Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors
David Cassidy
Dave Cassidy is President of Unifor Local 444 and he is the first Skilled Trades Chair for Unifor National. He comes from a strong union background, with both his mother and father having held elected leadership positions. He started his apprenticeship as an electrician out of high school and was hired by Chrysler Canada in 1993.
He has been elected into various positions within the Skilled Trades ranks since 2002, including Shop Floor Steward, Skilled Trades Chairperson at FCA Windsor Assembly Plant, and then as the President of the Windsor/Essex County Skilled Trades Council.
In 2005, Dave was elected to the National Skilled Trades Council, which represents over 50,000 Skilled Trades members, as a Trustee, then in 2008, he was acclaimed as the President of the National Skilled Trades Council of the CAW, a position he still holds today with Unifor. Dave is constantly lobbying all government levels for legislation relative to workers’ rights.
Dave served on the National Executive Board of the CAW from 2008 to 2013. In 2009, he was acclaimed as the Financial Secretary of Local 444, which represents approximately 20,000 active and retired members, a position he held until May 2018, when he took over as President of the Local. Dave serves as a Board of Director at the Ontario College of Trades and sits on the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum Board of Directors, which is the unique collaborative organization that connects apprenticeship communities in all regions of Canada. He holds positions on the United Way Windsor Essex Board and the Labour Sponsored Community Development Group. He is very involved in many community based initiatives throughout Windsor and Essex County. As an elected member of the National Executive Board of Unifor, he also sits on the Finance Committee of the NEB.
In his spare time, Dave loves working at his wife’s gym, spending time with his family, and is a devoted family man. He is married to a wonderful woman, Jennifer, and has three children, Erica, Connor, and Mackenzie.