In a fitting tribute, UAW delegates honored retiring International Executive Board members Wednesday, highlighting their many labor achievements:

Despite his many accomplishments for the members since 1964, Ron Gettelfinger will always consider himself a chassis line repairman from Local 862. Photos by Rebecca Cook.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger
Known for his straight talk, commonsense solutions and strong union values, Ron Gettelfinger guided the union through an era of retrenchment as the nation slid into its worst recession in decades sending General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC and numerous auto suppliers and UAW employers into bankruptcy.

Gettelfinger started his union involvement in 1964 in Louisville, Ky., at Ford Motor Co.’s Assembly Plant as a chassis line repairman. The members of UAW Local 862 elected him to represent them as committeeman, bargaining chair and, in 1984, president.

In 1987 he became a member of the UAW-Ford National Negotiating Committee. That year UAW President Owen Bieber appointed Gettelfinger to the International staff and assigned him to UAW Region 3.
 
In 1992 he was elected Region 3 director, re-elected in 1995 and served until he was elected a UAW vice president in 1998. As vice president, Gettelfinger was director of the UAW National Ford and Aerospace departments. He was also responsible for the union’s Chaplaincy Program.

UAW members elected Gettelfinger to serve as the union’s president in 2002 and again in 2006.

UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn
Elizabeth Bunn was appointed by President Bieber as associate general counsel in 1985. UAW President Stephen P. Yokich recognized her dedication to the labor movement in 1995 and appointed her as his administrative assistant. She was elected UAW vice president in 1998, and in 2002 elected secretary-treasurer, becoming the highest-ranking woman in UAW history.

Bunn served as director of the union’s Technical, Office and Professional (TOP) Department from 1998 to 2006, and TOP Organizing since 2006. She provided critical support to UAW Local 1981's long legal struggle to protect copyrights on the Internet. In 2001 the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark ruling found that the New York Times and other publishers had committed copyright infringement when they resold newspaper and magazine articles via electronic databases without asking permission or making additional payments to the authors.

UAW Vice President Cal Rapson
Cal Rapson’s 45-year career as a distinguished trade unionist and community leader began in 1965 when he joined UAW Local 659 while working at the GM’s Chevrolet Engine Plant in Flint, Mich.

In 1988 Rapson served as coordinator of Active Training Programs at the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources. In 1989 he was appointed by then-Vice President Yokich as an administrative assistant in the union’s GM Department. He played a key role in negotiating the 1990 and 1993 national agreements at GM. He was assistant director of UAW Region 1C from 1995 to 1998, when he was elected regional director.

Rapson was elected a vice president of the International union in June 2002. He was elected to a second term as vice president on June 14, 2006.

UAW Vice President Terry Thurman
Terry Thurman began his UAW career working at GM’s Powertrain facility in Bedford, Ind., in 1978, and joined UAW Local 440.

A 1973 graduate of Indiana University where he received a bachelor’s degree in political science, Thurman was elected alternate committeeman and later Local 440 president in 1984.

President Bieber appointed Thurman to the International staff in August 1986, and delegates elected him UAW Region 3 director in 1998. As regional director, Thurman steered some of the union’s first groundbreaking card-check and neutrality agreements, and earned a reputation for never backing away from tough fights.

Thurman was elected vice president at the union’s 34th Constitutional Convention in 2006 and assigned to direct the National Organizing Department. He retired on June 30, 2008.

Elizabeth Bunn retires as the highest-ranking UAW woman in the union's history.

UAW Region 1 Director Joseph Peters
Joseph Peters, a UAW Local 400 member, first worked at Ford’s Mount Clemens (Mich.) Paint Plant. He was laid off in 1969 and rehired at Ford’s Utica (Mich.) Trim Plant that same year.

His rise through the UAW ranks began in 1978 when he was elected midnight shift committeeman. In 1981 he was elected to the plant bargaining committee, and three years later elected as chairman at the Utica Plant.

Peters was elected vice president of Local 400 in 1985, assumed the presidency in 1986 and was re-elected president in 1988. He was also elected delegate to the UAW’s 27th and 28th Constitutional Conventions in 1983 and 1986, respectively. He served as national negotiator from Sub-Council 5 for the UAW Ford negotiations in 1987.
 
In 1988 Peters was appointed to the International staff by President Bieber and assigned to the union’s National Ford Department serving under then-Vice President Yokich. During his 11 years in the union’s National Ford Department, Peters was involved in four sets of national negotiations.

Peters was elected regional director by delegates to the Region 1 Special Convention on Jan. 20, 2005, in Warren, Mich. He was re-elected on June 14, 2006.

UAW Region 1C Director Duane Zuckschwerdt
Duane Zuckschwerdt joined UAW Local 652 in 1964 when he started work at GM in Lansing, Mich. Members of Local 659 elected him to positions of increasing responsibility due to his union leadership skills and activism. In 1969 he was elected as an alternate committeeman, then committeeman, first vice president and, in June 1996, president of the local union.

In 1998 Zuckschwerdt was appointed to the International staff and assigned to UAW Region 1C. He served as the region’s education director from February 2002 until June 2002, when he was named assistant director of Region 1C by then-Director Bob Roth. As assistant director, Zuckschwerdt negotiated contracts, handled arbitration cases and assisted with organizing campaigns in the region.

Zuckschwerdt was elected director of Region 1C on June 14, 2006.

UAW Region 1D Director Don Oetman
Don Oetman began his work life in 1963 at Micromatic Textron in Holland, Mich., without union representation. By 1965 the workers, with the help and perseverance of Oetman, were dedicated UAW members. At UAW Local 1502, Oetman was a trailblazer, fighting to form the union at his worksite after being a first-hand witness to the unlevel playing field of workers without representation. In 1968 he was elected his local’s president and chairman, and he held both positions for 16 years until he was appointed to the International staff and assigned to UAW Region 1D in 1984.

In June 1995 he was appointed assistant director of Region 1D by then-Director George Andros. Oetman was elected director of the region in June 2002 at the 33rd UAW Constitutional Convention. He was re-elected on June 14, 2006, at the union's 34th Constitutional Convention in Las Vegas.

UAW Region 2B Director Lloyd Mahaffey
Lloyd Mahaffey joined UAW Local 750 in 1962 when he was hired at the Marion Division of Tecumseh Products in Marion, Ohio. He served his local in various positions, including president and chair of its bargaining committee.
 
In 1973 UAW President Leonard Woodcock appointed Mahaffey to the UAW International staff, assigned to the union’s Technical, Office and Professional Department. He served on the staff of the Conservation, Recreation and Consumer Affairs Departments from 1977 to 1979. He was assigned to the staff of UAW Independents, Parts and Suppliers (IPS) Department from 1979 to 1982.

Mahaffey was assigned to UAW Region 2B in 1982 and serviced northwestern Ohio members, until his appointment as assistant director in 1986. His assignments included the Toledo Jeep assembly plant and Johnson Controls Inc. battery plant.

He was elected Region 2B director in 1998, and re-elected in June 2002.

Delegates elected Mahaffey to a third term as director of UAW Region 2B on June 14, 2006. Mahaffey retired May 1, 2009.

UAW Region 9A Director Robert Madore
Bob Madore joined UAW Local 376 in 1964 when he began work as a machinist at Emhart Manufacturing in Windsor, Conn. He quickly became active in Local 376 and served the local in various leadership roles, including recording secretary, health and welfare administrator, shop chair, business agent, financial secretary and president.

Madore was appointed to the International staff in July 1989 and was named assistant director of UAW Region 9A by then-Director Phil Wheeler. In 1990 Madore helped lead UAW members back to their jobs at Colt Industries of Hartford, Conn., as partial owners of the company – and with a $13 million back-pay settlement, one of the largest ever awarded by the National Labor Relations Board.
 
Madore was elected Region 9A director on June 14, 2006.

Sandra Davis