Hassan Yussuff

Hassan Yussuff (born December 15, 1957) is a Guyanese-Canadian labor leader and politician. From 2014 to 2021, Yussuff served as president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the first non-white Canadian to hold the role.[4] In 2021, Yussuff was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to serve as Canadian Senator from Ontario.

The Honourable
Hassan Yussuff
Yussuff in 2017
Canadian Senator
from Ontario
Assumed office
June 22, 2021
Nominated byJustin Trudeau
Appointed byRichard Wagner
Preceded byLynn Beyak
8th President of the Canadian Labour Congress
In office
2014 – June 18, 2021
Preceded byKen Georgetti
Succeeded byBea Bruske[1]
2nd President of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas
Assumed office
April 20, 2012
Preceded byLinda Chavez-Thompson
Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress
In office
2002–2014
Personal details
Born (1957-12-15) December 15, 1957[2][3]
Guyana
Political partyIndependent
Children1[3]
OccupationHeavy truck mechanic, trade unionist

Early life

Yussuff emigrated to Canada from Guyana as a young man to work as a heavy truck mechanic.[5] Once he arrived in Toronto, Yussuff soon found employment on the plant floor of CanCar, a local automotive parts manufacturer.[6]

Career

Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)

Yussuff first became a member of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union while at CanCar. Within a year, he was elected plant chairman of Local 252 of the Canadian Auto Workers at the age of 19.[7] Yussuff was later was elected plant chairman of the General Motors Truck Centre.

He later served as a staff representative in the organizing and service departments before being appointed as Director of the CAW Human Rights Department.

Canadian Labor Congress (CLC)

Yussuff's position led to him joining the CLC's Executive Council, where he co-chaired the CLC Human Rights Committee.[8] In 1999, Yussuff was elected Executive Vice-President of the CLC. In 2002, Yussuff was elevated to the position of Secretary-Treasury within the CLC, serving for twelve years. On April 20, 2012, Yussuff was elected to a four-year term as President of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas.[9][10]

In 2014, Yussuff decided to challenge CLC President Ken Georgetti for his position. Following a contested election, Yussuff defeated Georgetti by 40 votes at the CLC's May 2014 convention.[11] His victory made him the first person to unseat an incumbent CLC president.[12]

He remained in that position until 2014, when he challenged incumbent CLC President Ken Georgetti, defeating him by 40 votes at the CLC's May 2014 convention to become CLC president. In doing so, he became first person to unseat an incumbent CLC president[12] and the first non-white Canadian to hold the role.[4] On June 18, 2021, Yussuff retired from office, and was replaced by Bea Bruske.[3][13]

Political activity

Party politics and views

Following the loss of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 2015 federal election, Yussuff supported replacing Tom Mulcair as party leader.[14] In 2019, Yussuff voiced concern that the federal NDP was failing to resonate with both its membership and the general electorate.[15]

Yussuff opposed the CLC's decision to affirm its relationship with the NDP at the 2021 convention, arguing the CLC should take a more pragmatic approach to party politics.[16]

In 2021, Yussuff co-wrote an op-ed with Perrin Beatty, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in support of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy for the Financial Post.

Canadian Senate

On June 22, 2021, Yussuff was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the Senate of Canada.[17]

Personal life
Yussuff at Street Party for a Fair Future, 2017

Yussuff is married to Jenny Ahn, who works for the Unifor trade union, with whom he has a daughter.[18] In October 2018, Yussuff received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from Ryerson University.[7]

References
  1. "Canadian Labour Congress elects new president to lead nation's biggest labour group". cbc.ca. June 18, 2021. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021.
  2. "Senate of Canada - Senators List". September 2016.
  3. Thurton, David (June 18, 2021). "No apologies: Hassan Yussuff faces down his critics as he retires as leader of Canadian Labour Congress". cbc.ca. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021.
  4. Thurton, David (June 18, 2021). "No apologies: Hassan Yussuff faces down his critics as he retires as leader of Canadian Labour Congress". CBC News.
  5. "New Canadian Labour Congress chief vows aggressive approach". Globe and Mail. May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  6. "Hassan Yussuff (Bio and Stories) :: Parkland Institute". parklandinstitute.ca. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  7. "Ryerson University to Honour Maria Campbell and Hassan Yussuff, October 10–11". Ryerson University. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  8. "Hassan Yussuff | Canadian Labour Congress". canadianlabour.ca. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  9. "CLC's Hassan Yussuff to head TUCA: Elected president of hemispheric labour organization". Canadian Labour Congress. April 20, 2012. Archived from the original on May 9, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  10. "Who's running for CLC national executive? | rabble.ca". rabble.ca. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  11. "Hassan Yussuff elected new head of Canadian Labour Congress". Montreal Gazette. May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  12. "Hassan Yussuff is new CLC President". Rabble.ca. May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  13. "Head of Canada's unions set to preside over his final Convention after navigating pandemic response". globenewswire.com. June 15, 2021. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021.
  14. "Mulcair responds to Labour Congress statement predicting NDP leader will get less than 60 per cent in review". National Post. 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  15. "Federal NDP struggling to resonate with members and Canadians at large, labour leader says". The Toronto Star. 2019-02-15. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  16. Tasker, John Paul (June 22, 2021). "Trudeau taps a former labour leader and a mayor to fill Senate vacancies". CBC News.
  17. "The Prime Minister announces the appointment of three Senators". Prime Minister of Canada. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  18. McFarl, Janet (2014-06-20). "Union roots run deep for Canada's new face of labour". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
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