Bertha Marie Clarke

Bertha Marie Clarke, was born in Columbus, Ohio on June 27, 1915 and went home to be with the Lord on January 1, 2020 at 104 years of age. Known by most as "Marie," she is survived by her grandson David (Terreece) Clarke, great-grandchildren Olivia, Gabrielle and David Clarke II, close friends Betty Thomas and Dawn Jefferies and a whole host of friends, colleagues and union family. Marie was a labor leader who was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1986 by Governor Richard Celeste. In 1946, Marie entered the aircraft industry as an assembler and then aircraft mechanic at the Curtis-Wright Corporation in Columbus, Ohio - at the time, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States. She soon became a labor organizer and recruiter for the United Auto Workers Union. After 22 years in the aircraft industry, Marie became the first African American woman elected to the executive board of the UAW Local 927. In 1969, she left the aircraft industry and took an office position at Columbus City Hall where she worked for many years for former Columbus City Treasurer and long-time Columbus City Auditor, Hugh J. Dorrian. Shortly after beginning her new career at City Hall, Marie was instrumental in recruiting and organizing clerical workers to join the AFSCME Local 1632 Union. Marie was a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists as well as the Coalition of Labor Union Women. From 1980–1992, Marie served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFSCME Local 1632 Union and served as the political action coordinator of Ohio AFSCME Retiree Chapter 1184 Sub-Chapter 108 as a retiree.