About Us
LIUNA Local 78 represents asbestos, lead and hazardous waste handlers in New York City and Long Island. The Local’s 3.200 members are the hard-working employees for nearly 200 signatory environmental contractors, performing 90% of all asbestos removal in the area. Local 78 was organized in 1996 by the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA). Since then, due to aggressive organizing and an active membership, the Local has grown steadily. Local 78 was granted jurisdiction over asbestos and lead abatement in Long Island in 2002 and throughout the state of New Jersey in 2008. Safety
At Local 78, safety is a top concern. Local 78 signatory contractors and members pride themselves on doing the job right. They know all too well the real dangers that unsafe asbestos abatement poses. The Mason Tenders Training Fund provides top-notch training to all Local 78 members, with an emphasis on minimizing the dangers that asbestos and lead present. Local 78 and the Environmental Contractors Association’s Joint Safety Initiative is a groundbreaking effort which, in cooperation with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the New York State Department of Labor, and the US DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the union abatement industry in New York City and Long Island grant the union-appointed shop stewards special powers to police union jobsites and sets up a process through which rogue workers, supervisors or contractors who try to skirt safety regulations are penalized, and those who follow the letter of the law are rewarded.
9/11
On one of the darkest days in the history of the United States, the predominantly immigrant members of Local 78 showed their devotion to their adopted homeland. Many were among the first responders after the Twin Towers fell and during the months following the attacks up to 2,000 Local 78 members worked cleaning up asbestos and other hazardous materials from Ground Zero and the surrounding buildings, making downtown habitable again. According to studies by the Mount Sinai program monitoring 9/11 responders, up to 69% of these local heroes are sick from the chemicals and dangerous pulverized materials that they breathed in at the disaster site, yet neither the Federal, nor the State nor the City government has come up with a plan to care for those who sacrificed their health when our city and country needed them. Immigrant Workers
Local 78 calls for fair comprehensive immigration reform which actually secures our borders, requires undocumented workers to come out of the shadows and seek an earned path to citizenship and prevents employers from profiting off vulnerable immigrants at the expense of all workers. Local 78 is unique in that the members are over 95% immigrants – predominantly from Ecuador and Latin America and from Poland and Eastern Europe. Workers from these countries concentrated in the asbestos abatement industry starting in the 1980s, filling a gap created because native-born Americans were unwilling to perform this dangerous work for the low wages that were offered. The members celebrate their ethnic heritage, while integrating into New York’s society and economy. Most members are active in local community organizations, including church groups. Many have become US citizens, and some have children who have served or currently serve in the US Armed Forces. Activism
Local 78 is known as having one of the most active memberships of any Local Union in the area. The members routinely campaign for candidates in local, state and national elections. They are known to come out en masse for rallies, and are especially committed to the fight for fair comprehensive immigration reform.
