UAW gets a new chief negotiator.

UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada will lead negotiations with GM this simmer. She is a longtime union organizer and social activist who was first elected as vice president in 2010 and is the first Latina elected to serve as an International officer.(Photo: Detroit Free Press)

May 18, 2015

By Greg Gardner

Cindy Estrada's journey (click here) has taken her from the dusty tomato fields of central California to the bargaining table where the UAW and General Motors will forge the future of about 48,500 U.S. workers.

Her career path to becoming the first woman to lead the UAW's GM department shares parallels with GM CEO Mary Barra, with whom she is meeting about once a month leading up to this year's labor negotiations.

They are among the point people — two glass ceiling breakers — in upcoming labor negotiations set against the backdrop of Michigan as a right-to-work state and strong feelings among union members that wages must increase considering big profits of recent years....