IU Organizer Luciano Padilla Appointed Organizing Director

Luciano Padilla, a 25-year member of Local 21 Illinois, was appointed as the International Union’s Director of Organizing after the tragic passing of Steve Nelms earlier this year. As Organizing Director, he is responsible for implementing and overseeing the union’s organizing campaigns as well as developing strategies to support the coordinated organizing efforts of Locals and ADCs.

Brother Padilla joined BAC as an apprentice in 1997 and worked as a bricklayer for the next six years. He came to work for the union in 2003 as an organizer for Local 21. In 2016, he was appointed to the position of International Regional Organizer. In this role, he supported various Local Unions and ADCs in their organizing efforts and demonstrated hands-on techniques in their campaigns to benefit and increase their membership.

“I am following great organizing leaders, includingmy predecessors Steve Nelms and Don Newton, who understood that the union’s most important charge is to organize new members and contractors,” said Brother Padilla. “This commitment to organizing has directly contributed to the union’s longevity and position as the oldest continuous union in North America.”

“Lou has proven himself to be a strong organizer, with keen insight into today’s trowel trade workers,” said President Tim Driscoll. “His clear dedication to his union and all workers, combined with his past successes, make him the ideal person to fill the big shoes Brother Nelms left.”