08/24/2026
Today, we remember Stephen Yokich, born on August 20, 1935. Yokich was president of the UAW from 1995 to 2002. At the helm during a time of great change to the auto industry, he oversaw negotiations for increased benefits, expanded the union into new fields, and helped navigate autoworkers through a period of job cuts.
Born in 1935, the same month as the UAW's founding convention, Yokich's parents and grandfathers were UAW members. According to his mother, he "walked" his first picket line when he was just a year old.
These connections to the auto industry led him to a job at Hiedrich Tool and Die Co. at a young age. He would soon become involved in union activities through his UAW chapter, Local 155, which soon led to an appointment to UAW Region 1 staff by then-President Walter Reuther. He was eventually elected Director of Region 1 in 1977. In 1980, he became International Vice President of the UAW.
Yokich served as head of the UAW Agricultural, Ford, and GM Departments before being elected president of the union. During his tenure overseeing negotiations with automakers, the UAW secured substantial gains, including COLA increases for retirees, healthcare improvements, and more.
In 1995, he was elected at the UAW's Constitutional Convention to succeed Owen Bieber as International President. In 1998, delegates re-elected him to the same role, which he served in until 2002.
At the UAW Constitutional Convention that year, Brother Yokich gave his farewell address to the union. "The last seven years have been the most satisfying years and the hardest years I've had in my whole career," he told delegates in attendance. "I can't find the words to tell you how grateful I am to you and all the members of the UAW for giving me this opportunity to serve this union."
Brother Yokich passed away just a couple of months later at the age of 66.
📸 Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor & Urban Affairs
