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General Holiefield• Elected vice president in June at UAW Convention; directs Daimler- • Previously served as executive administrative assistant to President Ron Gettelfinger; and an administrative assistant to Vice President Nate Gooden. • Coordinated 2003 DaimlerChrysler national negotiating committees; played a major role in ratifying national agreement. • Appointed to International staff in 1995; assigned to Chrysler Department; named appeals board coordinator in 1997, handling department’s arbitration cases; in 1999 named an assistant director. • Joined UAW in 1973; worked at Chrysler’s Jefferson assembly plant in Detroit; transferred to Chrysler axle plant in 1975; became active in Local 961. Elected chief steward in 1987 and vice president in 1990; became president two years later when predecessor retired; elected president in 1993. • Member of Michigan Democratic Party and UAW Legal Services Board, life member of NAACP. • Age 53; lives in Macomb County (Mich.) with his wife, Marlene; three children: Shaelyn, Chalfonte and General Jr. |
General Holiefield, You’re known for your activism. What motivated you? A lot of excellent role models, including my late grandmother, Nellie Moore, who worked at Chrysler’s Highland Park (Mich.) plant in the 1940s. In my early 20s, I worked at Chrysler’s Jefferson assembly plant and later went to the axle plant in Detroit. I was having a problem with my supervisor, and asked Local 961 President Jordan Ulysses Sims if management could do those things. He pulled out our contract and said, “Read this and I’ll be back.” I read it cover to cover, and sure enough he came back a few days later. I never did find the answer, but I did find the limitations on management. He took me under his wing and got me to read the master agreement and the Constitution and get more involved. What would you say to someone who says we don’t need unions anymore? That we need unions more than ever. Corporate America has put the water hose to working families. I’d say there’s still a need for social and economic justice. And as long as you have a White House with a total disregard for our American manufacturing base, and we’re consistently losing jobs here, there’s a need for unions. We need to re-educate our workforce and get back to the grassroots. We must define a course, and working together we’ll find our way back. President Gettelfinger is moving this union in the right direction. By keeping the issues out there and talking to Congress, he’s done a yeoman’s job of bringing American workers’ struggle to the forefront. In the 2003 DaimlerChrysler negotiations, you coordinated the national negotiating committees and played a major role in ratifying the national agreement. What do you anticipate for Big Three negotiations in 2007? I’m not going to sugar-coat it: These will be tough. The union’s agenda will be put together by our membership. We’ll do our best for our members. What should members focus on in the November elections? Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has been doing a fine job, despite being dealt a wicked hand from her predecessor. She inherited a state plagued with problems, but she’s made gains. I’ll be out there swinging the bat for her. It would be devastating to have someone other than her as governor. We don’t need the same type of governing we get from Washington. What about the 2008 presidential elections? Our country is in trouble. I’m not sure who will be on the ticket, but I’m sure the cream will rise to the top. And we’ll support those who support us.
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