‘HE HAS PUT HIS HEART AND SOUL INTO GROWING THIS UNION’
VP Terry Thurman retires after 30 years with UAW
Terry Thurman has traded in his work boots for retirement.
The UAW vice president, who has served this union and its members for the last three decades, retired June 30.
Thurman began his UAW career working at the General Motors' Powertrain facility in Bedford, Ind., in 1978, and joined UAW Local 440.
The former UAW Region 3 director was elected vice president at the union's 34th Constitutional Convention in 2006 and assigned to direct the National Organizing Department.
"Terry did an outstanding job as regional director. In 2006 Terry rose to the challenge of being a vice president of our great union. He has put his heart and soul into growing our union and gave great leadership to the organizing department," said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.
"All of us on the UAW International Executive Board have enjoyed working with Terry, and we will miss his input, his energy and his dedication to helping others in every way possible. We wish him and his family the very best during his retirement years," Gettelfinger added.
Before going to work for GM, Thurman received a bachelor's degree in political science from Indiana University in 1973.
Eager to make a difference in his local union, Thurman immediately got involved. With just one year's seniority, Thurman was elected alternate committeeman and later elected Local 440 president in 1984.
"I got active because I wanted to articulate UAW positions on a number of issues — at work and in the community. Everything we do, everything we negotiate, is tied to the political process. Politics impacts us in ways members do not even realize, from state grants to train members on new technology to asking representatives to oppose the WTO," said Thurman, 57. "We need to support politicians who support us. Organized labor created America's middle class."
Thurman was appointed to the UAW staff in August 1986 and elected director of Region 3 in 1998. As regional director, Thurman steered some of the union's first groundbreaking card-check and neutrality agreements and earned a reputation for never backing away from tough fights.
When automotive parts supplier Delco Remy America plant refused to pay 350 workers the Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (SUB) as provided by the contract in 2003, Thurman led the fight that resulted in the company agreeing in to pay the workers $5.25 million. He also led the nearly eight-year struggle for a first contract for UAW members at Duffy Tool & Stamping in Muncie, Ind.
In addition, Thurman's dedication and commitment to building community is shown through his work in the creation of the Director's Charitable Fund, a nonprofit organization that has helped raise more than $350,000 for the children's charity, Make-A-Wish.
He also started the UAW Region 3 Annual Diversity Dinner and Awards program, which recognizes community members through the James Smith Diversity Award for their commitment to equality, tolerance and human dignity.
Recognized for his community efforts, Thurman has received the Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana's highest honor; Kentucky Colonel; the Indiana Trial Lawyers' Hoosier Freedom Award, and awards from the NAACP, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and the A. Philip Randolph Institute.
Though Thurman leaves the UAW leadership, he won't shed his solidarity to his UAW family or his dreams of a better tomorrow for today's workers.
"Time doesn't really alter the goals or the challenges of the labor movement. From the very first craft guilds to the unions of today, workers have always banded together to improve their stations in life and the lives of others," he said, adding:
"As the saying goes, 'Time marches on.' But I can assure you, so do we."
