Skilled Trades Council poise for future with election of Executive and Committee members

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Skilled Trades members from across the country poised the trades for the future as they voted to elect the Skilled Trades Executive and Committee members who will serve for the next three years. 

people sitting at tables looking front at a screen with a Unifor Skilled Trades Logo a red flag with a blue circle around it.

More than 120 Skilled Trades delegates met in Windsor Ontario November 24-26 for the final National Skilled Trades Council of the year. 

The Skilled Trades Executive was elected as follows: 

Chairperson – Dave Cassidy, Local 444
Vice-Chair – Ken Anderson, National Skilled Trades Coordinator Secretary-Treasurer – Paul Renaud, National Skilled Trades Coordinator
Recording Secretary – Ray Hamel, Local 88 
Trustees – Ashok Venkatarangam, Local 100, Kevin Shipley, Local 30, Francois Duchaine Local 101r
Quebec Member at Large – Simon Moreau, Local 100 
Seargeant-at-arms – Jason Watson, Local 1285 
Member at Large – Mike Smith, Local 2200 

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Terry Brighton, Local 4207, was recognized for his years of service as a strong advocate for Skilled Trades at the former Wescast plant in Wingham, Ontario. 

The Skilled Trades Council presented a five-thousand-dollar donation to the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women & Families as the Bob Chernecki Charity of Choice recipient. The Windsor shelter is dedicated to help women and families end the cycle of poverty and violence in their lives.
 

five people hold up a over sized cheque

“Unifor has walked along us every step of the way. The Skilled Trades donation allows us to respond to the needs of the community,” said Lady Laforet, Executive Director of the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women & Families. 

The one-thousand-dollar UNSTC Eric John Bursary was awarded to Daniel Morujo. 

A man speaks at a podium

Delegates heard from guest speaker Irek Kusmierczyk, MP Windsor—Tecumseh and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, who spoke of the importance of Skilled Trades work and of his recent visit to see the hundreds of Skilled Trades people at work at the NextStar EV battery plant in Windsor, Ontario.

“Those 2,500 jobs are going to be local workers, they are going to be Canadian workers and they are going to be Unifor members,” said Kusmierczyk who went on to credit union and Unifor specifically for the recent introduction of federal anti-scab legislation. 

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Former CAW President Ken Lewenza spoke about the importance of the work of the Skilled Trades Council telling delegates “Never take for granted the power of Skilled Trades folks getting together.  When we have our Councils and we adopt programs that forces the combined bargaining committees to work together to achieve. You need that unity of purpose.”

During his report Skilled Trades Chairperson Dave Cassidy outlines issues across the country cautioning on Ontario government plans to lower age limits for co-op programs and the dangers of placing underage youth in industrial settings, concerns over dual trades and the lobbying effort in British Columbia relating to compulsory trades. 

A man speaks at a podium a man sits at each side

“We are pushing hard to lobby for the implementation of compulsory trades to prevent the watering down of Skilled Trades work,” said Cassidy. 

Delegates joined the conversation on issues including the ongoing shortage of Skilled Trades, lack of apprenticeships and the separate ratification process for Skilled Trades members. 

The next National Skilled Trades Council meeting will take place February 9-11 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. 

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