UNIFOR LOCAL 444
Cassidy to assume lead
Unifor Local 444 president James Stewart announced at Monday night’s general membership meeting he won’t run for the position in this month’s elections. Stewart took over the job nine months ago when former president Dino Chiodo accepted the position of auto director for Unifor’s national office. Stewart had served as first-vice president since 2012. Stewart confirmed that current secretary-treasurer Dave Cassidy will be the executive board’s endorsed candidate for the president’s post.
“We as an executive board have been discussing this for nine months since I was made interim president when Dino left in August,” Stewart said.
“We made a decision in the past five or six days that we felt was best for Local 444.
It was best to have one person from the board run for president and other people fill out the other jobs.
“I want to stress it’ll be the membership who will ultimately decide who they want as president.” Stewart said he plans to run for the local’s secretary-treasurer position.
Elections for the executive board will take place May 22 and 23. Anyone interested in running for the executive board can declare their interest at the May 8 nomination meeting.
Stewart said the executive board was keen to avoid a repeat of the ugly political infighting among leadership of the past six or seven six years.
Cassidy, who was running for reelection to his current position in 2012, claimed in a Facebook post during that campaign his name was being smeared by his “superiors.”
“The infighting does nothing to build the union,” Cassidy said. “The union is bigger than Dave Cassidy, James Stewart or any executive officer. It has to come first. “James and I have built bridges that weren’t there for a long time. In the last nine months, the executive officers have really come together to put the membership first.”
Cassidy has served the past nine years in his current role, but he also has a national profile with Unifor.
He’s been president of Unifor’s Skilled Trades sector, representing 50,000 members across Canada, since 2008.
“If you want to make change, it comes from the top position in consultation with the executive and membership,” said Cassidy, who feels certain locals have lost some of their transparency and openness.
“We’ve got to create space for new people to participate in building the union. We have 1,800 new hires at the Windsor Assembly Plant, we have to engage them. “That’s my vision, be more inclusive.”
Stewart said it was a logical decision for the board to make him interim because of his intimate role in negotiations at the time and the very heavy schedule of contract talks since last August. However, he said it was always the executive board’s intention to identify a person for the presidential position before this year’s elections.
“Dave can do the job and he’s proven that,” Stewart said. “I don’t have an ego so big I have to be president.”
Stewart will remain in his current role until the end of May.