Multiple candidates expected in Machinists union election

  • By Dan Catchpole Herald Writer
  • Thursday, January 23, 2014 11:21pm
  • Business

It isn’t clear who the next leader of the Machinists union in metro Puget Sound will be, and union officials expect a contested election sometime this spring.

Several rank-and-file leaders are backing a union staffer based in Everett, Jon Holden, to succeed Tom Wroblewski, the current president of Seattle-based District Lodge 751. About 33,000 Boeing workers are members of that district of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

Earlier this month, Wroblewski unexpectedly announced that he would resign at the end of January.

An interim district business representative will run day-to-day operations until an election is held this spring.

Holden “is the right man to bring the membership home and restore their faith in the leadership, and repair our solidarity,” said Wilson “Fergie” Ferguson, a rank-and-file leader backing Holden.

Ferguson is a mechanic on the Boeing 737 flight line in Renton, the district’s vice president and president of Local A.

Ferguson’s charismatic personality and candid criticism of union leadership during recent contract negotiations boosted his popularity with many members. After Wroblewski said he would step down, several members called on him to run.

But Ferguson said Holden has the experience needed to reform the district.

Holden spent about six years working at Boeing before spending about three years as a union organizer and the past 11 years as a business representative, an elected position, according to Ferguson.

The two “have committed to work to restore the membership to power,” he said.

The recent contract negotiations proved that the district has to be stronger and more inclusive, he said. “For too long, we haven’t heeded (all members’) voices, and we have become complacent.”

Asked for an example, he pointed to the district’s decision to save money by using staff members rather than volunteers during an organizing campaign a few years ago.

So business representatives were out trying to organize employees at non-union companies.

“The end result was that the reps weren’t around when our members needed them,” he said.

Organizing is important, but the union has to take care of present members first, Ferguson said.

The union also needs better contract enforcement, he said.

Holden hasn’t officially announced his candidacy and could not be reached for comment late Thursday. He will have to leave his staff job and return to the shop floor. To run for district president, he has to be on the district council.

Wroblewski’s council seat will be vacant come Feb. 1, so Holden will have to petition to be appointed to finish Wroblewski’s term on the council before he can run for president.

Even if he is appointed to the council, Holden is likely to face challengers. Two other district council members are reportedly considering running, and the recent contract negotiations left the membership deeply divided.

The next president needs “to mend fences between the vote yes and the vote no sides,” said Lester Mullen, a rank-and-file activist.

“We need people that have differing views to be there so we represent the diverse needs of our members,” he said.

The process for picking the next district president isn’t clear, though.

District officials have asked the IAM’s international headquarters in Upper Marlboro, Md., to approve holding nominating meetings at the end of February*, with an election following a few weeks after. The international hasn’t responded yet, said Connie Kelliher, a spokeswoman for District 751.

The international did not respond to requests for comment.

The District 751 Council is expected to formally set the dates for nominating meetings and the election on Tuesday, and the details will be in February’s Aeromechanic, the district’s newspaper, and on its website, Kelliher said.

Correction, Jan. 24, 2014: This article has been updated to note that District 751 asked to hold nominating meetings in February, not in March as originally reported.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.