About David Graves

I wasn’t supposed to be here. I came from a place where opportunity didn’t exist. Where you were lucky to land a minimum-wage job, and if you wanted more, you just worked another one. Where if you were born poor, you stayed poor. That was my reality, until this union gave me a way out.

Because of Local 728, I became the first in my family to own a home instead of renting. The first to open college savings accounts for my kids. The first to start building generational wealth, instead of generational struggle. This union gave me more than a career, it gave me dignity, stability, and a future.

That’s why I serve on the Executive Board. Not to manage numbers on a spreadsheet, but to protect what those numbers really represent; the sacrifices of our members. Every dollar in our treasury carries the weight of missed birthdays, broken backs, sleepless nights, and families stretched thin. I see that, I carry that, and I fight to make sure it isn’t wasted.

I’ve worked to push innovation, strengthen our finances, and improve communication with the membership. I was behind the first member-driven surveys that gave us real data at the bargaining table. I’ve fought to make sure our financial strategy looks forward, not backward. And I’ve never forgotten that our treasury is not money, it’s sacrifice.

But my work isn’t done. I believe Local 728 can be more than a union that enforces a contract. It can be a union that builds futures, protects families, and bridges the divide between generations. A union that respects its elders and empowers its young members. A union that honors the past, fights for the present, and secures the future.

That’s why I’m running for re-election.

Built by sacrifice. Driven by results.