Leo W. Gerard

Leo W. Gerard, the Sudbury, Ontario-born labor leader who was president of the United Steelworkers for nearly two decades and helped forge an enduring alliance between unions and environmental groups, died Sunday, September 21, 2025, in Sudbury. He was 78. The United Steelworkers (USW) confirmed his death in a public statement.

Born in the hard-rock mining community of Sudbury on March 10, 1947, Gerard learned unionism at home from his father and first worked at Inco as a teenager. He rose from a nickel smelter job at the mining company Inco to become the USW's seventh international president, serving from 2001 until his retirement in 2019. His tenure as president was the longest in the union's history. Under his leadership, the union expanded through strategic mergers and alliances and remained a force in North American industry and public policy.

A charismatic strategist and speaker, Gerard helped move labor beyond traditional bargaining issues to broader social priorities. In 2006 he co-founded the BlueGreen Alliance, a coalition that brings unions and environmental organizations together to accelerate climate solutions while creating quality jobs.

During his tenure, the USW built international solidarity across sectors and borders. He was instrumental in the creation of "Workers Uniting," a transatlantic partnership between the USW and the U.K. trade union Unite, and he pressed for fair pay and stronger pension security.

Gerard's work was recognized at the highest levels of public service. In 2023, Canada named him a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honor, and he was formally invested in 2024. The honor cited his global leadership in workers' rights and his efforts to make labor a partner with environmental organizations.

After retiring in 2019, he returned home to Sudbury, where his legacy continued to be celebrated by miners, steelworkers, and community members. Colleagues remembered him as visionary and fearless, someone who could "galvanize activists with his passionate and inspiring oratory," as USW Quebec Director Nicolas Lapierre wrote in his remembrance.

Gerard is survived by his wife, Susan, and their daughters, Kari-Ann and Meaghan.

By Legacy News Staff

(Image: AP Photo/Business Wire)