Everything about Leo Gerard totally explained
Leo W. Gerard (b.
1947) is a steelworker,
Canadian and
American labor leader. He was elected president of the
United Steelworkers (USW) in 2001, becoming the second Canadian to head the union. He is also a vice president of the
AFL-CIO.
Gerard is the son of a union miner, and grew up in the town of
Lively, Ontario. His father, Wilfred Gerard, was a hard rock miner at
INCO's Creighton Mine and a national organizer with the
International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers (which merged with the United Steelworkers in
1967).
Leo Gerard began working at an Inco nickel smelter in
Sudbury, Ontario, when he was only 18 years old. He rose quickly in the union, and was elected chief steward of the 7,000-member USWA Local Union 6500.
Gerard was hired by the USW to be an international union staff representative in
1977 and assigned to service collective bargaining agreements in Ontario.
He was elected director of USW District 6 in
1985 and again in
1989. He resigned in
1991 after he was appointed National Director for Canada due to the retirement of Canadian National Director
E. Gerard Docquier. In
1994, he was elected secretary-treasurer of the international United Steelworkers. He reorganized the secretary-treasurer's office, implemented a union-wide information technology drive, and led the Steelworkers Health and Welfare Fund and organizing department.
Gerard was elected president of the international union on
February 28, 2001, after the unexpected resignation of President
George Becker (with whom he was a close friend and associate).
As a vice president of the AFL-CIO, Gerard sits on the federation's executive council. In
February 2003, he was appointed to the AFL-CIO's Executive Committee as well. As of March
2005, he became chair of the executive council's Public Policy Committee.
On
June 7,
2006, at a news conference at the
National Press Club in
Washington, D.C., Gerard and environmentalist
Carl Pope announced the formation of the USW and
Sierra Club's Blue/Green Alliance, after five years of negotiations between the two groups. The alliance focuses on interrelated issues that both organizations feel are important, including: a clean environment, better jobs, and a safer world.
He was a member of the executive committee of the
International Metalworkers Federation and chair of the World Rubber Council of the
International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions. He also is a member of the
Apollo Alliance, a group which works toward
North American energy independence and cleaner and more efficient energy alternatives.
Leo Gerard is married to Susan Gerard, and the couple has two daughters. He has a
bachelor's degree in
economics from
Laurentian University and is a graduate of the Canadian Labour Congress' Labour College.
Further Information
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