Dennis McDermott (November 3, 1922 – February 13, 2003) was a Canadian trade unionist who served as Canadian Director of the United Auto Workers from 1968 to 1978 and president of the

Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC (french: Congrès du travail du Canada, link=no or ) is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated. History Formation The CLC was ...

from 1978 to 1986. Born in Portsmouth, England, McDermott immigrated to Canada in 1948 and settled in Toronto 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

. He left the UAW in 1978 to become president of the CLC. McDermott was a social activist and

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

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. 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 Incomes policies in economics are economy-wide wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation, and usually seeking to establish wages and prices below free market level. Incomes policies have often been resorted t ...

being implemented by the government of

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

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 in 1986 and served in that position until 1989. McDermott was strong supporter of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

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