Executive Council Statement | Better Pay and Benefits · Infrastructure · Workplace Health and Safety

On the Retirement of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters President William Hite

Whether you’re a plumber from his hometown of Chicago, a pipefitter looking to improve your skills, a veteran searching for work, or a resident of Flint, Michigan, your life has been made exponentially better by Bill Hite’s leadership.

Bill has organized workers, bargained industry-leading contracts, formed partnerships with unions around the world and closely advised U.S. presidents.

For him, the UA is more than a job. It’s a family tradition. Four generations of Hites have been fortunate enough to serve this great union.

Bill was instrumental in forming historic affiliations with global labor allies to advance rainwater systems in parts of the country facing water scarcity.

He established the UA’s Tripartite Program, which has resulted in strong relationship-building between unions, employers and government across the country, and around the world.

Most recently, Bill and the UA were heroic in assisting residents of Flint during the water crisis there. He is incredibly proud of the work UA members are doing in Flint to help families access clean water.

This leadership is part of Bill’s longtime advocacy for replacing aging pipes and infrastructure in cities across the country.

As a member of the AFL-CIO Energy, Organizing, Political, and Strategic Approaches Committees, Bill has helped build a stronger labor movement. And as vice chair of the Union Veterans Council, he has helped give countless service members a better life.

We thank Bill for his service to the UA, the AFL-CIO and our nation.