Bob White, the Canadian labour leader and fiery negotiator who transformed the country’s union landscape, has died. He was 81. White was the transformative leader behind the decision of Canadian autoworkers to split from the U.S.-based United Auto Workers and establish their own union in 1984. White served as the Canadian Auto Workers’ president from 1985 until 1991, a period when the union was at the height of its power, representing most of the Canadian employees of the major U.S. automakers. He “passed away peacefully,” according to Unifor, which was created in 2013 from the combination of the CAW and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union“He was a hero to so many of us,” said Unifor national president Jerry Dias on Monday. “He a pioneer when it came to Canadian workers controlling their own destiny and showing we can stand up to large American corporations as a small country. He provided the courage to show that we can do this.”Dias described White as an aggressive but brilliant negotiator, “a master” who held the courage to make tough decision. Throughout the 1980s, White, who served as director of the UAW’s Canadian region, was not afraid to challenge the major American automakers, even if it meant breaking ranks with the union’s leadership. In 1982, White led Canadian workers through a five-week strike at Chrysler that was opposed by UAW leaders. Chrysler eventually agreed to a $1.15 per hour pay increase for Canadian workers, which led to a similar deal for American workers. “You sure felt a lot stronger when you had Bob White sitting beside you,” Dias said. Two years after the Chrysler negotiations, Canadian workers broke away from the UAW under White’s leadership and formed their own union.White was one of Canada’s most influential union activists. In a 1985 profile in the Star, he was described as “with doubt the most power ...
|
