Exiting UAW leader reflects on past, future
DETROIT >> When Rory Gamble took over as president of the United Auto Workers in 2019, the union was embroiled in a federal corruption probe that had ensnared two of Gamble’s predecessors. It had just endured a 40-day strike against General Motors. And then the viral pandemic erupted, forcing auto plants to halt production and idle its workers for weeks until safety precautions were adopted. It won’t get any easier for Gamble’s successor, Ray Curry. He will preside over a union that faces monumental changes as the auto business navigates an epochal transition from internal combustion engines to battery-electric powered vehicles.
Yet Gamble, 65, insists he is leaving the UAW in solid shape, with, among other things, financial safeguards in place to help prevent corruption.
He cautions, though, that it is critical for the union to organize battery and electric vehicle component factories and to secure decent wages for workers in the face of the automakers’ efforts to reduce labor costs.
The Associated Press spoke with Gamble on Wednesday, his last day of work, about the future of the union.
The interview was edited for clarity and length:
Q
: You’re leaving about a year before the end of your term. Why now?
A
: I’m very confident the UAW is in great hands. My replacement, Ray Curry, his abilities, his resumé — he’s got a lot of seat time and leadership underneath him. I think it’s an appropriate time for me to go. I’ve always had this belief that we should put stable, long-term leadership in the president’s chair. And I think that’s essential to how we approach agreements. So these companies are going to be dealing with this person for a long time.
Q
: A coming vote would give workers the power to directly elect union leaders, rather than picking delegates to a convention. Yet you’re against this. Why?
A
: A lot of them don’t understand all the ramifications. In contemporary times, our problem is anti-union-funded enterprises that spend a lot of money, put out a lot of disinformation to destroy unions. The delegate system allows us to make sure every local in our union has a voice. We have many sectors. One of our largest is auto, with active and retired members. Basically, that large majority vote could take up every spot. And smaller sectors like higher education, gaming, independent parts suppliers, health care — they could get swallowed up and not have representation on the board. It ensures we have women, we have minorities. You could see probably an allmale leadership team that doesn’t reflect the membership. One member, one vote has absolutely nothing to do with corruption and will not prevent corruption. Corruption begins in the heart. Strong financial controls and strong accurate oversight prevents corruption.
Q
: The UAW faces perhaps the biggest challenge in its history as the business shifts to electric vehicles. How important is it to organize battery and component plants?
A
: It’s very important to the future of the union. But it’s really essential to the economic future of this country that we maintain good-paying auto manufacturing jobs with good wages, with great benefits. This country needs to bring critical manufacturing back. It takes less people, less components to build an electric car. We need to own our battery technology, or what’s happening with the computer chip shortage could also happen with battery sales. So it’s critical that we bring this manufacturing back home, give these jobs to Americans. And most importantly, they should have a right as American workers to organize. We don’t need another $12-, $15-an-hour wage structure for manufacturing. These electric vehicle jobs should be at the rate of the work that they are replacing. Or else we could be in trouble economically in this country.