Bob Rudek of UE Local 1111 passed away on December 27. He served as both plant chief steward and president of Local 1111, which represented over 1,000 workers at the Allen Bradley factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He was elected secretary-treasurer of UE District 11, covering Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota, in 1994 and served in that capacity until District 11 merged into the Western Region in 2006. Rudek continued to serve as secretary-treasurer of the Western Region until his retirement in 2008, and remained active in the Local 1111 retirees group, serving as its president for many years.
Rudek speaking at the 2002 UE convention.
As a local, district and regional leader, Rudek was a regular voice at UE conventions, weighing in on UE policy. He was also very involved in UE’s efforts to build a labor party in the 1990s, helping to lead UE delegations at Labor Party conventions.
In his role as district secretary-treasurer, Rudek was instrumental in helping UE’s first graduate worker local, Local 896-COGS in Iowa, develop their rank-and-file structure. After Local 896 discovered that the constitution they initially adopted wasn’t working, Rudek, whose local was also large and diverse, spent time with local leaders over a period of months in 1998, helping them fashion the structure that they use to this day.
“Bob gave great service to his union at the local, district and national level, serving with distinction in elected offices at each level, and always holding the interests of the members, and all workers, foremost,” said General President Carl Rosen, who as president of District 11 and the Western Region worked closely with Rudek. “He could always be relied on for thoughtful advice and for doing the hard work needed to move the struggle forward.”