HONOUR FOR CHIODO
Unifor director wins award
“It was like helping my father,” Dino Chiodo said of his motivation to first reach out to some of his Chrysler co-workers who were immigrants when he began his automotive career in the late-1980s.
Helping with language problems or just being someone to talk to proved the humble first steps of what has become a lifetime of community service that has earned Chiodo the Charles E. Brooks Labour Community Service Award.
Unifor’s automotive director will be honoured Friday at the Ciociaro Club.
“I used to be the one onstage giving out this award, so I’m ecstatic to be receiving this,” said Chiodo, whose father arrived from Italy unable to speak English.
“We always have considered this award one of the most prestigious honours you could receive in the community. Charlie’s vision is still very much something the labour community believes in.”
Brooks was a legendary Windsor union leader who was a founder of Local 444 and its leader for 21 years. In addition to improving life for his members, Brooks was also very active on community issues before being gunned down in 1977 by a disgruntled Chrysler worker.
Chiodo has followed in Brooks’ footsteps in trying to “build the village” through Local 444’s activities and financial supports.
“I get the enjoyment of knowing I potentially helped one person that day, as corny as that sounds,” Chiodo said. “It just makes me feel good helping people.”
While Local 444 plays a major role in the annual United Way drive and sponsors a variety of programs in the area, Chiodo listed working with the Unemployed Help Centre as one of his favourite projects.
“Together we created Plentiful Harvest, which helps distribute food to the unemployed,” Chiodo said.
“The culinary kitchen put in there not only helps students get opportunities and training, but provides help to people who need it. It helps in a couple ways.”
Chiodo, who commutes between Windsor, London and Toronto, said technology has allowed him to keep connected to his community work. It’s a welcome relief on many days, especially in light of the uncertainty the auto industry faces during the current NAFTA renegotiations.
“It’s frustrating and a little disappointing,” Chiodo said of the current talks.
“I don’t know what’s so hard about negotiating a reciprocal trade deal that’s fair. NAFTA isn’t working for Canadians in terms of the auto industry.
“People definitely got duped. We traded millions for pennies.”
While much of the focus on the recent rounds of the NAFTA talks has been about U.S. demands around auto-part content, Chiodo said Unifor is keeping its eye on the bigger picture.
Solving the issue of jobs being shipped to Mexico remains the biggest concern.
“Talking about Mexico, we’re told everything would eventually balance out,” Chiodo said.
“Their low incomes, the lifestyle would improve with better wages — the environment, safety issues, were all supposed to improve over time. It never happened.
“There’s too much corruption in Mexico to achieve that.”
Chiodo said there’s better balance in trade with the U.S., but the unpredictability of President Donald Trump threatens to derail the talks.
“The U.S. president is a problem because he doesn’t know when to shut up,” Chiodo said. “He’s like a magician. When he wants to change the direction of something, he tweets.”
Chiodo said he feels Unifor was fortunate to secure a degree of investment in Windsor, Oshawa, Brampton, Etobicoke and St Catharines at the bargaining table over the last two contracts. He said GM’s promised $400-million investment in refurbishing its Oshawa operations is “now past $800 million and rising.”
“The benefits and lump sums we got help, but it was the investment that was the most important thing,” Chiodo said.
“I have to admit, I’m a little nervous (about where NAFTA talks are heading).”