Tom Hogan graduated from Bishop Baraga Central High School in 1966 and went on to serve his country in the United States Marine Corps from 1967 until 1969. As a result of action in Vietnam, he was awarded the Purple Heart.

After the military, he went to Detroit and worked for Scott Paper, where he was a member of the Pulp, Paper and Sulfide Workers Union. Tom retuned to Marquette where he was in the Carpenter’s apprenticeship program from 1972 to 1974. In 1974, he was accepted into the electrical apprenticeship by IBEW Local 1070, finished his apprenticeship and began a lifelong career with Local 1070. During his time with Local 1070, he worked his way up in the ranks of the union becoming a job Steward, Vice President and President of the Local. In 1986, he was elected to the office of Business Manager. He negotiated 9 contracts yearly as Chair of the Negotiations Committee in his 25 years as the Local’s Business Manager.

During the years of his service to the IBEW in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, he coordinated the formation of the new, consolidated Local 906 of the IBEW. This new local covered fourteen counties in the Upper Peninsula and portions of Wisconsin along its northern border with the Upper Peninsula. This included the merging of bylaws and collective bargaining agreements covering industrial, commercial, residential, railroad, government, electric departments, sound and communications, fire alarms and supervisor’s agreements. He also had to build an apprenticeship program from the ground up, including a building, a director, and instructors and finally, apprentices, programs, and labs.

Tom was involved in many labor organization associated with IBEW Local 906, including – Chair of the U.P. Joint Apprenticeship Committee, Trustee and then Administrator of the Michigan U.P. IBEW Pension Fund, Delegate to five IBEW International Union Conventions, member on the International Secretary Treasurer’s Report Committee, Secretary and then Chair of the Michigan Electrical Employees Health Plan, Trustee and then Executive Director of the U.P. Construction Council, Delegate and then President from Local 906 to the U.P. Building and Construction Trades Council.

Tom was also involved with other Labor organizations – including being a Delegate from his Local union to the Marquette County Labor Council, AFL-CIO and a member on the Northern Michigan University\\\’s Labor Advisory and Planning Committee, which planned labor education workshops and two day Labor Education Conferences.

Don Maki

As Business Manager of IBEW Local 906, the union adopted South Beach and worked with the city to make that site on Lake Superior a safe and clean area for families to enjoy a beautiful sand and swimming beach. Also, the Local sponsored and assisted the Electrician’s Hockey program. In 1986, Electrician’s Hockey became a Triple AAA Midget program.

Tom became a Shriner to get involved in supporting the medical work they were performing on behalf of children in their hospitals. He became a Potentate of the Ahmed Shrine in 2012 and instituted and managed fundraisers. He also became the Circus Chairman, organizing 14 shows in a week at five different locations across the Upper Peninsula. In 2016, he became the Executive Director of the Midwest Shriner’s organization.

Tom has a long history of civic service. He served a term on the Marquette City Commission as an elected official; he became a trustee on the city of Marquette Police and Fire Pension Fund, served on the Bay de Noc Community College’s MTECH Hiring Committee and served on the Board of Directors of the Lake Superior Community Partnership. Involvement in other civic projects in Marquette and around the Upper Peninsula, included: Habitat for Humanity; Bay Cliff Health Camp in Big Bay; the Jansen House; the Women’s Center; the Maritime Museum; the Children’s Museum; IBEW Little League team sponsor, providing scoreboards for ball fields and BMX and helping raise funds for the railroad train engine on display in Gladstone.

Tom states that in retirement he will travel and spend time with family and friends, but I will not stop organizing electricians into the greatest Building Trades Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Don Maki graduated from NMU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and then was hired as a full-time police officer with the Norway City Police Department. He was soon appointed as the AFSCME Local 1176 Steward and seven months later was elected Chapter Chair for the Norway City Employees. During the 1980 contract negotiations, Don was the lead negotiator of the local union bargaining team where he negotiated one of the best contracts the Norway City employees ever had.

In 1981, he accepted a position as a police officer with Northern Michigan University Public Safety. While working at NMU, Don became a Union Steward and later became President of AFSCME Local 1094. During this time period, he also became Chair of the AFSCME statewide Michigan College and University Conference Committee. Don participated in many union conferences and events.

In 1988, he was award a Staff Representative position with MI AFSCME Council 25 in the Marquette office. His first years with AFSCME Council 25 were turbulent and involved transfers to Flint, Michigan, Dayton, Ohio and back to Detroit, Michigan. Don was greeted with fire as the region assigned him had eighteen open expired contracts and a litany of active grievances. This was an exciting and challenging time with endless hours of work which he welcomed. Shortly after being hired, the closure of the Newberry Mental State Hospital was announced. AFSCME had a statewide contract with all the mental health facilities which meant significant work by all union leaders to complete the severance agreement, locality transfers and unfortunately, layoffs. A major emphasis he had while being a staff representative was to educate local union members to level the playing field of knowledge to deal with their employers.

In 1990, Don was a member of the Marquette County Labor Council and helped to re-establish the Labor Day festivities in Marquette. He was a Co-Chair of the event.

In January of 2000, Don accepted a position as Commissioner with the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Services and was assigned to the Green Bay, Wisconsin field office. As a Mediator, he conducted endless types of collective bargaining mediations, trainings in collective bargaining and related topics, and facilitations throughout the Great Lakes region and other locations in the United States. As a Federal Mediator, he accepted positions as advisor to the Upper Peninsula Construction Council, Northeast Wisconsin Construction Industry Partnership and the Upper Peninsula Labor Management Council.

FMCS selected Don to be a trainer for several new FMCS mediator classes and to be a Certified Mediation Professional to train agency Mediators in that same program. The agency also selected him to represent FMCS and the United States of America to train government employees in the countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh. Don worked on one case where an employer announced it was moving its manufacturing campus to a far away location that would have had a devastating economic impact on 13 counties. The pressures that were put upon him by the parties and local and state leaders to problem solve to keep the employer in its current location were immense. The parties, working with me and making extremely difficult decisions and finding creative solutions, were able to keep the manufacturing facility in its current location, where it remains viable today.

Don was on the committee that initiated the Apprentice of the Year with the UPCC and has been a judge for its entirety, becoming the lead judge in 2025. He was also selected to be on the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Great Lakes Labor and Economic Advisory Committee for one term from 2013 to 2016.

Don states that after many long years of working endless hours, retirement will now allow him to spend more time with his wife, two sons and his beloved family farm.

The U.P. Labor Hall of Fame event starts at 5 p.m. at the U.P. Hall of Fame display at the NMU dome and moves to the Northern Center ballrooms at 6 p.m. at NMU. The event is open to the public and to family and friends of Tom Hogan and Don Maki. Tickets are available by contacting Kathy Carlson, UPHoF Committee member by email at coordinator@uprlf.org. Tickets are $65 per person.