Citing health, IAM 751 President Tom Wroblewski to retire

The following is from IAM District Lodge 751:

SEATTLE (Jan. 15, 2013) – Tom Wroblewski, the president of Machinists Union District Lodge 751, will retire at the end of this month.

IAM 751 President Tom Wroblewski
(photo courtesy of IAM District Lodge 751)

Wroblewski cited health concerns as he made the announcement to the union’s District Council Tuesday night. His last day will be Jan. 31.

Wroblewski said the stress of the past three months — as he stood up to pressure from the Boeing Co., politicians and his own union’s International leadership over the recently ratified 777X proposal — has put him in the hospital twice since Dec. 27

The experience “changed my perspective on work-life balance,” Wroblewski said. “Your job should not destroy your health.”

Because of that, he said, “I am stepping down from a job I have loved for more than 20 years.”

Wroblewski has served as District 751’s president and directing business representative since March 2007. He was re-elected in 2008, and again in 2012.

Prior to that, he served three years as District 751’s grievance coordinator, and 15 years as a business representative, with assignments in Everett, Renton, Auburn, Frederickson and Seattle.

The union will follow its district bylaws to select a replacement to serve out the remainder of Wroblewski’s term, which runs into 2016.

The departing president called on his union’s leadership and members to come together for a better future.

“We now have been awarded the right to build the 777X, and we must find a way to move this membership forward,” he said. “I leave here honored to have served this membership, knowing that I always had the best interests of this membership guiding me.”

Originally formed in 1935 to represent hourly workers at the Boeing Co., District Lodge 751 of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers now represents nearly 33,000 working men and women at 49 employers across Washington, Oregon and California.