Gettelfinger Elected Head of UAW Wed Jun 5, 2:31 PM ET
By ED GARSTEN, AP Auto Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Ron Gettelfinger was elected Wednesday to succeed Stephen Yokich as president of the United Auto Workers (news - web sites) at the union's constitutional convention.
Gettelfinger, 57, had been a union vice president since 1998 and headed the UAW's Ford Motor Co. department where he made his mark in leading negotiations during the 1998 contract talks.
Elizabeth Bunn was elected as secretary-treasurer and becomes the highest ranking woman in the union's history. As a member of the National Writers union prior to its affiliation with the UAW, Bunn also is the highest ranking officer to come from a non-automotive arm of the union.
Also elected by the approximately 2,000 delegates were Gerald Bantom, Nate Gooden, Bob King, Cal Rapson and Dick Shoemaker as vice presidents.
The results never were seriously in doubt. The slate was nominated by the union's administrative caucus last November. Every presidential candidate chosen by the caucus since 1946 has won.
Gettelfinger is a tough-talking, media-shy, religious man from Frenchtown, Ind. He spent most of his career in Louisville, Ky., at UAW Local 862, which represents Ford's assembly plant there.
Rosa Garcia, a worker at the General Motors Corp. truck and bus plant in Fort Wayne, Ind. said she supports Gettelfinger even though she doesn't know that much about him. "He's got a lot of energy," she said.
Art Luna, of Local 602 in Lansing, Mich., said Gettelfinger and his team are "experienced, positive and care a lot about the membership," but they must not lead the union in a vacuum.
"With a lot of global competition going on, we need to get together with unions from other countries to network and become a stronger power," Luna said.
The new officers will be sworn in on Thursday following farewell speeches from outgoing president Yokich and secretary-treasurer Ruben Burks.
Yokich, 66, retired after two terms as the union's president because a union policy discourages seeking another term after age 65.
Gettelfinger will have to spend the next year preparing for contract talks with the major domestic automakers. The current four-year pact expires in September 2003.
The union will shape its strategy at its bargaining convention which begins here on Saturday.
He is sure to keep a close eye on the results of this summer's negotiations between the Canadian Auto Workers (news - web sites) and the U.S. automakers.
Holding onto union jobs just as the major domestic automakers are attempting to reduce manufacturing capacity will be a priority.
Gettelfinger takes over at a time when the union is not only fighting to hang onto jobs, but fighting to rebuild a membership base that's dwindled over the last 30 years to just over 700,000.