Charlie Wilson

Oral History

Recorded in Summer 2020 with StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. It was facilitated by Mary Bess Ser.

www.storycorps.org

Biography

Charlie Wilson was born and raised in Tunica, Mississippi. He graduated from Rosa Fort High School in 1970, married his high school sweetheart, and relocated to Chicago, IL in 1971. Here he began his career in a laborer position at Midland Ross National Casting Company in Melrose Park, Illinois. This was the beginning of his journey with UAW International Union and Local 453.

From 1973 to 1990 Charlie was elected and appointed to different positions such as union steward, Chief union steward, bargaining Committeeman, Recording Secretary, and Unit 2 chairman of UAW Local 453. In 1983 he was asked to take on the President Treasure of Diamond M Credit Union and held this position until 2000. While working, he attended classes at Triton College for Business Administration and Accounting.  After that was asked to serve on the Board of Directors the same year.

In 1990 he was elected as President of Amalgamated Local UAW and was reelected in 1993 by acclamation. The responsibility of this position was negotiating benefits of 11 union plants that were members of Local 453.  During the term as president, he became more involved with helping the workers of the union by serving on the Illinois State CAP committee, UAW Region 4 Civil Rights Council, Independent Parts and Supplies Council.

By 1994 he was appointed by Director of UAW, Bill Stewart, Region 4, and International Representative. In this role he was responsible for serving the IPS plants located in the Chicago land area. That included the General Motor warehouse in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Also in 2005 he was appointed as Coordinator of UAW Region4 Civil Rights by the Director of the Region, Dennis Williams. In that role he served over 28,000 people in 9 states. In 2008, he retired from UAW.

In the midst of the journey with UAW, he found time to own and operate CBD Tax Service since 1991 in the Lawndale area where he served thousands of clients over two decades. He attended Ashford University for taxation school.  In 2009 he sold the tax business.

In 2013 he co-founded a non-profit organization named Men Making A Difference (MMAD). He is currently the president and a community activist, working to bring unity and beauty back to the Lawndale area through education, mentoring programs and providing services that bring social responsibility and awareness to the community.

Charlie Wilson also resides and attends church in the community he services. He is a Deacon, Trustee and Sunday school teacher at New Macedonia MB Church.