Kenneth E. Rigmaiden is a former American labor union president. Rigmaiden attended

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

. He then completed an apprenticeship as a floor coverer in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, and in 1977 he joined the

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) is a trade union representing about 100,000 painters, glaziers, wall coverers, flooring installers, convention and trade show decorators, glassworkers, sign and display workers, asbes ...

. He held various roles in his local union, during which time he merged it with several other locals, and negotiated the first regional collective bargaining agreement in northern California. In 1996, Rigmaiden began working for the international union, and the following year he completed a degree in labor studies at

Antioch University Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. It is the continuation of Antioch College, which was founded in 1852. Antioch College's first president was politician, abolitionist, and ...

. During this period, he was the co-ordinator for the union's Job Corps Program. In 2002, he was elected as executive general vice-president of the union. He was elected as president of the union in 2013, the first African American to lead a building trades union. As leader of the union, he campaigned to strengthen workers' rights, and also campaigned for immigrants' rights. He additionally served as a vice-president of the

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

. He retired in 2021.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American trade union leaders Activists from San Jose, California Trade unionists from California Vice presidents of the AFL-CIO San Jose State University alumni {{trade-unionist-bio-stub