Following Dias’ nearly three-term tenure, his replacement will become Unifor’s second president. The union was formed in 2013, following the merger of the Canadian Auto Workers union and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.
Scott Doherty, executive assistant to Unifor’s national president, and Dave Cassidy, president of Unifor Local 444, which represents workers at Stellantis’ Windsor, Ont. Assembly Plant, began campaigns for the presidency in February.
The two candidates, along with any others who may have declared, had expected to face off at the union’s August convention in Toronto, but Dias’ departure will shorten the race considerably.
It will also lead to a second presidential election in August.
Under normal circumstances, the union holds elections at its convention for president, secretary-treasurer and its directors for the Western, Ontario and Quebec regions. Despite the special election confirming a new president just several months earlier, the presidency will be put to another a vote in August.