Buzz Hargrove Leads The Way

[mirror]

I was always a big fan of Bob White, Hargrove's predecessor, as head of the CAW, and was concerned that he would be difficult to be replaced. Buzz though has come through with shinning colours, and has established himself as a great leader in his own right.

Charity's oddest couple: The financier and the union boss

Nearly six years ago, labour leader Buzz Hargrove and financier Gerald Schwartz joined forces on a plan to merge Canada's two biggest airlines.

That takeover bid failed, but a surprising friendship endured.

And today, a Toronto charity geared to homeless youth will reap the benefits.

Hargrove and Schwartz will unveil a $495,000 donation to Eva's Phoenix, a program that offers housing, job and life skills training for young people who otherwise may have little hope of finding gainful employment.

The donation, which will come through the newly created Buzz Hargrove Training Supports Program, will be spread over three years, with $100,000 per year coming from Schwartz and the Canadian Auto Workers chipping in another $65,000 annually.

In an unusual twist, Schwartz, chief executive of Onex Corp., insisted on naming the program after Hargrove, outspoken leader of the CAW.

"He's a man of breadth and depth who has played a huge role in the country for many years," Schwartz said in an interview yesterday. "I'm happy to have this small opportunity to recognize him."

The Toronto financier first learned about the charity from Hargrove and quickly became a big fan. "Just getting kids off the street is one thing. But to give them shelter, and give them a trade so they don't ever have to go back to the street is such an important thing to do."

[cybercoma]

In related news, the auto industry in Canada will lose 800 jobs that will never be recalled.

[Cameron]

I hate unions...They get in the way.

[Guest eureka]

In the way of whom?

[mirror]

No kidding.

Superb response!

[Renegade]

it is telling of your bias, mirror, that both in your thread headline and in your comments you only mention Hargrove and mention nothing of Gerald Schwartz, even though this was a partnership.

[mirror]

it is telling of your bias, mirror, that both in your thread headline and in your comments you only mention Hargrove and mention nothing of Gerald Schwartz, even though this was a partnership.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Now you know what it's like for workers to read the paper rather than the corporate elites . Think about it!

[Cameron]

In the way of whom?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the way of progress. Too many unions have lost what they were originally set up to do. They have become their own worst enemy, so big that they need to constantly re-negotiate their clients contracts just because they need something to do, avoiding redundancy.

I work for Air Canada, some of the horsesh!t that we have to pay out is unreal..useless stuff that is not needed and hold up and mangles proficiency. Unions no longer represent the worker, they represent themselves in an attempt at not going out of business...after all, that's what it is..

[Renegade]

Now you know what it's like for workers to read the paper rather than the corporate elites . Think about it! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So then you are admitting you are as biased as the papers?

[mirror]

Cameron

You comments make me sad. Do you really believe you would have any of the benefits and perks you receive, if it were not for your union brothers and sisters working in solidarity to achieve them. Take your head out of the sand.

[I Miss Trudeau]

I hate unions...They get in the way.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So true! Ever since we quit making children crawl through carcinogenic shafts for 18 hours a day, look at how the juvenile delinquency rate has skyrocketed!

[cybercoma]

Cameron

You comments make me sad. Do you really believe you would have any of the benefits and perks you receive, if it were not for your union brothers and sisters working in solidarity to achieve them. Take your head out of the sand.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What have unions done for anyone since the Employment Standards Act and each province's Health and Safety Acts were created?

They fought for higher wages and more benefits that only served to eliminate jobs because the corporations can't, won't and don't need to support their demands.

[mirror]

Cameron

You comments make me sad. Do you really believe you would have any of the benefits and perks you receive, if it were not for your union brothers and sisters working in solidarity to achieve them. Take your head out of the sand.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What have unions done for anyone since the Employment Standards Act and each province's Health and Safety Acts were created?

They fought for higher wages and more benefits that only served to eliminate jobs because the corporations can't, won't and don't need to support their demands.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ask Cameron if he would like to work for minimum wage with no benefits or flying perks? Give me a break please!

[cybercoma]

Ask Cameron if he would like to work for minimum wage with no benefits or flying perks? Give me a break please! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Ministry of Labour and the Employment Standards Act sets out the minimum wage standard.

I'm looking for something the unions gaurantee...

[Cameron]

OK, Unions of yesteryear were important because they brought about safe working conditions and better wages...But but now they are HUGE organizations that collect millions of dollars a year in dues. They represent people that aren't even in their industry..(look how many people are with the CAW that don't work in the auto industry)...

The labour laws federally and provincially are strong today. The only thing unions go after is frivolous things, such as rating hotels that pilots stay at, because they need to meet certain criteria...which is bull, because they are staying at the Hilton...also daily food moneys, which is $52.25...

The Unions of today are rubbish.

[mirror]

You are going to have to brought in for some deprogramming!

[Cameron]

You are going to have to brought in for some deprogramming! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ditto....

[err]

OK, Unions of yesteryear were important because they brought about safe working conditions and better wages...But but now they are HUGE organizations that collect millions of dollars a year in dues.

And do they not still help ensure safe working conditions and better wages ??? Would they look more honerable if they came to the bargaining table with holes in their shoes ???

They represent people that aren't even in their industry..(look how many people are with the CAW that don't work in the auto industry)...

Imagine that,

helping "other" people... they must be commies or Christians or something....

The labour laws federally and provincially are strong today.

That's right... auto workers and airline workers would be making $7.95 per hour now... what would they need a union for when the provincial government will guarantee you great wages like these....

The only thing unions go after is frivolous things, such as rating hotels that pilots stay at, because they need to meet certain criteria...which is bull, because they are staying at the Hilton...also daily food moneys, which is $52.25...

You forgot to mention other frivoloties such as job security.....

[cybercoma]

Safe working conditions are made legal by Health and Safety Acts and Regulations in all the provinces. Due diligence laws now are what protect workers, not the unions.

Unions may negotiate better wages and benefits, however, if the company can't afford to pay the number of people they have the wages the unions demand, they lay people off.

No one in a factory would be making $7/hour because the jobs are simply too demanding to settle for that kind of wage. They would never be able to retain employees and would be spending more money having to train new people all the time. They'd also find it awfully difficult to get experienced and qualified people to work for them. The labour market does more for wages than the unions.

job security is something the unions cannot possibly gaurantee. Unions can't promise you your job, in fact thousands of people in the last decade have lost their jobs because of union demands.

I'm looking for anything the unions do now, that the government doesn't have covered already. Help me out here...

[Chimera]

You forgot to mention other frivoloties such as job security.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmm. I seem to remember when I lived in Hamilton hearing about many more workers being laid off from Stelco (unionized) than Dofasco (non-unionized). Interesting .

[Guest eureka]

Isn't it strange how those who have benefited from Unions can be so condemnatory of unions. "Yes, I admit, we needed them in the past but they have outlived their usefulness since the Capitalist world grew a heart."

Laws and Statutes protect only certain things. They do not regulate eve ry, or even most, aspects of working life. Union negotiatios are always about things that are not covered by the two Acts that Cyerbercoma likes to throw out as evidence of the "social conscience" that drives modern business and its political representation.

Those Laws can be altered in their limited areas by any government - as they were by Harris in Ontario. It is only the strength of unions that maintains even that limited protection. And every workey, unionized or not, benefits from the Unions who are the bulwark against exploitation.

Whether Unions are efficient or ethical is an entirely different question. Note question. Argument is only for deadheads.

[Canuck E Stan]

Workers in the auto sector do not have an option on whether to join.Union democracy says you have to be a member when you work for the domestic auto companies. Refusal means no job. At the same time those working at Toyota in Ontario cannot get a union because they would lose their job in a minute if they tried to get one in.Years ago(1973) Chrysler workers in Windsor were tired of forced overtime year after year. They started a campaign "Ask Us,Don't tell Us" The Ontario government put into law, no employer could force a worker to work more than 48 hours a week. Woopie Doopie,forced to work 48 hours as mandated by the government now.Workers were tired of excessive overtime, where are we today? Ontario government still has this 48 hour rule, while the unions do nothing in helping the auto workers in this respect? Same old,same old. Point being, the Unions don't do anything except price the worker out of the market. Like Capitalism,it's all about money.