UAW President Rory Gamble Announces Retirement

DETROIT — United Auto Workers President Rory Gamble — the union's first Black president — will retire Wednesday, he told staff Friday.

Gamble's successor will be elected by the UAW International Executive Board and will serve out the remainder of his term, which is set to end in June 2022, the union said. Secretary-Treasurer Ray Curry is expected to be among the names under discussion, according to The Associated Press.

“I said on Day One I would hand over the keys to this treasured institution as a clean union,” Gamble, 65, said Friday in a statement. “My original intent as a UAW Vice President was to retire at the end of June 2021, and after looking at the progress we have made and the best interests of UAW members for a stable transfer of power, this is the right time for me to turn over the reins.”
Gamble added that he hopes his retirement will usher in a period of multiple term presidents for the UAW. “You need time to settle in and look at the long-range focus and priorities of our membership,” he said. “Especially in this time of vast technological change.”

Gamble was elected vice president of the UAW in June 2018. He'd previously serve three terms as director of UAW Region 1A. He became acting president of the UAW in November 2019 before taking the role full-time in December of that year.

The 13th president in the labor union's history, Gamble steered the UAW through ethics reforms amid several federal investigations into corruption, saving the union from potential government takeover. Eleven union officials and a late official’s spouse have pleaded guilty in the corruption probe since 2017, including the two presidents who served before Gamble, Gary Jones and Dennis Williams, The Associated Press reported.

Related: Former UAW President Gary Jones Sentenced To 28 Months In Prison

Gamble also led the union during the COVID-19 pandemic and helped navigate the organization through a semiconductor shortage.

In an announcement Friday, Gamble said he wants to remain involved in community work upon retiring.

“I’m blessed to be able to spend time with my family and continue to work giving back to the community,” Gamble said. “I’ll always look back on the sisters and brothers who together made my time in the UAW so special. And although I never intended to be UAW President, I hope that my chapter in our history will long be remembered for righting the ship, facing a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic head on and saving lives, while setting up my union for a bright future. As a team we accomplished much to be proud of.”

Several people on social media spoke highly of Gamble, who spent nearly 50 years with the powerful labor union.

"I'm so grateful to @UAW President Rory Gamble for his 45 years of service to the union," Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said in a tweet. "He stepped up and led the UAW through some of it's most trying times, and we were proud to award him with the @MichiganDems' MLK award earlier this year."

This is a developing story and more information will be added as it becomes available.