Buzz Hargrove

Basil Eldon “Buzz” Hargrove (1944–2025) was a Canadian trade unionist and author whose career was closely associated with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW). He served as the union’s national president from 1992 until his retirement in 2008, after earlier work on the Chrysler Windsor Assembly Plant floor and as a shop steward.

Hargrove helped build an autonomous Canadian union movement after the CAW’s 1985 break from the U.S.-based United Auto Workers. As president, he negotiated with employers including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Air Canada, and CN Rail. His approach to “social unionism” connected collective bargaining with public health care, retirement security, equity, fair trade, and other public-policy concerns.

His writing drew on that experience. With Wayne Skene, he co-authored Labour of Love: The Fight to Create a More Humane Canada (1998). In Laying It on the Line, he examined the 2008 financial crisis, manufacturing employment, and labour relations from the perspective of a longtime union negotiator. Library and Archives Canada preserves a textual record relating to his career and publications.

After leaving the CAW, Hargrove taught and worked in labour-management education at what is now Toronto Metropolitan University. He was appointed an AUTHORRICHTOKEN0END in 2008, recognizing his union leadership, advocacy for equality and human rights, and support for philanthropic initiatives. He died in 2025.