Activism born out of appreciation
’I know where my help came from,’ retiree says of her union
Almost from the day she was hired on the assembly line at the Ford Motor Co.’s Sheldon Road Plant in Plymouth, Mich., Marie LeBlanc became an activist.
“I was appointed an alternate committeeman pretty much right away. That was before we started electing them,” she said. “My job was to step in if someone couldn’t be there.”
Some 30 years later it’s clear that once LeBlanc got started, little could stop her.
A member of UAW Local 845, LeBlanc joined the union in 1967. In 1978, after serving as an alternate committee-person, members elected LeBlanc to serve as a district committee-person.
Later they elected her to the bargaining committee – the first woman at her local to hold the position. Then she was elected five more times after that.
“Back then,” she said, “being on the bargaining committee was considered to be a man’s job. I told them that after all, who better than women can get things done and not give in until they win?”
After retiring in 1994, she didn’t slow down. LeBlanc now serves on the executive board of her local’s retiree chapter.
Indeed, she insists her activism was born out of appreciation.
“The UAW allowed me to raise my children and make a very good wage. I know where my help came from,” she said.
As a young union member, LeBlanc studied Michigan labor law, paid attention to the UAW-Ford contract and kept an open line with lawyers and congressional representatives.
She talked with other union members to find out what was on their minds and made sure specific concerns of women workers were clear.
And she handled it all as a single mother raising three daughters and two sons.
“I never wanted to just sit still,” she said. “I really got an education in bargaining. I had the opportunity to go places and do things. That is something that I was really grateful for.”
LeBlanc said she is excited to watch her retiree chapter grow from a handful of involved members to 75 or more who participate in monthly meetings and regular activities.
She’s quick to remind retirees and everyone else that “the UAW is the only union that doesn’t forget its retirees.”
LeBlanc dismisses labels such as pioneer or trailblazer. She understands that her actions did help open doors for working men and women. But her focus remains on the collective effort.
“I didn’t do anything alone,” she said. “There are a lot of people who came together. It was never just me.”
