Ken Lewenza Sr. (born 1954 in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada) was the National President of the

Canadian Auto Workers The National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada, commonly known as the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), was one of Canada's largest labour unions. In 2013, it merged with the Communications, Energy and Paperwork ...

union, having been acclaimed at that organization's national convention on September 6, 2008. He was previously the president of the Canadian Auto Workers, Local 444 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He replaced

Buzz Hargrove Basil Eldon "Buzz" Hargrove (March 8, 1944 – June 15, 2025) was a Canadian labour leader and onetime National President of the Canadian Auto Workers. Until his death in 2025, he served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Toronto Metropo ...

as the union's national president. Lewenza was born in Windsor, a middle child among eight. His father, Bill Lewenza, was a longtime steward and committeeman with Local 444. Lewenza dropped out of high school after Grade 10, at age 16, worked in a gas station, married the next year, and had a son when he was still 17. In 1972, he went from the $1.65-an-hour minimum wage job at the gas station, to a $4.48 job on the chassis line at

Chrysler Canada Stellantis Canada (formerly, FCA Canada, Inc. and Chrysler Canada) is the wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis through its North American division operating in Canada. Incorporated in 1925, the Chrysler Corporation of Canada acquired a Maxwell ...

's Windsor

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assembly plant. For the first three years he was in the plant, Lewenza's father was still there, serving as a committeeman. His father advised Lewenza to be careful about getting involved in the union, urging him instead to focus on his young family. Lewenza became an alternate to an elected steward, taking over for the steward whenever he was away from the job. That allowed Lewenza to prove himself to the other workers, and in 1978, he was elected a full-time steward. Lewenza was elected committeeman in 1983, representing about 1,000 workers in the minivan plant, and plant chairman in 1987, around the time his father died. When local president Ken Gerard died suddenly in 1990, vice-president Larry Bauer took over as president and Lewenza became vice-president. When Bauer died four years later in 1994, Lewenza moved up once again, becoming the local's president. As president of the local, Lewenza became a well-known figure in the Windsor-Essex area. He presided over five consecutive sets of negotiations with Chrysler as the chair of the CAW Chrysler Master Bargaining Committee. Lewenza's son Ken Lewenza Jr. is a former

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in Windsor who representing Ward 4 from 2006 to 2010. Lewenza Jr. also works for Chrysler and is active with Local 444.

References

*Brian Cross
"Lewenza's rise,"
''

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

'', December 14, 1994 (republished July 8, 2008).
"Media Advisory - CAW endorses Ken Lewenza for presidential candidate and Peter Kennedy for secretary-treasurer candidate"
(CAW Press Release), ''

PR Newswire PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases headquartered in Chicago. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, using teleprinters at first. The founder, Herbert Muschel, ...

'', July 8, 2008.
"CAW sets date to elect new president,"
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'', July 22, 2008.
"New CAW president faces multiple challenges,"
''

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

'', September 11, 2008. *Gordon Pitts
"Ken Lewenza: They didn't take Windsor out of the boy"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', February 23, 2009.

External links

Official site of the Canadian Auto Workers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewenza, Ken Sr. 1954 births Living people Canadian Auto Workers people Trade unionists from Ontario People from Windsor, Ontario