Retired VP Martin Gerber
Longest-serving UAW board member helped launch Reuther presidency
He was a fighter all his life — whether it was in the boxing ring, workplace or political arena. A UAW officer and activist for more than 45 years, Martin Gerber’s energy, enthusiasm and leadership helped build the UAW as an effective voice for social change on behalf of all working families. He passed away Jan. 28 at age 89.
“The UAW is a better union because of the commitment, courage and contributions of Martin Gerber,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. “He was a great man and true trade unionist who believed in the power of workers’ solidarity.”
An outstanding athlete, Gerber won the New Jersey state Golden Gloves championship in 1937 at the age of 21. That same year he turned his skills to fighting for better wages and working conditions when he hired into General Motors’ Linden, N.J., assembly plant.
Gerber helped organize the plant in 1938. In 1939 he was elected bargaining committee chair of UAW Local 595. In 1941 he became an international representative, and in 1944 he was elected director of UAW Region 9.
At just 28 years old, Gerber was the youngest person ever elected to the UAW International Executive Board. He served on the IEB for 39 years, a record that has never been matched.
In 1945, at the Hotel Durant in Flint, Gerber was one of a handful of UAW activists who helped Walter Reuther launch his successful bid for UAW president, a move that transformed our union.
Under Gerber’s leadership, Region 9 grew from 20,000 to 120,000 members. He took part in numerous challenging organizing and bargaining campaigns, including a dramatic 1949 strike at Bell Aircraft in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Gerber was injured during the strike, with fractures to his skull and collarbone. He was unconscious for a week, but was sent to jail instead of the hospital, receiving medical attention only after intervention by Eleanor Roosevelt.
Gerber was indicted for “inciting to riot” at Bell Aircraft, but his conviction was overturned when it was proved that he was out of the state at the time of the alleged crime.
After 33 years of service as regional director, Gerber was elected vice president by delegates to the 1977 UAW Constitutional Convention. He served as director of the Organizing, Technical, Office and Professional (TOP), and Competitive Shops Departments.
Nothing made him happier, his daughter, Lois, recalls, “than helping out the guys in the plant. That was his reason for living.”
Gerber was also a political activist, a strong supporter of civil rights and civil liberties, and a supporter of fair housing campaigns.
Following his retirement from the UAW in 1983, Gerber worked for the Region 9 Housing Corp., which builds affordable housing for the elderly.
He was a life member of the NAACP, a delegate to six Democratic national conventions, a vice president of the Jewish Labor Committee, and a member of the board of trustees of the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry.
He is survived by Florence, his beloved wife of 65 years; daughter, Lois; son, Edmund; four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
