Dan White
President, United Auto Workers Local 94
by BRIAN COOPER
TH executive editor
A welder by trade, Dan White works behind a desk instead of a torch these days. However, the president of United Auto Workers Local 94 is still welding.
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Daniel F. White Age: 55 Occupation: President, United Auto Workers Local 94, since 1999. Welder, John Deere Dubuque Works. Professional experience: Hired by John Deere Dubuque Works in January 1972. Also worked at Flexsteel Industries. Education: Graduate of Dubuque Senior High. Completed numerous courses at the University of Iowa Labor Center. Community involvement: United Way Executive Committee, Northeast Iowa Community College trustee, Holy Ghost Parish member, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Marine Corps League. Professional involvement: Dubuque Area Labor-Management Council (Labor chair); CARE Coalition (Labor chair). Military service: U.S. Marine Corps. Tour of duty in Vietnam, 1969. Honorable discharge, 1970. Family: Son of Lillian and Francis J. White (both deceased). Husband to the former Jacqueline MacDonald. Father of Patrick and Michelle White. Grandfather of four grandchildren: Payton and Sydney White, Casey Baxter and Danielle White (deceased). Brother of Sandra Ring. |
He welds a more cooperative than adversarial relationship with Deere.
And, through personal example and encouragement, he welds greater Local 94 involvement in the community overall.
In the days leading up to Labor Day 2003, White shared his perspectives during an extensive interview with the Telegraph Herald. The highlights of that conversation follow.
TH: How did you get to this spot? Did you aspire to be a leader in the local union here?
DW: I think that's probably pretty accurate. My father (Francis) worked at John Deere. My father was actually the president of Local 94. The union has always been in my life. I have an uncle (John W. "Curly" White) who is also very active in Local 94. I started out of the service, and didn't really think I was heading down this (leadership) trail. Appreciated what the union had done with Deere. I knew Deere was a good place to work and I knew that it was because of the efforts of the UAW. The more you work there, little by little, issues come up that require some union involvement.
TH: Did you serve in Vietnam?
DW:: Yes. I was drafted and, as my little form of protest, I joined the Marines the day before I had to report for the draft. I got to Des Moines and the man looked me over and said, "You sure you don't want to wait for the Army tomorrow?" I said, "No, I'm going to the Marines." I had friends in the Marines. Always admired them.
I was fortunate to get sent to a communication/electronics battalion, air traffic control area. Went to 29 Palms and then I went to Yuma, Ariz., then to Vietnam. Served with the air support radar teams. We did a lot of radar that only had about a 20-mile range, but if they needed to get a helicopter in or something like that, we could bring them in. We could set the radar up and bring them and set them right down on a tree stump if we needed to. It was very interesting work. It was nearly as critical as a lot of people did over there. But I enjoyed it a lot.
TH: It probably helped save some lives, though.
DW: Yeah, I think so. We did a lot of Medevac.
TH: As soon as you got out of service, did you land a job at Deere or did you have another job in between?
DW: I had worked at Flexsteel. The dean at Senior High School, the dean of boys, was Don Henderson. He had been pretty influential in my life in the early days. When I got back (from Vietnam), I stopped to see him. I was definitely a different person when I come out then when I went in.
TH: In what way?
DW: Well, the military was good for me. I just had an attitude that ... play whatever cards were dealt. I still have some of that, but I guess lackadaisical is putting it one way.
TH: I don't want to put words in your mouth, but you would have been "unfocused," maybe?
DW: Unfocused, very unfocused. Just didn't have a clue. Was into the partying. Needed some self-discipline and that's what I really felt I was going to get out of the Marines. Some discipline. And I have.
TH: So, when you got back, you went to see Mr. Henderson.
DW: He said, "What do you want to do?" I said, "You know, I'd sure like to get on out at Deere's. I think that's the place." I liked Flexsteel. Had no complaints at all about it. Don said, "I've got a friend out there. Let me make a phone call." And he did. The guy called me up for an interview. I went out and had a job offer - actually for the company (office). I was a changed person, but I was still not into what would make a good company person. I wasn't shaving every day and new I probably wasn't going to like wearing a tie or anything like that. I just said, "How about if we wait until something opens up in the factory?" And it did before very long. I went out and started in the foundry. I didn't get my 90 days in, my probationary period, before I was laid off. I was off for darn near two years. Luckily, I got back on at Flexsteel.
TH: You went back to Flexsteel.
DW: Yeah, got my job back there. I have nothing bad to say about Flexsteel at all. I think they have good people over there. Had friends there and enjoyed it, but knew if Deere called, I was going back. They finally called again, January of '72.
TH: You got back into the foundry?
DW: Uh, huh. My second tour in the foundry. I got an opportunity: They were looking for welders. So I went to welding school out there and became a welder. If I went back in right now, that's what I'd be doing. I've always enjoyed welding.
TH: What is your membership now, approximately, in terms of working members?
DW: We have about 850 in the plant.
TH: The entire roster, with retirees?
DW: I believe about 1,700.
TH: How is the number of working members trending? How does that compare to, say, 20 years ago when Deere was at its peak?
DW: It's trending in the direction we wish wasn't happening. It's going down and down. In '84, just a rough guess, we probably had 5,000 people out there in the bargaining unit. And to be down to 850. When I walk into the plant now and look from one end to the other, where you used to see fork truck after fork truck I mean, things have changed. They're not all bad. I wish we still had that many people out there. But it's not just Deere. It's not just the Dubuque Works.
TH: Some of it is automation. Robotics. Inventory systems.
DW: Yeah. We used to have five or six people running different machines and a part coming down the line. Now you've got one in there and this man probably is doing something over here on paperwork while it (the machine) is doing it. You've got a computer.
I like what they're doing. I don't blame them for doing it, but I just wish it would employ more people. I would like to see a profitable, growing plant. Dubuque is a great place and hope that that turns around someday.
TH: With the change in your membership numbers, and in observing what's happened with organized labor employment levels, how has that changed the perception - or the power, if you will - of organized labor in Dubuque?
DW: Well, I think the power is still there. Our retirees are very active. When (presidential candidates) Gephardt and Kerry and Edwards come to town, they're looking for the UAW because they know how many people we've got out there. When it's time to call on the governor and the legislators because we're concerned about work comp issues, we don't have the clout that we did. And that's too bad. I think we're suffering because of it.
TH: Has that changed how you approach management on contracts? Or how you approach the politicians?
DW: I don't believe it's changed. We have a contract coming up in October. I couldn't answer that as to how it affects local politicians. I believe they still care what Labor thinks. There's no doubt a politician is going to go where the money is.
TH: And the organization.
DW: Right. We do have a good organization. We've got the shoe leather. Some people have got the money, but we have got the shoe leather. And if we can just keep our people with us on the issues. You go to a politician and try to get them to do what you feel is the right thing. You've got to keep on them because it is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.
We try to get our members to write letters. Petitions don't do anything. I've been to Des Moines, I've been to Washington and I know those people, petitions don't impress them at all. But if you can get somebody to write a personal letter, they know that person is genuinely concerned because they took the time to sit down and write and put a stamp on it.
We ask our members to become involved. We have members who are on the school board, city council, different commissions and things like that. We need to play a role in the community. It's not to throw our clout around. We need people to know that we are part of the community and the role that we do play in it.
TH: What are the biggest challenges facing Local 94?
DW: Well, where our membership will end up. How many people is the Dubuque Works going to employ? Big challenge there. We're currently bringing in new people. Deere is putting together a hiring pool to bring people in. We've got great products. The customers that I talk to - customers and dealers that tour the place - are very impressed by what's happening out there. I think there's a future.
A lot of the people that are hired now - maybe children of friend of mine or this or that - I'm not to stand up and tell them that I think it's a great place to work if I didn't believe that.
TH: I noticed that just now you referred to the plant out there as "we." Correct me if I'm wrong, but in years past, would some of your predecessors or other union officials have said "they?"
DW: Sure. My father is probably spinning in his grave from time to time by some of things that have happened, but you have to change. You just do. I like the way it's going now a whole lot better. I hope it never goes back. For the whole labor movement in the United States. The end result should be good for everybody. I believe it can be. I believe the pie is big enough for everybody.
I'm probably as guilty as anybody of saying "them" or "us." But when I talk to new members, potential employees, customers, dealers, things like that, I say things have changed a lot. Maybe when I was hired, they were just looking for a body. I think Deere does a pretty good job now of developing their employees. There's opportunities there.
TH: Where does a labor-management council fit into a community such as Dubuque?
DW: When Dubuque was famous for labor problems You probably remember the T-shirt, "The last one to leave, turn out the lights." I never did enjoy seeing that. That really worried me. Pat Dillon, Mike Stohlmeyer, Mel Maas They got this group together to try to work constructively and to generate trust between the parties.
Out of Labor-Management came a Care Coalition with our health-care costs. We have to do whatever we can to try to keep those under control. So I sat on that. Sat with the doctors, the insurance companies, the unions and learned a lot about what's going on. I still don't know where the blame is. What the heck are we going to do about this? Boy, it's been quite a few years. I really don't know.
At the Labor-Management meetings, we're not discussing internal issues of what's going on, but are really trying to put together what's good for the community. A scholarship program. Our Summerfest (just concluded).
I just think it's a very positive organization. I really enjoy the people I've met there. They're community people. The current chair, (City Manager) Mike VanMilligen, the management chair, with all that he has going on, I don't know how he finds the time to do something like this, but it's obvious he takes being the chair of Labor-Management as serious as I think he does anything because he never cuts things short or abrupt or anything like that. I'm just happy to be the (labor) chair with him. I think the whole community benefits from that.
TH: You've been involved in other community activities that are not officially affiliated with organized labor, like the Labor-Management Council. You've been involved in United Way.
DW: United Way. Always been a believer there.
TH: No direct union connection there, but that's a community program.
DW: Well, there is a direct connection. We just had our pledge drive out at the plant. It was a very successful drive. And we haven't been successful the last couple of years. I don't know what's different, but I'm sure happy that things went well with it.
But when I talk to the people about why should you give to that, I say, "You may not use the services, I hope you don't have to use the services, but you never know."
We had a man out at the plant, one of our co-workers, who collapsed up on Grandview Avenue. A person came along that had been trained at a United Way facility, performed CPR on him while his girlfriend called 911. The man and his daughter were jogging. They didn't have a cell phone with them, as far as I know. That man is alive today because of the United Way.
TH: Because of the training for the CPR.
DW: Yeah. It's too late, when something like that happens to you, to say, "I think I'm going to start giving to United Way."
We just took some people off the shop floor - bargaining units and salaried - and we took them to Hillcrest, to United Way, to the Boys' and Girls' Club. Spent the morning, spent an hour at each one of them and we had people who were, I hate to say "anti," but pretty close, and as we were leaving Hillcrest, some said, "Well, I had no idea what went on up here." We ask them, "Would you get up and talk about it at our session down at the plant?" And they did. Best sales people we had. They were proud. We didn't have to urge them to get up there. They were ready to go. It was just terrific.
TH: You're also an elected official, on the NICC (Northeast Iowa Community College) board. Talk a bit about NICC and what your take is on the tax levy renewal coming up (Sept. 9).
DW: Before I went on the board of NICC, I was like everybody else it was a place I drove past on the way to the golf course. I had some idea about what went on out there. Had been in a couple of times. When I went on the board, I was immediately impressed with the other board members, the president, the staff out there. Every organization should be staffed with people like they've got. Rob Denson does a fantastic job, but I think he is able to because of the people that support him.
When I walk in, the students out there, the teachers, everybody is just so enthusiastic. I've never walked in and felt like somebody's having a bad day around here.
The role that they play in the community, the people that they put out, the graduates. People don't realize how wide that scope is. Then, you take it all the way up to Calmar and what they've got up there with the dairy industry and the campus up there. I just had no idea.
The potential is just unlimited as to what NICC can do. The community needs to support them. We have some industries that need to support them more. They need to be looking at the people that are coming out of NICC. These are qualified people. The training that they've got. If they don't have the exact training that the businesses need, they ought to be telling NICC what they'd like to have because NICC will provide it.
TH: Where does this referendum on the levy fit into all of this?
DW: It (the levy) is already there. It's just a continuation. I think if people realize what NICC contributes to the community, there would be no doubt about it. It's money well spent. I just don't think anybody could find any criticism with it.
TH: You mentioned earlier that the next contract with Deere is coming up this fall. This article will come out Labor Day weekend. About where will it be by Labor Day?
DW: We will have exchanged proposals and the bargaining will be about one week away, actual bargaining.
TH: Is that the end of October or the end of October?
DW: Our contract expires the First of October.
TH: Obviously, I'm not going to ask - and you're not going to tell me - any of your strategies.
DW: (Laughs) Yeah. I appreciate that.
TH: What is important to you and your members as you enter into this process with the company for the next contract?
DW: Well, our members really feel that they gave Deere some of the best years of their lives, they really did. The Dubuque plant is currently a very safe place, I believe, but there are people that have been injured out there. Some of the older machines definitely took their toll. There are people, when you assemble for 30 years, after that you're a whole lot more bent over it than when you walk in. I think they deserve to be taken care of. They're not asking for a whole lot.
I think Deere has done a very good job with their retirees. I think if they would just continue that, I think we'd be pretty happy.
TH: You talked a bit about your job here and also your experience in the plant itself. If there was something you could change about your job, I had a magic wand here and I allowed you to change one thing about your job, what might it be?
DW: Boy, I don't know. That I wouldn't have to give people bad news. Bad news sometimes, it's just monetarily you're responsible for that.
This job - I guess I always had a different perception of what the president of the union was or is. I had no idea how much time I would spend on that phone.
I'm not a phone person. If possible, I talk on the speakerphone a lot because I actually had a couple of scabs on my ears when I first come in here.
Mondays are just unbelievable. Those phone buttons will all be lit up, calls waiting. I just had no idea I'd spend that much time on the phone.
TH: If it makes you feel any better, that's how my Mondays are, too.
DW: I've had people that come in that have a terminal disease or something like that and what are we going to do? We have a pension committee here that works with them to make sure everything gets put in order. That's depressing.
Or somebody comes in and their wife has been diagnosed. I've have had people come in that I know are my age or younger and have a walker or a cane because of problems. That's sad. When I go home, it has made me - as they say, when you've got your health, you've got it all. I believe that. I really do.
TH: Before the interview we talked about photography. You shoot people's weddings. You're recording some of their lifetime, milestone events. How did you get interested in photography?
DW: Well, when things were real shaky out at Deere's, I sort took an assessment of my talents - and it didn't take long to do that. But I'd always had an interest in photography. Actually, at that time, I think there were seven photographers out at Deere's working in the plant; three or four of us worked in the same area. We would get together and just talk about it. I listened a lot. People can show me their vacation photos all the time. I look at them. I look at the subject matter, but I'm always looking at the lighting to see what they're doing, how did they do that.
I had a 35-millimeter camera. A friend said, "How about taking my wedding photos?" And I did. And enjoyed it. Had some other people say, "How about it?" I figured, "Well, I'm not going to be at Deere's forever and it might be something to get into." So I did. I really enjoy it. Last year I did 70 weddings.
TH: 70? Wow.
DW: And enjoyed every one of them. It's a happy occasion for families. I walk in, they're happy as can be. They're all together. Spend all day with a beautiful bride, happy groom, and this and that.
TH: Yeah, but that's a lot of "Chicken Dance."
DW: Yeah. I don't stay for that. I always tell them, I love photography, but receptions drive me crazy. If I go in, I do a cake, I do a toast, give them a handshake and we're down the road.
TH: On the eve of Labor Day, 2003, what do you think is most important for people - whether they're in the labor movement or outside of that - for them to know about labor at this stage in our community's history?
DW: Not just the community. I think across the country. Where are we going as working people? I really feel that the industrial base built this country and made it what it was. The middle class has done so much for the country. Where are we heading? That really concerns me.
I keep thinking we're heading toward the haves and the have nots. That's not necessary. I know things are changing and people have to train for different jobs. We need an industrial base in this country. You just can't have these companies chasing the cheapest wage. They're exploiting people, I believe. Going to China. You always hear about the prison workers and child labor and stuff like that. That isn't right. We all buy the products that are made by those people - the Nikes and the Reeboks and this and that.
We really ought to demand more out of our country and our politicians. Again, the pie is big enough for everybody. People could live a comfortable lifestyle. I've never felt that working people were greedy. There are some people that try harder and live better than the average worker, but I know an awful lot of people who don't live in big fancy houses or drive fancy cars. They've got a pile of kids or maybe have had misfortune in their life. We always hear the story about the Deere worker. "Oh, you work at Deere, you've got it made." But I know a lot of people that didn't have it made. They struggled their whole life. People just need to keep watching what's going on.
Again, vote. Hold the politicians accountable. They can change things I believe. Again, we don't tell them how to vote. We have plenty of members who were supporters of George Bush and plenty of them that still believe Clinton was the greatest thing ever walking and that Al Gore got cheated and this and that. Voting is free and it's so important.
Too many people just think Labor Day is a holiday. It shouldn't be that way. They say, "If you don't remember it, you're destined to repeat it." Something like that. There's a lot of things we don't want to repeat.