He Lit the Torch
Al Bardelli
1909-2002
The last surviving member of the UAW bargaining committee that negotiated the first union contract with Ford Motor Co. in 1941 died Nov. 4.
A living link to UAW history, Al Bardelli continued to be sought out for interviews by journalists and labor leaders from around the world until poor health forced him into a nursing home this year. Until he suffered a stroke, Bardelli had been an active member of the retiree chapter of UAW Local 600, where he once served as president of the local glass plant unit in the Ford Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Mich.
Bardelli was 93.
“The passing of Al Bardelli ends a chapter in union history. He and the others of his generation stood up against tyranny and inhumane plant conditions, lighting the torch of unionism at the Ford Motor Co. in 1941,” said Local 600 President Jerry Sullivan.
