Ron Brady’s Lifetime of Commitment
Local 1982's Past President Recognized

Rockford area UAW members support Local 1720.

Ron Brady’s working life started out like many of ours, but it’s taken a few twists and turns that he would have never expected.

In 1974 Brady started at ERTL in Dyersville, Iowa. A number of his co-workers were talking about forming a union, and Ron joined the UAW organizing committee. They were successful, and the following year UAW Local 1982 was born.

At age 24, he was elected local union president, and his co-workers re-elected him each time up until the year 2000. Over those years, Brady negotiated nine contracts, got an apprenticeship program certified by both the Deptartment of Labor and the UAW, and oversaw the Safety, CAP and Apprenticeship committees.

Brady also was a Democratic Party precinct captain and delegate to county and state conventions of the Iowa Democratic Party.

He even found time to assist in a number of UAW organizing drives over the years.

Sadly, the owners of ERTL decided that there was more money to be made if the collectable John Deere toy tractors and other products were made in Mexico.

Brady and his co-workers are yet another example of the real price U.S. workers are paying for NAFTA.
But the story doesn’t end there. In the year 2000, Ron was hired by the state of Iowa as an OSHA inspector. Now, he continues to do what he’s been doing since age 24; making the lives of Iowa’s working people a little better.

At the Iowa CAP conference in October, Brady was presented with the UAW’s Douglas A. Fraser Community Services Swift Award.

A second award was given to State Sen. John Kibbie for his many years of service in both the Iowa House and Senate. A Bronze Star recipient from the Korean War, Kibbie runs his family livestock and grain farm operations.

Like the common swift, the bird that the award is named after, these recipients possess the qualities of persistence, integrity and achievement. This award is a fitting tribute to Ron Brady and John Kibbie for their purpose in life, commitment to change, unity, and securing a better future for everyone.

Chris Johnson
Local 997

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