Gerry Torsch on Benefits He Didn’t Know He’d Need

In 1966 I was hired in to a small plant in Dexter, MI and joined the UAW - Local 630 under the encouragement of my Aunt Luella Mueller who also happened to be an International Rep for the UAW. Later I walked the picket line with family and UAW brothers & sisters. Years later, Chrysler bought out the small plant and moved to Alabama.

I transferred to Local 227 under a Trish opening in Detroit. Once again I walked the picket line with UAW brothers & sisters. I bought a home in South Lyon and we raised our son there, he went on to college and is now a teacher in Michigan and is also a Union member. After 30 years I retired from Local 227 in 1996 to live the good life in Northern Michigan.

The second Tuesday of each month is earmarked on our calendar. That is the day the Union retirees meet in Boyne City under the skilled leadership of Earl Henry. The Union has always been a beneficial part of our lives and still is. On May 17, 2007 I was admitted to Munson Hospital in Traverse City, MI with a ruptured hernia and performed bowel.

Thanks to the excellent talented surgeons, the caring and competent nursing staff, and the nurturing care and concern of each and every staff member we encountered- I was released on October 19, 2007 and approximately a million dollars later. Thanks to the UAW, BCBS, Medicare and Chrysler, our family was not left financially devastated and I received the best possible medical care. All those years I walked the picket line, did without for a cause I wasn't even sure I understood.

Thank God for the UAW and the prayers of so many I am here today. Oh yes...we hear those who bad-mouth the Union and those are the ones who don't have a clue what they are talking about or how their life would be so different with the influence of a Union in Michigan.

Gerry Torsch