“It’s not just a question of being a big union,” says Jerry Dias, “It’s big ideas…It’s about engaging people. It’s about engaging our members…but it’s also about outreach to the community.”
On Saturday (August 31) Dias was elected president of Canada’s newest and largest private sector union, UNIFOR. In a wide ranging conversation with RCI, he outlined the union’s goals
The union came out of discussions between Ken Lewenza, the president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW) and Dave Coles the president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canadda (CEP) about how the union movement could work better, especially at a time when it faces the policies of the federal government of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda spoke to UNIFOR president Jerry Dias just after his participation at the Labour Day march in Toronto on Monday (September 2) and the founding convention of UNIFOR on the weekend.
More information:
UNIFOR’s union convention website – www.newunionconvention.ca
UNIFOR constitution – www.newunionconvention.ca/unifor-constitution
UNIFOR video of weekend convention – here
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