After 26 Years, Bernie Lepper Steps Down as NAUMD Executive Director

For Bernie Lepper, his proudest moment as head of the National Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors came not from the development of some educational program or industry technological advancement. The time of which he is most proud came when the United States faced its darkest hours -- the attacks on New York and Washington, the terrorist acts of 9/11.

Says Lepper: “Like everyone else that day, I was searching for a way to help those involved with the rescue effort. On September 12, I received a call from a colleague at the New York Society of Association Executives, a group to which I belong. He asked if I could help supply uniforms and equipment to the relief workers at the World Trade Center. I sent out a fax broadcast to every member, requesting a donation of $100 in cash or goods, in the hope that we would be able to raise about $50,000. The response was rapid, and overwhelming. Members gave above and beyond the initial request, and instead of $50,000, we were able to contribute over $1.5 million in cash, uniforms, boots and other equipment to the recovery effort, and to the families affected by the attacks. This story says a lot about our members, and about the industry I served for over two decades.”

On February 1, at the age of 70, Bernie Lepper handed the association’s reins to Richard Lerman, an association executive veteran, who most recently served as president of the ABC (Association Builders & Contractors) New Jersey Chapter. “It was time to go,” said Lepper when asked his reason for leaving the job at which he had become somewhat of a fixture. “I’ve put off doing many personal things, like traveling and being with my family, for too long.”

The industry, too, was changing at an unimagined pace, influencing the decision that Lepper made two years ago. “When I was reelected in 2004, I told the board that this would be my final term. The association had become a vastly different place, and the time was right for someone new to come in,” he said.

Lepper began his career in the uniform industry somewhat accidentally. After graduating from New York University and following a stint in the Army, Lepper landed a job with then industry giant Cone Mills, working in a division that designed synthetic fabrics for postal uniforms. “I thought I’d be working in textiles, but I wound up working in the uniform business,” Lepper quipped.

He quickly gained a reputation as an expert in fabrication, and his quick wit and amiable personality caught the attention of Dutton Brookfield, head of Brookfield/Unitog. Brookfield recruited Lepper for a regional sales position at the company. “He took me to my first NAUMD convention, and thus began my 46-year involvement with the association.”

Conventions during that era were essentially a series of business meetings, not the broad mix of professional development seminars and social events that are common today. “My first convention, in 1964, was pretty much a men’s meeting, with a luncheon and dinner,” notes Lepper. “And it was held in New York -- in the dead of winter.”

But just as the country was changing in the 60s, so too, was the association. There was a major influx of dealers into what then was known as the NAUM. Lepper credits this phenomenon in part to industry legend Horace Small. “After World War II, Small introduced the first industry stock program, thereby reducing the reliance on costly made to measure uniforms,” he said. “The stock program grew the dealer base, and added to the rolls of NAUM membership.”

New members also brought new networking opportunities, and sensing this, Small used his influence to move the convention to Florida in 1965. The convention was revamped, with a greater emphasis placed on social events.

In 1980, Lepper’s name was placed in nomination to succeed Howard Wolf, who was retiring, as the association’s new executive director. “By then, I had been active in the NAUM for many years, so I thought that working for it on a fulltime basis wasn’t such a bad idea.”

He wasted no time implementing the changes he felt were vital to the association’s growth. With the support of another industry powerhouse, Jerry Spiewak of Spiewak & Sons, Lepper added exhibits to the annual convention. “The members were resistant to change, but Jerry backed me,” said Lepper. “The exhibits were a huge success, and served to take the industry in new directions.” And in a long overdue acknowledgement of their importance, the NAUM officially became the NAUMD in 1981.

It was also during this time that he worked to secure the NAUMD’s reputation in Washington. “There were many legislative items affecting the industry, as there are today, and we needed to make certain that our voice was heard,” notes Lepper. In a move that would help to enhance the association’s image and usher in a new era of cooperation, Lepper retained President Gerald Ford as keynote speaker at the 1983 convention. “Washington is a town where perception is reality. If people think you have power, you do,” he said. “By being linked to the President, the association was given added credibility with the government, and that helped us when we needed it.”

But the world was again to experience change, the likes of which wasn’t seen before -- globalization. Globalization, helped along by the rise of the internet and growth of the World Wide Web, changed the economic landscape for many American businesses, including the United States uniform industry. Companies now had to compete with businesses in Mexico, China and Bangalore, as well as those at home. Trade barriers came down, resulting in a flood of cheap imports from other countries.

To survive, companies, including those in the uniform industry, had to reinvent themselves. In the 90s, the pace of offshore manufacturing quickened, as many struggled to compete in a global marketplace. The NAUMD, a Made-in-the-USA group from the outset, struggled to maintain its identity, a battle that continues to this day. “When I started, ninety-five percent of the manufacturing done was done here. Now producing in the US is primarily for niche markets,” states Lepper. Can he foresee a time when the association opens its doors to foreign companies? Lepper is coy on the subject. “I would have assured you never a few years ago, but now? That’s up to others to decide.”

This change in thinking is perhaps due to the undeniable fact that the number of American uniform companies is shrinking. To survive in this new economic environment, businesses have become lean and mean, with others unable, or unwilling, to adapt. Some have simply been absorbed by larger firms. “The accelerated pace at which companies are buying out others took me by surprise,” admits Lepper.

While he views these occurrences as challenges, he is nonetheless convinced that the industry will come out on the winning side. “The larger players already have factories overseas and will continue to look to global sourcing options to remain competitive,” he says. “And while we may be making uniforms somewhere else, the research and ingenuity behind those designs still come from the USA.”

Lepper views the greatest threat to the American uniform industry as coming from its own shores. “Prison labor, which disproportionately impacts this industry, is the greatest concern, because it is a practice sanctioned, in part, by our own government. Government should never be in the business of competing with private companies.” He may just be able to spearhead a campaign again prison labor in the near future, for although he is leaving as executive director, he will continue to work with the NAUMD in an advisory capacity on government and legislative matters.

Overall, though, Lepper remains optimistic. In a discussion with this writer on the recent layoffs at Ford Motors and its possible implication to the uniform industry, Lepper had this to say: “Throughout time, things die out. Some become obsolete, only to be replaced by something else. While there may be less workers at Ford in uniforms, other companies, some new to the industry, will be in need of an image program. Besides, we will always have police officers, and they will always need uniforms.”