Ken Lewenza leaves Union
September 1, 2013
During a press conference held August 8th in Toronto, CAW National President Ken Lewenza made the surprise announcement that he would not seek the presidency of Canada's newest largest private sector union, Unifor. Once the membership of the CAW and CEP overwhelmingly supported merging, many expected that Lewenza would serve as Unifor's first National President. CEP National President David Coles was expected to announce his retirement once the merger was official. On August 31st, the last days of the CAW and CEP, both former Presidents said goodbye to their respective unions to emotional crowds at separate conventions before delegates of both unions met as one for the very first time at the Unifor Founding Convention September 1st.
Lewenza, 59, remains President of the CAW until October 1. He’ll be going home to Windsor, Ontario, Lewenza said, and hopes to become an “ambassador” for the union and the labour movement, waging the same battles he’s fought on behalf of working people for 41 years.
Lewenza remembered back to 1972, when he was high school dropout working for minimum wage ($1.65 an hour) at a gas bar in Windosr, when his father Bill Lewenza, who was a union rep at Chrysler, called him and said: “Get your butt to Chrysler, they’re hiring. Almost overnight, I went from an impoverished job with a young family to a job that paid $4.48 an hour that gave me the opportunity to contemplate buying a new car and owning my own house thanks to a collective agreement won by hard union battles", Lewenza explained.
Lewenza became a union alternate with the then United Auto Workers (UAW) in 1975. He won his first elected steward position in 1978 and earned a reputation as a militant young man with a fiery demeanor. His first year as a steward he was suspended for more than 60 days on company charges of insubordination and illegal work stoppages to protest work conditions. He became President of CAW Local 444 in 1994. Lewenza was a plant-floor guy who regularly walked through shouting hellos to workers and solved their issues with high-energy efficiency. He was also President for CAW Council, the parliamentary type body of the CAW that meets twice a year. Lewenza was named and subsequently acclaimed to replace Basil "Buzz" Hargrove as National President of the CAW in 2008 when Buzz, another Local 444 alumnus, announced his retirement.
“He took over as President of the CAW at one of the worst times in the union's history,” said Council 4000 President Barry Kennedy. "At first those of us outside of Local 444 wondered if this guy had it in him, was he the right man to replace the widely known Buzz Hargrove", Kennedy said. "But in hindsight, you couldn't have asked for a better guy to take over this union as such tumultuous times. I'm gonna miss him", said Kennedy.
It was a tough five years, Lewenza said. “In the last five years the inequality – the rich getting richer, the middle class evaporating, good job opportunities evaporating, it’s been a painful time.”
Countering the unprecedented attacks on working people is what the merger is all about, the CEP’s Coles said. “It is, I think, an absolute golden opportunity for myself and Ken Lewenza to pass this torch on to this new group.
During the 14 months of consultations that led to the merger, Lewenza said he realized that the transition won’t take one or two years, but anywhere from three to seven, adding that he had always expected to retire at 60 or 61.
Lewenza gave an emotional farewell on August 30, 2013 to the CAW delegates at the Unifor Founding Convention at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto. "I leave the podium of the CAW for the last time as National President - and as the proudest member," he said. "Tomorrow is about building a union," Lewenza said. "It will be about a movement. It will be about a generational change."
Lewenza, 59, remains President of the CAW until October 1. He’ll be going home to Windsor, Ontario, Lewenza said, and hopes to become an “ambassador” for the union and the labour movement, waging the same battles he’s fought on behalf of working people for 41 years.
Lewenza remembered back to 1972, when he was high school dropout working for minimum wage ($1.65 an hour) at a gas bar in Windosr, when his father Bill Lewenza, who was a union rep at Chrysler, called him and said: “Get your butt to Chrysler, they’re hiring. Almost overnight, I went from an impoverished job with a young family to a job that paid $4.48 an hour that gave me the opportunity to contemplate buying a new car and owning my own house thanks to a collective agreement won by hard union battles", Lewenza explained.
Lewenza became a union alternate with the then United Auto Workers (UAW) in 1975. He won his first elected steward position in 1978 and earned a reputation as a militant young man with a fiery demeanor. His first year as a steward he was suspended for more than 60 days on company charges of insubordination and illegal work stoppages to protest work conditions. He became President of CAW Local 444 in 1994. Lewenza was a plant-floor guy who regularly walked through shouting hellos to workers and solved their issues with high-energy efficiency. He was also President for CAW Council, the parliamentary type body of the CAW that meets twice a year. Lewenza was named and subsequently acclaimed to replace Basil "Buzz" Hargrove as National President of the CAW in 2008 when Buzz, another Local 444 alumnus, announced his retirement.
“He took over as President of the CAW at one of the worst times in the union's history,” said Council 4000 President Barry Kennedy. "At first those of us outside of Local 444 wondered if this guy had it in him, was he the right man to replace the widely known Buzz Hargrove", Kennedy said. "But in hindsight, you couldn't have asked for a better guy to take over this union as such tumultuous times. I'm gonna miss him", said Kennedy.
It was a tough five years, Lewenza said. “In the last five years the inequality – the rich getting richer, the middle class evaporating, good job opportunities evaporating, it’s been a painful time.”
Countering the unprecedented attacks on working people is what the merger is all about, the CEP’s Coles said. “It is, I think, an absolute golden opportunity for myself and Ken Lewenza to pass this torch on to this new group.
During the 14 months of consultations that led to the merger, Lewenza said he realized that the transition won’t take one or two years, but anywhere from three to seven, adding that he had always expected to retire at 60 or 61.
Lewenza gave an emotional farewell on August 30, 2013 to the CAW delegates at the Unifor Founding Convention at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto. "I leave the podium of the CAW for the last time as National President - and as the proudest member," he said. "Tomorrow is about building a union," Lewenza said. "It will be about a movement. It will be about a generational change."
