Former Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove has died

National Post

16-06-2025

TORONTO — Canada's largest private-sector union says former Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove has died.
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In a statement Sunday, Unifor says Basil 'Buzz' Hargrove was 'a beloved and iconic figure in Canada's labour movement' who 'was a tireless advocate for working people and a deeply respected leader.'
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Hargrove was national president of the CAW from 1992 until his retirement in 2008, shortly before he reached the union's mandatory retirement age of 65.
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The CAW merged with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union in 2013 to become Unifor.
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Born in Bath, N.B., in 1944, Hargrove grew up in a family of 10 children and began his working life on the shop floor of Chrysler's Windsor, Ont., assembly plant, Unifor says.
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'He never forgot where he came from — and he carried that working-class spirit with him into every boardroom, bargaining session and public forum,' said Unifor National President Lana Payne in the union's statement. 'His passion, his intellect, and his uncompromising belief in justice for working people shaped the labour movement we know today.'
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Hargrove took over leadership of the CAW from Bob White, who led the union as it split from the U.S.-based United Auto Workers in 1985.
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The Canadian union, which disagreed with the UAW's bargaining direction, negotiated some of the richest contracts for workers in Canada, and under Hargrove's leadership it expanded beyond the auto industry into other sectors, including airlines, mines and fisheries.
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Unifor said that Hargrove was 'a committed social unionist,' and pushed the CAW to fight for broader social justice issues including public health care, retirement security, equity, and fair trade.
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'We owe him a debt of gratitude for everything he did to build a fairer Canada,' Payne added.
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His later activities included over a year with the NHL Players' Association, working first on the union's advisory board and then as interim ombudsman. He also served as director of the Centre for Labour Management Relations at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University.
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