Building Trades Unions. In 2012 Sean was unanimously elected by the Governing Board of Presidents of North America’s Building Trades Unions, and was unanimously re-elected in 2015 by the delegates to the 69th Convention of North America’s Building Trades Unions.

    Sean currently serves in various capacities for the following organizations:

    • Co-Chair of the Oil and Natural Gas Industry Labor-Management Committee – a unique partnership between America’s Building Trades Unions and the American Petroleum Institute (API)
    • Co-Chair of the Chemical Industry Labor – Management Committee
    • Member; US Council on Competitiveness
    • Secretary-Treasurer – the Union Labor Life Insurance Company (ULLICO)
    • Treasurer- National Alliance for Fair Contracting, Inc.
    • Chairman of the Board of Directors – National Coordinating Committee for Multi-Employer Plans
    • Chairman of the Board – CPWR, The Center for Construction Research and Training
    • Labor Co-Chair of the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and Veterans Employment (CMRAVE) which operates the “Helmets to Hardhats” program
    • Board of Directors Diabetes Research Institute (DRI)

    Sean also serves on several other union construction industry labor-management committees.

    Sean holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the National Labor College; and is a graduate of the Harvard University Trade Union Program.

    Sean and Shari McGarvey were married in 2014, and currently reside in Maryland. Sean has two lovely daughters – Kerri Ann and Kelsey Marie, a grandson, Lucas Anthony and granddaughter, Leah Ann.