John Cakmakci began working for
Kroger in 1977. Later that year, however, Kroger pulled out of
West Michigan. Cakmakci then went to work for Jewel Food
Stores where he was elected Union Steward in 1979. In 1981 he was
elected to the Executive Board of UFCW Local 36 in Kalamazoo, which
later merged with Local 951.
After completing his undergraduate and graduate degrees, 951
hired him as a Union Representative and Organizer.
In 1989, Cakmakci was promoted to Director of Collective
Bargaining where he implemented many changes which have greatly improved
our collective bargaining process. He was promoted to
Executive Director of that department in 1994, which by then
also included strategic programs. In January of 2000,
John was promoted to the statewide office of Executive
Vice President, and since then has been
re-elected by the membership in 2004 and 2007.
At
the April 2010 Executive Board meeting John Cakmakci was nominated and
approved to become Secretary Treasurer of UFCW 951. Cakmakci has been a
union member for over 33 years, and has served on the UFCW 951 Executive
Board for over 28 years.
In
addition to serving as Secretary Treasurer, Cakmakci is also involved
in Collective Bargaining and services select Meijer units in Southwestern Michigan. Cakmakci also the Director of
Organizing, Cakmacki says "In order to grow our union we need effective
organizing to deliver a message of a fair and just workplace." "A union
contract provides every worker with those basic rights."
In addition, Cakmakci is active in the community. The
committees and organizations he's involved with include the Kalamazoo
County United Way; the Salvation Army, Advisory Board
Member; the Michigan Citizens Active Coalition, Board Member; the West Michigan
Industrial Relations Research Association; the Health Alliance Plan (HAP),
Board member; and the South Central
Labor Council. He also served for over seventeen years
as a Trustee for the Michigan UFCW Health and Welfare
Fund.
