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Iron Workers Local 25
Iron Workers Local No. 25 Pension Fund was established in 1956 as a multiemployer defined-benefit plan covering union ironworkers across Eastern Michigan.
Iron Workers Local 25
Iron Workers Local No. 25 Pension Fund was established in 1956 as a multiemployer defined-benefit plan covering union ironworkers across Eastern Michigan. The fund is governed by a board of trustees chaired by John Rieckhoff, with Michael Randick serving as Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer. It operates alongside the Iron Workers Local 25 Health Fund and the Iron Workers Defined Contribution Pension Fund, all headquartered in Troy, Michigan. The pension's investment strategy spans an unusually broad range of alternative asset classes. Beyond direct real estate holdings — including the union's main office, multiple training centers in Wixom and Hudsonville, and satellite offices in Burton, Lansing, and Saginaw — the fund allocates to buyout, growth equity, venture capital, distressed debt, mezzanine, and special situations strategies. The fund participates in both fund commitments and direct co-investments, deploying across early-stage seed, startup, expansion, and late-stage opportunities. Contractors contributing to the plan include regional fabricators, erectors, and industrial construction firms active in the Great Lakes region. Total estimated assets sit in the $500–$600 million range. The fund maintains deep institutional ties through its affiliation with the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, IMPACT, the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council, and the Associated General Contractors of Michigan. Its trustee structure gives contractor-side representatives like Richard J. Sawhill a direct voice in asset allocation decisions alongside union leadership, a governance model common to Taft-Hartley plans but notable for the breadth of the fund's private-markets mandates. The structural differentiator is the plan's strategy breadth relative to its size and union-pension peers. Most Taft-Hartley funds of comparable scale skew heavily toward real estate and fixed income; Local 25 runs a portfolio that includes early-stage venture, distressed credit, and special situations — allocations more typical of an endowment than a building-trades pension. That posture, combined with active trustee oversight from contractor-side partners, gives the fund a capital-deployment profile that diverges meaningfully from peer union plans.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1956
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Troy
Corporate office
Troy, MI, United States
Additional offices
Novi, MI · Wixom, MI · Hudsonville, MI · Burton, MI · Lansing, MI · Saginaw, MI
Principals
Dennis Aguirre
President
Michael Randick
Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer
James Horvath II
Vice President
Richard J. Sawhill
Association Trustee
John Rieckhoff
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Iron Workers Local 25 Pension Fund?
The fund is governed by a board of trustees with joint union and contractor representation. Chairman John Rieckhoff leads the board alongside Business Manager and Financial Secretary-Treasurer Michael Randick. Association Trustee Richard J. Sawhill represents contractor interests in asset-allocation decisions, a governance structure standard for Taft-Hartley multiemployer plans.
How does the pension fund source its investment opportunities?
The fund operates primarily through fund commitments and direct co-investments across venture capital, buyout, and distressed strategies. Its deep ties to regional construction through the Associated General Contractors of Michigan and the Great Lakes Fabricators & Erectors Association provide proprietary visibility into industrial and infrastructure deal flow. The IMPACT labor-management partnership offers additional sourcing channels for real-asset and construction-adjacent investments.
Is the Iron Workers Local 25 Pension Fund a single-family office or a multiemployer plan?
It is a multiemployer defined-benefit pension plan — a Taft-Hartley fund — jointly administered by union and contributing- employer trustees. It covers eligible members of Iron Workers Local 25 and provides retirement, disability, and death benefits. The fund is distinct from the union's operating budget and the Iron Workers Local 25 Credit Union.
Does the fund participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Both. The fund allocates across fund-of-funds, direct co-investments, and primary fund commitments. Its strategy tags include buyout, venture capital (seed through late-stage), growth equity, distressed debt, mezzanine, and special situations, alongside direct real estate holdings.
How is the Iron Workers Local 25 Pension Fund related to the international union?
Local 25 is a regional affiliate of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, AFL-CIO. The international provides coordination, training standards, and political advocacy through IMPACT and state-level building trades councils. The pension fund operates independently as a fiduciary entity governed by its own board of trustees.
Does the fund maintain philanthropic structures?
Yes. Related entities include the Iron Workers Local 25 Training Trust, the Dennis O'Dowd Scholarship Fund, the Iron Workers Cultural & Improvement Fund, and the Ironworkers Local 25 Retirees Club Scholarship Fund. The union is also a corporate partner and donor to United Way for Southeastern Michigan.
What is the fund's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
The fund shows documented capacity for direct co-investments across its alternative strategies. Its strategic tag set explicitly includes direct co-investment activity, and its trustee governance model — with contractor-side trustees bringing operator expertise — supports evaluation of deal-level opportunities alongside fund managers, particularly in industrial and real-asset sectors.
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