Kenneth E. Rigmaiden

General President Emeritus

Kenneth E. Rigmaiden began his career with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) upon graduating from California State University in San Jose in 1977. He immediately enrolled in the floor covering apprenticeship training program of Local Union 1288 and received certificates of completion from the IUPAT’s International Joint Apprenticeship Training Fund and the State of California Division of Apprenticeship Standards in 1980.

Mr. Rigmaiden remained in San Jose as a floor covering installer and, in the following six years, served as an executive board member, a trustee, the vice president, and eventually president of Local Union 1288. He also served as an instructor for floor covering installation in Local 1288’s apprenticeship training program.

In 1986, Mr. Rigmaiden was elected as Local 1288’s business representative and focused his career on labor relations. His noted accomplishments during his seven-year tenure included the administration of a residential collective bargaining agreement, which served to recapture market share, and the amalgamation of several local unions in his region to form Local Union 12.

He was elected business manager for the new Local Union 12 in 1993 and participated in the first region-wide collective bargaining agreement for Northern California. Moreover, he was involved in the merger of several union health and welfare, training and vacation/holiday trust funds, and the streamlining of member services for plan participants.

Mr. Rigmaiden was selected to serve as a general representative in 1996. His duties in this post included labor-management relations, contract administration, grievance and arbitration, organizing, education, and training in 18 Western states.