Detroit Free Press: Marick Masters on new UAW president
Rory Gamble will remain at the head of the UAW. Gamble, who had been tapped as acting president in the wake of Gary Jones' resignation in disgrace, was picked Thursday as the permanent replacement to fill the remainder of Jones' term, which ends in 2022. Gamble, who makes history as the union's first African-American president, has moved quickly in the past few weeks, announcing ethics and other reforms and meeting with the media, in an effort to restore the trust of the membership and forestall federal intervention in the union, which has more than 400,000 members. Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University who specializes in labor, said the elevation of Gamble to the top spot is good news for the union. "I think that Rory Gamble represents the more iconic values of the United Auto Workers, and he has been untouched by any of these scandals, and I think it's important to acknowledge that there have been no officials at Ford who have been involved in these scandals so far," Masters said. "He has the mindset that can get the union through this difficult period and make the internal reforms that they need to make and get the union focused on" growing its membership and improving its bargaining position within the auto industry. Masters said Gamble deserves the position. "He is an outstanding person, and I think the fact that he is African-American is testimony to the importance that diversity plays in the UAW, and they have on their roster of presidents an African-American as president at long last," Masters said.
