In keeping with Mathieu's lifelong commitment to the "One industry, one union" concept, he played a pivotal role in the merger between the United Packinghouse Workers of America and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America (AMCBW) in 1968, creating the Canadian Food and Allied Workers (CFAW) in Canada (for internal political reasons); however, in the United States UPWA ceased to exist as a brand, and its members became members of the AMCBW. Following the merger in Canada, the CFAW was led by the indefatigable Fred Dowling as its leader, and Mathieu serving as the obvious second-in-command and heir apparent. Upon Dowling's retirement in 1973, Mathieu became the leader of the CFAW, and, as such, the Canadian director of the AMCBW.
