[4][5] LIUNA's origins stretch back to the 19th century when local construction unions began popping up across the United States.

The purpose of the committee was to ensure that union members could take advantage of the jobs created by the Interstate Highway Act of 1954.

[10] In 1968, the union expanded to include over 60,000 new workers from the National Association of Post Office Mail Handlers, Watchmen, Messengers and Group Leaders.

[10] During the 1970s, LIUNA continued to push for improved education and training for its workers despite a slowdown in construction projects.

For instance, in 1971, LIUNA's Laborers – Associated General Contractors Fund completed a film and held its first national training conference.

[10] In 1981, LIUNA locals in New York sought to improve their benefits by offering drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

The purpose of NELTA was to spread awareness of the dangers of asbestos and teach union members how to safely remove it.

[13] Then, six years later, LIUNA signed a national agreement with the Asbestos Abatement Contractors Association ensuring safer working conditions for all its members.

[10] Two years prior to that, the union won another significant victory when the Department of Labor formally recognized highway flaggers as members of LIUNA.

[13] One year later, LIUNA locals in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., followed the example set by New York unions and instituted drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

By 1994, the United States Department of Labor had recognized construction as an apprenticeable occupation, which allowed LIUNA to establish its own apprenticeship program.

As a result, LIUNA added approximately 5,200 Riverside, California County workers along members of the Canadian Licensed Practical Nurses Association.

In one particular case, the Buffalo, New York wing of the Italian mafia controlled Local 210 of the LIUNA for decades.

LIUNA contracts also cover some non-members, known as agency fee payers, which since 2006 have numbered comparatively less than 1% of the size of the union's membership.