The former president of the union representing Canadian autoworkers is accused of accepting thousands of dollars from a supplier of COVID-19 tests after promoting the tests to several companies employing Unifor workers, according to the union.
Jerry Dias, who led the union's campaign to save GM’s Oshawa Assembly plant in Ontario, faces union charges of breaching the Unifor constitution, the union announced in a news release Wednesday.
The determination followed an investigation by an independent external investigator. Unifor, which represents 315,000 workers in various fields and is Canada's largest private sector union, said it is seeking advice regarding any legal obligations related to the events. Unifor noted that the incident did not involve union finances.
The union said that in December and January Dias promoted a supplier’s rapid test kits to various companies, either directly or through staff under his direction, which led several of the firms to purchase tests.
Dias accepted $50,000 from the supplier, and then on Jan. 20 gave $25,000 to a Unifor employee, saying it was half the money and that it had come from the supplier, the union said. The employee, who was not named, filed an ethics complaint and gave the money to the union’s national secretary-treasurer.
The union said that none of the firms knew of Dias’ personal interest in the arrangement so it would not identify them, and that the supplier did not participate in the investigation and would not be identified.
Dias unexpectedly took a leave last month, citing health issues. On March 11, he notified the union’s National Executive Board that he would retire. Dias, who could not be immediately reached for comment, did not participate in the investigation, the union said.
A formal hearing before the National Executive Board is the next step in the process, the union said, and Dias will have an opportunity “to fully present information and arguments concerning the charge.”
Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne said the union is committed to transparency in the matter.
“Every step was taken to investigate and bring this matter to light in a fair and timely manner,” she said in the release.
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Payne also said the union's process for dealing with the situation had worked.
“Our trust in one individual has been broken, but our confidence in the integrity of our union remains strong. I hope that members will recognize the strength of the constitution that Unifor was built upon. Our union has stood this serious test and the integrity of our process has proven that accountability and transparency to our members is and will always remain our first priority,” said Payne, who had commissioned the investigation after receiving the formal complaint against Dias on Jan 26.