Buzz Hargrove

Basil Eldon "Buzz" Hargrove (born March 8, 1944) is a Canadian labour leader and the former National President of the Canadian Auto Workers.

He is currently serving as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University's Ted Rogers School of Management.

Born in Bath, New Brunswick, Hargrove first became involved in the automotive sector as a line worker for the Chrysler assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario.

Hargrove's support for this approach, and his union's subsequent commitment of resources in its pursuit, marked the CAW's first major departure from its previous policy of unconditional support of the Ontario New Democratic Party, although the CAW had been somewhat estranged from the Ontario NDP ever since the union had opposed the "Social Contract" austerity measures imposed by the previous 1990-1995 Bob Rae NDP government.

Many of Hargrove's detractors argued that they were significantly affected by the Liberals measures to cut the deficit in the mid-1990s, which strained the health care system.

He succeeded Bob White as president of the CAW in 1992.

Tactical voting not only failed to prevent the re-election of the Tories to another majority government but also was blamed by New Democrats for the party's poor electoral performance, returning only 9 Members of Provincial Parliament, down from 17 in the 1995 election.

In 1998, Hargrove co-authored the book Labour of Love: The Fight to Create a More Humane Canada with Wayne Skene.

Also in 1998, Brock University honoured him with a Doctorate of Laws degree.

Hargrove was the leading advocate of tactical voting (sometimes also called "strategic voting") in the 1999 Ontario provincial election.

Hargrove proposed this approach in an attempt to defeat the Progressive Conservative Party government of Mike Harris.

The 1999 election, however, was the first time that the union did not at least formally endorse the NDP, instead urging its members (and all voters) to vote for the candidate, NDP or Liberal, that had the best chance of defeating the Progressive Conservative candidate.

An attempt, following the 1999 Ontario election, to expel Hargrove from the Ontario NDP was defeated, but Hargrove's relationship with provincial leader Howard Hampton remained acrimonious.

Hargrove was also a long-time critic of federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough, calling for her resignation on several occasions.

He criticized McDonough for her effort at modernizing federal NDP policy, which involved moving towards the political centre and adopting "Third Way" policies.

Hargrove stated repeatedly that NDP should move to the left instead.

In 2002, he planned to run for the NDP leadership, but found a "notable lack of enthusiasm" for his potential candidacy.

He instead endorsed CAW lawyer Joe Comartin who placed fourth.

He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Windsor in 2003, from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2004, from the University of New Brunswick in 2008, and from Queen's University in 2009.

Hargrove was initially much more publicly supportive of McDonough's successor, Jack Layton, and the CAW unequivocally supported the federal NDP in the 2004 federal election.

The NDP made significant gains in popular vote but gained only 5 seats for a total of 19, well short of its aspirations of 40 or more.

Hargrove reportedly played a role in bringing Prime Minister Paul Martin and Jack Layton together to negotiate a budget agreement to keep the federal Liberal government in power in exchange for including NDP proposals in the 2005 federal budget.

However, Hargrove sharply criticized Layton when he joined with Conservative leader Stephen Harper and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe to bring down the Liberal government with a vote of non-confidence in November 2005.

He also echoed his earlier criticism of McDonough by suggesting that Layton, too, was not sufficiently moving the party to the left.

The eventual bringing down of the Liberal minority government led to a Conservative minority in the subsequent election.

For the 2006 Canadian federal election, Hargrove resumed his previous endorsement of tactical voting and urged CAW members (and all voters) to vote for the candidate, NDP or Liberal had the best chance of defeating the Conservative candidate.

During the final days of the 2006 campaign, Hargrove urged all progressive voters in Canada to vote Liberal, which he claimed was the only party that could prevent the Conservative Party of Canada from winning the election.

He publicly stated that "ideology does not matter" when the reporter asked about his position.

Despite the qualification of his stated support for NDP incumbents and candidates in 40 "winnable" ridings, Hargrove's speech was widely reported by the media as an endorsement of the Liberals.

When questioned by a reporter on this, Hargrove also stated that he "did not like the campaign that Jack Layton was running," criticizing Layton for "spending too much time attacking the Liberals."

No doubt his photo-op appearance with Paul Martin in matching CAW jackets contributed to this impression.

He has been reported as saying that voters should support incumbent NDP MPs and NDP candidates in ridings "where they can defeat the Conservatives."

Hargrove's strategy caused some controversy among long-time NDP activists and union members who saw him as reneging on core labour and left-wing values.

Hargrove's controversial endorsements included 2006 federal Liberal candidates Greig Mordue, a Toyota manager, and Belinda Stronach of Magna International; Toyota maintained a non-unionized North American workforce and Mordue had successfully resisted CAW efforts to organize the Cambridge plant, while Magna was traditionally anti-union under former CEOs Frank Stronach and Donald Walker.

On July 8, 2008, he announced his intention to retire, before he turned 65, in September 2008.

The CAW National Executive Board and staff endorsed then CAW Local 444 president Ken Lewenza to replace Hargrove as National President, and on September 6, 2008, Lewenza was formally elected to the position at a special union convention.

In 2008, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Hargrove is seen as a proponent of social unionism, and his supporters claim that he has steered the CAW to become a more activist union.

In the field of electoral politics, however, under his leadership the CAW has broken from its longtime support for the left-wing New Democratic Party and lent increasing support instead for the Liberal Party of Canada.

Hargrove is married to Denise Small, a mediation officer for the Ontario Labour Relations Board.