Joseph Peters, Jr. is the Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund and the Alliance for Retired Americans. He retired in 2010, having served 22 years as an international representative of the UAW, including serving more than ten years as regional director of UAW Region 1 in Michigan.
He currently serves on three charitable boards: Care House which provides shelter and care for abused mothers and their children, ConcaD’Oro, an organization which provides funding for “No Child Without Christmas” and the John Dewan scholarship foundation which provides scholarships for deserving college students.
As a UAW Local 400 member, Peters first worked at Ford Motor Company Mount Clemens (MI) paint plant. He was laid off in 1969 and rehired at Ford Utica trim plant that same year.
His rise through the UAW ranks began in 1978 when he was elected midnight shift committee man. In 1981 he was elected to the plant bargaining committee, and three years later elected as chairman at the Utica plant. Peters was elected vice-president of Local 400 in 1985, assumed the presidency in 1986 and was re-elected president in 1988. He was also elected delegate to the UAW’s 27th and 28th Constitutional Conventions in 1983 and 1986 respectively. He served as national negotiator from Sub-council 5 for the UAW Ford negotiations in 1987.
In 1988 Peters was appointed to the International staff by UAW president Owen Bieber and assigned to the union’ National Ford Department. In 1999, President Yokich appointed Peters assistant director of UAW Region 1 and he was elected regional director by delegates to the Region 1 Special Convention in 2005. He was re-elected on June 14, 2006 at the union’s 34th Constitutional Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Joseph Peters Jr. was born in Highland Park, Michigan and graduated from Highland Park High School, in 1965. After high school he attended Highland Park Junior College, Wayne State University and Oakland University.