The Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO issued the following statement today on the passing of its President, Mark H. Ayers:
It is with deep sadness that the Building and Construction Trades Department announces the sudden and untimely passing of its President, Mark H. Ayers, on April 8, 2012.
President Ayers was a labor leader of vision, innovation, passion and integrity, and it was through his leadership that North America's Building Trades Unions were on the path to success and increased market share for the union construction industry.
Although our hearts are heavy today, our spirits are lifted by virtue of the unsullied legacy of a working man who was grounded and guided to his core through the values that were instilled in him during his upbringing in Peoria, Ill. Mark Ayers was a true trade unionist in every sense of the word, and it was through that commitment to bettering the lives of working families that he was able to offer so much to his country, his family and to the labor movement.
Funeral arrangements will be announced in short order.
The Building and Construction Trades Department is an alliance of 13 national and international unions that collectively represent over 2 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada
