CAW elects new president

Toronto, Ont. – The CAW has elected a new president to replace Buzz Hargrove, who is stepping down after 16 years in charge of the auto workerís union.

According to the CAW, delegates at the unionís recent convention have elected Ken Lewenza as the new national president. Lewenza is a former CAW Local 444 president and former CAW Council president.
With tough economic times slamming manufacturing and other economic sectors and a federal election underway, Lewenza has an agenda for CAW members. He is urging CAW members to take an active role in building a stronger future for workers, their families and communities, encouraging them to keep Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper out of government.
 "Does anyone believe that the real face of Stephen Harper is the one we see governing with a minority?" Lewenza said when accepting the new position. "The real face of Stephen Harper is the one from the Reform Party, the one from the right-wing National Citizen’s Coalition and the one that will dismantle our country and make it unrecognizable to us today."
Lewenza, 54, is the third CAW national president elected since the formation of the Canadian union in 1985. Hargrove’s predecessor was Bob White who served as national president from 1985 to 1992.