Automotive News Canada - May 2022 - 30

30
* MAY 2022
Unifor after Dias: Three distinct directions
With endorsement on
hold, candidates for the
top job make their case
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
Dias was
scheduled to
retire in August,
but he left in
March. FILE PHOTO
DAVE CASSIDY
AS PRESIDENT OF UNIFOR LOCAL 444, DAVE Cassidy
said his focus is on engaging, empowering and supporting
individual members. If elected to head the union nationally,
he plans to carry forward this same open-door policy.
" I'm a grassroots-type guy. ... I'm going to bring that to
Toronto [union headquarters] as well, " he said. " We have
to engage with our rank-and-file members, and we've lost
that. "
The 54-year-old Windsor, Ont., native began his career
as an apprentice electrician and in 1993 was hired by
Chrysler Canada. Cassidy was elected
to various positions within the
skilled-trades ranks at the Windsor
Assembly Plant before being appointed
financial secretary of Local 444 in
2009. In 2018, he took over as president
of the local, which represents
workers at the plant, now part of
Stellantis, and a range of other auto
and nonauto employers in the area.
Since Unifor's formation, Cassidy
has also served on the NEB as a representative
for the skilled trades.
Cassidy said he has contemplated
a run for the national presidency
for some time and received encouragement
from supporters across the
country late last year as Dias' retirement
neared. While Cassidy sought
Cassidy: Local
leader vows to
" engage with
our rank-and-file
members, and
we've lost that. "
FILE PHOTO
Dias' endorsement, he ultimately gave the nod to Scott
Doherty, his executive assistant.
Given the allegations against Dias, Cassidy said, it's
important to reengage with members and restore trust in
the national organization.
" That's how we move forward past this: Put checks
and balances in place ... look at best practices and just be
transparent with our membership, " he said.
Longer term, Cassidy said he would concentrate on
improving union organizing to keep Unifor growing, as
well as collective bargaining to ensure existing members
maintain job security.
THREE LONGTIME LABOUR
leaders have declared their candidacy
to become the next president of Unifor
as the union navigates its first leadership
transition.
Formed from the 2013 merger of
the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)
and the Communications, Energy and
Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP),
Unifor represents 315,000 workers in
Canada. That includes about 40,000
at auto parts suppliers and vehicle
assembly plants.
Until his abrupt March 11 retirement,
former President Jerry Dias
had helmed the union through its
entire history. While Dias had been
scheduled to retire from the top post
in August, allegations about his conduct
have wracked the union and
complicated the timeline.
SCOTT DOHERTY
HAVING SPENT THE PAST EIGHT YEARS WORKING
alongside Dias and other union leaders on a range of significant
contracts, Scott Doherty, executive assistant to the
national president, said he brings the leadership, administrative
and team-building skills required to head Unifor.
The union's leadership team, made up of its elected officers
and five assistants, unanimously backed Doherty for
the presidency Jan. 19, and the NEB seconded the endorsement
Feb. 1. But with the disruptive allegations about
Dias, followed by Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne publicly
entering the race April 12, Doherty
asked the NEB to withdraw its nomination
to avoid dividing the board.
Doherty expects a " vigorous " campaign
but said he is focused on tackling
issues that Unifor and its members
face, such as record inflation, lingering
COVID-19 problems and broken
trust with union members tied to
the Dias allegations.
Doherty: Unifor
must " get back
to doing the
work of our
organization
and build back
the trust. "
FILE PHOTO
" We just need to buckle down and
get back to doing the work of our organization
and build back the trust, " he
said.
Doherty, 52, has led recent rounds
of bargaining in the forestry, telecom
and energy sectors and taken on a
series of roles throughout the past two
rounds of auto talks with the Detroit
Three in Canada.
Having gotten an early start in labour with both the
CAW and CEP in positions on Canada's West Coast, the
Campbell River, B.C., native became president of CEP
Local 1123, a member of the national executive board and
eventually a national representative in 2008.
When Unifor was formed in 2013, Doherty was elected
western regional director. In 2014, he was appointed assistant
to the national president and a year later promoted to
executive assistant.
Referencing Dias, Doherty said Unifor must install safeguards
to protect against ethical breaches, while also looking
at ways to generate growth for the union through organization.
In
March, Unifor's 25-member
National Executive Board (NEB)
alleged Dias accepted $50,000 from a
supplier of COVID-19 test kits he had
helped promote to union employers.
A hearing that could see the former
leader stripped of his union
membership is to be held at a later
date.
Unifor planned to hold a special
convention to replace Dias this
spring. Citing the added expenses of
an early election, however, the NEB
voted May 6 to leave the leadership
position vacant until the union's
LANA PAYNE
THE PAST THREE MONTHS " CHANGED EVERYTHING "
for Unifor Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne.
Elected to the post in 2019 after two terms as Atlantic
director, Payne, 56, said she has had a hand in a broad
range of union activities. They include watching over
Unifor's finances, steering its pandemic response and participating
in certain bargaining rounds, such as the 2020
auto talks with the Detroit Three. She also oversaw the
sensitive, monthslong external investigation into Dias.
In January, Payne had endorsed Doherty to be Unifor's
next president. After taking time to
" pause and reflect " on the Dias allegations,
however, she entered the race in
April.
" I believe that at this point in time,
our union needs the kind of leadership
that I can offer, the kind of experience
that I've had dealing with crisis, " she
said.
Payne: " Our
union needs
the kind of
leadership that
I can offer,
the kind of
experience that
I've had dealing
with crisis. "
FILE PHOTO
Payne, who grew up in Deer Lake,
Nfld., said the union's immediate focus
needs to be on transparency, rebuilding
trust and enacting new processes
to handle misconduct.
" I can lead the union in the direction
where we're not in a place where
we just carry on as business as usual,
because I think that would be a mistake, "
she said. " There's redress and
address that needs to happen here. "
Having started her career in
labour with the Fish, Food and Allied
Workers Union, then affiliated with the CAW, Payne progressed
through a long list of positions within her local
before being elected president of the Newfoundland and
Labrador Federation of Labour in 2008. She was elected
Atlantic director when Unifor was formed in 2013.
With an emphasis on accountability and open dialogue
with locals, Payne said she would bring a new approach to
the office of president.
" I think it's OK in moments like these to have a different
kind of leadership and to be offering something different to
the members. "
New iZEV incentives provide a spark, not a jolt
If greater adoption is the
goal, feds should offer
more, industry groups say
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS
raising the vehicle price ceiling for the
Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles
(iZEV) program and will make pickups
and SUVs eligible, but industry stakeholders
say the changes don't go far
enough to bring the cost down.
Under the changes, announced in late
April, the federal program will make
vehicles retailing for as much as $70,000
eligible for the $5,000 incentive.
" Simply increasing the limits to make
a few more vehicles eligible for the program
without increasing the amount of
the incentive doesn't address the affordability
issue, " said Tim Reuss, CEO
of the Canadian Automobile Dealers
Association (CADA).
Ottawa also said it would provide an
additional $1.7 billion for the program,
which is extended to March 31, 2025, or
until the funding is used up.
Joining CADA in advocating for
a $15,000 incentive for purchasing
zero-emission vehicles are the Canadian
Vehicle Manufacturers' Association
(CVMA) and Global Automakers of
Canada (GAC), which respectively represent
North American and global automakers
in the country.
" Survey after survey has identified
the cost of zero-emission vehicles as the
most significant barrier to consumer
adoption, " said CVMA President Brian
Kingston. " The iZEV program adjustments
are welcomed, but the incentive
is simply not large enough to help more
Canadians make the switch to electric.
" With inflation hitting a three-decade
high, Canadians need greater support to
purchase a ZEV and put the government
on a path to achieve
its ZEV sales targets. "
Broadening
the
iZEV program will
give Canadians more
flexibility when
choosing a vehicle,
said Minister
of Transport Omar
Alghabra.
Kingston:
To meet
government
ZEV sales goals,
incentives must
be bigger.
FILE PHOTO
The program, introduced
in 2019, has so
far helped 141,000 consumers
buy or lease
plug-in hybrid and
electric vehicles. But
industry groups have
criticized the federal
government's eligibility criteria, saying
the low thresholds will suppress EV
uptake because popular larger vehicles do
not qualify.
The new criteria will offer an
unchanged $5,000 federal incentive for
ZEVs with a base price of less than
$55,000, an increase of $10,000. The program
covers higher-cost variants up to
$65,000, also an increase of $10,000, but
the base price must be below $55,000.
The redesign of the program also eliminates
a minimum seat count for larger
vehicles, which will allow more pickups
and SUVs to qualify.
For such vehicles, the federal government
specified a base-model price
below $60,000, and variants up to $70,000.
Previously, base-model sticker prices
were set at $55,000, and vehicles were
required to have seven or more seats.
Transport Canada also adjusted how
the iZEV program supports plug-in
hybrids, swapping electric range for battery
capacity.
Ottawa is now classifying a PHEV as
" longer range " if it has an electric range
greater than 50 kilometres. These PHEVs
are eligible for the full $5,000 incentive,
while PHEVs with shorter ranges receive
$2,500. - ANC
constitutional convention, which
was already planned for August.
Given the unusual circumstances
surrounding Dias' departure,
the union's NEB will abstain from
endorsing a candidate for the first
time in its history, leaving the three
candidates free to campaign and face
off on the convention floor this summer
for the top job.
Automotive News Canada spoke
with them about their experience,
motivations for running and plans for
the union. - ANC
Automotive News Canada - May 2022

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