Director Norwood H. Jewell

Norwood H. Jewell was elected director of UAW Region 1C by the delegates to the UAW’s 35th Constitutional Convention on June 16, 2010, in Detroit.

Jewell was appointed assistant director of Region 1C on June 14, 2006, at the union’s 34th Constitutional Convention in Las Vegas by President Ron Gettelfinger at the request of Region 1C Director Duane Zuckschwerdt.

The region, which is headquartered in Flint, Mich., covers an 11-county area of south central Michigan.

A UAW Local 659 member since 1976, Jewell worked at General Motors’ Flint Metal Fabricating plant. He started on the production line before becoming active in the union in 1988.

His union activism led to various elected positions at the local, beginning with alternate committeeman in 1988. From there he was elected committeeman in 1990 and district and shop committeeman in 1991. Jewell was re-elected to district and shop committeeman in 1993 and elected shop committeeman-at-large in 1994. He was elected bargaining committee chair at Flint Metal Center in 1996 and again in 1999. Jewell was one of the key figures during the historic strike of 1998 between the UAW and GM.

He was elected to the National Bargaining Committee in 1998 and served on the bargaining team during the 1999 UAW-GM National Negotiations.

In 2000 Jewell was appointed to the International staff by UAW President Stephen P. Yokich at the request of Vice President Richard Shoemaker and assigned to the UAW-GM Health and Safety Department as a plant auditor for the GM Truck Assembly plants and co-chair over the UAW-GM/Delphi Ergonomics Program for the UAW.  Jewell was reassigned to service American Axle and Manufacturing under the direction of Vice President Cal Rapson in 2002.  In 2004 Jewell was reassigned to Region 1-C as a servicing representative with GM, IPS and TOP assignments in both Lansing and Flint.

Jewell is a loyal University of Michigan fan and enjoys spending time with his wife, Suzette, and their four children: Tabatha, Derik, Wes and Justin.