Lewenza puts his heart on the line
Windsor Star July 12, 2008
As he wrestled with the gut-wrenching prospect of leaving his beloved hometown to take over the job of leading Canada’s largest private-sector union, CAW Local 444 president Ken Lewenza’s longtime friend and mentor, Gary Parent, offered this suggestion:
“Move the headquarters to Windsor.”
“Can’t do that,” Lewenza bluntly replied.
The reality, Lewenza explains as he recounts that conversation, is “we’re a national organization that represents workers throughout the country.
“I think our success in Toronto in terms of enhancing our exposure is a compliment to our union. Moving the headquarters to Windsor is just wishful thinking.”
Sitting in the Turner Road office he has occupied for 14 years, Lewenza contemplates the transition he will have to make after being endorsed this week by the CAW national executive board as Buzz Hargrove’s hand-picked successor to lead the 250,000-member union. With two other rivals for the job out of the competition, the fiery, 54-year-old labour leader will almost certainly be confirmed for the $150,700-a-year post during a convention of 800 delegates to be held in September.
Though he has yet to assume his new role, critics from opposite ends of the political spectrum have started lining up.
“Ken Lewenza is pretty much a clone of Buzz Hargrove. He’s always looked up to him — he’s been a protege for years,” said University of Windsor business professor Tony Faria. “They’re both very hard line, very militant.”
“Lewenza is very much the same as Buzz … he’s an aggressive, energetic, hard working guy.”
Sam Gindin, a former CAW economist critical of Hargrove’s ties with the Liberal party and no-strike deal with Magna International, has different reasons for his misgivings.
“Kenny is bright and talented and courageous — nobody is questioning any of this,” says Gindin, currently a lecturer at Toronto’s York University. “The question is whether Kenny only represents continuity in the union at a time when I think there’s a real need for change in the union. So, that’s going to be the test for Kenny.”
Lewenza says he will try to strike a balance between the leadership of the past and the future interests of the membership. “I might be a young Buzz Hargrove — I genuinely believe in local union activism. (But) I have a different style. You just don’t change the nameplate and life goes on. You preside over an activist, socially conscious union and you try to deliver the best kind of representation.”
The challenges he faces are immense. The Canadian Auto Workers Union bears little resemblance to its origins as the rebellious unit that broke away from its American parent in 1985 under visionary Bob White. No longer dominated by autoworkers, the union has members in every region and in more than a dozen sectors, including retail, education, health care, mining, aerospace, fisheries, air transportation, hospitality and gaming. Autoworkers — both in the Detroit Big Three and the supply chain — make up less than 25 per cent of the membership — a figure that is expected to decline as the industry continues to shed jobs. According to the CAW, total membership is down 10,000 because of plant closures and restructuring.
If the union is going to expand, it will have to target other sectors, such as health care and retail, says Lewenza. “Today, just under 30 per cent of the Canadian workforce is unionized; we’ve got to concentrate on those sectors that aren’t organized and give people a reason to believe the CAW is going to enhance their lives. I don’t want to pretend organizing is easy today, because it never was.”
And it seems to be getting tougher as federal figures show the percentage of Canadians belonging to unions fell from 38 per cent in 1981 to 30 per cent in 2007.
“There’s great potential in health care,” Lewenza adds. “Health care is growing and what you love about health care is you get a chance to represent the workers’ needs and at the same time concentrate on quality of care.”
NO-STRIKE DEAL
“Creative” approaches toward organizing will continue under his watch, adds Lewenza, referring to the no-strike deal struck last year between Hargrove and Magna chief Frank Stronach.
The agreement, which has the potential to organize more than 20,000 workers, drew condemnation from Gindin and other labour groups as a violation of the fundamental rights of unionized workers. But Lewenza says the no-strike clause makes sense for two reasons: it is a reflection of a union that has grown more flexible over the years. And, it will extend the CAW’s reach, and ultimately, its influence on public policy, he said.
“It’s a contradiction from a public perception because on one end, we’re seen as too militant and now on the other end, because we’re creative and innovative, somehow that changes the culture of the union. But on both counts, you analyze what’s in the best interests of the members. We couldn’t organize Magna in the traditional way. Over a period of time you can’t ignore that Magna has grown to the degree that it influences wages in the auto parts sector. Stronach, to his credit, paid workers a reasonable wage to keep the union out. So, we were for three decades fighting each other and spending significant resources.
“The key ingredient to a union is not a strike,” he adds. “The key ingredient is the right to collective bargaining.”
Meanwhile, internal calls for changes to a union culture that some say stifles dissent are growing. “It’s kind of telling that the convention hasn’t happened yet and we refer to Kenny as the new president of the union,” notes Gindin. “I think that speaks to a serious problem in the union. If Kenny simply sees himself as the candidate of continuity and clamping down on people concerned with where the union’s been going, that brings up the question of democracy.”
Union staff, for example, have complained about being intimidated and bullied into supporting Lewenza’s candidacy. Hemi Mitic and Tom Collins — two Hargrove assistants vying for the top job — withdrew their candidacy after failing to receive the endorsement of the union’s executive board. Both had been pushing for an election campaign whose outcome would be decided by delegates. But Hargrove “went to enormous lengths to pre-empt an election,” said Gindin.
Hargrove — who reaches the union’s mandatory retirement age of 65 next March — had initially planned on retiring next March or August. But campaigning had started for his post, prompting him to trigger the endorsement process early and announce that he would retire before Sept. 15. “I didn’t want this to drag on and create divisions,” he said.
Gindin, however, argues a true election campaign would have generated a healthy discussion about the direction of the union. “Buzz will argue he doesn’t want a divisive fight, but an election is what democracy is all about — it’s messy, it includes differences and that’s how you actually advance.”
Lewenza said he is open to discussing change as long as it doesn’t tamper with principles that have shaped the CAW. “Today, our union’s better as a result of Hargrove’s leadership. The reality is the culture of the union is intact in terms of a worker-based, activist union that believes in social unionism. So, I don’t see that changing.
“In saying that, the significant challenges we have and the diversity of our union where we’re not dominated by auto are going to require a more collaborative, consultative, inclusive process because we’re going to go through significant change.”
A believer in strategic voting, he will follow Hargrove’s practice of urging members to vote for candidates who would advance the interests of labour. But unlike Hargrove, who campaigned alongside former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin and MP Belinda Stronach, you won’t see Lewenza publicly endorsing any politician, he said. “Since the day I was a young representative in the workplace, I thought the labour movement should be independent thinkers when itcomes to the political process. I hated as a young steward my workplace representative running around trying to get people to sign up to the New Democratic Party.”
But Lewenza does have political heroes; a black and white photo of Tommy Douglas — the founder of universal health care hangs on his wall. Personal heroes include Hargrove, Gary Parent, a union elder who taught Lewenza the value of community involvement. And his dad, Bill, a union man who passed on his activism to his son.
The thought of leaving family and friends behind isn’t easy for Lewenza, who will be carrying on a long-distance relationship with Laurie Britton, his partner of 16 years. “The toughest part for me in the last two weeks outside of saying goodbye to this group in the local is my family,” he says fighting back tears. “We’re all from Windsor, we all rely on each other and we’re all close. My mother’s 75 and she’s been sick. My partner Laurie is as committed to her side of the family as I am — she’s not relocating with me. So, the reality is our lives have changed.”
As for his public persona, which has been described as bombastic, blustery, intimidating — don’t expect change, says Lewenza.
“I can’t change my style just because I’m going to the national level; that’s impossible,” he said. My biggest weakness — and people say it’s a strength — is my emotion. My brain catches up to my heart and sometimes they don’t correlate. But, that’s what makes me tick and that’s not changing. And that means I’m going to make mistakes.
“For 35 years, I’ve been who I am,” he adds. “And I hate the term ‘bully.’ Because that is about the most unfair and unsubstantiated description of me. I know I have it. People say I’m aggressive, and I know people say I could intimidate, but I can’t remember a time that I have. My strength is my passion and people also know that, from time to time, it will be my weakness. And I hope people will understand that’s just me.”