Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove, who has spent years fighting against plant closures and wage cuts by the Detroit Three, announced Tuesday he will retire in September before he turns 65.
"I leave with no regrets," Hargrove told reporters.
"I'd hoped to stay until March. I love what I do. I think anyone who knows me, knows that I love my work. I love giving voice on behalf of the working people on the many issues and challenges we face."
Hargrove said he has endorsed Local 444 Windsor, Ont., president Ken Lewenza as his replacement. Lewenza has been CAW's chief negotiator at Chrysler, and like Hargrove he has taken a similar hard-line stance against wage cuts.
Lewenza, 53, called Hargrove an "incredible leader" and called his retirement "the end of an era."
"Today, Buzz, I thank you publicly for your contribution to our union for your mentoring and for your leadership," said Lewenza, his voice shaking slightly. "The CAW is one hell of an institution and one hell of a union."
The official replacement will be elected at a convention in September. Other candidates in the running included Hargrove's assistants Hemi Mitic and Tom Collins. But they bowed out Tuesday after Lewenza was chosen as Hargrove's heir apparent.
Hargrove told reporters he is stepping down before he reaches the mandatory retirement age.
"Our constitution says you have to retire at age 65 and I was very supportive of that. I recommended we put that in there many years ago. Of course, I never thought I'd reach 65," he joked.
Despite speculation Hargrove will enter politics after his retirement, he said he has no immediate plans to run for public office.
"I have no plans to run. Nobody's asked me. I'm a socialist and there aren't many socialist parties in Canada, and nobody's asked me to run for any other party," he told CTV Newsnet after the press conference.
But he added, "I'm not ruling anything out."
During Hargrove's time as union president, GM, Ford and Chrysler have closed several plants in Quebec and Ontario, as the rising Canadian dollar and high gas prices have taken a heavy toll on the manufacturing industry.
He said the Conservative government has failed to protect the industry, while past governments of the 1950s and 1960s recognized the auto sector as "one of the most important industries in the world."
"We have a government today that has no vision," he told CTV Newsnet. "They're just letting the manufacturing sector die, and the auto sector is the lead of that. If we don't get some good government policy and if (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper and (Finance Minister Jim) Flaherty don't wake up ... we're going to end up a few years down the road as simply consumers of vehicles. Other countries will be the producers and have the good jobs."
Hargrove has been president of CAW since 1992. Under his leadership, Canada's largest private-sector union has expanded beyond the automotive industry to include 17 different sectors. It now represents roughly 250,000 workers.
With files from The Canadian Press
