The Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota — the union that represents the St. Paul Department of Public Works workers, among other groups — is undergoing a change in leadership.
After 41 years with the union, Jim Brady, 59, is retiring as president at the end of the month. Legislative Director Todd Pufahl will take his spot. The union has 12,000 members.
The Laborers District Council will hold an event “commemorating Brady’s work and his legacy” from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Radisson Hotel Roseville, 2540 North Central Ave.
A release from the Laborers District Council indicates Brady started as a “rank and file union member” through a construction job straight out of high school, joining St. Paul Local 132 in 1973. He was elected to union leadership in 1992, and became president in 1999.
“I surround myself with good people and let them do what they’re good at. It’s always worked,” Brady said in a statement.
Pufahl has been a union member for 34 years. He was elected business manager of Local 363 in 1992. Brady picked Pufahl as the LDC’s new Legislative Director in 2005.
Admission to Thursday’s event is free, though donations will be accepted in memory of Brady’s daughter Kelly Brady Nafus for the Westonka School District #277 Foundation.