Retired from the job, not the local
Bill Frank has been Local 537 financial secretary since 1971
Bill Frank spent his working life serving the needs of people, and since his retirement not much has changed.
The UAW Local 537 member, who retired in 1995 after 45 years with U.S. Graphite, continues to serve his union brothers and sisters as the local’s financial secretary — a position he's held since 1971.
"I've been involved for so long," said Frank of Saginaw, Mich. "I’d be lost without it."
In 1952, two years after starting at U.S. Graphite, Frank enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. Because of language in the UAW contract, his job was waiting for him in 1956 when he returned from Germany.
"My dad worked there. It was good job, secure. We were ahead of our time," said Frank of that early job security.
Frank ended up in inspection and later as a crib attendant ordering supplies and calibrating equipment. When he grew restless from the daily grind, he put his energy into school.
"I qualified for the GI Bill and took a full year of accounting courses at (nearby) Delta College," he said. "When the guys found out, they urged me to run for financial secretary. I’ve been here ever since."
At 75 Frank doesn't mind doing things the hard way. In fact, he says it keeps him young. Surprisingly, in this age of iPhones and Blackberries, he doesn't even use a computer.
But when figures are off he quickly finds mistakes down to the penny.
And he has a theory about the changing times of today's workers: Hang tight. History repeats itself.
"We're never going to give up. The big bosses want big cuts and big paychecks, but they don't want to give the workers their fair share," said Frank.
"We must have unions. I got every cent of my dues back when we went on strike in 1991. We were out for about 18 months, but the union took care of us," he added.
Frank offered one last bit of advice to younger workers: "It takes years to get the benefits of a union and only a stroke of a pen to erase them. So you have to keep pushing. Pay your dues, and it comes back to you."
