Unifor leader Jerry Dias withdraws amid allegations he breached constitution

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The investigation continues, and national executive board will meet on March 21 to discuss the matter, the union said

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Mar 14, 2022 • 18 hours ago • 2 minute read • 17 Comments Unifor Union President Jerry Dias at Unifor’s Local 222 in Oshawa on Nov. 20, 2020. Photo by Peter J Thompson/National Post files Article content

Jerry Dias retired as leader of Unifor, Canada’s biggest private-sector union, amid allegations that he had breached Unifor’s constitution.

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Dias, a prominent figure during the renegotiation of the North American free-trade agreement, retired on March 11, citing health issues, Unifor said over the weekend.

“On behalf of our members and our leadership team, we wish Jerry well and thank him for his numerous and impactful contributions to working people over many years, from his days representing aerospace workers on the shop floor to National President of Canada’s largest private sector union ,” Lana Payne, Unifor’s secretary-treasurer, said in the press release, issued March 13.

A day later, Payne disclosed in a separate release that she had received a written complaint on Jan. 26 that Dias had “engaged in an alleged breach of the Unifor constitution,” and that on Jan. 29, Dias was notified that the union was investigating the matter.

The investigation continues, and national executive board will meet on March 21 to discuss the matter, the union said.

“In order to ensure the integrity of the ongoing investigation and to maintain confidentiality in accordance with the Unifor constitution, specifics of the complaint will not be disclosed at this time,” the union said. “Every Unifor member is held to the same standard and afforded the same rights under our constitution.”

Dias went on medical leave in early February, writing on Twitter, “I am taking some time off to deal with some health issues. I have every confidence the Unifor leadership team and staff will continue the important work of the union in my absence.”

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To my Unifor family: My Twitter account will be a little quiet for a while. I am taking some time off to deal with some health issues. I have every confidence the Unifor leadership team and staff will continue the important work of the union in my absence.

— Jerry Dias (@JerryPDias) February 16, 2022

Dias, 64, was elected president in 2013 at the union’s founding convention, and went on to serve three back-to-back terms. Unifor now represents over 315,000 Canadian workers.

“We hope to be a voice for working people. Not just unionized workers, but working people in general,” Dias, who started his career as a sheet metal worker at Toronto’s De Havailland Aircraft company in 1978, told the Windsor Star in 2013.

Dias advocated on behalf of Canada during the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement under US President Donald Trump. In 2020, when Ford Motor Co.’s only vehicle assembly plant was slated to close, Dias surprised many observers by leading a successful effort to keep it open.

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In December 2021, Dias was selected by Ontario premier Doug Ford to run the Council of US Trade and Industry Competitiveness, a task force aimed at propping up the Canadian auto industry in the wake of American protectionist measures.

Dias has been named one of Canada’s 50 most powerful people by Maclean’s, and Canada’s most influential union leader by Ottawa Life magazine.

Financial Post’s Toronto-based employees are represented by Unifor.

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