Helping ease the way for drivers and other travelers

Maria Mercado works in the Michigan Secretary of State office in Belleville, south of Detroit, and is a steward for UAW Local 6000.

It's an anxious moment for most new drivers getting their first license.

"Every Local 6000 member does their best to help ease the anxiety of getting a license or licensing a boat or other vehicle," said Maria Mercado, one of the local's stewards.

More than 2,100 UAW members work for the state's motor vehicle and licensing offices in 146 locations throughout Michigan. On an average day more than 150 people visit one of Michigan's Secretary of State offices, said Mercado,who with her seven co-workers serves people in the Belleville community, just south of Detroit.

"It's a real rite of passage for people – at any age – to get their first license. Being able to help them gives me a great deal of pleasure," she said.

Over the years, several improvements have been made to speed up the licensing process, including more online and mail-in options.

In April they launched a new online program to make travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean easier. The state Legislature, along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, created a program allowing citizens to get an enhanced driver's license or enhanced personal identification card.

The program is keeping Mercado and her fellow UAW members busier than ever.

"The popularity of this program has been so great that nearly twice as many people have applied as was projected," she said.

John Hammond