Bernie’s Story
Bernie became a member of U.A.W. Local 600 when he hired in at Ford Motor Company in November of 1973, at the Detroit Parts Distribution Center. Between the years of 1978 and 1989, Bernie held the unit positions of Financial Secretary, District Committee-person, Bargaining Committee-person, and Vice President of the Parts Depot Unit. In 1989 Bernie was appointed staff representative of Local 600 and then in 1992 Director of Special Projects. During this period, he led the task of the re-creation of the historic Ford Hunger March. From 1997 to 2009 he served as Second and First Vice President of Local 600. From 2003 until the present Bernie has been an elected member of the U.A.W. Ford National Negotiating Committee. He is currently the elected Co-Chair of the U.A.W. Ford National Negotiating Committee and has held that position since 2009.
Bernie has earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Wayne State University. In 1999 and again in 2004 he was given the “Spirit of Detroit” award by the Detroit City Council. Bernie is a lifetime member of the NAACP, member of the Training Alliance Executive Committee for the MTEC technical training center, member of the Labor Advisory Board for Health Alliance Plan and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Bridging Communities Incorporated. Bridging Communities is a non-profit organization that serves the community of Southwest Detroit by providing a variety of services to the homebound elderly including meals on wheels, minor home repairs, transportation for doctors appointments and medical care. They also provide intergenerational activities between the elderly and young children, and have helped stabilize the community by successfully developing over 190 units of new low income housing for seniors.