Walter Wise, an American labor union leader, died on February 26, 2026.
Born Walter Witten Wise Jr. in Bluefield, West Virginia, on November 5, 1951, he studied engineering at Virginia Tech after his family moved to California and later returned to Virginia.
In 1973, he began an apprenticeship as an ironworker in Roanoke, Virginia, and joined the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers. He later served as business manager of his local union, was elected president of the Mid-Atlantic States District Council in 1998, and became a general vice-president of the international union. Wise also served as general treasurer, general secretary in 2008, and general president in 2011, and he was a vice-president of the AFL-CIO before retiring in 2015.
Walter Witten Wise Jr. (November 5, 1951 – February 12, 2026) was an American labor union leader.