January 2017: Recapping our local's year

Dear Brothers and Sisters,  
I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I know most of us only had the weekends off. All the same, it was with family and friends. 
If I may, I would like to recap some of the events that took place at our local in 2016. And thank all the members that helped make them a success. And all the members that came out and supported the events.
Thanks to Yvonne, Nancy, Laura and Dennis, along with Mandy and half of first shift’s maintenance crew, our annual Holloweenie roast went off without a glitch. And from the feedback (no pun intended), everyone had enough to eat while enjoying lunch with friends. Great job!
Let’s not forget the Chili Cook-off. The money generated went to support the vets. Thanks, Mandy, for planning such a fun event. I don’t even know how to begin to thank Bob Davis for all the hard work and dedication he so willingly volunteers to the Veterans Committee.    
During this election cycle, many of our members involved themselves or volunteered to participate in political rallies. Others manned the phone banks. Your time was not wasted, for you cared enough to get engaged and make a difference. I applaud you. 
Our standing committees have been involved serving the communities of Lansing. They helped ensure that many needy children heading back to school had backpacks filled with school supplies. When asked, our members donated gifts of time and money so children would have new coats and boots. And presents under their Christmas tree!
Your generosity even reached our neighboring community, Flint, in her time of need.
We really accomplished a lot in 2016. Looking forward to another great year with UAW Local 1753, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish this year!

September 2016: Committees getting active

Dear Brothers and Sisters:
It’s hard to believe that summer is over and autumn is upon us. With the season change comes a change in temperature, and I don’t mean warmer! Shorter days, longer nights, and children heading back to school. Just the other day I was shopping at Meijer and I noticed the summer stuff is gone from the shelves and in its place were Halloween candy, costumes and Halloween decorations. And that’s when it hit me. This is it! Summer is over! And that to-do list? Well, it’s always good to have a plan for next year.
Fortunately, it was a different story at the hall. A new hot water heater was installed, and now we’re looking into upgrading the electrical service.
As many of you know, our standing committees have been busy as well. The Women’s Committee was successful in gathering donations for the Back to School supplies drive. Thanks to Sharae, Yvonne and Iris, Local 1753 was well represented at the work day/kickoff rally. Way to go ladies!
The Community Service Committee is working with management to bring life back into the United Way fundraising campaign. We hope to have more people involved than in years past.
And Eric says the Recreation Committee is planning a football trip. The Local was also able to send eight members to Fall School this year. As we move forward, it’s exciting to see so many members getting involved.
This spring, 18 of our brothers and sisters took advantage of a special attrition program. They took a cash incentive and retired. I would like to take this time to wish all of you a long and happy retirement. Go enjoy yourselves! And if I know Laura Clark, she’s already making contact with all of you to invite you to the retirees’ chapter meetings. As always, retirees are welcome to be a part of the general membership meeting. So please come back and visit us at the hall.
No sooner were we finished saying our good-byes than we were saying our hellos to 14 new employees. To all the new members, I would like to welcome you to Lansing CC&A and invite you to participate at our Local. General membership meetings are held monthly and I invite you to get involved.
As if you have to be reminded, we’re near the end of this election cycle, and it looks as if the race to the White House is heating up. As UAW members in good standing we are all called to be politically active, so I would encourage all members to get involved.
There are many ways one can get involved, from phone polling to volunteering to handing out campaign leaflets. You can get information from our VCAP rep and the postings that are on the plant communication boards. Get educated on the issues! Find out who the UAW endorses and why. Talk with other members. But be respectful. Like President Williams stated in a speech, “Republican, Democrat, it doesn’t matter. We’re all Unionist.” And on Election day, GO VOTE!

December 2015: Reflecting on the past year

Dear brothers and sisters, greetings! By the time this letter makes it to print, hopefully we will have settled our international contract with GM and our local contract as well. And then, just maybe, things will start to settle down and get back to normal. I’m sure that everyone has felt the stress in the warehouse in the last 4-5 months. Besides, it’s time to start stressing over the holidays!
You know what I’m talking about, going store to store, in search of that perfect gift, only to finally give up, and give cash. Or how many people will be coming to that Christmas Eve party? And what’s on the menu? And by the way, do any of our guests have a peanut allergy? It’s all important stuff, but at the same time, we need to remind ourselves to slow down and remember what it is we are celebrating.
The holiday season means a lot of different things to different people. It’s a time to celebrate one’s religion and for others it’s a time to celebrate family and friends. Whatever it is you celebrate, or even if you celebrate both, take the time to do it right. Enjoy the moment, that’s what my grandma always used to say. But most of all, try to be happy.
This season is a time to look back and reflect, and to make plans for the future. So looking back on 2015, and what our Local has done, we have several things to celebrate and be proud of. It took a while, but we now have fully functioning committees. Our Recreational Committee planned and hosted several events this year, such as our very first “family picnic” and a game night that was held at our Local. Thanks to Eric and Tim and all who worked to make these events a success.
Josh and Brian are heading up the Community Service Committee. Through their participation, this Local collected $1,443 for Toys for Tots. And they are currently collecting food for the Lansing Area Food Bank. There were also collections for the Old Newsboys  at our gates December 3.
Our very own Danielle is working hard to develop the Women’s Committee. She spent time at Black Lake for training, and is networking with other Locals. We are very fortunate to have her representing our Local.
And we must not forget one of this Local’s longest standing committees—the Veterans Committee. Bob reported at the November membership meeting that the Veterans Committee is purchasing gifts for the VA Hospital.
There is so much more to report, and going forward into 2016 we all should be excited and proud to be members of Local 1753. To be members of the UAW means that you are a member of an organization that stands for equality, a voice for its members and for the working class. But also, as a community building organization. Remember friends, there’s no greater calling than to be in service of your fellow brothers and sisters.
In closing, let me take this time to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and very prosperous 2016.