UAW Nominates Moderate to Head Union

The United Auto Workers union leadership has endorsed secretary-treasurer Dennis Williams to succeed President Bob King, 67, who will step down in June.

Candidates backed by top union officials have been elected by the wide margins when the rank-and-file members vote at the UAW's annual conventions.

Williams, 60, signals a firm but reasoned approach to labor relations by telling reporters, "None of us wants a confrontation. We want a fair, decent contract."

As head of the UAW region covering Illinois and Iowa, Williams played an important role in Barack Obama's victory in the Iowa Democratic caucus, helping him win the 2008 presidential election.

If elected next summer, he would lead the union's contract talks next year with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. He is expected to push for eliminating the lower-wage system for new hires that the UAW agreed to when the U.S. auto industry faced collapse four years ago.

Williams joined the UAW in 1977 as a welder and became a negotiator 11 years later. As secretary-treasurer, the union's second-most-powerful position, he has been overseeing the UAW's efforts to unionized Nissan and Volkswagen factories in the South.