Vince Courtney Jr.

Vince joined Local 261 on Labor Day 2004 as a City Representative after being appointed by then, Business Manager Oscar De La Torre. He was elected to serve as Executive Board Member of the Local Union in 2008. In 2009, he was appointed by Northern California District Council of Laborers Business Manager Oscar De La Torre to serve as Special Assistant, and as Board Member of the California Alliance for Jobs. In 2011, and again in 2014, was elected to serve as the Recording Secretary of Local 261, and was subsequently appointed by Business Manager Ramon Hernandez to serve as Field Representative.

Early on, Vince worked on matters in connection with public sector labor relations, and assisted in development of unique career pathways starting with Apprenticeship at the SF Department of Public Works (2005,) followed by the launch of the first CA State Certified Horticulture Apprenticeship at SF Recreation and Parks (2010,) and finally, Arborist Apprenticeship (2014.) Vince continues to serve on each program’s State Board as well as continuing to serve as Advisor to the Local 261 City Committee, and as Government Liaison to the Laborers Community Training Foundation “LCTF” which launched the Mario De La Torre Academy at Gleneagles in connection with Mayor Lee’s Pre-Apprenticeship program in Summer, 2015.

Since 2005, Vince has served as the Union’s Political Captain. With support from the NCDC and 261 Board, Vince has worked with staff to plug Union members into political participation through Industry advocacy, political action, and coalition building through the San Francisco Alliance, San Franciscans for a City that Works, RiseSF, Building Trades Unions, and other partners via the Local’s #WeFightWeWin! efforts.

Vince was elected Vice President of the SF Building & Construction Trades Council in 2018, and serves on the Executive Committee of the San Francisco Labor Council following his initial election in 2009. Having grown up in a labor household in San Francisco, he was exposed to and participated in organizing efforts initiated by the UFW in the 1970s, while also learning early about the workers’ struggles in the public sector during the Moscone & Feinstein administrations when Vince, Sr. was an Executive with the SEIU.

Prior to joining Local 261, he graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz (BA, Politics,) completing a Juris Doctorate (SF Law School, 1999, while working for various State & City-wide candidates and campaigns including for Governor Gray Davis, Bill Lockyer, the SF Democratic Party, and others. Additionally, Vince worked in the Mayor Jordan & Mayor Brown administrations in various capacities in the 1990’s, before being appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom on the SF Public Utilities Commission in 2010. He was reappointed by Mayor Edwin Lee in 2013, & 2016 and served until his departure in 2019 to pursue expanded political activities.

Vince wants Laborers Local 261 to be the example & model for all local labor organizations to follow. He, along with the rest of our staff, works hard to engage membership in decision-making, organizing, collective-bargaining, & political action. He is proud of our membership, proud of our record together, and wants 261 members to continue to “Feel The Power!” every day.