The race for the national presidency of Unifor has begun in earnest as long-time union chief Jerry Dias nears retirement and the labor organization prepares for leadership elections this summer.

Dias has headed Canada’s largest private-sector union since it was formed in 2013 and has repeatedly said his third term as president will be his last, meaning union delegates will elect a new leader at Unifor’s constitutional convention this August. Dias was elected to his third three-year term in August, 2019. 

Two candidates have already declared their intention to run. Dave Cassidy, president of Unifor Local 444, which represents workers at Stellantis’ Windsor Assembly Plant, and Scott Doherty, executive assistant to Unifor’s national president, will contend for the union’s top job.

Cassidy and Doherty announced their candidacy this month as Dias stepped away from his post to deal with undisclosed health issues. Unifor has provided no timeline for Dias’s return; he had been expected to serve out his term that will end with the election of a new president at the convention slated to run Aug. 8 to 12 in Toronto.

Dias will be a difficult leader to replace, said Arthur Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

“There’s a lot of challenges ahead for whoever takes over the reins from [Dias], but there’s also a lot of opportunities,” Wheaton said, crediting Dias for being able to run a complex and increasingly diverse union.

Unifor was formed in 2013 from the merger of the Canadian Auto Workers union and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. It represents hourly workers at Detroit 3 plants in Ontario, as well as thousands at auto suppliers.

The automotive industry still employs the largest single portion of its membership at approximately 13 percent, but the remainder of the union’s 315,000 members work in other sectors.

Dias’s nine-year tenure makes him Unifor’s first and only president, and Wheaton likened replacing him to finding a stand-in for Apple’s Steve Jobs.

“No one ever thought they would replace the head of Apple … You can never replace Steve Jobs — but I still talk on an iPhone and they still have the business going and it moves forward, and I think the same will be said [of Unifor].”

Wheaton expects the new leader will be able to rely on the “good infrastructure” already in place, adding that union leadership changes often bring a new set of ideas and agendas.

As the race to replace Dias gets underway, Doherty has the backing of the union’s current leadership. He is endorsed by its 25-member national executive board, which is made up of regional directors and chairpersons, as well as regional council leaders.

Cassidy has secured local and some auto sector support, saying the Local 444 executive board, as well as Unifor’s Stellantis council have endorsed his run.

Other entrants will be able to enter the race nearly until votes are cast, including any candidates nominated on the convention floor this summer. Unlike in direct voting systems, in which one member is given one vote, delegates at Unifor’s convention cast their votes on behalf of members.

Along with the national presidency, the union’s three regional directorships and the role of secretary treasurer will be put to votes.