Powertrain UAW leader fills big shoes
26.02.2008 16:01
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- Source: toledoblade.com
When Ray Wood graduated from the former Macomber High School in 1972, he had dreams of going to college. But his father, an autoworker at Toledo Jeep, had another dream for his impressionable young son. "He took me over to the Jeep plant on one of my first days out of school and introduced me to his supervisor, and he hired me on the spot as a forklift driver, without so much as an interview or resume or anything," the 54-year-old Mr. Wood recalled. That couldn't happen today, said Mr. Wood, now the president of United Auto Workers Local 14, which represents some 2,800 members at General Motors Corp.'s Toledo Powertrain plant. "Those days in the auto industry and in the union are gone." Indeed, the automotive industry and the UAW bear little resemblance to those that existed in 1972. And thanks to the transformative events of the last few years - a revolutionary new labor agreement and promises of at least two new fuel-efficient transmission products at Powertrain - Mr. Wood considers himself an unabashed optimist. "We want to make sure our work ethic speaks for itself," he said. It's been an eventful year. Just months after ratifying a new national labor agreement with GM, the company exercised its newly won "flexibility" and laid off several hundred workers at Powertrain because of slow sales. Some people are leaving under buyouts, others are laid off, and the economy nationally is hurting, which in turn is hurting auto sales, he said. "It was painful in some ways, but we focused on the light at the end of the tunnel," Mr. Wood said. "We do hope that one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, we'll be able to get those [new] products up and running and try to aggressively pursue other products out there." He started at Powertrain as a line worker 23 years ago after coming to GM from Bostwick-Braun Co. He got involved in the UAW about seven years later and rose through the leadership ranks until he succeeded longtime Local 14 President Oscar Bunch upon his retirement in December, 2006. "I never thought about 'One day I want to be [local] president.' That was never in my mind. That was never an aspiration," Mr. Wood said. "It's a lot of hard work, and you do the best you can, and you try to get as much help as you can." Mr. Wood faces a number of challenges in the plant, but they are largely not of his making, said 30-year powertrain employee E.M. "Willy" Fox. "There's going to be an adjustment period going from Oscar to Ray, because Ray is coming in under some difficult conditions. But I think Ray is doing a good job," Mr. Fox said. "There's a lot of people cheesed off at the way things are going, but it's not Ray's fault." Lloyd Mahaffey, director of the Toledo-based Ohio UAW Region 2B, praised Mr. Wood and the role he's played representing his members. "He cares about the people he represents and he cares about the community," Mr. Mahaffey said. The Local 14 leader will have to defend his first 14 months at the helm next month. Running against him are Local 14 Vice President Terry Grams and member Tom Groves. Joe Farinella, human resources manager for Toledo Powertrain, by law can't get involved in the internal politics of the union, but he has respect for Mr. Wood. "It was a tough assignment to follow Oscar Bunch," Mr. Farinella said. "But Ray is a strong leader. He's focused on the long-term viability of our plant." Contact Larry P. Vellequette at:
lvellequette@theblade.com
or 419-724-6091.
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