CHICAGO, June 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Gary Perinar, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Mid-American Carpenters Regional Council, was awarded Labor Leader of the Year by the Chicago and Western Lakes Port Council during a ceremony in Chicago on Tuesday. Perinar, who oversees 52,000 union carpenters and millwrights in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and eastern Iowa as head of the Mid-America Carpenters Union, was recognized for his work to help secure funding for port and waterways infrastructure and create thousands of union jobs.
“This award holds tremendous significance to me because it represents the collective strength and resilience of the labor movement,” said Perinar. “I consider it an honor to be able to participate in efforts that help rebuild our nation’s aging infrastructure and create family-sustaining careers for the hardworking men and women of the skilled trades.”
The Chicago and Western Lakes Port Council is one of 18 Port Maritime Councils located in major inland and deep-sea shipping locations across the United States and chartered by the AFL-CIO’s Maritime Trades Department. The Chicago Port Council is composed of various labor union locals whose members are affiliated with the domestic maritime industry.
Port Council President Bob Howard said Perinar was recognized for his collaborative efforts on infrastructure projects and for his longstanding record of fighting for working families. Recently, the Mid-America Carpenters Union joined U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and other stakeholders for a groundbreaking on the new Lock and Dam 25 on the Upper Mississippi River System near St. Louis. The union was a leading advocate for this project, which will cost $829 million and is expected to generate 9 million construction work-hours for union members across various trades.
“Gary Perinar has done so much for the members of his union and for the labor movement as a whole,” said Howard. “He embodies what is means to be a great leader and we’re honored to present him with this award.”
About the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council
The Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council represents more than 52,000 working men and women in 324 counties across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Iowa. The Mid-America Council provides the construction and maintenance industries with productive, competitive and certified professionals, encompassing a wide variety of crafts and skills.
SOURCE Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council