What do you think?
Laying It On the Line
In late 2008, the world’s economy began to tumble at avalanche speed, and at the forefront of the manufacturing collapse were the Big Three automakers: Chrysler, General Motors and Ford. For decades, these companies had been shining stars, providing billions of dollars of new investments and thousands of well-paying jobs. Yet suddenly the heads of these and other manufacturing giants found themselves begging governments for financial packages to save their industries. What the hell happened?
Buzz Hargrove, the former head of the Canadian Autoworkers (CAW), retired right before the collapse, but not before witnessing the decades of bad decisionmaking— by federal governments and CEOs—that set the stage for the sudden crisis. No one knows the ins and outs of manufacturing like Hargrove, a man who championed the cause of on-the-line workers but who also earned the immense respect of political and business leaders.
In Laying It on the Line, Hargrove explains the crisis from his side of the table, what it means for Canada and how the manufacturing sector can again become this country’s foremost economic driver. Along the way, he shares the behind-the-door dealings with GM, Ford, Air Canada and others, explaining the controversial agreements he reached over his decades as Canada’s chief labour leader. Laying It on the Line is a timely call to arms for industry, governments and indeed all Canadians.
Buzz Hargrove, the former head of the Canadian Autoworkers (CAW), retired right before the collapse, but not before witnessing the decades of bad decisionmaking— by federal governments and CEOs—that set the stage for the sudden crisis. No one knows the ins and outs of manufacturing like Hargrove, a man who championed the cause of on-the-line workers but who also earned the immense respect of political and business leaders.
In Laying It on the Line, Hargrove explains the crisis from his side of the table, what it means for Canada and how the manufacturing sector can again become this country’s foremost economic driver. Along the way, he shares the behind-the-door dealings with GM, Ford, Air Canada and others, explaining the controversial agreements he reached over his decades as Canada’s chief labour leader. Laying It on the Line is a timely call to arms for industry, governments and indeed all Canadians.
- GenresNonfiction
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Buzz Hargrove
2 booksBasil Eldon "Buzz" Hargrove 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 Metropolitan University's Ted Rogers School of Management.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 15, 2013
Overall, I found Buzz Hargrove’s “Laying it on the Line” informative. The writing style was a bit gruff but I learned some interesting history about trade union negotiations, manufacturing and about some of the challenges faced by the Big Three North American automakers.
One of the more pronounced points of interest was Buzz’s explanation regarding the importance of the Canada/U.S. Auto Pact introduced in 1965. According to Buzz, the agreement ensured that “fair” as opposed to “free” trade would ensue, and it did, until the World Trade Organization (WTO) declared the pact illegal in 2001. Two years later, Canada’s trade surplus plummeted into perpetual trade deficits as did our status as quality auto producers.
Buzz claimed the traditional contention that excessive labour costs brought down the Canadian auto industry is rubbish. If anything, Buzz suggested that labour costs were greater pre-NAFTA and under the Auto Pact. At one point, assembly labour accounted for 25% of the cost of building and selling a new vehicle, but due to technological advances, now only accounts for 7%--a relatively paltry amount and hardly enough to determine an automaker’s fate. In other words, the decline of the Canadian auto industry has been largely due to poor management decisions. Buzz also suggested that if you want to compare union and non-union wages, you must also compare their productivity levels and their value-added difference within the broader economy (he provides statistical productivity comparisons between union and non-unionized plants).
Hargrove also claimed much of the decline of the Canadian auto industry can be attributed to a recurring disconnect between management and front-line workers. According to Buzz, the union and their workers anticipated the decline of the industry and offered tangible solutions to circumvent the issues which were rejected by management teams obsessed with restructuring (downsizing; relocating) and opposed to reinventing themselves to retain or enhance their market share. Essentially, Buzz claimed this hubris brought about an easily foreseeable decline and that management made off with hundreds of millions of dollars in severance during every trough for which they were responsible with little to no accountability to workers or the broader public.
Similarly, Buzz advocated the need for unions to reinvent themselves to sustain themselves and retain relevance in a globalized 21st century. Preceding this conclusion, Buzz provided numerous examples of different bargaining strategies he has used during his career and how his views and strategies evolved accordingly leading to new and evolved arrangements between capital and labour. Ultimately, Hargrove concluded that, in the absence of meaningful reinvention, unions can expect to continue losing their share of the economic pie they produce.
If a reader can ignore the array of Hargrove’s common sense anecdotes, the reader can expect to learn quite a bit about the correlations between trade union membership and the existence of the middle class (citizen well-being), democracy, and the greater productivity that results from an industrial sector when compared with the service sector.
Of the solutions offered, Hargrove stated that the Canadian government must aggressively intervene and develop policies that help reduce the one-way wave of imports (trade imbalance) and provides the auto industry with economic incentives similar to those provided in the southern U.S. Buzz also felt an emphasis on programs that enhance skills training and investments in modern infrastructure are necessary.
4 out of 5 stars for Buzz!
One of the more pronounced points of interest was Buzz’s explanation regarding the importance of the Canada/U.S. Auto Pact introduced in 1965. According to Buzz, the agreement ensured that “fair” as opposed to “free” trade would ensue, and it did, until the World Trade Organization (WTO) declared the pact illegal in 2001. Two years later, Canada’s trade surplus plummeted into perpetual trade deficits as did our status as quality auto producers.
Buzz claimed the traditional contention that excessive labour costs brought down the Canadian auto industry is rubbish. If anything, Buzz suggested that labour costs were greater pre-NAFTA and under the Auto Pact. At one point, assembly labour accounted for 25% of the cost of building and selling a new vehicle, but due to technological advances, now only accounts for 7%--a relatively paltry amount and hardly enough to determine an automaker’s fate. In other words, the decline of the Canadian auto industry has been largely due to poor management decisions. Buzz also suggested that if you want to compare union and non-union wages, you must also compare their productivity levels and their value-added difference within the broader economy (he provides statistical productivity comparisons between union and non-unionized plants).
Hargrove also claimed much of the decline of the Canadian auto industry can be attributed to a recurring disconnect between management and front-line workers. According to Buzz, the union and their workers anticipated the decline of the industry and offered tangible solutions to circumvent the issues which were rejected by management teams obsessed with restructuring (downsizing; relocating) and opposed to reinventing themselves to retain or enhance their market share. Essentially, Buzz claimed this hubris brought about an easily foreseeable decline and that management made off with hundreds of millions of dollars in severance during every trough for which they were responsible with little to no accountability to workers or the broader public.
Similarly, Buzz advocated the need for unions to reinvent themselves to sustain themselves and retain relevance in a globalized 21st century. Preceding this conclusion, Buzz provided numerous examples of different bargaining strategies he has used during his career and how his views and strategies evolved accordingly leading to new and evolved arrangements between capital and labour. Ultimately, Hargrove concluded that, in the absence of meaningful reinvention, unions can expect to continue losing their share of the economic pie they produce.
If a reader can ignore the array of Hargrove’s common sense anecdotes, the reader can expect to learn quite a bit about the correlations between trade union membership and the existence of the middle class (citizen well-being), democracy, and the greater productivity that results from an industrial sector when compared with the service sector.
Of the solutions offered, Hargrove stated that the Canadian government must aggressively intervene and develop policies that help reduce the one-way wave of imports (trade imbalance) and provides the auto industry with economic incentives similar to those provided in the southern U.S. Buzz also felt an emphasis on programs that enhance skills training and investments in modern infrastructure are necessary.
4 out of 5 stars for Buzz!
May 6, 2019
This book is entertaining. Like fiction. The spin is unmatched. I’m digging into news stories to get the other version of events, like what happened during the Navistar strike. Buzz’s version doesn’t match the court findings. I also cannot fathom how union leaders can be so expert in bureaucracy but so ignorant when it comes to business. Actually, I can. When you fundamentally believe Big Government should take care of everything and everyone, profitability doesn’t matter. One question: who the hell pays for all that red tape and bureaucracy if no one is making any real money?
March 2, 2023
Buzz clearly knows his sh*t. He does an excellent job of explaining his time in the union movement and all that came along with.
However, I would not recommend this book to anyone who does not have a deep interest in union history and structure/tactics. It’s pretty dry reading… important to the union movement… but dry. So it lost a star for that.
Then at the end he does tend to veer off into commenting on world politics which is somewhat out of the realm of expertise so that lost a star too.
However, I would not recommend this book to anyone who does not have a deep interest in union history and structure/tactics. It’s pretty dry reading… important to the union movement… but dry. So it lost a star for that.
Then at the end he does tend to veer off into commenting on world politics which is somewhat out of the realm of expertise so that lost a star too.
January 19, 2022
At times it feels like the title of this book should have been “Times I was Right” as it often feels like Mr. Hargrove is using the opportunity to get the last word on a argument or reminisce on his victories. Fair enough though, because there actually were many. At other times, the book is a good reminder of the value of unions in a world where their importance is increasingly forgotten.
Read
March 22, 2013This book was a very interesting read. Gave me a whole new outlook on unions and labor. Would highly recommend it.
December 30, 2014
Written by the head of the canadian auto workers Union. Google insight into unionism and their beliefs
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews