Leo Gerard

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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.

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 his wife Susan, 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.

[edit] References

"Commissioners: Leo W. Gerard." National Commission on Energy Policy. no date. Accessed February 6, 2007.
"Former Steelworker President George Becker Dies." Press release. United Steelworkers. February 4, 2007. Accessed February 6, 2007.
"Gerard Succeeds Becker at USWA." New Steel. February 1, 2001.
Greenhouse, Steven. "Bringing a Workingman's Perspective to a Union's Helm." New York Times. June 18, 2001.
"Leo W. Gerard." United Steelworkers. no date. Accessed February 6, 2007.
Mandak, Joe. "Becker to Resign as Steelworkers' Union President Feb. 28." Associated Press. December 14, 2000.