Robert "Skip" Niederdeppe of Fremont, Neb., faced tough decisions in the 1980s, when he negotiated on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers.
The meatpacking industry was in transition and demanding concessions on wages and benefits.
Union members remembered well how Niederdeppe worked for them as president of Local 22 in Fremont. His negotiations on hours and wages — approved by union vote — helped to avoid the layoffs of more than 800 workers, and the pork-processing plant stayed open.
For these efforts and others, Niederdeppe was inducted into the Nebraska State AFL-CIO Labor Leaders Hall of Fame.
Niederdeppe, 74, died Sunday of kidney cancer at A.J. Merrick Manor at the Fremont Area Medical Center, said his wife of 50 years, Sharon.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at First Congregational Church in Fremont.
Niederdeppe was born in Fremont and reared in Telbasta, an unincorporated area in Washington County. He graduated from Arlington High School and started working on the Hormel meatpacking floor in Fremont in 1959.
The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen hired him in 1969 to be a union representative.
He moved with his family to the Chicago area, and for 10 years he worked at Armour, Swift, Wilson, Cudahy, Oscar Mayer and Hormel packing plants as well as some independent packing plants. He was involved with master agreement negotiations, grievances and arbitrations throughout the United States and Canada.
He was president of Local 22 in Fremont from 1981 to 1990. He served on the executive board of the Nebraska State AFL-CIO from 1985 to 1993.
"Skip was a great labor leader," said Ken Mass, president and secretary-treasurer of the Nebraska State AFL-CIO. "He was 24/7 representing not just the meatpacking union but all working men and women across Nebraska. He was looking out for unemployment benefits, workers compensation issues and the safety of the working person on the job."
In retirement, Niederdeppe worked occasionally on labor talks and took some jobs as a truck driver. His father had operated a trucking business, and Niederdeppe liked to drive and restore vehicles, his wife said.
He made approximately 10 trips on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle to rallies in Sturgis, S.D. He restored a 1941 Mercury automobile and hoped to restore a 1955 Mack truck this year.
Besides his wife, Niederdeppe's survivors include son Doug of Lexington, Neb.; brother David of Prescott, Ariz.; sister Ruth Ruhrer of Chandler, Ariz.; and two grandchildren.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1052, jane.palmer@owh.com
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