New Unifor leadership team. (CNW Group/Unifor)
A woman now heads one of Canada’s largest labour unions.
Lana Payne beat out two others for the job as national president of Unifor.
The vote took place at the union’s Constitutional Convention on Wednesday in Toronto.
It was necessitated by the resignation of founding president Jerry Dias in March following allegations he had breached the union’s code of ethics.
An investigation into that breach continues.
“Today, we turn a page. Today, we move forward. Today and every day, we put our members at the heart of everything we do,” said Payne after her win was announced.
Payne was the national Secretary-Treasurer of Unifor, the first woman to hold that position as well.
Prior to her involvement with the union, she was a former journalist and past president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour, later becoming the founding regional director for Unifor in the Atlantic provinces.
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