Hargrove to Feds: Buzz Off

This is from CNews.
I presume voting strategically would be voting for the Liberals where they have the most chance of winning and for the NDP where they occupy a similar position. However, Hargrove seems to favor the Liberals. He certainly has attempted to get NDP voters to vote Liberal to block the Conservatives in the past. Hargrove in spite of his reputation as some sort of militant has led his unions to the right. This is not surprising since the power of the big auto companies and others over workers has vastly increased with globalisation. However, Hargrove has negotiated contracts that negate some of the basic rights of a union such as that to strike and also watered down union democratic power in the contract with Magna. This sell-out was not necessary even in present economic conditions.
Of course Hargrove is bang on with respect to Harper. Harper is trying to buy votes. Insofar as many union members affected may support short term gain over longer term pain from Harper policies the pork politics may work to some extent.

September 7, 2008
Hargrove to feds: Buzz off
By BRIAN GRAY, SUN MEDIA
Jobs and the federal election were the driving issues for delegates at the Canadian Auto Workers convention yesterday -- and Stephen Harper was their "No. 1" target.
Outgoing CAW leader Buzz Hargrove had some parting shots -- and a wave of the middle finger -- for the federal Tories and their pre-election spending.
"Four or five days before an election call they find over $300 million -- not to help the industry, they don't give a damn about the industry, not to help the workers and families and communities, they don't give a damn about them," Hargrove said, referring to cash provided by the federal government to preserve jobs at Ford's Essex plant and Oshawa's GM plant where hundreds have been cut over the last few years thanks to sagging markets for large trucks and SUVs.
"They want to buy the votes of the auto workers. But we should send them a message today that this is what we think of their effort to try to bamboozle us into voting for them," he said, waving his middle finger.
His replacement, Ken Lewenza, will be faced with the job of swaying an election, an area where his predecessor didn't have much luck. One of the few failures for Hargrove, who reigned over Canada's largest private sector union for 16 years, was an attempt to swing the election in former Liberal leader Paul Martin's favour.
But Lewenza said he will promote strategic voting to keep the prime minister from gaining a majority government.
"We have to recognize we are in crisis, the manufacturing sector is in decline and unions by themselves can't fix the problem," said Lewenza, former president of CAW Local 444 in Windsor and the union's chief negotiator with Chrysler Canada.
But Lewenza's Jab was directed at Prime Minister Stephen Harper, expected to sound the starting gun on a federal election this morning.
"I will do everything within my power, within the influence of the Canadian Auto Workers union to influence the electoral process and citizens not to give the Tories the majority government that they're working for," he said.
The speech struck a chord with delegates, many of who are disgruntled workers in the Ontario auto manufacturing sector.