Working class hero or power monger?
  This week Larry Solway ponders whether CAW chief Buzz Hargrove has damaged Canada's trade union movement and Canada's Left by raiding other smaller unions for members and publicly trashing the NDP. Are trade unions about protecting workers, or building empires? And how has Hargrove's controversial style affected labour solidarity and the fortunes of the NDP?

We have responses from Buzz Hargrove himself and from one of his most vocal critics in the labour movement, Peter Leibovitch of the United Steelworkers. Plus facts, arguments and dirt from SEIU, Ken Brown (formerly SEIU, now CAW), and Judy Darcy (CUPE).

Then it's your turn:
  Is the union movement getting bigger and stronger, or has it lost its way? - Is Buzz Hargrove on a power trip, or is his position legitimate? - Are Hargrove's critics apologists for the NDP and corrupt unions? - Does your union represent your interests or is it all jockeying for power at upper levels? - What do you think is the real issue in this controversy?

Stir it up! And see how others have responded! We want to hear from you - for, against or on the fence.

Also new this week:

NDP passes the buck on money in politics
  On a related theme, Ottawa writer and Democracy Watch co-founder Aaron Freeman argues the NDP has missed an opportunity to limit the influence of money in elections.

New animation: Chretien drops the writ...
  Could the snap federal election call have unforeseen consequences for the PM?
  (You need Shockwave^® software to view this cartoon and others in the Straight Goods cartoon gallery - it takes a few minutes to download, but it's not hard to install and it's absolutely free.)

The damage is done
  Straight Goods columnist Suzanne Elston shares a mother's worries about possible links between her son's ADHD and environmental contamination.
 
 

Shock auto repair bandits into refunding your money
  Para-legal Bob Salvador explains how to use the law to get back at dishonest garage mechanics.

Information Superhighway vs One Big Mall
  Michelle Zurbrigg reports how open source software advocates - hackers - are fighting to keep the Internet a place for free exchange.

EXTRA: The Truth About Tax Cuts
  Greg deGroot-Maggetti of the Citizens for Public Justice explains what the "free lunch" offers really boil down to, posted in our News from the Web section.

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