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J. Randy Johnson
J. Randy Johnson was born in Greene County, Indiana on August 2, 1954 to the parents of John I. Johnson and Wanda L. Johnson. He spent his early youth living on a piece of rural pr...view moreJ. Randy Johnson was born in Greene County, Indiana on August 2, 1954 to the parents of John I. Johnson and Wanda L. Johnson. He spent his early youth living on a piece of rural property outside of the small town of Bloomfield, Indiana.
The first job Randy ever had was working in his father’s Standard Oil gas station where he began at age thirteen. Randy graduated from Bloomfield High School May 1972. Before graduating Randy married his first wife Diane. Randy and Diane had two children John born in 1974 and Jennifer born in 1975 before divorcing in March, 1978.
He remarried to his current wife Rita on November 24, 1979 and they had 2 girls, Jill born 1980 and Julie born in 1981. Rita and Randy decided to make a change and move to Rita’s hometown of Huntington, Indiana.
Randy was eventually hired at the SCM Paper Supply Incorporated in Marion, Indiana in 1986. Where he quickly learned how to run many of the machines used to make office supply products.
Randy also quickly rose through the union ranks as he became a shift steward before ascending to the top position in the union, that of unit vice president at the SCM facility in July 1993.
Then on July 5, 1994 SCM was purchased by the Ampad Incorporated. Ampad was one of many companies owned by Mitt Romney’s business entity Bain Capital and with the purchase of the SCM assets. This asset sale excluded the union contract and an intense labor dispute ensued. Randy and his co-workers becoming deeply involved in the Mitt Romney senate race against Ted Kennedy in 1994.
Ultimately Mitt Romney lost his bid to be senator and returned to full-time employment Bain Capital where he had control as CEO and in January Ampad announced that they company would close the Marion, Indiana facility for good on February 15, 1995.
Randy had the opportunity to interview for a position with the United Paperworkers International Union and was hired March 1, 1996 to work in the special projects department. Through a series of mergers he continued to work for labor unions ending up at the United Steelworkers International Union.
During the 2012 presidential election cycle Randy spent much of his time as a non-paid surrogate for the Obama For America campaign and assisted the Democratic National Committee in explaining how Mitt Romney had mislead voters in his job creation claims in 1994, again in 2008, and during the 2012 campaign. He was privileged to speak in prime time at the Democratic National Convention and became a regular traveler to the swing states during 2012.
In Randy’s book Forced Reckoning he outlines his personal experiences. Randy enjoys speaking about labor issues, politics, and how people can join together to accomplish great things through motivational concepts.view less