Labour giant, former Canadian Auto Workers head Buzz Hargrove has died

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 6:41 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Canada's largest private-sector national says erstwhile Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove has died. He was 81.

In a connection Sunday, Unifor says Basil (Buzz) Hargrove was "a beloved and iconic fig successful Canada's labour movement" who "was a tireless advocator for moving radical and a profoundly respected leader."

Hargrove was nationalist president of the CAW from 1992 until his status successful 2008, soon earlier helium reached the union's mandatory status property of 65.

The CAW merged with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union successful 2013 to go Unifor.

"A proud lad of Local 444 and 1 of Canada's astir influential and passionate labour leaders," helium was described arsenic successful a social media post by Unifor Local 444 connected Sunday.

"Buzz's travel began close present successful Windsor, connected the store floor, wherever helium archetypal recovered his dependable successful the combat for fairness. From Local 444 to the nationalist stage, helium ne'er stopped pushing for justness — for moving people, for equity, for dignity successful the workplace," said the connection by the section union.

Born successful Bath, N.B., successful 1944, Unifor says Hargrove grew up successful a household of 10 children and began his moving beingness connected the store level of Chrysler's Windsor, Ont., assembly plant.

As CAW president, Unifor says helium led negotiations with large employers including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Air Canada and CN Rail, securing gains that elevated standards crossed sectors.

"He ne'er forgot wherever helium came from -- and helium carried that working-class tone with him into each boardroom, bargaining league and nationalist forum," said Unifor National President Lana Payne successful the union's statement.

"His passion, his intellect, and his uncompromising content successful justness for moving radical shaped the labour question we cognize today."

Hargrove took implicit enactment of the CAW from Bob White, who led the national arsenic it divided from the U.S.-based United Auto Workers successful 1985.

The Canadian union, which disagreed with the UAW's bargaining direction, negotiated immoderate of the richest contracts for workers successful Canada, and nether Hargrove's enactment it expanded beyond the car manufacture into different sectors, including the airlines, mines and fisheries.

Unifor said that Hargrove was "a committed societal unionist," and pushed the CAW to combat for broader societal justness issues including nationalist wellness care, status security, equity, and just trade.

"We beryllium him a indebtedness of gratitude for everything helium did to physique a fairer Canada," Payne added.

Friend, mentor and 'bookworm'

Former Local 444 president Ken Lewenza visited Hargrove successful a Toronto infirmary the time earlier helium passed.

"I understood pursuing the visitation that … we were astatine an extremity of beingness concern with Buzz," helium said. "I was amazed it happened truthful quickly, but I felt relieved based connected the the symptom and suffering helium was enduring."

According to Lewenza, Hargrove had been successful and retired of infirmary for aggregate issues implicit the past respective months.

"I rather frankly conscionable deliberation his assemblage broke down. I mean, that's astir apt not the existent diagnosis, but determination was aggregate issues successful the past 3 oregon 4 months … created him important symptom and indifferences to a decent prime of life."

Lewenza says Hargrove was a wealthiness of cognition and "bookworm." 

He referred to him an inspirational person and mentor to galore successful the labour assemblage — calling him the astir progressive person successful Canada during his clip astatine the apical of the CAW.

"(He) brought a wealthiness of cognition connected the objectives of representing workers and the goals of making advancement for workers and economical and societal justness for truthful galore radical passim the world."

"He was ever reading. In fact, each greeting helium would get 4 oregon 5 newspapers delivered to him and helium would spell done them from the beforehand to the backmost conscionable to recognize what was going on, not conscionable successful Canada but internationally."

WATCH | Hargrove connected erstwhile NHL labour talks: 

Hargrove told reporters upon his status that helium wasn't readying connected taking it easy.

"I'm not going to beryllium successful a rocking seat and I'm not going to play golf, that's not my style," Hargrove said astatine a quality league successful Toronto successful 2008.

His aboriginal activities included implicit a twelvemonth with the NHL Players' Association, moving archetypal connected the union's advisory committee and past arsenic interim ombudsman. He besides served arsenic manager of the Centre for Labour Management Relations astatine the Ted Rogers School of Management astatine Toronto Metropolitan University.

Hargrove was named an Officer of the Order of Canada successful 2008.

Unifor said details connected a solemnisation of his beingness and bequest volition beryllium shared successful the coming days.