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UAW Region 2B Delegates Meet and Select Wayne Blanchard as Regional Director

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TOLEDO - UAW elected delegates in Ohio and Indiana met today to fill the vacancy of the Regional Director - a position with a seat on the UAW International Executive Board and elected Wayne Blanchard to fill the remainder of the term which ends in June 2022.

The UAW Constitutional procedure made accommodations for Ohio and Indiana social distancing guidelines by conducting meetings at five locations connected remotely. Region 2B has had a vacancy since the resignation of Rich Rankin earlier this summer.

UAW Region 2B is home to a diverse range of industries including autoworkers at Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler and many of the companies that supply parts to the Big 3.

Members of Region 2B are beer brewers, law enforcement personnel, health care professionals, parts suppliers, county employees, and food service workers.  They include office and professional workers, musical instrument manufacturers, engineers, warehouse workers, janitorial professionals, and casino employees.  In addition, UAW 2B members work in aerospace, casting operations, janitorial services, distribution centers and many other industries.

Among many products, Region 2B members manufacture the Chevy Silverado, Ford Vans, Jeep Wrangler, Abrams Tank and Military Humvees.  Members in Region 2B also build transmissions, engines, missiles and many other products.

Blanchard, a Toledo native has been Assistant Director since June 2017.  He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army. He has been active in the UAW since the age of 20. He was first elected in 1990 as Financial Secretary-Treasurer of UAW Local 48, the UnitCast Division in Toledo, Ohio. As a member of UAW Local 1435, Blanchard served in many capacities; he sat on several Standing Committees, worked as a Temporary Organizer and was elected Financial Secretary-Treasurer, Delegate to the 33rd Constitution, Financial Secretary-Treasurer  of the Toledo Area UAW-CAP Council and ultimately President of UAW Local 1435.

Former UAW President Ron Gettelfinger appointed Blanchard as an International Staff Representative and assigned him to the Region 2B staff headed by then Director Lloyd Mahaffey and subsequently Ken Lortz.

Blanchard has a background in contract negotiations, grievance handling and arbitrations in multiple facilities throughout the region.

A longtime community activist, Blanchard is the Board Chairperson Emeritus for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Ohio and has served on the Executive Board for Northwest Ohio March of Dimes, the American Red Cross Community Blood Donation Committee and closest to his heart, Blanchard was a Big Brother.  In 2006, he was elected President of the Toledo Chapter A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) and was elected to Vice President of Ohio State APRI in 2010. Blanchard is also a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), as well as a Silver Life Member, Executive Committee Member, and former Treasurer of Toledo Chapter NAACP. He is also a member of Scott High School Alumni association, the Lucas County Democratic Party Executive Board as well as the Greater Northwest Ohio AFL-CIO’s United Labor Committee.

Blanchard and his wife Cereda are the proud parents of Wayne L. Blanchard II and longtime members of Glenwood Lutheran Church.