Stephen Yokich
Encyclopedia
Stephen Phillip Yokich was an American
labor union
activist who served as President of the United Auto Workers
from 1994 to 2002.
, in August 1935 to Stephen and Julia Yokich, just six days before the first UAW convention. He is of German
, Lebanese
, Serbian
and Syria
n descent. Both of his grandfathers, most of his aunts and uncles, and his father were UAW members. When he was 22 months old, his mother (a UAW member of Local 174 who was out on strike at the Ternstedt Plant) took him to his first picket line. His father brought him to a picket line when he was six years old.
He served in the United States Air Force
from 1952 to 1956, then became an apprentice in 1956 at the Heidrich Tool and Die Company in Oak Park, Michigan
.
He joined UAW Local 155, the same local where his father had once been shop steward
. Many members of his family were members of Local 155. "Working in the same local, I went to all the meetings with my father," he said. "We would take one car, and there would be four or five of us, all riding together to go to the meetings." As the youngest apprentice, he was required to serve as the local union's recording secretary. He was elected chair of Local 155's political action committee
after a year in the union. Yokich became notorious for pushing and sometimes fighting with anti-union workers, managers and others while walking the picket line during strikes. He was arrested in the late 1950s after an altercation on a strikers' picket line in Fraser, Michigan
.
became acquainted with Yokich after Yokich's arrest. In 1962, Yokich contradicted the legendary UAW president at a public meeting: "All we hear about is the sit-down strike and what we did in '38. We are not interested in '38. We are interested in doing our part now in making this UAW stronger than it was in '38." Reuther hired him as a UAW Region 1 staff representative in 1969. Yokich was elected Director of Region 1 in 1977.
Yokich was elected an international Vice President of the UAW in 1980 (he served five consecutive terms), and led the union's Agricultural Implement Department. While head of this department, he ordered a strike against heavy industrial machinery manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.
that lasted 205 days. Critics later said that Yokich's tough public stands may have prolonged the strike. In 1983, Yokich was assigned to lead the UAW's Ford
Department. Although Yokich did not generally support expanded labor-management partnerships, he pushed the UAW to participate in employee involvement programs which it had already negotiated with Ford, and later negotiated work rule changes to obtain job security for his members. At least one newspaper said Yokich helped create a "virtual overhaul of the factory floor". He was critical of what UAW leaders called "Ephilinism"—joint labor-management teams championed by UAW Vice President Donald Ephlin at the Saturn Corporation—for leading to many concessions but no job security.
Yokich led the UAW's General Motors
Department from 1989 to 1995. Thirty minutes after taking over the department, he began demoting staffers he felt were ineffective at their jobs. The Detroit Free Press called his impact on General Motors "astonishing"; he significantly increased the union's presence and strength among workers at GM plants, agreed to tens of thousands of job cuts in exchange for higher wages and benefits, reined in the pace of change by calling strategically important local strikes, and built strong relationships with up-and-coming GM managers who he correctly predicted would eventually lead the company.
He attended Wayne State University
for a time, but never completed his degree.
He led the union out on a 54-day strike
against General Motors in 1998 that the news media characterized as "bitter." It was one of five UAW strikes against the automaker that year. Yokich agreed that neither side came out ahead after the strike but defended his decision. "We had to strike to get what we already negotiated, and the burden on the employees and the community and everybody else was unreasonable." Yokich also ended a six-year strike against Caterpillar which saved the contract but led to major concessions and givebacks
.
He was re-elected in 1998, and retired in 2002. During his tenure in office, he placed a greater emphasis on negotiating good contracts than on getting the union involved in national politics. He also insisted on a provision in all UAW automotive industry contracts which made federal elections a holiday for UAW members (so they could vote). David Cole, Director of the Center for Automotive Research, said Yokich accomplished two major tasks during his three terms as president of the UAW: First, he improved the union's relationship with General Motors and allowed Chrysler to downsize (helping to save the company). Second, he lengthened the union's contracts with the Big Three automakers to four years from three. The Detroit Free Press
cited his push to organize workers in casinos, health care, higher education, and other groups outside the automotive industry as his greatest accomplishment.
at his home in Detroit on Thursday, August 15, 2002. He was admitted to St. John Hospital, and died at 9:45 A.M. the following day.
He married the former Tekla Baumgartner. The couple had a son and daughter, and lived in St. Clair Shores, Michigan
. His mother, wife, and children survived him.
, a member of the NAACP and a member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women
. He was a member of the steering committee of the Economic Alliance for Michigan, a trustee of the Michigan Cancer Foundation and a board member of the Father Clement Kern Foundation. He founded the Community Caring Program in 1993.
He received the Arab American of the Year Award from the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in 1995 and was the co-recipient of the Chairman's Award for Vehicle Quality Improvement from J.D. Power and Associates in 1998.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
labor union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
activist who served as President of the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
from 1994 to 2002.
Early life and union career
Yokich was born in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, in August 1935 to Stephen and Julia Yokich, just six days before the first UAW convention. He is of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
, Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n descent. Both of his grandfathers, most of his aunts and uncles, and his father were UAW members. When he was 22 months old, his mother (a UAW member of Local 174 who was out on strike at the Ternstedt Plant) took him to his first picket line. His father brought him to a picket line when he was six years old.
He served in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
from 1952 to 1956, then became an apprentice in 1956 at the Heidrich Tool and Die Company in Oak Park, Michigan
Oak Park, Michigan
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,793 people, 11,104 households, and 7,595 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,863.8 persons per square mile . There were 11,370 housing units at an average density of 2,263.9 per square mile...
.
He joined UAW Local 155, the same local where his father had once been shop steward
Union steward
A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company, who represents and defends the interests of her/his fellow employees but who is also a labor union official...
. Many members of his family were members of Local 155. "Working in the same local, I went to all the meetings with my father," he said. "We would take one car, and there would be four or five of us, all riding together to go to the meetings." As the youngest apprentice, he was required to serve as the local union's recording secretary. He was elected chair of Local 155's political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
after a year in the union. Yokich became notorious for pushing and sometimes fighting with anti-union workers, managers and others while walking the picket line during strikes. He was arrested in the late 1950s after an altercation on a strikers' picket line in Fraser, Michigan
Fraser, Michigan
Fraser is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 15,297 at the 2000 census. The city is part of the Metro Detroit region.The Village of Fraser was incorporated by an act of the state legislature in 1894...
.
International union career
Walter ReutherWalter Reuther
Walter Philip Reuther was an American labor union leader, who made the United Automobile Workers a major force not only in the auto industry but also in the Democratic Party in the mid 20th century...
became acquainted with Yokich after Yokich's arrest. In 1962, Yokich contradicted the legendary UAW president at a public meeting: "All we hear about is the sit-down strike and what we did in '38. We are not interested in '38. We are interested in doing our part now in making this UAW stronger than it was in '38." Reuther hired him as a UAW Region 1 staff representative in 1969. Yokich was elected Director of Region 1 in 1977.
Yokich was elected an international Vice President of the UAW in 1980 (he served five consecutive terms), and led the union's Agricultural Implement Department. While head of this department, he ordered a strike against heavy industrial machinery manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
that lasted 205 days. Critics later said that Yokich's tough public stands may have prolonged the strike. In 1983, Yokich was assigned to lead the UAW's Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
Department. Although Yokich did not generally support expanded labor-management partnerships, he pushed the UAW to participate in employee involvement programs which it had already negotiated with Ford, and later negotiated work rule changes to obtain job security for his members. At least one newspaper said Yokich helped create a "virtual overhaul of the factory floor". He was critical of what UAW leaders called "Ephilinism"—joint labor-management teams championed by UAW Vice President Donald Ephlin at the Saturn Corporation—for leading to many concessions but no job security.
Yokich led the UAW's General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
Department from 1989 to 1995. Thirty minutes after taking over the department, he began demoting staffers he felt were ineffective at their jobs. The Detroit Free Press called his impact on General Motors "astonishing"; he significantly increased the union's presence and strength among workers at GM plants, agreed to tens of thousands of job cuts in exchange for higher wages and benefits, reined in the pace of change by calling strategically important local strikes, and built strong relationships with up-and-coming GM managers who he correctly predicted would eventually lead the company.
He attended Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
for a time, but never completed his degree.
UAW presidency
Stephen Yokich was elected President of the UAW in 1994.He led the union out on a 54-day strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
against General Motors in 1998 that the news media characterized as "bitter." It was one of five UAW strikes against the automaker that year. Yokich agreed that neither side came out ahead after the strike but defended his decision. "We had to strike to get what we already negotiated, and the burden on the employees and the community and everybody else was unreasonable." Yokich also ended a six-year strike against Caterpillar which saved the contract but led to major concessions and givebacks
Givebacks
Givebacks is a Trade union term for the reduction or elimination of previously won benefits.-History:1978: The first known publication of the term giveback in relation to organized labor negotiations was in the New York Times...
.
He was re-elected in 1998, and retired in 2002. During his tenure in office, he placed a greater emphasis on negotiating good contracts than on getting the union involved in national politics. He also insisted on a provision in all UAW automotive industry contracts which made federal elections a holiday for UAW members (so they could vote). David Cole, Director of the Center for Automotive Research, said Yokich accomplished two major tasks during his three terms as president of the UAW: First, he improved the union's relationship with General Motors and allowed Chrysler to downsize (helping to save the company). Second, he lengthened the union's contracts with the Big Three automakers to four years from three. The Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
cited his push to organize workers in casinos, health care, higher education, and other groups outside the automotive industry as his greatest accomplishment.
Death
Yokich began suffering from coronary artery disease in the last few years of his life. Yokich suffered a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
at his home in Detroit on Thursday, August 15, 2002. He was admitted to St. John Hospital, and died at 9:45 A.M. the following day.
He married the former Tekla Baumgartner. The couple had a son and daughter, and lived in St. Clair Shores, Michigan
St. Clair Shores, Michigan
St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located approximately northeast of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,715. The current mayor is...
. His mother, wife, and children survived him.
Memberships and awards
Yokich was a lifelong DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, a member of the NAACP and a member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women
Coalition of Labor Union Women
The Coalition of Labor Union Women is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of trade union women affiliated with the AFL-CIO.CLUW has four goals:*Promoting affirmative action in the workplace*Strengthening the role of women in unions...
. He was a member of the steering committee of the Economic Alliance for Michigan, a trustee of the Michigan Cancer Foundation and a board member of the Father Clement Kern Foundation. He founded the Community Caring Program in 1993.
He received the Arab American of the Year Award from the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in 1995 and was the co-recipient of the Chairman's Award for Vehicle Quality Improvement from J.D. Power and Associates in 1998.