UAW Vice President Gerald Kariem Announces Decision to Retire Effective June 30, 2021

Detroit - UAW Vice President Gerald Kariem, director of the UAW Ford Department, informed staff this morning that he has notified the UAW International Executive Board (IEB) that he will retire at the end of June. He will serve through June 30, 2021.

Kariem replaced UAW President Rory L. Gamble as Vice President and Director of the UAW Ford Department in January 2020 when Gamble became President. He previously served as Director of UAW Region 1D in Grand Rapids, and then he successfully navigated the Region’s merger with Region 1C.

Shortly after assuming the role of Vice President of the Ford Department, Kariem was faced with steering Ford UAW members through the Covid-19 pandemic and establishment of health and safety protocols; a semiconductor shortage; planning for new technology and the F-150 EV Lightning; and implementation of the 2019 collective bargaining agreement.

The UAW has a long tradition of retirement at age 65. “I had intended to retire at 65 as Regional Director in Region 1D,” said Kariem. “But it was important to get our Ford members through this pandemic and make sure we had solid footing for our membership before I retired. I’m proud of the work we have done implementing the 2019 labor agreement, steering through this pandemic and the day-to-day challenges it presented, and now this worldwide launch of the F-150 Lightning. The time is right to pass the torch.”

Kariem added that he is looking forward to spending more time with his family but will also remain involved in non-profit community work after retiring. “It’s part of our calling,” said Kariem. “This is a new chapter and I will always be so proud of my UAW family. We faced enormous challenges together and today, we are stronger for it. It has truly been a blessing, and I thank God for the opportunity to serve.”

Vice President Gerald Kariem
Gerald Kariem was unanimously elected by the UAW International Board to the position of Vice President and Director of the UAW Ford Department on January 16, 2020. Kariem was elected to the office when Rory L. Gamble left the position vacant upon his election as UAW President on Dec. 5, 2019. Kariem was elected to his third term as director of UAW Region 1D by delegates to the UAW’s 37th Constitutional Convention in June 2018.

He was first elected to lead Region 1D at the 35th Constitutional Convention in June 2010.

During his tenure for nearly a decade as a member of the UAW International Executive Board, and at the helm of one of the most diverse regions in the union, Kariem skillfully managed the merger between Regions 1C and 1D. His leadership and guidance brought the IPS-TOP-Aerospace and General Motors dense region together. Region 1D covers UAW members in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the central, western and northern portions of the Lower Peninsula.

His institution of annual regional area meetings, frequent worksite visits, and very visible presence at local union functions made Kariem a leader who was always in touch with the membership. He believes in leadership development and empowerment of workers and in communities.

Kariem was appointed assistant director by then-Region 1D Director Don Oetman in June 2008. He started his union work in 1976 at age 20, when he began working at Saginaw Steering Gear, represented by UAW Local 699. He is currently a member of UAW Local 362. His initial involvement with the union began in the early 1980s when he became a member of the Education Committee and later became involved with the union’s Community Action Program. He was elected shop committee person in 1992.

Kariem, a 1998 UAW Fellow, was appointed to the union’s International staff as a servicing representative in 2001.

Kariem is a member of the Democratic Party and serves on the Democratic National Committee. He is a United Way of Saginaw County board member and a national board member of the A. Philip Randolph Institute. Kariem also sits on the Saginaw Chapter of the NAACP Executive Board and the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Mott Community College. The Martha Reynolds Labor Award from Grand Rapids Community College and the Michigan Labor Press Award are two of the many accolades Kariem has received. He has a long history of being involved in his church, Mt. Olive Institutional Missionary Baptist, and community. He and his wife, Pat, have been married for 43 years and have one son, one daughter and four grandchildren.

 

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