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eal people John Quilice (great grandfather) Nash Motors Co., 1920 -1951 Family Tradition Dynette King is a fourth-generation autoworker By Tony Veneziano Photo by Elizabeth Hackbarth Mercedes Kreuser (grandmother) AMC, 1958-1975 Andrew Kreuser (grandfather) AMC, 1962-1972 When opportunity knocked, Dynette King jumped at the chance to become a UAW-Chrysler employee. The Wisconsin native, who grew up in a “Chrysler Family,” had been looking forward to that day most of her life. Dating back to her great grandfather more than 90 years ago, three previous generations of King’s family had all been auto company employees, including both of her parents and two of her grandparents. When she was hired at the Milwaukee National Parts Distribution Center (PDC) in 2000, she carried on the family tradition of working for Chrysler or a company eventually owned by Chrysler. “I’m very proud of being a fourthgeneration Chrysler employee,” says the 48-year-old King, the UAW Local 75 Employee Assistance Program (EAP) rep. “I was thrilled to be hired in. We definitely take pride in Chrysler products, and I’ve always had Chrysler products.” King’s great grandfather, John Quilice, started the family tradition in 1920 when he went to work for Nash Motors Co. He worked in the foundry there for 31 years before suffering a fatal heart attack while punching out at the end of his shift. Over the years, the Kenosha operations morphed from one auto company into another, and then another. The Nash-Kelvinator Corp., which owned Nash Motors, merged with the Hudson Motor Car Co. in 1954 to form American Motors Corp. (AMC). Renault acquired AMC in 1983, and Renault in turn sold AMC to Chrysler in 1987. King’s grandparents, Andrew and Mercedes Kreuser continued the tradition. Mercedes started at the AMC plant in 1958 working in final assembly, and finished her career on the head line in the motor division in 1975. Andrew worked in maintenance at the AMC plant from 1962-1972. King’s father Larry Kreuser spent three decades at the Kenosha plant, first as an engineer and then as a supervisor. He was at the plant the day the last Renault came off the line in 1987, after the AMC acquisition by Chrysler. King’s mother Shirley worked 6 tomorrow Summer 2013 www.uaw-chrysler.com
WCMA CONTINUED from page 5 at both the Kenosha complex and Chrysler’s Milwaukee PDC. Mother and daughter even worked together for two years at the PDC. “With my dad being a supervisor toward the end of his career and my mom serving in the union, I always saw both sides of the coin,” says King. “I knew what it took for my dad to get the line ready … making sure people were there and on time. Knowing all of that helps me today in my role as an EAP rep.” King was virtually surrounded by the auto industry as she grew up in a Kenosha neighborhood where many of her friends’ parents worked alongside her own family members at the AMC plant – which eventually would become Chrysler’s Kenosha Engine Plant. “My whole childhood was Chrysler and AMC,” King says. “They used to have a Nash Club where employees put in so much (money) each, and we used to go roller skating and to the movie theater. They would have all kinds of outings. I remember the picnics. Everyone took a lot of pride in working there.” Today, King works mornings as a parts picker and afternoons as the Local 75 EAP rep, who provides confidential guidance and referrals to help coworkers cope with various personal and family issues. And at the PDC, King also tries to foster the camaraderie that she remembers from her Kenosha childhood, organizing various activities for fellow workers. “Our union members are very involved with each other and the community,” she says. “We do picnics and a lot of outdoor activities, especially in the summer. In addition, we help various charities and try to give back to the community as much as we can.” ■ Tomorrow would like to recognize more multi-generational Chrysler Group families. Let us know if you have such a family tradition, and we will consider writing about it in a future issue of Tomorrow. Contact us at tomorrow@ucntc.org. All of these issues add up because you have not solved your microstop problem. We try to give people the methodology to solve that initial problem.” While it was a refresher course for the Dundee Engine workers, UAW Local 51 President Lorenzo Poole III and Chrysler’s WCM Plant Lead Jon Sheets were among a contingent from Mack Avenue Engine in Detroit that got their first taste of the future at the academy. Successful implementation of WCM will be a key to making a smooth transition to building a new product, the Pentastar V6 engine, that gives the plant a new lease on life. “Back in 2009, when we first introduced WCM, it was just an overview that fell off because our plant was supposed to close at the time,” says Poole. “We have built the last engine of our old product (the 4.7-liter V8) and gutted the plant, and now have the luxury of literally starting from scratch.” Sheets says the WCMA training is a good starting point. “We have a lot of new people. Our goal coming out of it and restarting is to be refreshed, reinvigorated and ready to go. Us coming together as union and management helps the people buy in. “The class we are taking these three days will be the foundation of what we want everyone on the floor to buy into. And the class is full.” The academy has received an avalanche of testimonials from inside and outside UAW-Chrysler. Perhaps the most prestigious is a 2013 Manufacturing Leadership 100 Award from Industry Week In the first issue of the online Tomorrow Extra, we’ll explore how World Class Manufacturing Academy training is making a difference on the shop floor. Look for the story in August when the Summer Edition of the Extra debuts at www.tomorrowextra.com. magazine that was presented this spring. The awards honor companies that shape the future of global manufacturing. The WCMA was recognized in the New Workforce category, which identifies companies that excel in education and training, knowledge management and collaboration with educational institutions. Thanks to its success, the academy already has ambitious expansion plans. Construction is underway on a 15,000-square-foot addition to include an automated assembly line, a functional robotic cell and a low-cost automation laboratory. It is scheduled for completion by this fall. As staff members see it, the academy’s rapid growth stems from the need to tap WCM’s full potential as its footprint stretches across Chrysler. “There is absolutely no limit to WCM,” says Kristine Pudlik, a trainer from the UAW. “It’s not just something you do, and then you are done. It is a continuous change management process that is always evolving. As you get better, it gets harder.” And that, says Chrysler NTC Co-Director Michael Brown, is because WCM is not a “flavor of the month” program. It’s here to stay as the foundation for sustainable progress necessary to become a world-class company. “We’ve had false starts in the past,” he says, “but this is the real deal that comes with an instructional manual and a holistic approach that’s very substantive and systematic. It’s bringing about real change on the shop floor that gives us a competitive advantage.” ■
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Page 3 and 4: Aletra Johnson UAW-Chrysler Tuition
Page 5: Training targets such issues as uns

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