Well it’s that time again for another Monday Morning Member Spotlight and this week we have Craig Leopold on deck. A little background about me. I was born and raised in Edison, NJ and attended undergrad at Stevens Institute of Technology majoring in Chemical Biology (despite what Dave Portnoy said about “Stevens College” being a fake school in one of his pizza reviews, I can confirm it is in fact real). After undergrad, I attended Arcadia University for my Master’s in Forensic Science and later earned my MBA from Wilmington University. Prior to Merck, I worked as a lab analyst in a forensic/clinical testing lab for over 4 years before working as a contractor and supervisor in the forensic lab for AFMES down in Dover, DE. I joined Merck in August of 2020 right in the middle of Covid as a biotechnician in department 245, B12.
What I love about the union are the people who make it as great as it is, and having gone through a couple grievances in my first year and a half, I learned that very early on with people like Ahmed Awad and Jimmy Ford helping and supporting through those grievances. These also led to some great discussions with each of them and since this was the first time being part of a union, those discussions really helped me learn and help educate on what it really means to be part of a labor union. They were a big influence as to why I wanted to get more involved and be able to help and advocate for other USW brothers and sisters leading to becoming shop steward for second shift and getting involved with Rapid Response and Safety.
After getting the opportunity to attend an OSHA 30-hour class at Linden Hall and then the opportunities to go to the Health and Safety conference in Pittsburgh last April and the Rapid Response Conference in Washington DC last June, I cannot thank Dan Peterson and George Walsh enough. These conferences were eye-openers getting to meet other USW members from other locals across the country and internationally, hear similar and different issues facing other locals in terms of health and safety, stand together at a labor rally, go to congressional offices and advocate for pro-union and pro-labor legislation, be a part of the Labor Day parade in Philly, and most importantly see that our one local and everyone in it is part of something much greater.
So even though I have only been at Merck for 3.5 years, my advice for those who have been here for 6 months or 20 years or 50+ years it’s all the same: get involved in your department, get involved within the local, vote in April, read the contract, attend the monthly membership meetings, ask questions, learn about all the different committees, and above all else never screw over a union brother or sister (thanks James Odenwald for that conversation day 1) because this local and union as a whole is only as strong as what you put into it.
Outside of work, I am very competitive having been around sports all my life and pitched for my college baseball team (go Ducks!). I enjoy going to baseball or football games and especially rooting for the better PA football team, the Steelers obviously. Some other hobbies and passions of mine now are hanging out with my dog Oscar, spending quality time with my girlfriend Sarah (who is also USW), travelling especially by cruise or to Florida or to the Caribbean, going to concerts, running the occasional half-marathon (7 total so far and counting including 4 Rocky Runs in Philly), and anything Star Wars or Marvel related.
