By: Alex Ortiz

I recently returned from the UAW Independent Parts Supplier (IPS) Conference held in Louisville, Kentucky. It was great to see the IPS Department get back on schedule.

The IPS Department is overseen but the IUAW Vice President Rich Boyer, who continually reminded the delegates to the conference that IPS has enormous power to bargain for better pay and benefits. The motto for IPS is that “you can’t roll without us!” All of the IPSs that supply OEMs have the power when we all stick together. This is what Solidarity is all about.

These conferences allow leaders from across the U.S. to discuss issues that affect every sector of IPS. My biggest take-away from the meetings is the disparity between pay and benefits for UAW workers who supply parts to all the OEMs in the transportation industry.

Without getting into specifics, it is apparent to me that each of the bargaining segments need to have a master agreement to ensure a level playing field in their specific segment. This would ensure that companies would stop forcing UAW workers from being pitted against each other for work.

A huge congratulations to the Region 1A Director Laura Dickerson, who will become International UAW Vice President and director of the Ford Department when IUAW VP Chuck Browning retires at the end of June. Elected by the International Executive Board, Director Dickerson will be the first African-American woman IUAW Vice President.

During the summer months that our regular unit meetings and Joint council have been cancelled, the Executive Board continues the regular business of our Union Hall. The business and expenditures will be presented to the membership for approval when the Joint Council reconvenes in September.

The 659 Executive Board has approved 24 delegates for Summer School at Black Lake. There are 2 spots allocated for each of our bargaining units and one selection for each of the officers. If you are interested in attending the training this year, please let your bargaining chairperson know that you would like to be selected.

I encourage anyone who is interested in knowing more about how our Union works and how to be a better Union member to ask to attend the training. Local 659 pays for your registration, travel and wages for the week at the Walter and May Reuther UAW Education Center on Black Lake, near Onaway, MI. If you are selected, we ask that you attend your Unit meetings (which you should already be doing) and share what you have learned.

Roughly half our membership will not be working during the 4th of July week (June 30- July 4). The Union Hall will be open regular hours on Monday, June 30th, and Tuesday July 1st, but will be closed from Wednesday, July 2nd, through the weekend. We will reopen on Monday, July 7th.

Having said that, I would like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Fourth of July Holiday.

It was quite ironic that the day after I submitted my report last month, I learned of one of our members who did not exercise their Weingarten rights and ended up in a bad spot. A spot that causes grievance handlers to lose sleep at night. If you don’t know what your Weingarten rights are, please go back and read my last article. If you don’t have that paper anymore, my article can be found on our website at local659.net

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