CAW tells members to blackball the NDP

This is huge news. Very huge news.

The CAW drops its support for the New Democratic Party - see the Windsor Star

The union has told its members to stop any and all activism on behalf of the NDP including at the riding association levels.

I suppose once the heat cools on this; members of the CAW will no longer feel obliged to act the way the CAW tells them to. Perhaps now they will get to choose which political party they want to support and act on behalf of.

Any union that still uses baseball bats to get its point across shouldn't be lecturing about democracy.

The Master Control Freak himself, the one who believes he can dictate to Windsorites which cars they should drive or whether or not public transit is effective in Windsor says this:

Ken Lewenza, president of CAW Local 444, which represents DaimlerChrysler and Casino Windsor workers, said the party's rebuke of Hargrove had the effect of "expelling" the entire union from the NDP. He said he too was a "main advocate" in favour of strategic voting.

"It infuriates me to think they can do this to the CAW and think it's business as usual," Lewenza said. "There is no rubber-stamp support for the NDP.... I know our union, when we're backed into a corner, we'll defend each other."

Lewenza said he spoke to local MPs Joe Comartin (NDP--Windsor Tecumseh) and Brian Masse (NDP--Windsor West) Friday "out of courtesy" to tell them about the union vote. Lewenza added the decision to pull support from the NDP would not lead to an official endorsement for any other party in the future but that union leadership will determine which candidates best represent the union's views.

"It infuriates me to think they can do this to the CAW and think it's business as usual". Of course it infuriates a control freak and Herr Lewenza is the best at dictating to his members what they should think or how they should act.

Not personal huh? I wonder what Comartin is going to do since he's a CAW man? It's not like him to concern himself with other Canadians that aren't CAW.