Lee Newgent to lead State Building & Construction Trades

OLYMPIA (Oct. 14, 2014) — Lee Newgent has been appointed Executive Director of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO. He will complete the term of Dave Myers, who accepted the position of International Representative for the Electrical Workers (IBEW) union.

Newgent, who has served as Executive Secretary of the Seattle Building and Construction Trades for 10 years, will now represent the local BCTCs across the state and advocate for all trades workers at the State Capitol.

“We would like to extend our successes in King County to the rest of the state,” Newgent said. “We will be focusing on underrepresented communities in Central and Eastern Washington. It is a lot tougher to be union in these communities.”

Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, issued the following statement:

Lee brings with him decades of building trades experience bargaining contracts, establishing Project Labor Agreements/Community Workforce Agreements, working on prevailing wage issues, and championing apprenticeships.

I have had the pleasure of working closely with Lee Newgent on the State Apprenticeship Council, The State Workforce Training, Education and Coordinating Board and the Executive Board of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Lee is a passionate advocate for the rights of working people, a thoughtful trade union leader, and will be a welcome addition to the labor lobbying force in Olympia.