Thirty-five years ago, on 7 April 1990, the regular republic-wide congress of the Trade Union of Forestry, Paper and Woodworking Industry Workers took place – the last one held while Latvia was still formally part of the USSR. The Popular Front was already active at the time and the winds of the Awakening were in the air, so the congress resolved to transform the organisation into the Latvian Forest Sector Trade Union and to consider that, from that moment on, the statutes of the USSR trade unions and of the sector trade union's Central Committee were no longer binding upon it.

To mark the 35th anniversary of this historic event, the flag of the Latvian Forest Sector Trade Union (LMNA) was re-consecrated on 7 April 2025 at St Albert's Roman Catholic Church in Riga. The ceremony was attended by the LMNA leadership as well as representatives of the trade union organisations of AS “Latvijas Finieris” and the State Forest Service, while the flag was carried to the altar, accompanied by the Latvian national anthem, by Aivars Sīmansons – a long-standing trade union activist and one of the former chairs of the LMNA (2010-2017).

“The LMNA flag was first consecrated in May 1998, at the 3rd LMNA congress. Back then the flag was carried by the oldest congress delegate, Jānis Zauka,” says LMNA chair Kristīne Rapa. “These are turbulent times for the LMNA, for the forest sector, for Latvia and for the world as a whole. I am convinced that a symbolic act such as this matters a great deal in strengthening what is positive and inspiring people to act for the common good. The theory that the sole law and ultimate purpose of economic activity is profit is not morally acceptable. At the heart of the Church's social teaching are principles that are understandable and acceptable to everyone: human dignity and rights, justice and peace, work and the economy, individual and common good. It stands for humanity and fraternity in social life.”

It should be noted that the LMNA flag is a symbol of the organisation, in which every element has its own meaning. The proportions of the colours on the LMNA flag are identical to those of the flag of the Republic of Latvia, except that green takes the place of red, while the trade union's motto is embroidered on the white stripe of the flag: “STRENGTH IN UNITY”. At the centre of the flag is the LMNA emblem – the outlines of four spruce trees in the shape of an auseklis.

The oldest flags preserved in the territory of Latvia are held at the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation. The oldest trade union flag from the first period of Latvian independence dates from 1923, while historical sources from 1935 mention 42 flags belonging to various trade unions.