‘I’ll Always Remember His Toughness’

Richie Stanizzo never forgot who he represented, whether as a board member for the Allegheny County Airport Authority or as a leader of the Pittsburgh Regional Building & Construction Trades Council: organized labor.

“I’ll always remember his toughness. He advocated for his members and was not afraid to go into any situation with that in mind,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “Richie, as everyone knew him by, worked to represent his members. I would argue that our building trades are the best in the nation when it comes to training, innovation and getting projects done on time and on budget.

“(His) work on behalf of working men and women was a big part of that.”

Richard A. Stanizzo Jr., a long-time ACAA board member and labor leader in Western Pennsylvania, died Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. He was 79.

Stanizzo, of the Bon Air neighborhood of Pittsburgh, spent 22 years on the ACAA board, first appointed in 2000 and serving three county executives. He helped the authority navigate through two U.S. Airways bankruptcies to nearly a decade of passenger and airline growth, and ultimately the new terminal under construction today.

He provided diligent service and leadership for decades as the business manager for the Pittsburgh Regional Building & Construction Trades Council. Among his key contributions to the region was serving on the board of the Builders Guild of Western Pennsylvania and as chairman of the Western PA Apprentice Committee. He also served as a member of the AFL-CIO executive board and the state Building Trades executive board.

An ironworker by trade for nearly 50 years, Stanizzo got his start at Local 3 as an ironworker apprentice after attending Duquesne University. He graduated from St. Mary of the Mount High School in Mt. Washington.

“Richie was a Pittsburgher through and through. He fought for men and women in organized labor