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Leadership Transition Brings New IUE-CWA President
A new IUE-CWA Sector president took the oath of office on April 8. Jim Clark, IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board chairman, succeeds Mike Bindas, who retired March 31 after 49 years of service to the manufacturing union, which merged with CWA in 2000.
"I am honored to be called upon to serve our members as we face significant economic and political challenges to our jobs and union rights," said Clark. "I pledge to continue in the great history of IUE-CWA by delivering good jobs and benefits to our members and fighting for all workers' right to join a union."
Clark's selection by the IUE-CWA Executive Council was confirmed by the CWA Executive Board on April 1.
The new IUE-CWA president hails from IUE-CWA's founding local, now Local 84755, in Dayton, Ohio, where he worked his way up from committeeman and vice president to serving two terms as shop chairman, the local's chief negotiator.
In February 2001, Clark was unanimously elected chairman of the IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board. As chairman, he oversees contract negotiations and implementation at the local and national levels for five major automotive companies. IUE-CWA represents more than 17,000 members at General Motors, Delphi, Valeo, DMAX and Visteon.
Clark, 50, has participated in three sets of main table negotiations with GM and Delphi Corp. since 1966. As Conference Board chairman, Clark led national bargaining in 2003, which resulted in historic job security provisions. He won unanimous reelection as chairman in February 2005.
He is also known for efforts to reduce health care costs through community initiatives to assess needs and utilization, and through education of members and health care providers. He convinced GM, Delphi and Visteon to join the National Coalition on Health Care with IUE-CWA in an effort to initiate major health care reform.
Michael J. Bindas became IUE-CWA president on Dec. 29, 2003, succeeding President Ed Fire.
Bindas, 66, joined IUE in 1956 at Packard Electric in Warren, Ohio. He soon became a union activist, and in 1959 members of what is now IUE-CWA Local 84717 elected him district committeeman at the main plant in Warren. He was elected zone committeeman in 1963, which placed him on the local's bargaining committee.
In 1968, he was elected shop chairman for the 13,000-member local. His leadership resulted in the establishment of the first joint union-management cooperative efforts with Packard Electric. Another first for Bindas as a local leader was the establishment of a jobs committee. This resulted in a new production facility and new hiring in 1978, the first since 1973.
In 1983, Bindas was elected secretary-treasurer of IUE District 7. In that post, he oversaw collective bargaining within the district and was reelected in 1984 and 1987. District 7 delegates in 1988 elected Bindas as district president. He served successive terms in that position, becoming a CWA Executive Board member when IUE and CWA merged.
"I am honored to be called upon to serve our members as we face significant economic and political challenges to our jobs and union rights," said Clark. "I pledge to continue in the great history of IUE-CWA by delivering good jobs and benefits to our members and fighting for all workers' right to join a union."
Clark's selection by the IUE-CWA Executive Council was confirmed by the CWA Executive Board on April 1.
The new IUE-CWA president hails from IUE-CWA's founding local, now Local 84755, in Dayton, Ohio, where he worked his way up from committeeman and vice president to serving two terms as shop chairman, the local's chief negotiator.
In February 2001, Clark was unanimously elected chairman of the IUE-CWA Automotive Conference Board. As chairman, he oversees contract negotiations and implementation at the local and national levels for five major automotive companies. IUE-CWA represents more than 17,000 members at General Motors, Delphi, Valeo, DMAX and Visteon.
Clark, 50, has participated in three sets of main table negotiations with GM and Delphi Corp. since 1966. As Conference Board chairman, Clark led national bargaining in 2003, which resulted in historic job security provisions. He won unanimous reelection as chairman in February 2005.
He is also known for efforts to reduce health care costs through community initiatives to assess needs and utilization, and through education of members and health care providers. He convinced GM, Delphi and Visteon to join the National Coalition on Health Care with IUE-CWA in an effort to initiate major health care reform.
Michael J. Bindas became IUE-CWA president on Dec. 29, 2003, succeeding President Ed Fire.
Bindas, 66, joined IUE in 1956 at Packard Electric in Warren, Ohio. He soon became a union activist, and in 1959 members of what is now IUE-CWA Local 84717 elected him district committeeman at the main plant in Warren. He was elected zone committeeman in 1963, which placed him on the local's bargaining committee.
In 1968, he was elected shop chairman for the 13,000-member local. His leadership resulted in the establishment of the first joint union-management cooperative efforts with Packard Electric. Another first for Bindas as a local leader was the establishment of a jobs committee. This resulted in a new production facility and new hiring in 1978, the first since 1973.
In 1983, Bindas was elected secretary-treasurer of IUE District 7. In that post, he oversaw collective bargaining within the district and was reelected in 1984 and 1987. District 7 delegates in 1988 elected Bindas as district president. He served successive terms in that position, becoming a CWA Executive Board member when IUE and CWA merged.