IAM International President Bob Martinez has announced the retirement of IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Philip J. Gruber, effective December 31, 2018.
“Our great union will forever be grateful for the contributions of Phil Gruber,” said IAM International President Bob Martinez. “For more than four-and-a-half decades, Brother Gruber has served our membership with dignity, passion and skill. From the strike line to the negotiating table and everywhere in between, Phil has been the leader our union needs in the toughest of times. He is a true friend and I wish him and his family all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”
Gruber has been a member of the IAM since his initiation into Local Lodge 688 in October 1972. He became a Journeyman Tool & Die Maker in the spring of 1976. Gruber served Local 688 as Steward, Chief Steward, Treasurer and President.
Gruber joined the staff of IAM District 9 in St. Louis as a Business Representative in 1987. In 1996, he was appointed to the position of Assistant Directing Business Representative, and subsequently became the Directing Business Representative on January 1, 2003.
On January 1, 2004, Gruber was appointed Administrative Assistant to IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President James E. Brown, and succeeded Brown as the General Vice President of the IAM Midwest Territory on July 1, 2006.
“After more than 12 years as General Vice President and 46 years of service to this great union, I am announcing my retirement as General Vice President to the IAM Midwest Territory,” said Gruber. “I’ve had the distinct honor and pleasure of serving some of the greatest members in the labor movement. For that, I say thank you. It has truly been an honor serving as your leader.”
“To the Midwest Territory staff, thank you for your talents, your dedication to the membership, and for all the great memories. You have been my second family. You have supported me in my career and in my personal life. There hasn’t been a day in 46 years that I didn’t want to come to work, because I love my job and I have enjoyed working with each of you. What a blessing to be able to say that.”
“And to my fellow past and present members of the IAM Executive Council, it’s been the greatest of honors to serve alongside a group of individuals so diverse, yet so razor-focused on the same mission and vision – and that’s serving the members of the IAM. Thank you.”
Gruber will be succeeded by current IAM Midwest Territory Chief of Staff Steve Galloway as General Vice President, effective January 1, 2019, says IP Martinez.
“Brother Galloway will serve our union admirably as a General Vice President, just as he has in a number of roles for the past three decades,” said Martinez. “Myself and the entire Executive Council are excited to work with Steve and continue putting the ‘fight’ back into our union.”
Galloway began his membership in IAM Local Lodge 459, District 77 in 1987 as a brewer working at the Stroh Brewery Company in St. Paul, MN. During his 11 years of employment at Stroh’s, Galloway served as Union Steward, Bargaining Committeeperson, and as Bargaining Committee Chairperson. He also served as an Executive Board Member of IAM Local Lodge 459, and as District 77 President.
In 1998, Galloway was elected District 77 Business Representative. In 2007, he was elected to serve as District 77 Directing Business Representative.
Galloway also served the membership of District 77 as Chairman of the Machinists, Tool and Die Apprenticeship Committee, Trustee on the St. Paul Auto Dealers Trust Fund, Chairman of the District 77 Health and Welfare Trust Fund, Organizing Director, and as Vice President of the Minnesota State Council of Machinists.
Galloway was appointed to the IAM Midwest Territory Staff as a Special Representative on June 1, 2008. He became a Grand Lodge Representative for the IAM Midwest Territory in December 2009 and was appointed Chief of Staff to General Vice President Philip J. Gruber in December 2016.
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