Max Roffman, 93, UPW organizer
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer
Max Roffman was kind, gentle, friendly, funny and humble. When it came time to fight for others, however, he was never one to back down.
Roffman, who helped organize the United Public Workers union in Hawai'i, died Oct. 3 in Seattle. He was 93.
ROFFMAN
Roffman came to Hawai'i in the 1950s, a time when the UPW was struggling to win acceptance and earn the right to bargain for government and private workers. During the next two decades, he helped the union become one of the most powerful forces in the state.
"He was one of the most respected labor people of his time," said John Witeck, a former UPW official who described Roffman as his mentor.
Roffman was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. After serving in the Army during World War II, he worked for the UPW in Baltimore, Detroit, Duluth and Rochester, Minn., according to his daughter Laurie.
In 1953, Roffman jumped at a chance to come to Hawai'i, and immediately went to work as a union organizer at the government yards in the old Kaka'ako location. He also served as UPW's O'ahu division leader and editor of the union newsletter.
"He spent the next 19 years tirelessly working to educate and organize rank-and-file workers and to improve their standard of living and seeking gains in economic democracy," Laurie Roffman said.
Witeck said Roffman had a low-key approach that was well respected by the workers.
"He was friendly and very upfront with people. He had a tremendous amount of integrity and humility," Witeck said. "He probably could have become head of the union, but chose to stay in the background a little."
After his retirement from UPW in the 1970s, Roffman produced a weekly television program on labor in Hawai'i called "Rice and Roses." He also worked for the Kokua Council for Senior Citizens, Labor Community Alliance and Hawaii Peace Council.
Roffman also enjoyed writing mystery stories and had a number of his pieces published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine under the pen name Marvin Rossman, his daughter said.
In addition to daughter Laurie, Roffman is survived by his wife, Marian of Seattle; son, Daniel of Honolulu; and daughter, Norma Cucci of Murrells Inlet, S.C.
Services will be in Seattle.
