Ric Ball was born in North Bend Oregon in 1959 and grow up in a Union household were his Grandfather was the president of the Oregon Woodworkers Union and his father was a teamster Union member while he was part of the North Bend police force. Ric received his BA at the U of O and worked at a Union Mill pulling green chain to help pay for college. Ric is still a member of the Woodworkers Union to this day.

In 1984 he became an organizer with SEIU were he helped to organized thousands of workers. In 1989 Ric became the Director of Organizing for SEIU local 49. In 1998 after a change in Leadership at SEIU local 49, Ric left to work with UFCW local 555 as a Union Rep in Medford Oregon. Ric returned to Portland Oregon in 1999 to be the Kaiser Hospital Rep for UFCW Local 555 and later that year became the assistant to the Director of the bargaining department at Local 555 where he negotiated or helped negotiate most of the existing Local 555 contracts.

In 2000 Ric was promoted to the Director of organizing for Local 555.  In 2001 Ric was forced to step down from his work with local 555 do to a life threatening illness. After regaining his health he formed a union company, Ball Management Inc. In 2007 Ric was ask to return to UFCW Local 555 to help with the Eugene bargaining. Ric was asked to remain with UFCW as the Collective Bargaining and Organizing Director.