2007 archives

Members elect leadership team

Sept. 2007 ballot tally
for Local 547 officers

Office	Candidate Name	# of Votes	% of Votes
Business Manager	Philip Schloop	586	71%
	Gary Lucy	242	29%
Vice President	Rick Loos	541	66%
	Ronald D. Diebel, Esq.	103	12%
	Gary Lucy	179	22%
Recording-Corresponding Sec'y	Eric Karteczka	600	74%
	Steven Goebel	208	26%
Financial Secretary	Garie Thomas-Bass	573	71%
	John Goins	238	29%
Treasurer	James Angus	523	64%
	Sue Drobot	148	18%
	Ben Gibson	142	18%
Trustee	Michael Hasler	568	25%
(3 Positions)	Rachel Howell	596	27%
	Kevin Seiler	596	27%
	Dave Robin	236	10%
	Dennis Rourke	238	11%
Auditor	Thornell Curry	523	22%
(3 Positions)	Rich Flis	587	26%
	Linda Lowe	549	23%
	Ben Gibson	197	8%
	Timothy Gladney	185	8%
	John Goins	163	7%
	Paul Taylor	160	6%

 

 

MICHIGAN GETS A RAISE

Governor Signs Minimum Wage Bill

A CLEAR VICTORY FOR WORKING PEOPLE!

OUR LEGISLATIVE LOBBYING TEAM
WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

 

 

‘The Eyes of the Nation Were on Monroe’

Today, the River Raisin meanders gently through the town of Monroe, some fifty miles south of Detroit, on its way to Lake Erie, offering a quiet refuge for boating and recreation.

Seventy years ago, it was a different kind of scene as thousands of police and members of a civilian posse besieged 120 picketing steelworkers and their supporters outside the Newton Steel plant near a river’s banks. Armed with baseball bats, they lobbed tear gas into groups of workers and their families and set the strikers’ kitchen on fire. By the end of the day on June 10, 1937, the mob had thrown a dozen cars belonging to pickets over the banks and into the river.

The workers in Monroe were taking part in a national campaign by the Steel Workers Organizing Committee to organize the “Little Steel” companies that had declined to follow giant U.S. Steel in recognizing the union. One of those, Republic Steel, had recently taken control of Newton. Just a few days before the Monroe battles, 10 workers at Republic’s Chicago plant were shot and killed in what became known as the Memorial Day Massacre.

Now, with the focus shifting to Monroe, media from all over the U.S. flocked to the city to cover an anticipated showdown between the company and the union supporters. Every hotel room in town was taken.

“That day, I saw hundreds and hundreds of people all around the plant,” recalls Monroe resident Monroe Gerald Soncrant. “I saw men chasing men with ball bats, and a string of autos going west with the injured inside. There was tear gas all around, flashbulbs were going off and radio reporters were broadcasting from the scene.”

As the fighting became fierce, the UAW called on its supporters from Detroit and elsewhere to meet in Monroe to protest the violence. Thousands showed up.

The union supporter had to wait 10 years for victory. Workers went back into the plant, which was eventually sold to the Kelsey-Hayes Corp., which recognized UAW Local 723 in 1947.

On May 11, the Monroe County Labor History Museum dedicated a historical marker near the long-closed plant honoring those early union pioneers. The marker stands adjacent to the River Raisin Battlefield Visitors Center, which tells the story of a much earlier battle on the same site during the War of 1812, when British soldiers fought American troops. Soncrant; Bill Conner, president of the Labor Museum board; Dr. David Nixon, president of Monroe County Community College; Bob Cebina, president of UAW Local 723, and historian Dr. James E. DeVries unveiled the marker.

Following the unveiling, Conner and others opened a new exhibit at the labor museum. “The Eyes of the Nation Were on Monroe” tells the story of the 1937 struggle through photographs, reproductions of picket signs and contemporary media.

The historical marker is located near 1403 East Elm St., Monroe, Michigan. The Monroe County Labor History Museum is housed in the Philip P. Murray Building, 41 West Front St., and is open Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on weekends by appointment. You can view exhibit highlights online at www.monroelabor.org.

 

 

House Labor Takes Up School Collective Bargaining Bill

View Article (pdf)

 

Public School Collective Bargaining

House bill 4533 - 3rd Party Non-Instructional Contracts

View Legislation (pdf)

 

School Staff Union Bill Gets a Look

View Article