Member Stories

Former IUEC leader wins Mortgage Sweepstakes

Union Plus Content Team

August 4, 2023

Kevin Stringer was born in New York City where he grew up to become an elevator constructor. Joining the International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) ensured him a dual career with an ever-upward trajectory. 

“I began my career non-union,” says Stringer. “Then I saw how union members were treated – the pay, the respect, the representation, and how union workers left places better than they found them. I quickly joined.”

Stringer’s career skyrocketed from there. 

“I became a shop steward for my local in New York, and then I moved to Clark Summit, Pennsylvania, outside Scranton,” he says. “There I was elected to the executive board and eventually became president and business agent.”

Stringer ultimately ran and won the vice presidency of the international union and became a regional director. His last post prior to retirement was as the international’s general treasurer and secretary.

Throughout his career, he remained passionate about building and maintaining elevators from the ground up and met many different people.

“I worked for nearly nine years with the New York City Housing Authority,” Stringer remembers. “I found myself in so many neighborhoods that were economically challenged, and it felt like we were making a difference and helping some great people.”

Along the way, he’s seen it all – from steam-operated elevators of a bygone Manhattan to modern technologies that lift and lower people reliably. He’s also leveraged union member benefits to improve his own life, including financing his home through the Union Plus Mortgage Program.  

This program, with financing available through Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, helps union members, their parents and their children purchase or refinance their homes while also offering exclusive union-member benefits.

Stringer even entered a sweepstakes for Union Plus mortgage holders and to his surprise, he won. He plans to spend his winnings on vacation with his wife, and he believes that every union member should utilize all of the programs that Union Plus has to offer. 

“They are union people who are there for union workers. When you’re out of work, they’re there. When you strike, they’re there. They have great programs, grants, insurance and are there to help you solve problems when things go wrong. They’re the best,” he says.