Dennis McDermott (November 3, 1922 – February 13, 2003) was a Canadian trade unionist who served as Canadian Director of the

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

from 1968 to 1978 and president of the Canadian Labour Congress from 1978 to 1986. Born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, England, McDermott immigrated to Canada in 1948 and settled in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

where he worked as an assembler and welder at the Massey-Harris plant.Memorial Service for Dennis McDermott
", ''Canadian Labour Congress'', March 5, 2003 (accessed 3 November 2006). He became a full-time organizer for the United Auto Workers in Canada (UAW) in 1954.McDermott, Dennis
", ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (accessed 3 November 2006). He was elected Canadian Director of the UAW in 1968 and became an international vice-president of the union in 1970. As leader of the Canadian UAW he also became a vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress. He left the UAW in 1978 to become president of the CLC. McDermott was a social activist and civil liberties advocate and joined the Joint Labour Committee to Combat Racial Intolerance soon after arriving in Canada working with the committee to lobby for the enactment of Ontario's first Human Rights Code. He would later serve on the executive of the

Canadian Civil Liberties Association The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; french: Association Canadienne des Libertés Civiles) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights.Dominique ClementCase Study: Canadian ...

. He led the Canadian UAW to support the California grape boycott in the 1960s and 1970s. Former CLC president Dennis McDermott dies at 80
", ''National Union of Public and General Employees'', 14 February 2003 (accessed 3 November 2006). As UAW Canadian Director, McDermott led a campaign against wage controls being implemented by the government of Pierre Trudeau in 1975. Under McDermott, the CLC organized a 100,000 person protest against the federal Liberal government's economic policies in 1981. Following his term as CLC president, McDermott was appointed Canada's ambassador to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1986 and served in that position until 1989. McDermott was strong supporter of the New Democratic Party and organized the CLC to operate a political action program in support of the NDP in the 1979 federal election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Dennis English emigrants to Canada Trade unionists from Ontario United Auto Workers people Members of the Order of Ontario 1922 births 2003 deaths Presidents of the Canadian Labour Congress Ambassadors of Canada to Ireland Canadian Auto Workers people