The AFL-CIO Executive Council celebrates the service of Jim Grogan, president of the Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers. He became a member of the Insulators 59 years ago, was elected president of his union in 2001 and joined the Executive Council in 2013. Grogan led a successful effort to position the Insulators in a rapidly evolving industry with high-tech apprenticeship programs and continuing education for all members to meet employers’ needs.
All labor leaders are committed to the safety and health of working people, but few have been as creative, dogged and successful as Grogan, who has focused on the particular damage done on the job to the lungs and respiratory systems of working people. Grogan played a crucial role in starting a tissue bank to help researchers find cures for asbestosis and mesothelioma, and other lung conditions, and his advocacy extended far beyond the members of his own union or the American labor movement to encompass anyone who has trouble breathing.
In our labor movement, we search for ways to improve the lives of America’s working families every day. Grogan throughout his career showed us it’s much more than a job. It’s a calling.
On behalf of the 12.5 million members of the AFL-CIO, the Executive Council wishes Jim Grogan a long, happy and healthy retirement.