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Al and Judy Rickert relax at their campsite.
“I’m a Joe union guy all the way,”
says Rickert, “but it’s almost like
belonging to a private club where no
one is any better than anybody else.
Everybody’s on the same level. Isn’t
that what unionism is all about? You
feel a part of it because it’s UAW.”
For this third generation UAW
member, a visit to the Walter and May
Reuther UAW Family Education Center
at Black Lake is like coming home.
Along with legions of his brothers
and sisters, the retired millwright from
Local 1435 at Toledo Machining considers
Black Lake hallowed ground.
“Look at this beautiful place,” says
Rickert. “I’ve spent some of the best
times of my life up here with family
and friends.” The heavily wooded
1,000-acre enclave, hugging the sandy
shore of Hongore Bay, embodies former
UAW President Walter Reuther’s
concern for the environment and his
commitment to worker education.
The peaceful, campus-like setting
strikes a delicate balance between
modern amenities, including an
Olympic-sized swimming pool and
nearby championship golf course, and
a rustic retreat where visitors may be
serenaded by a chorus of birds at sunrise
or soothed by the warm orange
glow of sunset over Black Lake.
“This is the most unique union
training facility in the world,” says
Bob Reidt, Family Education Center
director. “Nobody else can compare to
the setting, the architecture and the
thought that went into creating a place
like this that fits in the middle of the
woods like it belongs here. It’s the perfect
place to train and educate our
young people, to tell them about the
history of this great union and what
needs to be done to keep its proud
legacy alive.”
More than 10,000 UAW members
make a pilgrimage to Black Lake each
year for a variety of classes, conferences
and other activities designed to
stimulate union awareness and train
UAW members in elected or appointed
leadership positions. During the summer,
the campus becomes a family
haven as children and spouses of
union members join in educational
and recreational activities.
It is also a regular meeting ground
for workers who take part in several
joint programs run by the UAW-
DaimlerChrysler National Training
Center, including Employee Participation
and Paid Educational Leave
(see “Working the System” on page 8).
Nestled near Onaway, Mich.,
about a four-hour drive north of
Detroit, Black Lake
opened in 1970 and
seems light years from
the assembly line or
realities of urban America.
Just ask Nick and
Carmen Brown, members
of Local 1183 at
Newark Assembly.
The Browns and
their daughter, Kennedy,
3, and son, Nicqi,
6, spent nearly a week
at the Family Education
Center in July,
participating in the
2003 Walter and May
Reuther Family Scholarship
enjoy a restful
Program.
From left: Nick, Nicqi,
Carmen and Kennedy Brown
retreat at Black Lake.
“It’s not like we’re here lounging
around — not this trip,” says Carmen,
a team coordinator in the paint shop,
between classes in the Leadership
Studies Center. She and Nick attended
classes from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., learning
more about the UAW’s history,
structure and role, with emphasis on
its community services activities such
as combating adult illiteracy.
The Browns understand the need
for such activism back home in
Wilmington, Del. “In our community,
we see the same problems we deal
with in class,” explains Nick, a tech II
assembler. “We live in the inner city,
and we hear the police sirens and
the gunshots and [see] how drugs
affect our community.”
Energized by their experience, the
couple says they’ll help their neighborhood
through activities of Local 1183’s
community services committee.
But Black Lake, known for its
friendly staff and warm hospitality,
also was a family affair for the Browns.
While mom and dad were in class, the
kids enjoyed organized activities supervised
by certified teachers.
“The Scholarship Program involves
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