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United Union of Roofers Local 8 Pension Fund
The United Union of Roofers Local 8 Pension Fund was established alongside its parent labor organization in November 1919 to provide retirement security for...
United Union of Roofers Local 8 Pension Fund
The United Union of Roofers Local 8 Pension Fund was established alongside its parent labor organization in November 1919 to provide retirement security for skilled roofers and waterproofers across the New York metropolitan area. The fund operates as a Taft-Hartley multi-employer plan, jointly managed by a board of trustees representing both the union and contributing signatory contractors. Its beneficiary base consists of members who have installed and maintained roofing systems on many of New York City's most complex commercial, institutional, and infrastructure projects over the past century. The fund's investment strategy allocates primarily to real estate and infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on assets that generate union construction and maintenance jobs — a hallmark of organized labor pension capital deployment. Confirmed commitments include an interest in One York Street, a mixed-use property in Manhattan, and participation in the redevelopment of JFK International Airport's New Terminal One in Queens. Through separate account and fund vehicles managed by Ullico, a labor-owned financial services company, the fund invests in the Ullico Infrastructure Fund and Ullico Separate Account J, both designed to produce risk-adjusted returns while creating work hours for union building trades. The board includes Business Manager Nick Siciliano, Principal Officer Thomas Pedrick, and representatives Robert Ventura and Vito Parenti, who collectively govern fund policy and investment decisions. The fund operates from the union's hall in Long Island City, New York, and maintains affiliations with the national AFL-CIO and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York — networks that shape both its sourcing and its fiduciary ethos. The fund's structural differentiator is its dual mandate as both a retirement plan and an engine for union job creation through its Ullico-managed infrastructure and real estate vehicles. Unlike public pension plans of comparable size, every deployed dollar is screened by Ullico specialists for its capacity to generate prevailing-wage work in the fund's home market. This creates a closed-loop economics model rare among multi-employer plans — member contributions return to the city's built environment as capital, labor demand, and future retirement benefits.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1919
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Long Island City
Corporate office
Long Island City, NY, United States
Principals
Nick Siciliano
Business Manager and Trustee
Thomas Pedrick
Principal Officer and Trustee
Robert Ventura
Representative and Trustee
Vito Parenti
Representative and Trustee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions for the Roofers Local 8 Pension Fund?
A joint board of trustees composed of union officers Nick Siciliano, Thomas Pedrick, Robert Ventura, Vito Parenti, and employer representatives from contributing signatory contractors governs the fund's investment policy and manager selection. Day-to-day asset management for significant infrastructure and real estate allocations has been delegated to Ullico, the labor-owned investment manager, through separate accounts and co-mingled funds. The board retains ultimate fiduciary authority over the plan.
How does the fund's mandate differ from a typical Taft-Hartley plan?
The Roofers Local 8 plan is notable for directing the majority of its real assets exposure through Ullico vehicles specifically structured to generate union construction and maintenance hours in the New York metro area. This job-creation screen makes the fund's deployment effectively a closed-loop economic engine — retiree capital underwrites the projects that employ active members, whose contributions in turn fund future benefits. Most multi-employer plans maintain a brighter line between investment returns and local labor demand.
Does the fund invest directly in property or through fund structures?
The fund uses both. It holds an interest in One York Street, a mixed-use Manhattan property, and participates in the JFK New Terminal One project in Queens — deals likely structured as direct or co-investment positions alongside other union pension capital. For broader exposure, it commits to commingled vehicles like the Ullico Infrastructure Fund and Ullico Separate Account J, which pool capital from multiple labor-affiliated investors to achieve scale and diversification.
Which sectors or asset classes does the fund explicitly avoid?
The fund has not published a formal exclusion list, but its disclosed portfolio is concentrated almost exclusively in real estate and infrastructure within the New York region. There is no public evidence of commitments to venture capital, growth equity, hedge funds, emerging-market debt, or other asset classes commonly found in larger public-plan portfolios. The union's focus on member job creation effectively screens out strategies that do not generate measurable work hours for the building trades.
How is the fund connected to the International Union of Roofers?
Local 8 is a chartered chapter of the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, the international parent headquartered in Washington, D.C. The pension fund is legally separate from the international, governed by its own board of trustees and subject to ERISA and Department of Labor oversight. However, the international union's investment philosophy and relationship with labor-owned managers like Ullico have influenced the local fund's real-assets-heavy allocation model.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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