Willie Lambert

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Willie Lambert is a union leader and politician in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. In the spring and summer of 2006, he challenged longstanding incumbent Buzz Hargrove for the presidency of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union. However, on August 16, 2006, Lambert withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Hargrove's reelection, one day before CAW convention delegates were scheduled to vote.

Lambert is a bus driver and has served as chairman of CAW Local 1256 since 1990. He has also served as president of the Oakville & District Labour Council since 1995.

In 1999, Lambert challenged incumbent Wayne Samuelson for the presidency of the Ontario Federation of Labour. He was defeated, but won the support of over 40% of voting delegates at that organization's biennial convention.^[1] Lambert ran against Samuelson a second time in 2002, but was defeated again.

Lambert represented the New Democratic Party (NDP) as a candidate for Member of Parliament for the riding of Oakville in the 1993, 1997 and 2000 federal elections. He also represented the Ontario NDP as a candidate for Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Oakville South in the 1995 provincial election.

[edit] Campaign for presidency of CAW

Lambert announced his candidacy on Wednesday, April 19, 2006, at a news conference in Oakville.^[2] Rumours of an opposition challenge to incumbent president Hargrove had been circulating for at least several months prior, however, as reported in a February article in the Canadian newsmagazine Maclean's.^[3] Also that month, the CAW's former chief economist Sam Gindin raised a series of questions about the political, electoral and bargaining orientation of the CAW in an open letter addressed to Hargrove. That letter, Hargrove's response and Gindin's response to Hargrove were posted on the Canadian political website rabble.^[4] Gindin later published several other articles critical of Hargrove in other publications.^[5]^[6]

On Tuesday, April 25, 2006, Lambert addressed a meeting of the Oakville NDP riding association, and announced that if elected CAW president, he would "try to re-mend fences" between the CAW and the NDP.^[7] The relationship between the CAW and the NDP was severed after Hargrove, as president of the union, failed to wholeheartedly back the NDP in the 2006 federal election, instead endorsing re-election of the Liberal minority government then in power. The NDP subsequently suspended Hargrove's party membership, and the CAW retaliated by withdrawing all union support from the party.

On Monday, May 22, 2006, Lambert joined the picket line of striking auto parts workers at A.G. Simpson in Oshawa, Ontario. Hargrove characterized the dispute as a "wildcat" (unauthorized) strike and criticized the workers involved, describing the situation as a "powder keg" that threatened other auto workers jobs.^[8] Lambert, however, fully supported the workers and condemned Hargrove's conduct in an open letter released on the same day that he picketed with the workers.^[9] The labour dispute was successfully resolved on May 25, 2006, although the workers involved remained critical of Hargrove and the National CAW's interventions.^[10]

On June 22, 2006, the executive committee of Lambert's CAW Local 1256 adopted a motion to reconsider its support for Lambert's campaign and lend support instead to Lambert's rival, Hargrove. Lambert alleges that the local executive took this action at the prompting of Hargrove's executive assistant, Hemi Mitic, who allegedly threatened to disolve Local 1256 and merge it into the larger CAW Local 707. Both Mitic and the local union president, James MacKenzie, deny this allegation. ^[11]^[12] The motion to reconsider support for Lambert was overwhelmingly defeated by the general membership of Local 1256 on July 9, 2006, confirming that Local 1256 continues to support Lambert. ^[13]

In an interview with CanWest News Service reporter Deidre McMurdy, published in the Ottawa Citizen on July 25, 2006, Lambert admitted he faced steep odds to win the presidency. He also expressed his concerns about the lack of internal democracy in the CAW. "Buzz Hargrove has quite a machine at his disposal, and that kind of entrenched power is really hard to fight. A lot of people have a lot at stake with the status quo," Lambert said. "Buzz says he welcomes the debate and the challenge, but there's been quite a bit of pressure exerted from the administration to shut me out wherever possible. Even in my own local it's been a problem for me." Lambert proposed that the CAW switch to a one member, one vote leadership selection process in the future, instead of a delegated convention process as is currently being used. Lambert also proposed that the CAW adopt other measures to increase grassroots membership participation in the union and reduce the "space" that exists between the union leadership and the rank-and-file.^[14]

The CAW's Constitutional Convention, at which the leadership election was scheduled to occur, took place Tuesday, August 15 through Friday, August 18 at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. ^[15] Delegates were scheduled to vote for CAW executive officers on Thursday, August 17. However, on Wednesday, August 16, Lambert withdrew his candidacy for CAW president, leaving Hargrove unopposed.^[16] Hargrove was then acclaimed for his sixth term as CAW president the next day.^[17] Lambert later indicated the reason for his withdrawal was that he was unable to secure a nomination from a registered delegate present at the convention. ^[18]