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Collective Bargaining Leader to Receive Distinguished

Alumni Award

Detroit, Michigan—August 30, 2004—Mary Ellen Riordan will receive the Marygrove College Distinguished Alumni Award, on Friday, September 17, 2004, at 7 p.m. for outstanding contributions to her profession and community. The ceremony will take place in the college’s newly renovated theatre. Marygrove is located at 8425 W. McNichols Road, Detroit, Michigan.

After graduating from Marygrove College in 1941, Riordan made headlines as the first female president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT), a position she held for 20 years. During that time she successfully negotiated 10 contracts with the Detroit Board of Education.

At that time the DFT was a fledgling union. Riordan immediately enlisted the help of attorney Ted Sachs and led the fight for collective bargaining for teachers. That fight included three strikes, which produced significant wins for both school employees and the district’s 300,000 students: higher wages and better health care for teachers, and smaller class sizes for students. Many people felt that the increased rights and benefits generated for Detroit teachers raised the bar in suburban schools as well, and that practically all teachers and students benefited from Riordan’s struggles for collective bargaining.

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The new initiatives eventually extended to other public employees too. Riordan encouraged the Legislature to adopt the 1965 Public Employee Relations Act, giving hundreds of thousands of public-sector workers the right to collective bargaining.

After retiring from the public school system, she became a tireless champion for Michigan public school retirees. Her actions resulted in equal benefits for all Michigan public school retirees.

Three years ago she was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame for her leadership and activism on behalf of Michigan teachers and students. Most recently, she served as a charter member of the Marygrove College Education Unit Advisory Committee. Today she is honorary chair of Marygrove's $8.5 million capital campaign to renovate the College's science and mathematics departments.

Riordan and her family reside in Detroit, Michigan.

The Marygrove College Distinguished Alumni Awards were established in 2002 to recognize and honor alumni of distinction. These awards celebrate the college’s ideals of competence, commitment and compassion. Other recipients are Khris Nedam ‘98; Ann Gabriel Kilsdonk, IHM ’45; Elsa Potter ’60; Elizabeth Fischer Richards ’64; Mary Massaron Ross ’82; and Angela Celeste May ’90. # # #