History of IAM & AW Local Lodge 2357

Local Lodge 2357 was chartered in Watertown South Dakota on October 1, 1968 with 51 chartering members. Local Lodge 2356 represented the employees of Quadee Rubber who later changed their name to Minnesota Rubber of Watertown.

The first executive board was elected on October 26, 1968 including:

President:  LeRoy Laqua
Vice President:  Darrel Schmidt
Recording Secretary :  Larry Nieman
Financial Secretary: Mel Appel

The first Shop Committee included:

Shop Chair:  LeRoy Laqua
Shop Committee:  Art Wensing & Rollin Amme

Throughout the years of IAM Representation there were many ups and downs--
Layoffs, Grievances, Arbitrations, Contract Negotiations, Strikes, and Organizing.
Also the work related death of Charlie Good whose name will live on, on a brick at the Workers' Memorial in Placid Harbor. This will help all of us to remember how important safety in the work place is and to remind us why Unions came to be.

The 2003 executive board:

President: Charlotte Ries
Vice President:  Richard Schultz
Recording Secretary:  JoAnne Fischer
Financial Secretary:  Jim Heyn

The 2003 Shop Committee:

Shop Chair:  Dennis Mendenhall
Shop Committee:  Richard Schultz, JoAnne Fischer, Jim Heyn, Heidi Johnson

2003 members:  227 Active & 65 Retired.

*Anyone who has any personal experiences or information to add please e-mail, mail  or call the District Office. Thank you!