Rewarding service

Until the doors closed at Hayes Lemmerz in Howell, Mich., I was an active UAW member. I was recording secretary and served on the bargaining committee. But what I will miss the most is the Community Services Committee. Years ago we weren’t sure where to start, but after meeting UAW Local 845 members at Black Lake who led us in the right direction, we always had an agenda.

We participated in many activities, including planting trees, bowl-a-thons, car washes, rummage sales, Christmas food baskets, raffles, adopt-a-highway, candy bar sales, sock and coat drives, blood drives, picnics — anything we could think of to help those in need.
I chaired our CSC for nearly 17 years and found it extremely rewarding. If your local has a CSC, I encourage you to get involved. If not, dive in and organize a CSC. In the future, I hope to work in another UAW-represented facility and serve on the CSC.

Cynthia M. McDuff
Former member of UAW Local 147
Whitmore Lake, Mich.

Unstoppable force

So many technological innovations are available to us now that we couldn’t have dreamed of before. At the same time, so many unions in this country find themselves in extremely difficult situations. The tools are available and the union foundation is firm in its place, but unlike the lesser-equipped generations before us we lack the one most important resource of all: committed people. If we combined the fire of earlier generations with the technology we have today, we would be an unstoppable force of unity and solidarity. The fight can’t be won by a handful of elected union officials. We’re all soldiers in this struggle. We must fight legislation like the right-to-work laws. They destroy families and unions. We must strengthen our CAP committees. The responsibility is yours and mine. We owe it to ourselves, our families and the generations that came before us to take action now. Do not be idle and uninformed. Everything depends on it.

Todd M. Jordan
UAW Local 292
Kokomo, Ind.

Stick together

Our contract with Howmet/Alcoa Corp. will be up in June, and we need to get strong enough to handle negotiations. Times are changing, and people are not as strong with the union as we used to be. My belief in the importance of the union was highlighted when, after a seven-year layoff, I was able to get my job back. Our union saved my job. We have been lucky. We know this can change at any time. That’s why we need to stick together.

Barbara Van Vleet
UAW Local 1243
Whitehall, Mich.