Economy

Neumann, USW National Director in Canada, to Retire

May 5, 2021

Ken Neumann, United Steelworkers National Director for Canada, will retire at the end of his term on March 1, 2022, after serving 18 years as director.

Ken Neumann Official Port 2015 8X10 “I am very proud of the work we have been able to accomplish as Steelworkers – we have improved the work lives, safety and well-being of hundreds of thousands of workers,” said Neumann. “The very reason I joined the union all those years ago remains crucial to this day – the right to safe workplaces, a decent wage, freedom from discrimination and being treated with fairness and respect. Unions are as vital a tool for working people as ever before.”

Neumann’s association with the USW began as a teenager in Saskatchewan after joining USW Local 5890 in Regina while working at Ipsco (now called Evraz). He was elected president of USW Local 4728 in Regina and went on to serve as an instructor, organizer and president of the USW Regina area council before joining the union’s international staff in 1977. He served as USW District 3 Director from 1989 until 2004 when he was elected Canadian National Director.

A lifelong advocate for workers’ health and safety, under Neumann’s leadership the union pushed for passage of the 2004 Westray Law, that allows for criminal prosecution of employers that harm workers. He served as co-chair of the National Institute for Disability Management and Research and helped develop the Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences

During Neumann’s tenure, the union in English Canada has been an unwavering partner of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), helping to elect several governments in Western and Atlantic Canada, and working with generations of NDP leaders on behalf of Canadian workers. He also worked with Quebec union leadership to ensure that “Les Métallos” has remains the strongest private-sector union in Quebec.

A commitment to global union solidity led to his leadership in a successful global campaign in support of 800 members locked out by Rio Tinto in 2012 at the aluminum smelter in Alma, Quebec. Neumann has been steadfast in his support of unions in Mexico, serves as president of the Steelworkers Humanity Fund and maintains a longtime role on the executive committee of the global union federation IndustriALL.