James A. Grogan, the General President of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers, has nearly 50 years of experience with unions at the local, state, and international levels.
He started working in 1956 as a permit worker, and was initiated into Newark, New Jersey’s Local 32 in 1959. Following a stint in the army, Mr. Grogan returned to Local 32 where he received his mechanic's card in 1961. In very short order, he demonstrated his leadership abilities and was elected as a trustee of his Local in 1962. Two years later, he was elected Sergeant-at-Arms, and in 1965 was elected as the Local’s Recording and Corresponding Secretary while also serving on the Negotiating Committee.
In 1967, Mr. Grogan was elected his union’s full-time Recording Secretary and Assistant to the Financial Secretary. He then was elected Business Agent in 1969, followed by his election to the local’s top leadership position—Business Manager—in 1973.
Mr. Grogan’s leadership as Business Manager led to his election in 1975 as President of the New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council, a position he held for 14 years. In 1987, delegates to the Asbestos Workers' General Convention in Philadelphia elected Mr. Grogan to the position of International Vice President, representing the Middle Atlantic States Conference.
In January 1989, the union's General Executive Board unanimously elected Mr. Grogan to the position of General Secretary-Treasurer. He was re-elected to that position in 1992 and again in 1997.
At the May 2001 General Executive Board Meeting, Mr. Grogan was unanimously elected General President after the retirement of General President William Bernard. He was officially elected to the position of General President in 2002.
Mr. Grogan is also a Vice President of the national AFL-CIO Executive Council, a Vice President of the Building and Construction Trades Department and serves on the Executive Board of the D.C. Friends of Ireland. He is a longtime resident of Belleville, New Jersey.