Darrin Kelly, fiery union leader, to step down from Western Pa. labor post

An electric passion for organized labor and a constant coffee drip have fueled Darrin Kelly in his seven years as boss of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council.

But the job has worn on him, Kelly told TribLive at his office in Pittsburgh’s Duquesne Heights neighborhood, the nerve center of a coalition representing more than 100,000 workers in Western Pennsylvania.

So Kelly won’t be running for reelection in January, voluntarily leaving perhaps the most influential perch in regional organized labor.

Kelly said it’s hard to be there for his 11- and 16-year-old daughters while serving in such a demanding role, on top of his ordinary work as a Pittsburgh firefighter.

“It’s time to spend a ton of time with them,” said Kelly, 50.

He’s also tired of what he says are death threats that have piled up against him and his family since he took the high-profile post, which often inserts him on the side of Democrats in bitterly contested elections.

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, has seen Kelly’s work up close since joining Congress in 2023.

“It’s not an easy job,” said Deluzio. “You got to be an economic development expert. You got to be someone who can fire people up at a picket line. You got to be able to navigate a range of industries.”

Some in the local labor movement find it hard to imagine the council without Kelly as president.

“Nothing in organized labor in Western Pennsylvania happens without Darrin having his hands on it,” said Bernie Hall, District 10 director for the United Steelworkers. “Anytime we have an organizing drive or problem at the bargaining table in the Allegheny County region, Darrin was always one of my first phone calls.”

Kelly will continue to be involved with the organization, which serves as an advocacy, lobbying and support group for union locals in the Pittsburgh area.

Coalition builder

Several local officers have expressed interest in succeeding Kelly, labor leaders told TribLive.

Different unions or groups of unions will start coalescing around candidates in the coming months, according to Tom McIntyre, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 5.

Delegates for each local will vote in January.

One of Kelly’s greatest assets, McIntyre said, is his ability to hold together a coalition that includes everyone from steelworkers to professors.

“Even as the building trades, it’s hard to get us on the same page, let alone the entire labor council,” McIntyre said. “That’s the No. 1 thing I see missing (when Kelly leaves).”

Whoever wins will take over a regional labor movement that’s scored some remarkable wins of late — like new unions for University of Pittsburgh workers and nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital — and propelled political allies to power.

Kelly estimates the labor council has added about 25 locals with 30,000 members since he took over in 2018.

The new locals have trended younger and more white collar than legacy ones.

His successor, however, will have to navigate a Trump administration criticized by many in the labor movement as anti-union. President Donald Trump has failed to appoint enough members to the National Labor Relations Board for it to function, while also moving to strip around 1 million federal workers of collective bargaining.

“The circumstances are challenging and changing,” said Silas Russell, executive vice president of Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania. “And I think that we’re prepared for anything.”

Election strategy

By his own account, Kelly’s biggest win as labor council president happened during his first year in the role, when former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, a Democrat, flipped a deep red district in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Kelly said he and other labor leaders used simple arguments to motivate their members in Allegheny, Greene and Washington counties to vote.

“The biggest thing that we found is everybody spoke the same language on retirement dignity,” he said. “Everybody wanted strong wages. Everybody wanted to be protected at work.”

When it comes to the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election, Kelly urged Democrats to make an economic case to voters, rather than falling for the temptation to seek a “knockout punch” on social issues.

“We’re not in this for one election,” Kelly said. “Those arguments that we make have withstood the test of time.”

State Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, said union canvassing efforts directed by Kelly were key to her securing her seat in 2018, when she defeated a Republican by just half a percentage point.

“Darrin has done a really good job over the years of focusing on member conversations,” she said. “I hope that focus continues, because that’s what will make a difference electorally.”

Williams is also a fan of his speeches at rallies, where he’s known for his booming voice and fiery remarks.

Unions, he said at an event in Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats last month, “are the only wall left between good and evil.”

“You never want to be the one to follow Darrin Kelly at a rally,” Williams said.