There's Something in the Air: LiUNA hoping to grow with help from Tyler Ankrum, NASCAR
While many think of Tyler Ankrum as a NASCAR driver or a rancher, he’s more. He’s a union man, a certified member of LiUNA. The Laborers’ International Union of North America has backed Ankrum in his driving career for several years now, and it’s still going strong.
NASCAR sponsors come from all industries. Marketing, healthcare, tools, food and drinks, and just about any and every kind of product that you could possibly want. Even crypto! As far as unions go, LiUNA is leading the way in NASCAR.
I spoke with the General President of LiUNA, Brent Booker. The son and grandson of LiUNA workers, Booker sees much promise and potential in putting his union in front of NASCAR fans week in and week out.
Sponsors and drivers often talk about believing in the product or company you’re racing for. Making sure your morals and goals align between brand and driver. For LiUNA and Tyler Ankrum – the bond couldn’t be stronger.
Even on his new McAnally Hilgemann Racing team – Ankrum continues to represent the union.
“We’ve worked with Tyler and his family for the last several years and he’s committed to union construction,” Booker said. “So much so that he joined our union last year.”
For the 2023 season, Ankrum had his union card on the sleeve of his firesuit. For members, LiUNA Racing instills pride in their union and the work they do.
“When you see something that you belong to on national TV – when you see our brand, our logo going around on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon, it makes you stop flipping the channels, tune in and see how Tyler’s doing. How the team is doing. It resonates, we’ve got 500,000 members so we’re able to resonate with a lot of those and hopefully grow through our partnership.”
Growth is a big part of the equation for LiUNA.
Tyler Ankrum putting LiUNA in the spotlight
Of course, the goal of any union is to provide for its members and to grow its member base. More members means the union has more power to strike and bargain with employers. Having Tyler Ankrum with such a visible profile only helps Mr. Booker and the union’s efforts.
NASCAR’s stomping grounds are the Southeast – everyone knows it. This also happens to be a rich region for construction work, but not necessarily union construction work. LiUNA wants to change that.
“We have opportunities to grow our unions in the southeast and connect with a population that is part of the construction industry,” President Book explained, “but maybe not part of the union construction industry … seeing LiUNA and Tyler’s commitment and him as an ambassador to union construction out there on a race weekend and us to be able to participate with him in some of the fan zone experiences [is good for membership].”
It isn’t just a wild guess – Booker and his union know construction workers are tuning into NASCAR each week. Both because of polling and because Booker himself was a fan of NASCAR during the 1990s and 2000s.
While the UAW used to be the union of NASCAR – sponsoring races from Las Vegas to Talladega – those days (for now) are gone. LiUNA is stepping up.
“It’s a good fit, right? It’s a fit for our membership, our membership growth, the demographics that have been presented to us showing that a lot of people who are following NASCAR also work in the construction industry,” Booker continued. “To be associated with NASCAR, to be associated with a specific team who has the same values as us is great.”
In 2024, Tyler Ankrum is going to be with McNally Hilgemann Racing and Chevy. No offense to his Hattori Racing team from the last two years, but he’s in better equipment now. With GMS Racing gone, MHR is taking the role of the big Chevy team.
Better results mean more exposure – and amid the rise in pro-union sentiment, that’s a great move for LiUNA.
LiUNA and the ‘union way of life’
2024 could be a major year for not just Tyler Ankrum but LiUNA as well. He will be back in solid race trucks and that could lead the way to more opportunities in the future. While the Truck Series has hundreds of thousands of viewers – Xfinity and Cup races get even more.
For now, LiUNA and President Booker are focused on Ankrum and their partnership with him. However, this season, one of the locals sponsored an Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas.
It all goes into helping the union, and unionism as a whole, grow.
“Having more people talking about the union way of life is only going to benefit us and our efforts to recruit new members, organize new members, and really, connect with the construction community through something we both like, through NASCAR.”
On the topic of the greater wave of pro-union sentiment in the United States, Mr. Booker pointed to the strikes of SAG-AFTRA, the Writer’s Guild, the UAW, and even UPS who avoided a strike but earned a great deal.
“They [all] got historic gains. I look at it as a rising tide lifts all boats, right? And you see that this worker empowerment – there’s something in the air. I think it’s post-COVID, Americans have had enough and they had enough being on the frontlines. … Our [collective union] members coming together and demanding to be treated fairly. I’m encouraged as to where we’re at, but I’m never satisfied with where we’re at.”
When the 2024 NASCAR season comes around – LiUNA is going to be out in full force supporting Tyler Ankrum. In return, they hope they can add more brothers and sisters to the union.