Bob White (trade unionist)
|
Bob White OC |
|
|---|---|
| 6th President of the Canadian Labour Congress | |
|
In office 1992–1999 |
|
| Preceded by | Shirley Carr |
| Succeeded by | Ken Georgetti |
| 1st President of the Canadian Auto Workers | |
|
In office 1985–1992 |
|
| Preceded by | new office |
| Succeeded by | Buzz Hargrove |
| 4th Canadian Director of the United Auto Workers | |
|
In office 1978–1985 |
|
| Preceded by | Dennis McDermott |
| Succeeded by | office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 28, 1935 Upperlands, Northern Ireland |
| Died | February 19, 2017 (aged 81) Kincardine, Ontario |
| Occupation | Trade unionist |
Robert White, OC (April 28, 1935 – February 19, 2017) was a prominent leader in the Canadian trade union and labour movement who was the founding president of the Canadian Auto Workers (now Unifor) after leading its separation from its American parent, the United Auto Workers, and then president of the Canadian Labour Congress. Born in Northern Ireland, he emigrated with his family to Canada at age 13, settling in . White died in 2017 at the age of 81.
White began working at age 15 (Hay & Company - a wood furniture maker owned by US Plywood) and within a year he had already participated in a strike, his first pro-labour activity, and was elected a union steward at the age of 17. He led his first strike, against the same company, in 1957 at the age of 22, leading 500 workers off the job. Subsequently, White became fully immersed in the Canadian labour movement as a union organizer and then by 1959 president of Local 636 of the United Auto Workers (U.A.W.), a union based in the United States, that at the time had a large membership in Canadian industry (particularly in automobile manufacturing). In 1960 White was appointed as international representative of the U.A.W. and assigned to organizing duties within Canada. 1972 saw White named as administrative assistant to the director of the National Office of the U.A.W. White succeeded Dennis McDermott as Canadian Director of the UAW in 1978.
In 1984, White encouraged the Canadian Membership of the U.A.W. to split away from the American union and form a new and separate entity, the Canadian Auto Workers Union (properly the National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada). An important event in the history of the Canadian labour movement, this split took place largely because the Canadian delegates to the U.A.W. conventions felt that they did not have a strength or voice at the American conventions and that the American "parent" union was not doing enough in the way of protecting the Canadian workers. Specifically, the issue was centered on lump sum payments to hourly workers. This policy was accepted in the United States by the UAW president of the day, Owen Bieber, and he attempted to force it on the workers in Canada. This was at odds with Bob White's ideas on what was needed in Canada, namely annual base rate increases. The schism and the formation of the C.A.W. as a separate entity was successful and White was acclaimed as the first leader of the fledgling union at the first C.A.W. convention in 1985.
...
Wikipedia