Reconnecting with family
“Steve Yokich did a wonderful thing in bargaining for families and winning the UAW Ford Family Service and Learning Centers.
“My husband, Steve, works the B shift at the truck plant as an assembler-technician so he starts work at 6 p.m. I used to work as a sales representative for Xerox, but with two kids, Nicholas, 6, and Sophia, 3, and a good UAW contract, I am a stay-at-home mom for now. With Steve’s schedule, I also live the single mom life. I was at a loss. Since the Louisville center opened in March, I have gotten to meet other UAW Ford moms and families.
“A mailer was sent out in March listing all the classes and programs that were being offered at the center. I signed up for a cooking class and weight loss clinic. I lost 35 pounds in 12 weeks and learned how to develop a healthier lifestyle.
“My dad and Sophia took an intergenerational craft class together at the center for toddlers and grandparents. The one-on-one time between them was great for their relationship. Dad has gone on to take even more art classes at the center.
“Stewardship is very important to me, so I have tried to give back to the center by volunteering at the switchboard so that person can attend the center’s staff meetings.”
Corrine Luvisi’s husband, Steve, is a member of UAW Local 862.
My friend, Stephen
“To most, Stephen was seen as a hard-nosed, crusty bargainer with little compassion and brutal bluntness. To those who knew him best, however, he was a man of great warmth, humor, boundless energy and grace. To his enemies, he was both loathed and feared. But to his friends, he was generous and loyal to a fault — although friendship never stood in the way of one of his infamous ‘a** chewings’ if he felt you’d screwed up.
“Stephen had a special gift for getting at the essence of complex problems, and having the wisdom and instincts to choose the best possible solution. He encouraged ideas and had the guts to try out new answers to old problems. He held to his convictions strongly (and at times stubbornly, some would say), but he didn’t hesitate to change course when a situation demanded flexibility. He also had the desire and drive to push a step beyond where most thought possible.
“All this — in combination with his passion for argument and unpredictability — made working with Stephen both a joy and a challenge, particularly in negotiations. I’m speaking for myself here; I suspect the employers he faced across the bargaining table would describe the experience quite differently.
“To the very end, Stephen dedicated his life and his passion to making life better for UAW members and their families. As someone who worked with him for over three decades, I am both proud and thankful to have shared in that and to have been able to call him my friend.”
Frank Musick is retired director of UAW Special Projects.
Making industry stronger
“Steve wasn’t only concerned about the UAW and auto workers. He was concerned about the auto industry, too. One of his greatest successes was getting company and union to work together and to get the auto companies to see that the interests of shareholders and workers are the same.
“You saw the impact of Steve’s leadership at the visitation that was held for him. There was a tremendous number of Big Three and part supplier executives who came to honor him. They were genuinely appreciative of his helping to make their companies and the industry stronger. They had high regard for his integrity.
“While Steve was successful in bringing union and management together to work on many matters of mutual concern like CAFE and in creating a new relationship between labor and company, he could not overcome the unendingly hostile opposition by the industry toward the union’s position around NAFTA and fair trade. But then with the Big Three themselves being multi-national corporations, their interests were different from the UAW’s.”
Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.
He never gave up
“Steve was the type of person who cared about everybody. It didn’t matter if you were talking about General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Ford or a little plant down the street. If someone needed help, he was there to offer it.
“And he had so many good ideas about what we could do as a union.
“I remember thinking that we’d never get the Election Day holiday. I never would have believed that. But Steve never gave up, just like he never gave up on the job security issue when he was vice president of the GM Department.
“When it came to trade policy, he was staunch in his beliefs and always looked out for our membership and how it affected them.
“I could go on and on …”
Jim Wells is director of UAW Region 5.
