Ronald Haughton Was Labor Arbitrator

Ronald W. Haughton, known by his friends as Ron and a resident of Palm Harbor, Fla., and Aquinnah, died July 4. He had enjoyed continuous summers in Aquinnah since 1970. He was 88.

Ron was born July 20, 1916, in Hamilton, Ontario Canada. He was the only son of Lilian Strahan and Herbert Haughton.

He first visited the Vineyard with his family at the invitation of his friend and fellow labor arbitrator, Saul Wallen, in 1965. He returned with his family during the summer of 1970. They built a home on Lighthouse Road in 1973, and then in 1983 he and his wife Anne purchased their home, which they have to this day, located off Lobsterville Road.

The Haughtons named the Lobsterville Road house Rockspring, after Ron's father's family farm in Wexford, Ireland. The farm is still owned and operated by cousins.

Ireland held a special place in Ron's heart. In June 2001, Anne and Ron Haughton celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary there with all of their children and grandchildren. A highlight of the trip was the afternoon spent at the Rockspring Farm, where Ron reminisced with his first cousin Ethel about his childhood visits to Ireland.

Ron loved his time on the Vineyard. He was known throughout Aquinnah for his skills with pruning shears, a lawn mower and a weed wacker. He loved nothing more than working on his property. He never saw a view that could not benefit from a bit of clipping. A favorite family story was when, while enthusiastically cutting weeds one day, he accidentally slashed the tire on his car.

He was practical in his approach to landscaping as well. During the first few summers at his house on Lighthouse Road, none of his children could return from Philbin Beach without some rocks to line the driveway or a piece of driftwood. He loved nothing more than finding a large piece of driftwood, some old rope and some willing volunteers to haul the piece of wood up to the car.

Ron was the quintessential do-it-yourselfer. He cut his own hair and the hair of his Chilmark friend, Alec Preston. 

In the words of his son in law, reflecting on a past visit to the Vineyard: "Ron liked to fix things rather than purchase new things. I once had a pair of sneakers that had a hole by the toe, but instead of throwing them out, Ron introduced me to a product called shoe-goo, that you squeezed on and then it hardened like rubber and filled the hole.

"I can give countless examples of this preference of his, but in the family we came to call it ‘better glue than new.' Ron saw fixing things as a challenge, and I suppose he liked the idea of saving some money at the same time."

Ron was always happy to play one of his favorite games. His grandchildren loved to challenge him to a game of cribbage at the house or on the beach. He and his wife enjoyed a game of bridge in the evenings with their friends the Stutzs and the Ivrys.

Tennis was Ron's favorite sport. He particularly enjoyed arranging games with his friend, Alvin Lane, and playing on the Lanes' court in Gay Head. In addition, Ron was a good sport about playing golf with his wife, Anne, at Mink Meadows, where they were members for many years. While it was not his favorite sport, Anne loved to play and he was happy to join her for a round.

Sailing in his Sunfish on Menemsha Pond was also a favorite pastime. Repairing the Sunfish with fiberglass was even more satisfying. 

Trips down-Island always included a stop at Ron's favorite store, the thrift shop in Vineyard Haven.

One of his favorite restaurants was the Home Port, where all of his children worked during summer vacation from school. He always ordered a steak, claiming that a seafood restaurant was a great place to order a steak. 

Family gatherings on the Vineyard meant the most to the extended Haughton family.

In 1995, Ron and his wife spent the year in Bangalore, India, where Ron served as a Fulbright Scholar. As a way to stay in touch while they were out of the country, their children spent the year creating a 72-square quilt. Each square was appliqued with a different moment or fact in Ron's life. The family presented the quilt to Ron at a birthday celebration at their Island home. Joining the family were many of their Vineyard friends.

Professionally, Ron was a labor arbitrator, mediator and university professor. He arbitrated some 4,000 cases in the public and private sectors. He chaired several presidential emergency boards for the railroad, airlines and maritime industries, and was a permanent umpire in the collective bargaining systems for such companies as Autolite, Ford, Goodrich, Bendix, Whirlpool, Armour, Clark Equipment, Columbia Gas, Parke Davis and others. He was also well known for his expertise in settling school strikes. For more than 28 years he was chairman of the Ford Motor Company-United Automobile Workers joint pension board.

In addition to the arbitration and mediation, he worked part time in academic life, as vice president for urban affairs at Wayne State University.

In 1979, he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as chairman of the new Federal Labor Relations Authority, created as part of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

From 1985 to 1986, he served as a Fulbright Scholar in India studying best labor practices with Indian based businesses. In the early 1990s he served as chairman of the labor disputes resolution commission in Bermuda.

Ron continued to arbitrate until age 81. He was recently honored as a 50-year member of the American Academy of Arbitrators.

Mr. Haughton was a lifelong Quaker who lived by its values of finding and nurturing the light in every person he met.

A memorial service will be held later in the summer at the family's home on Martha's Vineyard.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Anne Fletcher Haughton; three daughters, Jan Tracy of Safety Harbor, Fla., (Tom Tracy), Patty Haughton of Wilmington, Del., and Leslie Zemsky of Buffalo, N.Y. (Howard Zemsky); one son, John Haughton of Millersville, Md. (Jennifer Haughton), and 13 grandchildren. Many cousins in Ireland also survive him.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Community Foundation for S.E. Michigan, for the Ronald W. Haughton Memorial Scholarship Fund, 333 Fort street, Suite 2010, Detroit MI 48226, or to the charity of your choice.