Johnny Romanek: The Start of an Era: A Story of War, Family and Workers’ Rights

As a boy growing up in New Jersey, Johnny Romanek was always tough. Born with a killer instinct to box, Johnny decides against becoming a prizefighter and instead follows the path of his father, Frank, an immigrant who fled Poland for better opportunities in America. After Johnny works a grueling and dangerous labor job in a Clinton, N.J. battery plant, his father secures him a job at the Ford Motor Company plant. It is around this time that news of World War II and its impact hits home. Before enlisting in the Army, Johnny elopes with his longtime sweetheart, Ann Cordone. A few years later he heads to Europe to fight in the war as one of General George S. Patton’s soldiers. Johnny survives the war and comes back stateside a family man, with a son, Wayne, born while Johnny was serving in the war. Ann and Johnny have two more children, Saundra and Frankie and they live in a comfortable house near Johnny’s parents in central New Jersey. Johnny makes his way back to Ford where he becomes a force to reckon with, as he is instrumental in forging a union for workers’ rights. Johnny spends many years fighting for workers and even joins members of the United Auto Workers in the monumental Selma to Montgomery march. Johnny Romanek: The Start of an Era is an explosive look at the journey of a man who uses his smarts and brawn to establish rights for autoworkers, with all the behind-the-scenes debauchery, infighting and controversy. It is also a love story, because it is Johnny’s love for Ann and his family that sees him through all the tough times.