CAW set to endorse Hargrove's successor

Hargrove, who has led the CAW for 16 years, said he will step down no later than Sept. 15. Hargrove turns 65 in March, which is the union's mandatory retirement age for any officer or staff member.

Hargrove endorsed 53-year-old Ken Lewenza, president of CAW Local 444 in Windsor, Ontario, to replace him as the new president of the CAW, which is Canada's biggest private-sector union. Hargrove was a member of Local 444 when he worked as an autoworker. Hargrove assistants Hemi Mitic and Tom Collins also are in the running for the presidency.

Lewenza called Hargrove his mentor.

"It's the end of an incredible era of leadership," he said.

Hargrove's successor will be elected by 800 local union delegates at a constitutional convention that will likely be held within the next 30 days. The new president would then have to be re-elected at a convention in August 2009. Hargrove said he would have stayed longer but he didn't want to be a distraction to that leadership race.

"I love my work. I love giving voice on behalf of working people," he said.

Hargrove said his only regret is the decision last month by General Motors Corp. to close a truck plant in Oshawa, Ontario, just a few weeks after the company concluded labor talks with the CAW. GM said the closure, which will affect 2,600 jobs, was necessary because of weakening demand for trucks.

"We were really betrayed by General Motors in our bargaining. I have to solve that before I leave," Hargrove said. He said he wants to ensure as many job and product commitments from GM as he can.

CAW membership ballooned under Hargrove, from 170,000 members in 1993 to 250,000 in 2008, as the CAW merged with the Service Employees International Union and other groups. But at the same time, the union was hemorrhaging auto jobs. The CAW had 46,000 members from major automotive companies in 2000; that has shrunk to 32,500.