Sept. 7, 2020

Labor Day Tribute: UAW Dir Steve Dawes

Steve Dawes is a new UAW Regional Director and shares labor's goals and aspirations for the future. He also shares his path to leadership in the UAW. His work in Flint, Michigan has been vital to the area as the Michigan manufacturing workforce has been downsized in the era of globalization. His work in the region which manufactures the America's best selling trucks is critical to the members and the people of Michigan.Steve Dawes was elected UAW Region 1D director Feb. 13, 2020, at a special regional convention. He had served as an assistant director since June 16, 2010, when he was appointed to the position at the union’s 35th Constitutional Convention in Detroit by President Bob King.Region 1D covers 73 Michigan counties and UAW members in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the central, western and northern portions of the Lower Peninsula.Dawes began his career in 1978 at the Flint Truck Assembly Plant as a spot welder, a job he worked until he was hired on as an apprentice toolmaker at AC Spark Plug in 1984. He was a dedicated member of UAW Local 651 and was elected as a Skilled Trades Committeeperson in 1989. In 1999, he was elected UAW Local 651 vice president, and as a delegate to the UAW Constitutional Convention. Shortly into his term of vice president, Dawes took over as UAW Local 651 president. He was re-elected as president in 2002.In 2004, he was appointed to the Region 1C International staff by UAW President Ron Gettelfinger at the request of Region 1C Director Bob Roth. He was assigned as a servicing representative in the Flint and Lansing areas. Since, he has played a major role in the development, construction and upkeep of the Sit-Down Memorial located at the Flint office.#FlintMichigan #UAW, #UAWRegion 1D, #LaborDay --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/radiofreeflint/message

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Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:07.679
Okay, here's Dan Hall, and uh he's got he's got a few words to say, and uh he's gonna sing a song for us.

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Daniel?

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Well, greetings to all my UAW brothers and sisters uh in uh region 1D and beyond.

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I'd like to wish all of you all a happy Labor Day, more than any other year this year.

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Happy Labor Day to all of you, and uh, here's a song from the old times.

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Thanks for all the support over the years for my song about the sit-down strike.

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Here's one for you guys.

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When the union's inspiration through the workers' blood shall run, there can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun.

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Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one?

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For the union makes us strong, solidarity forever, solidarity forever, solidarity forever, for the union makes us strong.

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Peace, everybody.

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All right, hello, uh, good morning.

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This is Arthur Bush, you're listening to Radio Free Flint, and today we have a really, really good show with a great guest.

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Maybe better than all the other guests.

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Uh I know this guy for sure, and he's uh he's gonna be a good guest, and he has a lot of good things to say for you uh on Labor Day.

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So welcome, Steve Dawes, uh Director, Region 1D, uh United Automobile Workers uh of America.

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Thanks for joining me.

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Thanks for having me, Stephen.

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Um uh you and I go back quite a ways when we first met one another.

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We were youngsters, and I don't think either one of us thought we were gonna get elected to anything at that time.

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Way, way back.

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Uh way back for us is like the early 80s, uh and uh maybe even the 70s.

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Um, but uh you have a long career that uh has uh been impressive um to most of us.

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You you've uh you started at uh AC, excuse me, you started at uh local 598 and truck assembly, right?

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Yes, back in 1978.

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And then uh somehow you got the notion that you wanted to get active in your workplace, and they elected you uh to office eventually.

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And that was was that at AC?

00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:54.479
You moved to AC.

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My uh political career in the UAW started back in AC.

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Um really uh from encouragement uh from uh old friend of ours, uh Buck Shaw.

00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:06.400
He was the one that really got me uh involved in politics.

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He he told me I was the only one that could run plant-wide without a caucus behind me and win.

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And by God, he was right.

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I never never got beat.

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Buck Shaw is a great guy.

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Uh he's affectionately known by his friends as the Buckaroo.

00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:23.439
And uh he was uh he was a one-of-a-kind character.

00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:31.840
He's the president of Local 651, which represented the members at the uh AC uh local.

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Uh then uh after you moved there, you became an when you moved to AC in 1984.

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There was a lot of interest by General Motors in uh developing its uh workforce.

00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.479
You became an apprentice there as a toolmaker, right?

00:03:48.240 --> 00:04:00.240
And then a few years after that, uh by 1989, you had been a skilled trades representative, uh labor uh representative for the skilled tradespeople at that local.

00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.520
Second chief committee man, skilled trades, yes sir.

00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:09.840
And then you moved up the ladder, you were elected to that job as my research shows three times.

00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:30.879
Okay, and then uh during that period of time, you must have caught the attention of somebody because in 1999 you decided to run for vice president of your local local 651, which at that time I don't remember how many members it had, but it was quite substantial.

00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:38.079
Yeah, we had about uh 6,500 or so there about then, about that period of time.

00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:47.839
And you served as a vice president uh I don't know how long that was, not all that long before you became the uh well maybe that was another the other job.

00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:51.199
You you became president anyway of local 651.

00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:54.639
Yeah, I think I was a vice president about nine months.

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And at the time, Carrie Dolan was the president, uh was the president, and she went on to um be health and safety rep for the international union.

00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:12.399
And our constitution says that when the president leaves, the vice president automatically moves up and you fill the sp the vacancy of vice president.

00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:21.600
And so I finished out her term and then ran again and got elected, and then uh went to work in at uh for the regional office in 2004.

00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:32.800
So in 2004 you became uh you were appointed uh as a regional representative, which means you were what we call a servicing rep.

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Yeah.

00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:45.360
And that and that meant you went to the different local the different uh uh you know, because region one sees quite a large was quite a large uh geographic area.

00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:50.879
So you would go to the various uh locals and and handle problems there.

00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:58.319
Uh and then and that and you were appointed by Bob Roth, another great uh another great.

00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:10.639
Bob Roth was the director, and um, you know, actually he you know he would have to get he got the permission from then president of the international union, Ron Gettelfinger, and Ron Gettlefinger blessed it, and there I was.

00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:28.240
I got uh was sitting in front of Bob's desk one day, and and um it was it was we had just unveiled the uh monument, the sit-down strike monument out in the park, and and um I had had some ideas and and Bob um he says, hey, you know, he was messing with me.

00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:32.399
He says, Hey, why didn't you get any permits when we built that thing out there in the park?

00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:38.959
And he said, at that time the mayor, it was uh Don Williamson, he said, Williamson's raising heck about we didn't get permits.

00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:49.040
And he flipped me this orange, this yellow piece of paper, and he goes, and he started laughing, and on it was my my uh paperwork to become an international servicing rep.

00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:50.399
So it was pretty cool.

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He he uh he said, I'm just kidding with all that other stuff.

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He said, No, I want you to come work for me.

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So and Bob was a great guy, great leader.

00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:00.959
He was uh he was he was a lot of fun.

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He also was uh an officer at the local uh 599 at the Buick uh Motor Uh Company's uh uh local and uh was was was quite a quite a guy.

00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:32.240
Uh Steve, uh we had a little technical problem getting started uh because we were gonna have a um uh Ryan Ryan uh Bahalski join us, who is the president of Local598, but we couldn't connect him for whatever reason.

00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:49.040
So uh Zoom is gonna kick us off of here in seven minutes, and so I want you to be aware of that uh because we've used up our time, but we'll we'll uh we'll call this one segment and we'll we'll start again uh and finish our interview.

00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:56.399
But in the meantime, until then, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about your uh career.

00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:02.240
Um what what it means to be a labor leader today.

00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:11.439
You you represent, and uh unfortunately we couldn't get Ryan, but you represent really the new generation of labor leaders in America.

00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:27.680
Uh your your region is important uh to not just the UAW, not just to the state of Michigan and the people here, but your relationship with General Motors is important because you have some really important facilities within your region.

00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:31.519
Tell us a little bit about your responsibilities there.

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So the region we we um merged regions, region 1C and 1D back in 2014.

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And so our region now um entails 73 of the 83 counties in Michigan, including the whole uh upper peninsula and everything in the uh lower peninsula except the 10 counties right from the tip of the thumb, thumb right straight down.

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Um we're about 50,000 members, uh active UAW members.

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We have about 100,000 retirees in our region.

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We have about 24 percent of our members are GM workers.

00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:14.000
Um our main GM plants are uh we have two plants up in Saginaw Bay City.

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We have one, uh two in Lansing, Michigan, where they uh they build Camaros and Cadillacs and uh being enclaves.

00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:31.120
Um and uh we have uh a cease uh a place, uh small, not a small place, it's actually a pretty big place.

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Now we build axles and lifters and and and what have you over in Grand Rapids.

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And um in Flint naturally we have several plants.

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We have uh dye and engineering center, which is downtown Flint.

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Um make a lot of body-side dyes and that type of stuff.

00:09:48.159 --> 00:10:01.039
We have uh out in Source Creek, we have a uh CCA plant, which is like our old school plants, a a warehouse parts and ship parts and paint parts, and uh same without in uh uh Davison Road.

00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:23.679
And um our biggest complex is is made up right there on the Bristol Advance Like it's made up of flip truck assembly, um the engine plant, and uh uh flit metal center, which now is is part of a continuous contiguous operation with the truck plant where they stamp a lot of sheet metal right at um metal fab.

00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:34.399
It goes right to the new body shop, gets us, gets um uh welded and assembled together, then it goes to to the paint shop, then to you know final assembly and and what have you.

00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:40.480
So it's a big operation, uh hundreds of millions of dollars invested in in Flint, Michigan.

00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:46.720
And um uh, you know, we've grown the we've grown the business, we've grown um our membership there.

00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:52.080
That truck plant has over 5,000 people, which is uh which is a huge complex.

00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:55.360
Um and uh I tell people a story all the time.

00:10:55.600 --> 00:11:10.879
If you're going down 12th Street and you look at the truck plant, there's always a rail car that's sitting there, multiple rail cars full of frames that go underneath that truck, and whichever one you want to pick out, somebody somewhere is waiting to buy that truck.

00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:12.080
They want that truck.

00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:21.120
That's all that um the members at that local have done such a great job in building a great product, and um I couldn't be any prouder of it.

00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:29.679
Yeah, and that's uh that's uh one of the top selling trucks in the in the nation, of course, and one of the most demands.

00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:45.200
Uh so your uh your position, you have uh have a great deal to uh uh great deal of leadership obligation to uh not just your members but to the greater community of Flint.

00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:52.000
Um this Labor Day you're not gonna celebrate uh as you have in the past.

00:11:52.320 --> 00:12:04.639
Um with the COVID uh 19 uh pandemic, uh you've made some decisions on how Labor Day should be spent, or at least the members.

00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:10.720
Yeah, and it and I gotta tell you, Art, it was very, very I struggle with that decision.

00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:13.759
I struggle because I really love Labor Day.

00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:17.759
I love what Labor Day stands for, how it became Labor Day.

00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:36.960
I love being able to celebrate it out to our sit-down memorials park where we'd have anywhere from four to six hundred people and turn it into like a little picnic where we'd have some food and and talk about labor history and have some of the politicians and and some of our um our retired uh members.

00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:40.159
But this year is is just a really uh different year.

00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:51.039
Um, you know, four years ago was the first Labor Day that we did not have a original sit-downer or a woman from the uh women's emergency brigade.

00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:52.480
They had all passed away.

00:12:52.559 --> 00:13:14.399
And so Labor Day and White Shirt Day became very important to me and and to and to uh my staff that you know we owe it to them people that built the middle class to carry on their legacy and keep talking about their story and what they've done not just for labor and not just for people in the planet, but like you said, what we do in the community.

00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:26.879
You know, we're it's in our DNA, we're huge on supporting like the old newsboys and the food banks and the United Ways and the Catholic outreach centers and just the you know the homeless centers.

00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:33.840
We had one of our uh guys retired and he started the uh the uh the outreach down there in downtown Flint.

00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:37.519
Just it's it's it's really warming to be able to help people out.

00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:42.000
I mean, when you look at our history, you know, that's what the UAW has always been about.

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It's been about you know, not only protecting people's rights and and contracts and and and benefits um that actually you know they trickle down to everybody.

00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:55.360
And it's uh we're a social movement.

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We believe, it's in our DNA, we believe to give back to those less fortunate than we are, to give back in the communities where we work and live.

00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:09.679
So Labor Day is also uh a time uh historically to celebrate that social movement.

00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:39.519
Uh and it's a it's a it's a time to celebrate the accomplishments of labor, not just the UAW, but labor across the nation, uh in both uh the economic sphere, which obviously in Flint you're doing more than your part uh at the truck plant, as well as uh, as you indicated, uh trying to make uh the at least in social safety net and show that this country cares for everyone doing your part.

00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:40.720
I want to break here.

00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:49.519
I'm gonna play the song 1937 by Dan Hall, which uh Ruben Burks had a big part in helping uh become sort of an anthem for the UAW.

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I packed my last guitar away, started driving home.

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My head is pulled up alone, make me go down to the world.

00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:28.079
All right, this is Dan Hawk himself, and uh appreciate him making an appearance here on Labor Day, a special appearance.

00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:30.000
Uh Daniel.

00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:32.079
Hey, happy Labor Day, Steve.

00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:36.640
You know, there's a couple of things that I'll never forget in my relationship with the UAW over the years.

00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:51.599
And the first thing is the time we debuted the sit-down strike song at Whiting Auditorium, when we got to the part, we had some video too about uh Ruther's voice still echoes here to rally up the crowd, and his image came on the screen and the place erupted.

00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:58.079
And I remember my co-writer backstage thought that an airplane had buzzed whiting, but it was no, it was just the crowd standing up.

00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:11.279
So there's that memory, and there's the memory of riding the uh the region one sea at the time float down Woodward, uh trying to keep my sea legs singing union songs on our on our Labor Day uh parade float there.

00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:13.440
So uh here's here's one for you.

00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:19.440
Oh, you can't blame me, I'm sticking to the union.

00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:23.920
I'm sticking to the union, I'm sticking to the union.

00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:28.400
Oh, you can't blame me, I'm sticking to the union.

00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.640
I'm sticking to the union to the day I die.

00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:36.000
Happy Labor Day, Steve, and everybody.

00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:37.039
Thanks a lot.

00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:41.359
Okay, uh, this is Arthur Bush.

00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:42.640
We're back again.

00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:44.799
Uh this is Radio Free Flint.

00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:50.319
I have with me Steve Dawes, the regional director of uh UAW 1D.

00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:57.759
And we were chatting about Labor Day when uh we ran out of time on Zoom, but they're very kind.

00:22:57.839 --> 00:22:59.440
They put us back together here.

00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:02.720
Uh and uh you were just listening to Dan Hall.

00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:13.359
Uh Dan is a Flint area musician who wrote that song in 1937, and uh that song was played at the Flint uh Labor Museum for a long time.

00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:34.160
Uh Dan and uh and uh David Norris of Flint also uh they wrote that song uh for the labor in memory of the uh people in Flint who uh who were in the sit-down strike, and uh it's a little autobiographical as well uh with Dan, but uh uh Steve, of course.

00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:37.759
Tell us tell us anything you can about Dan Hall's song.

00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:42.960
Well, you know what's interesting is I met Dan right after he had wrote that song.

00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:53.039
And um at the time I was I was uh uh uh in the leadership role at AC Sparkplug, and we had a huge video department.

00:23:54.079 --> 00:24:02.000
So we I I I challenged the video department to put together a video using that song.

00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:10.880
So there's a lot of still video, there's a lot of um uh live video from that sit-down strike in 1936 and 37.

00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:12.720
That is really cool, that song.

00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:20.799
And it was just about probably two or three years ago, Dan called me up, said, Hey, if you ever need any more work, you know, I'm back in town, you know.

00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:22.160
And I said, You know what?

00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:23.440
I've been trying to get a hold of you.

00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:29.119
We we play this video with your song at our leadership meetings.

00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:31.759
I play it every year at White Shirt Day.

00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:40.000
And I said, I got people that would love to have it, but I know years and years ago we talked about copyrights, and I you know, I don't want to step on nobody's toes.

00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:42.240
He said, Man, Stevie, give it to everybody.

00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:43.119
It's on my website.

00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:44.799
Anyone can go download the music.

00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:46.799
He said, You do what you want to do with that.

00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:51.920
So I've probably given out a couple hundred of them things, you know, the DVDs.

00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.240
It's um it's really pretty cool.

00:24:54.400 --> 00:25:24.480
Uh and I'll tell you what, I probably I've probably seen it at least a couple hundred times because I played a black leg and um and it still gives uh it gives me chills and and makes a hair stand up on the back of your neck because when you listen to the words of that song and what those brave men inside the plant and the women and the people outside of the plant, the support that the community gave them was uh unbelievable.

00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:26.160
It is amazing.

00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:30.480
And uh and I agree with you, that song gives me chills as well.

00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:42.000
And uh the um uh the song itself uh was was written by these two men, uh David and uh and Dan Hall.

00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:47.200
But I always think of my friend uh uh Dave Norris, he always reminds me about Ruben Burks.

00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:52.000
So this year for Region 1C, uh there were some setbacks.

00:25:52.160 --> 00:26:04.400
Uh we lost uh uh some great leaders, um great UAW leaders in Cal Rapsen, who is regional director here uh in the job that you now hold.

00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:08.160
And Ruben Burks, who also was regional director before Cal.

00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:11.920
Uh both of them passed away uh earlier this year.

00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:16.160
And uh I just maybe have a few comments on their passing.

00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:19.200
Yeah, it was it was very sad.

00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:28.160
Um, you know, whenever you lose great community leaders, um and especially UAW community leaders, it was um it's hard.

00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:29.680
It's it it is still very hard.

00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:43.039
And and the fact with this whole COVID uh craziness that's going on that you know, w without the ability to pay tribute, you know, because of of the situation, it it makes it even more difficult.

00:26:43.200 --> 00:27:01.839
Um I've been in conversations with uh the families and the friend and the siblings and their friends, and um you know, as soon as something breaks, we plan on doing some pretty big uh uh opportunities around there for people to come in and pay their you know, pay their respects and their uh and say their goodbyes.

00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:06.960
But you know, uh Ruben was uh was just a fantastic leader.

00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:11.759
He he had a vision, he really was the one that started a vision.

00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:37.759
I remember you know years ago, him and I would have a conversation, he'd say, Mass Stevie, someday we will not have a sit-down or a women's brigade member, and who's going to carry on the tradition of honoring them and remembering that we stand on their shoulders, that what they did is molded us to what we do today and and and the reasons we do it.

00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:50.960
And talked about a labor museum out to um Crossroad Village and um that really didn't come to fruition, and then um with with the help of uh everybody just kind of thinking, yeah, we gotta do something about it.

00:27:51.039 --> 00:28:18.000
We started to build a park next to our office there on Atherton Road, and um every year we've um uh almost every year we've added something to that park, you know, to memorialize not only the sit-down strikers, but what the women what the women have done for this country um uh since the you know the sit-down strike and our veterans and and you know, just we we keep adding on to that and and it's uh and it's really a reflection of what Labor Day is.

00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:27.759
You know, it's about I think we're about 125, 126 years since Labor Day really became uh a legal, you know, a holiday.

00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:44.480
And and you know, back in the industrial revolution where where men and women, you know, they were working 12 hours, seven days, and just to b just to have a basic living and um you know it was all about the corporate greed and unsafe working conditions.

00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:56.319
And when these brave men and women stood up to the largest corporation in America uh actually in the world was General Motors, and they took them on and they won that battle.

00:28:56.880 --> 00:29:10.400
And so look at the things that have you know, we're sitting here um come Monday uh Labor Day, having the day off, a national holiday because of organized labor and what they've done.

00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:34.480
And um, I hope everybody remembers that, where they're sitting around and arguing over, well, it's just the last day we can wear white pants or white shorts or what have you, is that you know what the really true meaning of of Labor Day is, and it's really to honor those that have come before us and um to give thank to them and and give thank to organized labor and and um support it.

00:29:35.359 --> 00:29:54.079
Well, you know what's interesting because uh Labor Day's history actually the idea of Labor Day uh some attribute to a guy named Peter McGuire who who uh was thought to be the person who started uh uh the Labor Day uh tradition, and that was in New York City with their labor council.

00:29:54.480 --> 00:30:10.160
And then by uh uh 19 uh eighty six there was the Mark Haymarket Affair in Chicago, where the workers rallied, they are trying to get an eight-hour day.

00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:24.079
So many, many countries from there followed their lead in trying to have a have a rallying point each year to commemorate the accomplishments of labor.

00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:35.119
And by 19, by 1894, Steve, the Congress of the United States established a national holiday commemorating labor.

00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:44.720
But interestingly, Labor Day wasn't started as something to demonstrate or march or anything like that.

00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:57.359
It was started with the idea that everybody in the nation would remember and commemorate and honor and celebrate the accomplishments of the labor movement in America.

00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:06.000
So the first Labor Day that I was able to uncover happened on September the 5th of 1982.

00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:09.200
And that was in New York City as well.

00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:19.599
That of course, that first Labor Day in New York in 1982 followed the Pullman Strike, which was an infamous strike.

00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:23.599
The railroads at that time were extraordinarily important to the economy.

00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:29.119
And that was in June of 19 or 1882.

00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:46.640
And so 13 uh workers died in that strike, in the Pullman strike, which gave birth to uh this notion of Labor Day eventually, because uh the nation uh was wounded by that strike.

00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:59.440
And uh the president at the time, Grover Cleveland, in a gesture to you know unity, uh he got behind the idea to declare a national holiday called Labor Day.

00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:02.480
So that's that's a little background.

00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:05.039
Interesting, isn't it?

00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:08.880
That's uh I'm just trying to try and do some quick math in my head.

00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:15.839
So 1980 or 1994, 96, that time frame, yeah, you're looking at you know uh 120-some years.

00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:25.119
So that's uh a lot of history and a lot of been, you know, a lot of uh uh great success stories ever since then, you know, especially with organized labor, you know.

00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:37.359
Well one of the things I find um you know, being raised in Flint and being raised three blocks from where the sit-down strike occurred, uh Fisher won.

00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:45.359
Uh you know, there's a certain burden that you carry in your in your job.

00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:48.960
I mean you're you're the point person at this for history.

00:32:49.839 --> 00:33:10.000
And and so Flint, of course, in the 1937 sit-down strike, accomplished the notion that people could bargain collectively, could uh could negotiate in good faith, and from that be recognized as a bargaining unit for the people who worked in those factories.

00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:15.440
Obviously, that's a monumental accomplishment in history.

00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:31.839
One of the criticisms I've heard of Flint by some scholars is that you know, we celebrate a strike, um the 1937 strike, and I think that's to miss the point.

00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:48.799
Um we don't celebrate a strike, we celebrate the birth of something that gave America something that you know has changed the face of this country in ways that are continuing even to today.

00:33:48.960 --> 00:34:08.800
Um I don't know what your point of view is on it, but I see people like you and Ryan Bahalski who are young, who have not just carried on uh the great traditions of your union, the UAW, but you're really the new face of the labor movement in this country.

00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:16.400
And you're not about celebrating strikes because I I assume you try not to get a strike if you can help it.

00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:18.400
Uh, but you have a lot of goals.

00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:20.800
Tell us what those goals are.

00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:25.920
What is the new face of labor and what is it that they're trying to accomplish?

00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:31.360
Well, you know, the our our goals are you're pretty much really fundamental goals.

00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:45.440
You know, our our goals and and our our visions are to improve the working condition of all people, not just organized labor, not just UAW members, but all labor and all the working men and women of this country.

00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:51.440
And and history shows that, and that's the purpose of the 36-37 strike.

00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:54.639
Yeah, we we would never go back and say, yeah, look at what we did.

00:34:54.719 --> 00:34:56.320
What it was the movement.

00:34:56.400 --> 00:35:06.719
It was the it was people and majority of them immigrants, by the way, that came to this country for, you know, um the land of the free and the brave.

00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:09.920
And a lot of them came here to avoid religious persecution.

00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:13.360
But you know, they were tired of the working conditions.

00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:35.840
They were tired of uh not getting uh equal pay and not getting um safe working conditions where you know they they uh they had called um the one the one uh Chevrolet plant the slaughterhouse because of the sheet metal where people were continuously always getting uh cut and and uh digits cut off and arms cut off and what have you.

00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:46.239
And at the time the corporation could care less about, you know, you were no uh a man working in the plant was no no no worth no more than the weakest tool in that plant.

00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:49.360
And and that's what happened is that people had enough.

00:35:49.679 --> 00:36:22.960
They said, wait a minute, and and you look at as we've progressed since that is not only is there a lot of labor laws now that that protect workers, the workmen's comp laws and and what have you, but there's just all kinds of things, OSHA and my OSHA and all the different things that we have fought through legislation and and what have you to get to protect people in their working conditions, not only if you just because you're a union person, but if you are a human being, you deserve some protections in your workplace.

00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:28.079
And yeah, we we strive to get better contracts and better pay and better benefits.

00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:31.199
That that is gonna always continue to be our vision.

00:36:31.519 --> 00:36:34.639
And we're and we're social, we're social movement.

00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:55.920
Our one of our big parts of our jobs are helping people, helping people sometimes when they need it the most, whether it's financial hardship, whether it be addictions, whether it be um whatever issues they have in their life, part of our job is to help our brothers and sisters because we are our brothers and sisters keeper.

00:36:56.239 --> 00:37:05.920
Now, the UAW has uh during this um modern era of labor has really shifted gears.

00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:18.719
In fact, just this week there were uh stories in the media about the UAW organizing hospital workers who are working on cures for cancer and researchers who are working on other uh major things.

00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:43.280
And in uh, for example, in uh Lansing, you represent uh large numbers of state workers uh who have uh quite frankly seen some rather remarkable um difficult times uh during the last administration who sought to write them off the books basically and and diminish their rights to negotiate.

00:37:45.440 --> 00:38:08.559
Is that the is that what the UAW's for future is, is to look at uh other settings beside, I mean, when we look at the truck plan or these industrial operations, but really where the UAW's begun to grow is by uh convincing workers that are in uh in other industries to join.

00:38:08.880 --> 00:38:13.360
Yeah, you know, we're very you know, we talked earlier the size of uh of Region 1D.

00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:31.840
Um we're about 24% uh um automotive, and the rest is uh what we call IPS, which is independent parts suppliers, which could be anywhere from building seats to transmission parts to aerospace, um, that type of work, axles, uh wheels.

00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:41.920
Um then we have what we call our TOP sector, which is technical office professional, and that is one of our biggest growing um entities of the UAW.

00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:48.480
We have um, like we talked, you were talking Lansing, we have uh two different municipalities over there, actually three.

00:38:48.559 --> 00:39:00.239
We have the city of East Lansing, we have City of Lansing, which encompasses everybody from uh the people that are snowplowing the roads to the forestry division to you know the road commission division.

00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:02.800
Um we represent Sparrow Hospital over there.

00:39:02.960 --> 00:39:12.400
We have uh huge um uh section over there in Sparrow Sparrow Hospital, the local 6,000, you mentioned the state workers, they're all across the state.

00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:17.039
Majority of them are in Region 1D and in Region Um 1, respectively.

00:39:17.360 --> 00:39:35.199
And um they're the people that when you go get your license renewed, or if uh they work for the um the prison systems and and just all kinds of different um avenues of the of the state of Michigan that these people uh provide a service to each and every one of us.

00:39:35.280 --> 00:39:39.280
And and that is one of the biggest growing um um sectors of our union.

00:39:39.519 --> 00:39:45.840
We just organized over in the um Grand Rapids area the 911 dispatchers over there.

00:39:46.079 --> 00:40:00.960
So um, you know, they come to us and said, hey, look, we you know, we got some concerns about our working conditions and about um, you know, stress levels and and you know uh you know having protections and having a voice at the table.

00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:21.920
And and uh they overwhelmingly uh it was the first one that I've ever known of in the UAW and and actually my first one as a director that we had a uh an election with uh national labor relations, uh virtual election, and we won that election, and uh we are in um in contract negotiations with the county with with them folks right now.

00:40:22.079 --> 00:40:47.199
So we have leads all the time coming in, and I gotta tell you, artists, most of the time, if not all of the time, it's people that are having issues with their employer, that they're not getting treated right or there's some issues going on, and and um sometimes we organize them, sometimes um you know we don't win them organizing drives, but uh you know that's what we do.

00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:58.960
We help people and we want to make sure that people go to work and and be as safe as they can be and their working conditions are safe, and so they get to go home to their family the same way they come to work that morning.

00:40:59.199 --> 00:41:00.000
All right, very good.

00:41:00.079 --> 00:41:02.239
We're gonna take a brief break here.

00:41:02.480 --> 00:41:09.199
And uh since we started with Dan Hall's music uh earlier in our first segment, uh Dan wrote a new song.

00:41:09.360 --> 00:41:12.960
I don't know if you're aware of this, Steve, but he wrote a new song called Together.

00:41:13.360 --> 00:41:26.000
And uh David Norris and Dan Hall uh collaborated again on this song, and it it was a song written uh uh Don or those who marched in Flint in memory of George Floyd.

00:41:26.239 --> 00:41:45.440
And what we saw remarkably on our TV screens when the uh police were there, and the police put down their gear, and and the marchers asked them if they'd march with them, and they and he did, which is an incredible piece of an incredible advertisement for our city.

00:41:45.519 --> 00:41:55.599
So Dan wrote this song together, and uh I'm gonna play it for you right now on our break, and Steve's gotta go attend to his dog for a second, take just a brief recess.

00:41:55.840 --> 00:42:06.320
We'll be right back, and we're gonna talk about Potter Lake, Sherwood Forest, Crossroads Village, and uh what's the future in the Flint area.

00:42:06.400 --> 00:42:08.880
We'll talk a little bit about Flint in particular.

00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:18.800
Um we're back with Steve Dawes uh of the UAW Region 1C director, uh Arthur Bush, your host here.

00:42:18.960 --> 00:42:21.840
Um and we got our dogs all taken care of.

00:42:21.920 --> 00:42:25.119
Mine's Charlie, he's sleeping over here in the corner.

00:42:25.519 --> 00:42:30.159
And uh he's usually trained to start barking when it's time to stop talking.

00:42:30.400 --> 00:42:38.800
But uh let's take 10 minutes or so, uh, Steve, and and talk a little bit about uh the Flynn area in particular.

00:42:39.360 --> 00:43:10.800
And uh one of the things that uh again um you have repeatedly mentioned in this interview is that you're a social movement, and and that comes from your background, I think, in part as well, because uh I actually met you years ago uh at local 651, and you were getting involved at that time, not as an officer or anything, but just getting involved in helping people who needed help.

00:43:10.960 --> 00:43:27.360
One we were talking about this situation where there's parking lots across from the AC Spark Punk factory, and this guy actually lived in this little camper trailer, and somehow he inherited this lot and was collecting rent there, and the city wanted to kick him out.

00:43:28.320 --> 00:43:40.159
And uh you and your fellows got act got to action about it and actually found a place for him and dealt with his medical and his uh psychological issues that he had.

00:43:40.559 --> 00:43:42.239
Tell us a little bit about yourself.

00:43:42.400 --> 00:43:43.840
Where's all that come from?

00:43:44.079 --> 00:43:53.280
I mean, it wasn't just the day that you you signed up to work at General Motors, you must have had something in your background that gave you that empathy.

00:43:53.679 --> 00:44:10.960
You know, I yeah, be honest with you, uh I've thought about that many a time, and and one of the things that always comes to my mind was I remember my father telling me a story of when he was growing up as a little kid that you know they didn't have a lot.

00:44:11.519 --> 00:44:31.119
And um they lived over by Auto City Speedway, and that uh during uh the fall and winter time that my grandfather would have the boys go up and down the railroad tracks to pick up any coal that would have fell off the coal trains to be able to um uh um you know heat the house.

00:44:31.440 --> 00:44:42.480
And then he then he told me that he remembered if it wasn't for the Flint old newsboys, there would have been many Christmases that he never would have had anything.

00:44:42.800 --> 00:44:44.559
And that always stuck in my mind.

00:44:44.639 --> 00:44:58.159
And then my dad was a um was a um National Guard Reserve and he worked at Flint Memorial Cemetery um before he got before he got into the um to the plant.

00:44:58.880 --> 00:45:01.599
And he worked for old guy old old Mr.

00:45:01.679 --> 00:45:15.119
Kurtz out there, and my dad remembered he told me the story, he remembered when the tornado came through Beecher that he said he knew then that somebody and and a whole bunch of people had to get it together.

00:45:15.519 --> 00:45:18.719
So he went and and went to his boss, uh Mr.

00:45:18.800 --> 00:45:24.000
Kurtz at uh Footmora Park and they started a plan on how are they going to do these mass graves.

00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:35.280
And um so it stuck with me that he just he took that upon himself to do that because he knew people were in dire need and at the most crucial time in their life needed some help.

00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:37.519
And he and he jumped and he jumped to that.

00:45:37.599 --> 00:45:41.039
And my dad was always that way, and I think that's where I kind of got it from.

00:45:41.119 --> 00:45:48.000
Is uh you know, I've always thought that you know it's it's uh better to give than receive.

00:45:48.079 --> 00:45:51.199
And and um uh there's just no better feeling when you do that.

00:45:51.280 --> 00:45:53.679
There's to me, there's no better feeling when you can help somebody that needs help.

00:45:54.159 --> 00:46:06.000
Now, the UAW and the city of Flint in particular uh have had over the last four and a half, five years a really a major challenge in trying to provide social service assistance to people.

00:46:06.719 --> 00:46:14.559
Um what have been the efforts of the UAW to work with those in the community on the water crisis uh who have been affected by it?

00:46:14.960 --> 00:46:33.679
Well, when the water crisis first started, you remember it wasn't it didn't have all of the the teeth in it as it did, as it as it went on, you know, because it was really started out with the discoloration and the lead thing really wasn't it didn't come till they really started doing a lot more testing.

00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:40.960
And um we were sitting around the office one day and said, you know what we ought to do, we ought to give water out.

00:46:41.119 --> 00:46:50.880
So we gave so we went over and and bought um pallets of water, and we were handing them out at our office, and we'd have the people come in and circle around, and we weren't asking for any credentials.

00:46:51.039 --> 00:46:53.920
We'd give them a case of water, and um, that was early on.

00:46:54.159 --> 00:46:57.039
I think we may have been one of the very first ones to even do that.

00:46:57.199 --> 00:47:02.559
And I remember that um at the time Sheriff Pakel calls me up, he says, Hey, what are you guys doing over there?

00:47:02.639 --> 00:47:18.960
He says, You got traffic backed all the way up down Afferton Road, almost to Saginoff Street, and uh so we ran out of water, and then we really kind of um the director at the time and myself, and um uh I was assistant director, and and so we really went to work.

00:47:19.039 --> 00:47:36.800
Um, I sit on the United Way Board, I sit on the um old um the uh Eastern Michigan Food Bank, and so we really had started having some dialogue between them two groups and where um the Eastern Michigan Food Bank had the ability to handle that that type of you know, that water.

00:47:36.880 --> 00:47:44.960
And water is water is very difficult to handle because it's so heavy and it's hard on equipment, and you know, it's not like you can stack at five and six pallets high.

00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:46.960
And so it's very difficult to do.

00:47:47.039 --> 00:47:58.320
And and um so we worked hand in hand and we started um uh fundraisers and and type stuff to get money and uh to buy water for more for more and more people.

00:47:58.480 --> 00:48:08.960
Then then we kind of realized that as they started putting these distribution sites out there, there were many in the city of Flint that were forgotten, and many of them were the senior citizens.

00:48:09.360 --> 00:48:16.159
Um and I remember it was the um Breslin uh right there over behind the food bank.

00:48:16.320 --> 00:48:20.559
And I went over there and met with Miss Deborah, and and um she cried, she goes, Are you key?

00:48:20.639 --> 00:48:21.679
You will bring us water.

00:48:22.079 --> 00:48:25.599
And um, so it was a middle of winter, so we would load it up truck after truck.

00:48:25.679 --> 00:48:41.280
Um, I put the word out to the local unions, Ryan being one of them, but he's not with us naturally today, but um, and we had about 30 pickup trucks lined up at the food bank, um, loading their back their their trucks with water and distributing them out to these places.

00:48:41.440 --> 00:48:45.760
And um I never forget the day we were unloading a trailer full over there at the senior center.

00:48:45.920 --> 00:48:56.239
And here come a gentleman out there, he was um in a wheelchair, paralyzed from his waist down, and he came out there and he said, put one on my put one on my my uh my lap.

00:48:56.400 --> 00:48:57.679
And he said, I'll go ahead and put another one.

00:48:57.760 --> 00:49:01.119
And he made trip after trip after trip taking that water in there.

00:49:01.199 --> 00:49:03.840
And I remember my boss at the time was Gerald Cream.

00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:08.559
He looked at me, he goes, Stevie, he just took every excuse I ever had away from it.

00:49:09.039 --> 00:49:10.719
And and so them are the good few.

00:49:10.960 --> 00:49:13.679
So yeah, we do we did a lot and we continue to do a lot.

00:49:14.000 --> 00:49:23.760
You know, we became uh a uh a distributor helping the food bank or excuse me, helping Unite away with um um the water filters.

00:49:23.920 --> 00:49:25.360
Uh I still have some of them.

00:49:25.440 --> 00:49:28.880
I'm gonna put it on another blast if um people in the city of Flint need them.

00:49:29.119 --> 00:49:35.599
Um I've still got uh several hundred that um they're not doing me any good sitting in my office, and somebody could probably use them.

00:49:35.679 --> 00:49:37.199
So yeah, we've done a lot of things.

00:49:37.280 --> 00:49:38.800
We're gonna continue to do things.

00:49:38.960 --> 00:49:42.079
Um it's just it's the right thing to do.

00:49:42.559 --> 00:49:43.119
Yeah.

00:49:43.440 --> 00:49:50.239
Now uh the picnic, which was which was canceled in the Flint area this year.

00:49:50.480 --> 00:50:11.280
Um I we were talking about this earlier before we we got started, but I was surprised to learn that the picnic actually was held, and I don't know if it was the first or whatever, but it was held at Sherwood Forest in Richfield Township in the Davison area.

00:50:12.000 --> 00:50:14.880
Do you have any recollection of any history of this?

00:50:15.119 --> 00:50:25.519
I don't, I don't, I don't ever I remember a lot of conversation about the about the picnics out there, but I don't know that I was ever out there uh at one, you know.

00:50:25.599 --> 00:50:41.440
I you because we moved them around for a couple different places, and then you know, naturally ended up the last ones we had was out to the crossroad village, and then once we opened the park up at um at our office, and we now we have Labor Day at our office every year, except this year naturally.

00:50:41.519 --> 00:50:48.320
But I remember stories about Sherwood uh uh force, but um uh I don't ever remember being out there.

00:50:48.559 --> 00:50:56.000
I have a picture of it uh of my sister and I and uh with Don Regal.

00:50:56.719 --> 00:50:59.360
And I I tell a story to a lot of people.

00:50:59.519 --> 00:51:11.119
Uh my friend Ruben Burks, before he passed, he knew how much the picnic meant to me as a kid because it was a big it was a big deal for our family to go there every year.

00:51:11.199 --> 00:51:12.639
We look forward to it.

00:51:13.039 --> 00:51:20.079
And we got to ride horses, which was one of the coolest things, and we also got to meet people.

00:51:20.320 --> 00:51:24.559
One of the people that I met was Senator Donald Regal as a young kid.

00:51:24.800 --> 00:51:31.519
Um, never dreamed a million years had ever work with him or be in his office in Washington or anything like that.

00:51:31.920 --> 00:51:35.280
Um, but the picnics are very important to families.

00:51:35.519 --> 00:51:41.119
Um then the picnic moved, as I understand it, to Potter Lake.

00:51:41.360 --> 00:51:42.960
Did you ever go to any of those?

00:51:43.199 --> 00:51:47.039
I was at Potter Lake, I was at Potter Lake uh several times.

00:51:47.280 --> 00:51:58.239
And um, I don't know that um we've uh probably in the last 30 years, I don't know if I've missed a Labor Day um get together.

00:51:58.400 --> 00:51:59.519
This will be the first one.

00:51:59.599 --> 00:52:10.159
And and um and I as I said earlier, you know, that was it was a difficult decision to do, but the risk just wasn't worth the reward because um people will want to come.

00:52:10.320 --> 00:52:17.679
And I knew that if I if we had it, we would have three, four, five hundred people there, and I just didn't want to take that um chance.

00:52:17.760 --> 00:52:22.559
And I said, well, let's just don't do it this year so that we're all around to do it next year.

00:52:22.800 --> 00:52:24.559
Yeah, there will be a next year.

00:52:24.800 --> 00:52:33.199
Well, Steve, we've uh come to kind of the end where uh we should sum up and and move along and enjoy our weekend.

00:52:33.360 --> 00:52:39.119
Is there anything you'd like to say to the people of uh Radio Free Flintland?

00:52:39.599 --> 00:52:45.679
No, but uh I uh Art, I gotta tell you, I sure do appreciate uh you extending the offer.

00:52:45.920 --> 00:52:48.559
Um uh it's an honor.

00:52:48.800 --> 00:52:51.280
You have been a longtime friend.

00:52:51.360 --> 00:53:12.639
Um, we lived in the same neighborhood at one time, and and um I remember when you were the prosecutor, and I gotta tell you, you I don't know how many of the listeners know that, but you were absolutely a huge icon in City of Flint in Genesee County, and you've helped more people than most people will ever remember or ever know about.

00:53:12.719 --> 00:53:17.760
And uh for that I I thank you, and for that I'm glad to be uh that I can call you my friend.

00:53:18.159 --> 00:53:19.039
Well, thanks, Steve.

00:53:19.119 --> 00:53:20.320
I feel the same way.

00:53:20.480 --> 00:53:35.360
Uh and I feel the same way about the UAW and uh and its members, and uh celebrating Labor Day can be taking place, as I said earlier, wasn't designed to be a protest or a march or anything of the sort.

00:53:35.599 --> 00:53:44.159
Although uh historically, as you well know, in Detroit, we have the annual Labor Day Parade in Detroit, which I participated in over the years.

00:53:44.480 --> 00:53:56.960
Um but uh likewise I appreciate all the support you've ever given me and all the endeavors uh that I wanted to accomplish uh as a young man and uh for our city.

00:53:57.199 --> 00:54:02.800
And I think we share that uh love for our community and the love for helping others.

00:54:03.039 --> 00:54:08.000
Uh Steve Dawes, uh regional director, uh 1D.

00:54:08.960 --> 00:54:10.639
Uh I hope to see you again.

00:54:10.800 --> 00:54:12.880
I hope we get a chance to chat again.

00:54:13.119 --> 00:54:19.119
And uh uh so for now uh we'll leave you all uh with another song.

00:54:19.360 --> 00:54:23.440
Uh I'll have to pick the song because I don't know what it's gonna be yet, Steve.

00:54:23.519 --> 00:54:29.920
I'd get I'd play your favorite song, but I they charge you fifteen thousand dollars if you don't have rights or something like that.

00:54:31.519 --> 00:54:34.320
This is a low budget affair, but uh take care.

00:54:34.480 --> 00:54:35.599
Good to see you, my friend.

00:54:35.840 --> 00:54:42.079
Yep, uh, you too, and uh to all the listeners out there, um be safe and uh and be kind.

00:54:42.639 --> 00:54:43.119
Yes.

00:54:43.280 --> 00:54:44.559
Happy Labor Day.

00:54:44.800 --> 00:54:45.519
Bye bye.