When the governing body of the United Auto Workers union meets on Dec. 5, an unusual tension is likely to pervade the session. For the first time in at least 30 years, union leaders will be confronting a genuine rebel in their midst.
Jerry Tucker, a burly, bearded third-generation union man, was elected to the board last month after a bitter struggle against the candidate backed by the U.A.W.’s long-entrenched leadership. Sounding at times like a 1930’s union activist adrift in the 80’s, the 49-year-old Mr. Tucker is challenging the union’s policy of trying to safeguard jobs through closer ties with auto makers. As leader of the U.A.W.’s New Directions movement, he is also urging more rank and file participation in the union and a more adversarial relationship with auto companies.
Although he is only one of 22 members of the union’s governing body, some labor experts say his success in bucking the leadership in last month’s election is an indication of growing unhappiness and restlessness among the union’s 1.1 million members.