Brother “Gene” Hickey comes from a strong Union family has been a Union member for 47 years; he has worked for several different companies over the years – ALL of which were Union jobs. Prior to coming to Local 2013 he was working at DuPont Chemical, Inc. located in central NJ, which was represented by the ICWUC, a Chemical Division of the UFCW.
Brother Hickey’s past Union experience in the ICWUC and other Union’s includes holding many of the various positions within those Unions, ranging from Shop Steward to virtually every office position on his ICWUC local’s Executive Board as well as participating in Work Redesign Committee’s that saw the workforce achieve gains in wages by developing new work systems for the members to participate in.
President Carotenuto hired Brother Hickey in July of 2013 as the Director of Collective Bargaining where he worked to continue the process that had begun of improving the contracts of Local 2013 members. Over the years, President Carotenuto then appointed Brother Hickey to fill an unexpired term in the role of Recorder on the 2013 Executive Board and then again later in 2018 appointing him to another unexpired term in the important role of Secretary Treasurer.
In this role of Secretary Treasurer, he has worked to implement the applications of upgraded Union software programs that should more efficiently track member dues deducted by employers and reconciling them to ensure that Local 2013 Members rights are protected by making certain that Members accounts are properly tracked and posted as this is a vital function in order for members to maintain a status of a Member-in-Good-Standing. This function protects their rights and benefits under their Collective Bargaining Agreements. As part of his responsibilities he works to ensure that the monies deducted by employers are deducted accurately and then forwarded in a timely manner as part of the employers obligation to adhere to their own responsibilities under the terms of the CBA; if/when he discovers discrepancies it’s the Secretary Treasurer job to correct those discrepancies and obtain any arrears in dues so the Local is in compliance with their obligations to the UFCW International.