Washington, DC
Our friend and brother Vice President Arthur Moore, retired president of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, has resigned from this Executive Council after a lifetime of devoted and dedicated service to the best interests of the members of his union and to the goals and aspirations of working men and women and their families.
After beginning his apprenticeship in 1955 under the auspices of Sheet Metal Workers Local 28 in New York City, he was initiated into membership in the local in 1958. In recognition of his hard work and service to the membership, he was elected as business manager of the local in 1974 and as its president in 1997. He was elected to the SMWIA executive council as a vice president of the national union in 1986. Moore was elected president of the union in 1993, and at the SMWIA 1994 convention, he was re-elected by the delegates to a new term. At the 1995 AFL-CIO Convention, he was elected for the first time as a vice president of the AFL-CIO and re-elected in 1997.
Throughout his career, Moore has been an advocate of energetic, constructive participation in every aspect of the labor movement whether it is in local union activism or involvement in solidarity with other unions. He has served as an effective and valued officer of the New York State AFL-CIO and on the executive board of the national, state and local building trades councils.
Under Arthur Moore's leadership, SMWIA has thrived as a diverse and progressive union with some 135,000 skilled members in industries ranging from construction and production to shipyards and railroads. His members throughout the United States and Canada have benefitted from his dedication to a vigorous and resilient labor movement, committed to organizing and to serving workers in their union, in their industry and in their communities.
He has brought the same combination of experience, pragmatism and good judgment to his years of service on the AFL-CIO Executive Council.
On behalf of the men and women of the unions of the AFL-CIO, the Executive Council expresses its thanks and heartfelt appreciation to Arthur Moore for his highly principled dedication and his exemplary personal commitment to the highest standards of leadership in his union and throughout the labor movement.