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Articles by Sam Gindin
We’ll Take Those Odds
Sam Gindin is one of the most exacting and capacious thinkers on the socialist Left today. With decades of experience in the labour movement as research director for the Canadian Auto Workers (which merged in 2013 with the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union to form Unifor, today the largest private sector union in Canada), his political orientation is grounded in the reality of the contemporary state of organized labour.
We’ll take those odds
First published at Damage. Sam Gindin is one of the most exacting and capacious thinkers on the socialist Left today. With decades of experience in the labor movement as research director for the Canadian Auto Workers (which merged in 2013 with the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union to form Unifor, today the largest private sector union in Canada), his political orientation is grounded in the reality of the contemporary state of organized labor.
We’ll Take Those Odds: The Left and the Polarization of Options
Labour • September 28, 2026 • and Sam Gindin is one of the most exacting and capacious thinkers on the socialist Left today. With decades of experience in the labour movement as research director for the Canadian Auto Workers (which merged in 2013 with the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union to form Unifor, today the largest private sector union in Canada), his political orientation is grounded in the reality of the contemporary state of organized labour.
The rising left can't ignore labor's ongoing crisis
As the Trump administration stumbles from scandal to scandal and worries over artificial intelligence reach a fever pitch, there seems to be little relief in sight for working-class Americans confronting a stubborn cost-of-living crisis.
The Rising Left Can’t Ignore Labor’s Ongoing Crisis
Follow The Rising Left Can’t Ignore Labor’s Ongoing Crisis Sam Gindin and Benjamin Y. Fong Thu, September 24, 2026 at 9:52 AM EDT The Left's recent electoral victories have generated enthusiasm among young people, helping move them "from protest to politics." But social transformation will require building a much deeper base beyond the election cycle, starting with organized labor. (Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty Images) More Key takeawaysPowered by Yahoo Scout.
Solidarity is Strength: From the Ontario Days of Action To Building the Fight Against Ford
Social Movements • September 20, 2026 • and We are living in a moment where working people are under attack in various ways: Trump’s tariffs, Prime Minister Carney’s military investments, pipelines, cuts to social spending, the sell-off of Canadian resources to wealthy investors, businesses laying off workers, and the increasing cost of living. In Ontario, the Ford government is seeking to maintain austerity and has been attacking public services and the workers who staff them.
The Canadian Auto Industry and Dependence: Polarized Options
Economy • April 26, 2026 • Along the northern shore of the Great Lakes, across the water from Rochester, Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit, the Canadian manufacturing industry has long been part of the greater industrial archipelago of metal-bending communities – out of which American brand-name equipment, toolmakers, and vehicle companies grew in the early decades of the twentieth century.
Superdependence - Sam Gindin
Along the northern shore of the Great Lakes, across the water from Rochester, Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit, the Canadian manufacturing industry has long been part of the greater industrial archipelago of metal-bending communities—out of which American brand name equipment, toolmakers, and vehicle companies grew in the early decades of the twentieth century.
Sam Gindin | Phenomenal World
On the Canadian auto industry The Canadian auto industry is in a state of existential crisis, facing new US tariffs and pressures. What does this mean for organized labor?
The Many Faces of (In)Equality
Anti-Racism • December 5, 2025 • Adolph Reed Jr. and Ken Warren, two of the most prominent participants in the race-vs-class saga haunting the left, return here to deepen their case and do so with great clarity. Along the way they provide an exemplary illustration of how to seriously think – analytically, historically, and politically – about transformative social change.
L’automobile canadienne n’est pas en « crise », elle est en danger d’extinction - Presse-toi à gauche !
Le point de départ d’une réponse doit être que les tarifs ne sont qu’un symptôme du dilemme plus vaste du Canada : sa dépendance excessive à l’égard de la grande puissance dominante mondiale. Nous avons peut-être longtemps été le « partenaire économique le plus proche et l’allié le plus fidèle » des États-Unis, mais cela n’a pas empêché Trump de nous traiter comme un État vassal.
Canada Is Too Economically Dependent on the US
Canadian autoworkers have faced many crises over the years, but the present threat is distinct. Lana Payne, president of Unifor, has warned that “If we don’t push back hard against [US president Donald Trump] and against these companies, we’re going to lose it all.” So far, the debate over what to do has started and stopped with Trump’s tariffs.
Canadian Auto Isn’t in ‘Crisis’, It’s in Danger of Extinction
Canadian Auto Isn’t in ‘Crisis’, It’s in Danger of Extinction Published November 13, 2025 Canadian autoworkers have faced many crises over the years, but the present threat is distinct. Lana Payne, President of Unifor, has warned that “If we don’t push back hard against him [US President Donald Trump] and against these companies, we’re going to lose it all.” So far, the debate over what to do has started and stopped with Trump’s tariffs.
Canadian auto isn’t in ‘crisis’, it’s in danger of extinction
First published at Socialist Project. Canadian autoworkers have faced many crises over the years, but the present threat is distinct. Lana Payne, President of Unifor, has warned that “If we don’t push back hard against him [US President Donald Trump] and against these companies, we’re going to lose it all.” So far, the debate over what to do has started and stopped with Trump’s tariffs.
Canadian Auto Isn’t in ‘Crisis’, It’s in Danger of Extinction
Canada, Economy • November 12, 2025 • Canadian autoworkers have faced many crises over the years, but the present threat is distinct. Lana Payne, President of Unifor, has warned that “If we don’t push back hard against him [US President Donald Trump] and against these companies, we’re going to lose it all.” So far, the debate over what to do has started and stopped with Trump’s tariffs.
Trump is looking to consolidate his populist base without challenging corporate power
Republished from Socialist Project. ILNA: During his second presidential term, US President Donald Trump raised tariffs to an unprecedented level. In your view, are Trump’s tariff policies driven more by economic considerations or political motives? Sam Gindin: Trump is looking to consolidate his populist base without challenging corporate power or addressing inequalities. The ‘external’ sector offers a way of doing this.
Trump’s Populist Base Versus Corporate Power
Trump’s Populist Base Versus Corporate Power Published September 2, 2025 ILNA: During his second presidential term, US President Donald Trump raised tariffs to an unprecedented level. In your view, are Trump’s tariff policies driven more by economic considerations or political motives? Sam Gindin (SG): Trump is looking to consolidate his populist base without challenging corporate power or addressing inequalities. The ‘external’ sector offers a way of doing this.
Is socialism possible?
First published at Socialist Project. When this essay by Sam Gindin was first published as “Socialism for Realists” in the Fall of 2018 in Catalyst, the left was at a crossroads. In the preceding years the idea of socialism seemed to finally be on the political map with several left electoral projects gaining traction in many western countries, and anti-capitalist agendas still gathering steam in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
Is Socialism Possible?
Theory • August 24, 2025 • When the enclosed essay by Sam Gindin was first published as “Socialism for Realists” in the Fall of 2018 in Catalyst, the left was at a crossroads. In the preceding years the idea of socialism seemed to finally be on the political map with several left electoral projects gaining traction in many western countries, and anti-capitalist agendas still gathering steam in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
Sam Gindin on “Thinking as a Class”
If what we were saying to workers in a workplace was in the 1950s and 60s, you didn’t actually have to think about anybody else. If you were an auto worker, you were probably strong and you could win things for yourself. And what a lot of auto workers learned is we don’t actually need anybody. They didn’t learn that this was a temporary situation. If you’re just going to fight things on your own, you’re going to lose. So what’s the lesson? The lesson is you have to think as a class.
Cómo puede Canadá decirle que no a Donald Trump - Jacobin Revista
19.07.25 Canadá / Estados Unidos Políticas / Relaciones internacionales Ha emergido un patrón demasiado predecible en las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y Canadá. El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump le hace a Canadá una «oferta que no puede rechazar». Lo que sigue es una reacción nacional de rechinar de dientes, agitar banderas, empresas y políticos apelando al patriotismo. Luego, el gobierno canadiense cede, lamentando que «no teníamos otra opción».
How Canada Can Say No to Donald Trump
An all-too predictable pattern has emerged in US-Canada relations. US president Donald Trump makes Canada “an offer it can’t refuse.” What follows is a national gnashing of teeth, flag-waving, businesses and politicians going patriotic. The Canadian government then caves, lamenting we had “no choice.” What would it take to truly have a choice?
‘An Offer You Can’t Refuse’: Trump Sends Canada a Wake-up Call
Canada, Economy • July 13, 2025 • An all-too predictable pattern has emerged in US-Canada relations. US President Donald Trump makes Canada ‘an offer it can’t refuse’. What follows is a national gnashing of teeth, flag-waving, businesses and politicians going patriotic. The Canadian government then caves, lamenting we had ‘no choice’. What would it take to truly have a choice?
Trump’s tariffs are also a war on workers
Sam Gindin is a former research director for the Canadian Auto Workers union and coauthor of TheMakingofGlobalCapitalism: ThePoliticalEconomyOfAmericanEmpire (with Leo Panitch), among other works. In the second part of our interview, Green Left’s Federico Fuentes spoke to Gindin about the impact of United States President Donald Trump’s tariff war on workers, and how they can respond. Read part one here. * * * Does the US capitalist class support Trump’s tariffs?
How Trump’s tariff war is upending global capitalism
Sam Gindin is a former research director for the Canadian Auto Workers union and co-author of TheMakingofGlobalCapitalism: ThePoliticalEconomyOfAmericanEmpire (with Leo Panitch), among other works. Green Left’s Federico Fuentes spoke to Gindin about the impacts of United States president Donald Trump’s tariff war on global capitalism. * * * Could you set out the context for Trump’s tariffs? For a good many US people, the past four or five decades have brought deepening frustrations.
Could Trump’s Tariff War Reshape Global Capitalism?
Sam Gindin is a former research director for the Canadian Auto Workers union and Packer Visiting Chair in Social Justice at York University. He is also the coauthor of The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy Of American Empire (with Leo Panitch), In and Out of Crisis: The Global Financial Meltdown and Left Alternatives (with Greg Albo and Panitch), and The Socialist Challenge Today (with Panitch and Stephen Maher), among other works.
Could Trump’s tariff war reshape global capitalism? An interview with Marxist economist Sam Gindin
Sam Gindin is a former research director for the Canadian Auto Workers union and Packer Visiting Chair in Social Justice at York University. He is also the coauthor of The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy Of American Empire (with Leo Panitch), In and Out of Crisis: The Global Financial Meltdown and Left Alternatives (with Greg Albo and Panitch), and The Socialist Challenge Today (with Panitch and Stephen Maher), among other works.
Trump’s Tariffs: Building a Working-Class Response
US President Trump’s tariffs and trade policies represent a fundamental attack on Canadian working people. In our workplaces and communities, we are faced with layoffs, intensified attacks on social programs and rights, job security and potentially deep economic recession.
"El hombre que quería ser rey": el método en la locura de Trump, las contradicciones en el método de Trump
Se han levantado vientos contrarios en la carrera de Donald Trump para descarrilar y transformar el Estado y situar el Imperio estadounidense sobre una base radicalmente nueva, pero no por ello menos abrumadora. Esta vez, sin embargo, Trump ha llegado con una agenda más preparada, mientras que las fuerzas sociales para contrarrestar su avance siguen siendo una esperanza lejana.
The man who would be king: Method in Trump’s madness, contradictions in Trump’s method
First published at Nonsite on March 31 before Trump’s tariff announcement. Headwinds have emerged in Donald Trump’s rush to derail and transform the state and place the US Empire on a radically new — but no less oppressive — footing. This time, however, Trump came with a more primed agenda, while the social forces to counter his trajectory remain a remote wish. This facilitates Trump’s stubborn soldiering on. We do not know how far Trump will go.
L’homme qui voulait être roi : la méthode et les contradictions dans la folie de Trump - Presse-toi à gauche !
6 avril 2025 | https://socialistproject.ca/2025/04/man-who-would-be-king/ Nous ne savons pas jusqu’où Trump ira. Aucune préoccupation ne doit être écartée, qu’il s’agisse de la menace d’une consolidation fasciste, de la crainte que les atteintes aux programmes sociaux soient presque irréversibles, de la dévastation supplémentaire du mouvement ouvrier ou des dommages aigus causés à l’environnement par quatre années d’inaction (ou pire).
The Man Who Would Be King
Economy, Imperialism, USA • April 6, 2025 • Headwinds have emerged in Donald Trump’s rush to derail and transform the state and place the US Empire on a radically new – but no less oppressive – footing. This time, however, Trump came with a more primed agenda, while the social forces to counter his trajectory remain a remote wish. This facilitates Trump’s stubborn soldiering on. We do not know how far Trump will go.
The Man Who Would Be King: Method in Trump’s Madness, Contradictions in Trump’s Method
Headwinds have emerged in Trump’s rush to derail and transform the state and place the American Empire on a radically new—but no less oppressive—footing. This time, however, Trump came with a more primed agenda, while the social forces to counter his trajectory remain a remote wish. This facilitates Trump’s stubborn soldiering on. We do not know how far Trump will go.
11 mars 2025 | traduction David Mandel The Bullet (organe du Socialist Project) lhttps://socialistproject.ca/2025/03/trumps-auto-tariffs-formal-sovereignty Mettre fin à l’assaut tarifaire pourrait satisfaire ceux dont la seule ambition est l’accès au marché américain. Mais pour les Canadiens et Canadiennes qui voient le Canada dans une perspective plus large, cela ne ferait que confirmer notre rapprochement plus étroit avec les États-Unis.
Was the Teamsters’ Amazon Strike a Success?
The 2024 holiday season Amazon strike seemed driven more by a desire for media attention than the development of the deep worker base fundamental to forcing the company to accept a union. The world has radically changed over the past four-plus decades. Unions haven’t. Or at least they haven’t changed nearly enough to match what they’re up against.
Was the Teamsters’ Amazon Strike a Success?
The world has radically changed over the past four-plus decades. Unions haven’t. Or at least they haven’t changed nearly enough to match what they’re up against. In this context, unionizing Amazon — iconic in status and fanatically anti-union — stands as a definitive challenge for this generation of trade unionists. The catch-22 is that while unionizing Amazon holds out the promise of renewing labor, bringing Amazon to heel demands an already-revived labor movement in place.
The Amazon Strike: Performative or Substantive?
Labour • March 17, 2025 • The world has radically changed over the past four-plus decades. Unions haven’t. Or at least they haven’t changed nearly enough to match what they’re up against. In this context, unionizing Amazon – iconic in status and fanatically anti-union – stands as a definitive challenge for this generation of trade unionists.
Trump’s Auto-Tariffs: Form Formal Sovereignty to Substantive Sovereignty
Canada • March 11, 2025 • The danger confronting Canadians is not President Trump’s on-and-off tariff toggle. That’s only a symptom. The more significant threat is our deep integration with, and hence dependence on, the US. This has compromised our formal sovereignty and will continue to block our substantive sovereignty – the democratic capacity to choose our own directions without external (i.e., US) pressures.
Trump’s Threats Expose Canada’s Utter Dependency On The US
Economy • February 5, 2025 • and United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada are understandably causing much consternation and debate. Some business leaders are forecasting dire warnings, union officials are calling for retaliation and relief while also sidling up with their corporate counterparts to present a united front. But these developments are about much more than tariffs.
Amazon Is Still a Health and Safety Nightmare for Workers
“We are going to be Earth’s best employer and Earth’s safest place to work.” — Jeff Bezos, April 2021 At the end of March 2021, a unionization drive in Bessemer, Alabama, by the Retail Workers (RWDSU) — one of the earliest attempts to organize an Amazon fulfillment center — failed to get the requisite numbers for certification. The campaign nevertheless highlighted workers’ frustrations over health and safety and created anxieties among Amazon executives over future unionization drives.
Health and safety: Amazon fails to deliver
We are going to be Earth’s best employer and Earth’s safest place to work. — (Jeff Bezos, April 2021) At the end of March 2021, a unionization drive in Bessemer, Alabama, by the Retail Workers (RWDSU)—one of the earliest attempts to organize an Amazon FC (Fulfillment Center)—failed to get the requisite numbers for certification. The campaign nevertheless highlighted workers’ frustrations over health and safety and created anxieties among Amazon executives over future unionization drives.
Health and Safety: Amazon Fails to Deliver
Labour • October 14, 2024 • “We are going to be Earth’s best employer and Earth’s safest place to work.” (Jeff Bezos, April 2021) At the end of March 2021, a unionization drive in Bessemer, Alabama, by the Retail Workers (RWDSU) – one of the earliest attempts to organize an Amazon FC (Fulfillment Center) – failed to get the requisite numbers for certification.
US Empire, Global Capitalism And The ‘Internationalisation’ Of States
Sam Gindin is a former research director for the Canadian Auto Workers union and Packer Visiting Chair in Social Justice at York University. He is also the coauthor of The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy Of American Empire(with Leo Panitch), In and Out of Crisis: The Global Financial Meltdown and Left Alternatives (with Greg Albo and Panitch), and The Socialist Challenge Today (with Panitch and Stephen Maher), among other works.
US empire, global capitalism and the ‘internationalisation’ of states: An interview with Sam Gindin
Sam Gindin is a former research director for the Canadian Auto Workers union and Packer Visiting Chair in Social Justice at York University. He is also the coauthor of TheMaking of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy Of American Empire(with Leo Panitch), In and Out of Crisis: The Global Financial Meltdown and Left Alternatives (with Greg Albo and Panitch), and The Socialist Challenge Today (with Panitch and Stephen Maher), among other works.
A generational challenge: Taming Amazon, renewing labour
First published at Socialist Project. As the Occupy protests of 2011 exhausted themselves, a dramatic turn from protests to politics surfaced. In the US, the energy was channeled into Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. When this too was derailed, many of Sanders’ supporters turned, once more, to the labour movement as the foundation for radical social change.
Taming Amazon, renewing labour
As the Occupy protests of 2011 exhausted themselves, a dramatic turn from protests to politics surfaced. In the United States, the energy was channeled into Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. When this too was derailed, many of Sanders’ supporters turned, once more, to the labour movement as the foundation for radical social change. From a historical perspective, these ‘turns’ marked an advance in the long march toward finding a new socialist politics.
A Generational Challenge: Taming Amazon, Renewing Labour
Labour • May 20, 2024 • As the Occupy protests of 2011 exhausted themselves, a dramatic turn from protests to politics surfaced. In the US, the energy was channeled into Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. When this too was derailed, many of Sanders’ supporters turned, once more, to the labour movement as the foundation for radical social change.
“Bidenomics” Won’t Reverse Working-Class Decline
There’s something happening here / But what it is ain’t exactly clear. — “For What It’s Worth,” Buffalo Springfield The go-to crises of the socialist left have been “American declinism” and “interimperial rivalry.” These crises have not only been predicted by the Left but often wished for, the Left seeing them as doing much of the heavy lifting it cannot do on its own. This is both bad analysis and worse politics.
Bidenomics and the left
First published at nonsite.org. “There’s something happening here But what it is ain’t exactly clear.” – “For What It’s Worth,” Buffalo Springfield. The go-to crises of the socialist left have been “American declinism” and “inter-imperial rivalry.” These crises have not only been predicted by the left but often wished for, the left seeing them as doing much of the heavy lifting it cannot do on its own. This is both bad analysis and worse politics.
Bidenomics and the Left
“There’s something happening here But what it is ain’t exactly clear.” – “For What It’s Worth,” Buffalo Springfield. The go-to crises of the socialist left have been “American declinism” and “inter-imperial rivalry.” These crises have not only been predicted by the left but often wished for, the left seeing them as doing much of the heavy lifting it cannot do on its own. This is both bad analysis and worse politics.
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