Terry Dittes, head of UAW's GM department, to retire this summer

Terry Dittes, the General Motors-UAW vice president who led the union's bargaining with GM during a 40-day strike in 2019, plans to retire this summer.

"The UAW has changed my life, and some of my greatest memories occurred while serving as UAW staff," he said in a letter to members viewed by Automotive News.

Dittes, 63, plans to retire July 31 after the UAW Constitutional Convention. A replacement will be nominated at the convention. After that, the new vice president of the GM department will be elected by members, UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg said.

In December, UAW members voted for a direct-election system for union leaders, rather than the delegate system that many considered an enabler for corruption among the top ranks after a wide-ranging investigation sent two former presidents and 13 others to prison.

A federal judge approved the members' vote in February and ordered the union to implement the new voting system by June 30.

Dittes has been part of the UAW staff for 23 years. He became a UAW vice president in January 2018, replacing Norwood Jewell as head of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles department. Jewell resigned because of his involvement in the corruption probe. He was sentenced to prison in 2019 for accepting bribes from FCA executives.

Dittes was appointed vice president of the GM department in July 2018.

The following year, the UAW selected GM as its target automaker for a new labor contract.

The contract was ratified in late October after more than 46,000 U.S. hourly workers staged a 40-day-long walkout. Under the ratified contract, GM could close three underutilized plants, and workers received a record $11,000 ratification bonus and as much as $32 in hourly wages. GM also agreed to spend $3 billion to retool Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, now called Factory Zero, to build electric vehicles.

Dittes began his career in 1978 with UAW Local 731 in Trenton, N.J., where he worked at the Fisher Body Plant. In 1980, he moved to GM Parts in Bensalem, Pa., and became shop chair for Local 2177 in 1992 for three consecutive terms, according to his bio.

In 1999, he joined the UAW staff, with posts in Region 9 and the UAW Gaming Department through 2013. He was director of Region 9 from 2014 to 2018, when he became a vice president.

The Detroit News reported Dittes' retirement on Tuesday.