Kirk Vogt, Senior Executive Vice President of UFCW 8-Golden State, succeeds Michael Tursky as Secretary-Treasurer.

    Tursky retired on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, after more than 30 years of exceptional service as a UFCW leader.

    “I am honored to be chosen to walk in the footsteps of Michael Tursky, a man I’ve known and respected for nearly three decades,” Vogt said. “Mike has been an effective and thoughtful administrator in his capacity as Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW 8, and I intend to follow his example.”

    He added: “I look forward to working closely with President Jacques Loveall in my new role as Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW 8. I have known Jacques for as long as I’ve known Michael, and his innovative and dynamic approach to leadership has been a constant source of inspiration.”

    Vogt’s colleagues in the Union movement cite his vast experience in collective bargaining, his high standards of service to Union

members, his extraordinary talents as a Union administrator and his detailed knowledge of pension and health & welfare trust funds.

    Vogt’s involvement in the Labor Movement began in 1972, when he joined the presidential campaign of Sen. George McGovern. He began working at Frontlash, the AFL-CIO’s student and youth voter-registration program.

    He affiliated with the UFCW in 1976, when he began working at Gemco. In 1978, he became a Union Representative for the UFCW International Union. One year later, he joined UFCW 1288 in Central California as a Union Representative.

    Over the years, Vogt served in many positions at UFCW 1288, including Administrative Assistant to the President, Secretary Treasurer, Recorder and Executive Vice President of the Retail Division.

    He also served as Political Director of the Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings Central Labor Council, an organization he