Nate Gooden, 68; Led UAW contract talks with DaimlerChrysler

Nate Gooden, 68, a former vice president of the United Auto Workers who led the union’s negotiations with DaimlerChrysler and organized workers at the company’s Freightliner division, died Tuesday morning in Michigan, the union said in an announcement on its website.

A native of Detroit, Gooden retired from the union in June after having been a member for more than 40 years. He joined the UAW in 1964 at Chrysler’s truck assembly plant in Warren, Mich., the union said.

He was elected union vice president in 1999, heading the DaimlerChrysler and heavy truck units. He also served as the UAW’s representative on the supervisory board at DaimlerChrysler. German law requires companies to include union representatives as part of their management structure.

“Nate was a forceful advocate of workers’ rights, and we will miss him,� UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement.

The union credited Gooden with leading the organization of Freightliner workers at truck and bus plants and other facilities in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. The effort was the largest organizing campaign in the manufacturing sector in recent U.S. history, the union said.