Pictured Above: New UAW President Bob King (left) and Vice President General Holiefield give "thumbs up" during the UAW's 35th Constitutional Convention in Detroit.  (Photo courtesy of www.UAW.org)

(DETROIT) - More than 1,200 delegates to the 35th UAW (United Auto Workers) Constitutional Convention in Detroit have overwhelmingly elected Bob King to succeed Ron Gettelfinger as president.  King will be sworn in today to a four-year term as president.

King's election brought change to the UAW across the board and also reached into Western New York.  UAW Region 9 Director Joe Ashton was elected vice president of the UAW's General Motors Company Bargaining Unit.  Region 9, which is headquartered in Amherst, oversees Western and Central New York, as well as New Jersey and portions of Pennsylvania.

As a result of Ashton's election, Region 9 Assistant Director Scott Adams has been promoted to director.  "There's no greater honor than to represent this great membership," Adams said.  "You can't do this unless you have the support of the membership and staff, and I thank you for that.  Joe Ashton kept this region together.  Now, it's under my watch."

King prevailed by a vote of 2,115.095 to 74,549 against 61-year-old challenger Gary Walkowicz, a UAW Local 600 bargaining committee member at the Ford Motor Company's Dearborn Truck Plant.  The constitutionally-required roll call vote lasted more than one hour and ended with Gettelfinger saying: "Ladies and gentleman, you have just witnessed democracy in action."

King, 63, has been a UAW vice president since 1998 and headed the UAW's National Ford and Independents, Parts and Suppliers (IPS) departments since 2006.  He played a major role in both the UAW Ford 2007 National Agreement and the 2009 modifications to the agreement.

Delegate Bernie Ricke, president of UAW Local 600 - King's home local - nominated him.

"The support from Region 1A was always there whether you were a mine worker from Pittston, a Steelworker from Ravenswood or a UAW member from Caterpillar.  Bob's leadership meant getting himself and many of his friends arrested in acts of non-violent, civil disobedience to publicize and support the Detroit newspaper workers' fight for justice," Ricke said.  "We're all proud of his accomplishments.  He always reminded us that there are no personal victories.  Only through the strategic use of our institutional power and the solidarity of our membership and leadership will we win the social and economic justice that all workers deserve."

Re-elected a vice president in 2002 and 2006, King's leadership of the National Organizing Department assisted nearly 80,000 workers in their efforts to join the UAW.  He pioneered the use of innovative neutrality and majority signup with employers giving workers the right to join the UAW without interference from their employers. 

Delegate Vera Newton of UAW Local 862 in Louisville, Kentucky, praised King's leadership skills and the diversity of his team. 

"I see women.  I see minorities.  I see strength. With this team, we can reach from one generation and pull up our next generation," Newton said. "I have a concern that our next generation doesn't understand what our Union Forefathers went through.  King's team is the bridge that connects his father and our fathers to our children - a connection from the old to the new."

Delegates also elected by acclamation UAW Region 4 Director Dennis Williams to the post of secretary-treasurer. He succeeds retiring UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn.
 
Delegate Kevin Johnson, UAW Local 807 president in Burlington, Iowa, nominated Williams.

"Dennis has the uncanny talent to see what needs to be done, plan a strategy and then follow through until the goal is achieved," said Johnson. "He proves his love for the Labor Movement daily through his tireless passion for CAP (Community Action Program - the UAW's political affairs department), organizing campaigns, his professionalism in negotiations and the way he connects with the members."

Williams was elected director of UAW Region 4 at a special convention in 2001 and re-elected in 2002 and 2006 at the union's Constitutional Conventions in Las Vegas.  Region 4 includes Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Convention delegates re-elected by acclamation incumbent UAW vice presidents James Settles Jr. and General Holiefield, as well as new vice presidents Ashton and Cindy Estrada.  Estrada is director of the Union's National Organizing Department and becomes the Union's first Latina vice president.

Settles was nominated by delegate Ed Mitchell, president of UAW Local 6000, representing State of Michigan employees.

"We need strong leadership to see our union through these difficult times.  Vice President Settles has always demonstrated great leadership," Mitchell said.

Delegate Yvette Thompson-Gordon of UAW Local 1435, who nominated Holiefield, said: "The phoenix is rising. While we are still are not quite out of the woods yet, still we can rest at ease that the right leadership is at the helm."

UAW Local 2327 President Fran Smith of Bridgeport, New Jersey, called Ashton a "very competent and effective leader, as well as a great organizer," when he placed his name in nomination.  "Make no mistake, casino owners, Joe and this Union will have those workers under contract.  He will not give up until there is a contract for casino workers," said Smith, referring to the UAW's three-year struggle to achieve first contracts at four casinos in Atlantic City.

Delegate George Taylor of UAW Local 2121 - who works at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut - has high expectations from the new leadership.

"I'm expecting this team to continue to improve and grow our Union and bring in new locals like ours, Foxwoods dealers, and use us as a springboard to get more dealers organized and strengthen the Working Class.  We need to get the working class back to where it was," he said.

Robert Ramirez of UAW Local 600, Dearborn, Michigan, nominated Estrada.

"She's risen from organizing to be the director of UAW National Organizing.  I love her aggressiveness, assertiveness, compassion and her warm heart.  She brings youth and energy to our movement," Ramirez said, adding, "Si, se puede!  Si, se puede! Si, se puede! (Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!)"

Mayra Muñoz, president of UAW Local 1850 - one of the oldest locals in Puerto Rico representing AELA workers, the Commonwealth government workers credit union -  said she was proud of the new team. "I'm taking a good experience with me and to be able to share with members the democratic process that our Union has and it was put to work," she said.

Also by acclamation delegates elected UAW Local 863 President Phyllis Blust to serve a six-year term as an International trustee.  She fills the position vacated by Tito Sanchez.

Floyd Mason Jr., chair of UAW Local 863, Cincinnati, nominated Blust.  "Phyllis has been a member of Local 863 for thirty-three years. She was the first woman elected vice president of Local 863, and in 2005 was the first woman president of Local 863," he said.