Shop chairman named to board

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN WARREN -- The lead contract negotiator for the union at Delphi Packard Electric Systems has accepted a new union post.
Local 717 of the International Union of Electrical Workers, which represents 5,400 hourly workers at area Packard plants, will select a new shop chairman to replace Bob Sutton, said Terry Gruver, Sutton's administrative assistant.
The international union named Sutton secretary of its conference board, which coordinates national bargaining for the IUE. Sutton will work out of the union's office in Warren.
Gruver said the union will research its constitution before announcing how a replacement will be selected.
The local named a temporary shop chairman for a month and then had an election the last time there was a vacancy. That was in 1997 when Sutton was elected to replace Nick Nichols, who moved to chairman of the conference board.
Sutton and Nick Border, Local 717 president, are in Florida at a union conference and could not be reached.
Nichols also has been named to a new post, special projects coordinator, and he will be replaced by Jim Clark, who was shop chairman of Local 755 in Dayton.