UAW President Yokich Honored With Renaming of Spring Hill Parkway

UAW President Stephen P. Yokich Honored With Renaming of Spring Hill Parkway

    DETROIT, Aug. 28 The city of Spring Hill, Tennessee
officially renamed the Town Center Parkway Stephen P. Yokich Parkway in honor
of the President of the UAW today.  The renaming of the Spring Hill road was
initiated by the Executive Board of UAW Local 1853 which represents workers at
Saturn as a way to commemorate UAW President Stephen P. Yokich's lifelong
dedication and service as a union activist and leader.  Local 1853's petition
to the city of Spring Hill for the renaming was approved last June.  More than
22,000 UAW members live in Tennessee, including over 6,700 members employed at
the Saturn Plant in Spring Hill.
    "It may be my name on the road signs," President Yokich commented, "but
it's the hard working men and women of the UAW who have helped Saturn and
countless other employers make great products and offer great services to the
public.  Not only do they make our economy strong, they make our democracy
strong as well by giving workers a much needed voice in the workplace."
    U.S. Representatives in attendance at today's ceremony included Bart
Gordon and Bob Clement, as well as gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Andy Womack.
State Representatives Lincoln Davis, Bobby Sands and John White also
participated.  Nashville Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Phil Bredesen, and
District Attorney General Mike Bottoms, also a gubernatorial candidate,
attended the event.  Local dignitaries included Spring Hill Mayor Ray
Williams, and Maury County Executive Ed Harlan.
    UAW President Yokich, UAW International Vice President Richard Shoemaker,
UAW Local 1853 President Ron Hankins, Shop Chair "Jeep" Williams, and other
members of the Local's Executive Board took the opportunity to kick off UAW
Local 1853's Labor Day festivities.
    "I know that we are not the only ones who recognize President Yokich's
devotion to the UAW, but this is our way of paying tribute to his life's
work," said UAW Local 1853 President Ron Hankins.  "He has re-energized the
labor movement, set new standards for bargaining and has been tenacious in
building a stronger organization during his forty-year service with the UAW."