Leo W. Gerard (born 1947)
is a retired steelworker and
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
leader. He was elected president of the
United Steelworkers
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...
(USW) in 2001, becoming the second Canadian to head the union.
[McKay, Jim. "USW's New President Eyes Foreign Trade, Labor Laws." ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.'' December 15, 2000.](_blank)
/ref> He served in the role until July 2019. He also served on the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO.
Early life and career
Gerard was born in 1947 in Creighton Mine
Creighton Mine is an underground nickel, copper, and platinum-group elements (PGE) mine. It is presently owned and operated by Vale Limited (formerly known as INCO) in the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Open pit mining began in 1901, an ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, at the time an unincorporated suburb of Sudbury Sudbury may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sudbury Reef, Queensland
Canada
* Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes)
** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...
. His father, Wilfred Gerard, was a miner at the Creighton Mine and a key organizer with the International Mine Mill and Smelter Workers' Union (which merged with the United Steelworkers in 1967). He grew up in Sudbury.[Belser, Ann. "After Health Scare, Steelworkers Union Leader Renews Push to Rebuild Manufacturing." ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.'' January 11, 2009.](_blank)
/ref> Taught that unions were supposed to be engaged on social issues
A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...
and not just collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...
, Gerard often listened in on union meetings conducted in the family home. He handed out leaflets on the eve of a strike at the age of 11, and accompanied his father on a union organizing drive at the age of 13.
After graduating from Lively District Secondary School, Gerard took a job at the Inco
Vale Canada Limited (formerly Vale Inco, CVRD Inco and Inco Limited; for corporate branding purposes simply known as "Vale" and pronounced in English) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian mining company Vale. Vale's nickel mining and ...
nickel smelter in Sudbury, unclogging tuyeres
A tuyere or tuyère (; ) is a tube, nozzle or pipe through which air is blown into a furnace or hearth.W. K. V. Gale, The iron and Steel industry: a dictionary of terms (David and Charles, Newton Abbot 1972), 216–217.
Air or oxygen is injec ...
with a sledgehammer. He was elected steward and then chief steward of the 7,000-member Local 6500. He enrolled at Laurentian University
Laurentian University (french: Université Laurentienne), officially the Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Lau ...
, studying economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
and planning to be an economics professor.[Greenhouse, Steven. "Bringing a Workingman's Perspective to a Union's Helm." ''New York Times.'' June 18, 2001.](_blank)
/ref> He quit college in 1977 when he was just a few credits short of graduation, and took a job as a staff representative for the international union.
He married his high school sweetheart, Susan, and they have two daughters.
Gerard rose steadily within the Steelworkers union hierarchy over the next two decades. He was elected director of USW District 6 in 1985 and re-elected in 1989, and was appointed national director of the Canadian division of the USW in August 1991. He was elected secretary-treasurer of the international union in 1993, and again in 1997. While USW secretary-treasurer, Gerard instituted a number of important administrative initiatives. He implemented cost-saving and revenue-generating initiatives, reorganized the secretary-treasurer's office, created an information technology department, developed a new union-to-member communications network, restructured member and local union servicing, and reinvigorated the union's organizing efforts.
Gerard eventually returned to Laurentian University and received a bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
and politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
. The university awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws
A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...
degree in 1994.
USW presidency
Concerned that his age hindered the USW's ability to deal effectively with the problems confronting workers, President George Becker resigned effective February 28, 2001, seven months before his term of office was to end. The Steelworkers' executive council appointed Gerard his successor on February 21. Gerard quickly assembled a slate of supporters (many of them incumbent officers in the international union), and announced he would run for the presidency in the union's regularly scheduled elections in November 2001. He was elected without opposition to four-year terms in 2001, 2005 and 2009. Gerard was the second Canadian to head the United Steelworkers, after Lynn R. Williams
Lynn Russell Williams (July 21, 1924 – May 5, 2014) was a Canadian labour leader best remembered as the International President of the United Steelworkers union (USW) from 1983 until his retirement in 1994. Williams was the first Canadian to h ...
(1983-1994).
In his first two terms in office, Gerard oversaw in a significant number of union mergers with the USW. The USW merged with the 12,000-member American Flint Glass Workers' Union
The American Flint Glass Workers' Union (AFGWU) was a labor union representing workers involved in making glassware and related goods in the United States and Canada.
The union was founded in Pittsburgh on July 1, 1878, by locals which split away ...
in 2003,[Ashack, Elizabeth A. "Major Union Mergers, Alliances, and Disaffiliations, 1995-2007." Bureau of Labor Statistics. September 24, 2008.](_blank)
/ref> the 50,000-member Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada
International Woodworkers of America (IWA) was an industrial union of lumbermen, sawmill workers, timber transportation workers and others formed in 1937.
History
The IWA was formed when members of the Sawmill and Timber Workers’ Union divis ...
in 2004, 3,000 former members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees in Canada in 2004, and the 1,150-member Independent Steelworkers Union in 2007. But the most important merger was in 2005 with the 250,000-member (PACE), a merger which made the USW the largest industrial union in North America.
Gerard has adopted a global perspective on unionization. Beginning in 2003, he has signed strategical alliances pledging mutual support on workers' rights, organizing, and collective bargaining with the World Aluminum Conference of the International Metalworkers' Federation
The International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) was a global union federation of metalworkers' trade unions, founded in Zürich, Switzerland in August 1893. the IMF had more than 200 member organisations in 100 countries, representing a combine ...
, Australian Workers' Union
The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...
, Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear producti ...
of Australia, Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has 25,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. The orga ...
, , Confederação Nacional dos Metalúrgicos of Brazil, and the Canadian Region of the Communications Workers of America
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors (also in Canada and Puerto Rico). The union has 27 loc ...
.["Bios: Leo Gerard." U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. July 17, 2006.](_blank)
In 2005, Gerard negotiated a strategic alliance with the million-member Amicus, the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
's second-largest trade union and the largest private sector union.[Sostek, Anya. "Steelworkers Plan Merger With 2 International Unions." ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.'' April 18, 2007.](_blank)
/ref> Two years later, this strategic alliance led to a merger between the USW and Amicus' successor, the 1.8 million-member Unite
Unite may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London
* ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993
* ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005
Songs ...
. The two unions adopted a new name, Workers Uniting, although both unions will retain their individual identities for at least a few years.
He returned to Sudbury for a visit in 2008 after an arson incident burned down the historic Sudbury Steelworkers Hall
The Sudbury Steelworkers Hall was a historic labour union hall in Sudbury, Ontario, which was destroyed by a fire on September 19, 2008.
History
Located at 92 Frood Road in Downtown Sudbury, on the northwest corner of the intersection with Coll ...
, where he had gotten his start as an organizer with Local 6500, and told the city's media that seeing the burned building was one of the most traumatic events of his life. Steel's head office subsequently donated $10,000 to the city's police force as a reward for any information that led to an arrest.["Steelworkers arson reward upped to $15,000"](_blank)
. '' Northern Life'', September 30, 2008.
Among his strategic alliances is the controversial friendship and support to the Mexican senator Napoleón Gómez Urrutia a disgraced union leader accused of having embezzled US$55 million that was supposed to be used to pay workers' severance payments at the Mexicana de Cananea mining company and that ended up being diverted by Gómez Urrutia, who later fled to Canada to avoid arrest. In April 2021, Gómez Urrutia was sentencedto return the US$55 million. He is currently free from jail thanks to the immunity he benefits from as a senator.
Gerard suffered a blood clot (thrombus
A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of c ...
) in his heart in February 2008, and successfully underwent heart surgery to remove the blockage.
Gerard retired in 2019, and was replaced by Thomas M. Conway as International President.
Other roles
In 2002, he chaired the Second World Rubber Industries Conference in São Paulo, Brazil and served as chair of the Rubber Sector of the (ICEM). A member of the executive committee of the International Metalworkers' Federation
The International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) was a global union federation of metalworkers' trade unions, founded in Zürich, Switzerland in August 1893. the IMF had more than 200 member organisations in 100 countries, representing a combine ...
, he co-chaired the federation's World Aluminum Conference in 2003.
Gerard is a member of the Labor Advisory Committee to the United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor and the National Commission on Energy Policy. He is also a member of the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN).
Gerard was elected a vice president of the AFL-CIO in 2001, elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 2001, and appointed to serve on the labor federation's Executive Committee in February 2003. He was instrumental in the formation of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council, and was named chair of the AFL-CIO's Public Policy Committee in March 2005.
He also is a member of the Apollo Alliance, a group which works toward North American energy independence
United States energy independence is the concept of eliminating or substantially reducing import of petroleum to satisfy the nation's need for energy. Some proposals for achieving energy independence would permit imports from the neighbori ...
and cleaner and more efficient energy alternatives, and is co-chair of the board of directors of the Blue Green Alliance"Commissioners: Leo W. Gerard." National Commission on Energy Policy. no date.
Accessed February 6, 2007.
In popular culture
News footage of Gerard is included in the 2008 documentary, ''Battle in Seattle
''Battle in Seattle'' is a 2007 political action-thriller film written and directed by Stuart Townsend, in his directorial debut. The story is loosely based on the protest activity at the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999. The film premiered ...
'' by Stuart Townsend
Stuart Townsend (born 15 December 1972) is an Irish actor. He portrayed Lestat de Lioncourt in the film adaptation of Anne Rice's ''Queen of the Damned'' (2002), and Dorian Gray in Alan Moore's ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (2003). ...
. Gerard and USW vice president Tom Conway are seen dragging two large concrete planters
Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...
into an intersection near the Washington State Convention and Trade Center
The Seattle Convention Center (SCC), formerly the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC), is a convention center in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It consists of several exhibition halls and meeting rooms in building ...
during the 1999 WTO protests
The 1999 Seattle WTO protests, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Seattle, were a series of protests surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, when members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) convened at the Washington State Con ...
in an attempt to help protesters block access to the WTO meetings.[Belser, Ann. "Film Highlights Union Struggle." ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.'' September 27, 2008.](_blank)
/ref> Gerard and Conway came under fire by Seattle police during the incident.
References
External links
*
"USW Web Site"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard, Leo
People from Greater Sudbury
Trade unionists from Ontario
Living people
Laurentian University alumni
Presidents of United Steelworkers
1947 births