Author: Sam Gindin
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The CAW and Magna: What if Magna Builds an Assembly Plant?
In the discussions of the proposed Magna-CAW (Canadian Auto Workers) ‘Framework of Fairness’ deal, the focus has been on Magna as a components company. But what if Magna opened an … Keep reading »
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The CAW and Magna: Disorganizing the Working Class
“In the neoconservative Canada of the late 1990s, the labour movement needs to become more militant, less accommodating to the demands of corporations and governments. If this sounds like a … Keep reading »
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One Sided Class War: The UAW-GM 2007 Negotiations
In 1978, then United Auto Worker (UAW) President Douglas Fraser, frustrated with corporate America’s new aggressiveness, accused U.S. business of waging a ‘one-sided class war against working people, the unemployed, … Keep reading »
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Empire’s Contradictions, Our Weaknesses: The Empire Stumbles On
Today’s two most conspicuous global flashpoints – the Middle East and Latin America – have widely exposed the fact of U.S. imperialism and highlighted some of its limitations. Adding the … Keep reading »
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Is the Big Ship America Sinking? Contradictions and Openings
“There’s something happening What it is ain’t exactly clear” -Buffalo Springfield, 1966 Are we in the midst of a momentous turn in world politics? Donald Rumsfeld has been shuffled out … Keep reading »
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Toward A New Politics? After the CAW-NDP Divorce
On April 21, 2006, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) broke with a tradition that extended over half a century and voted to leave the New Democratic Party (NDP). A few … Keep reading »
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Rewriting History: The CAW Turn
In response to criticism of the concessions made by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) at General Motors’s Oshawa facility this winter, the union has made four counter-arguments. First, no concessions … Keep reading »
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Concessions in Oshawa: The End of an Era?
In the early 1980s General Motors workers in Canada refused to follow their American parent (UAW) in opening their collective agreement. The ensuing conflict eventually led to the Canadians breaking … Keep reading »
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The CAW’s Direction: Some Questions
A number of questions about the CAW’s general political and more specific electoral orientation are being asked both inside and outside the union. These are questions of importance to the … Keep reading »
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Whose Healthcare?
Challenging the Corporate Struggle to Rule Our System Hugh Armstrong, et al. Most Canadians reject a private health care system that is driven by the accumulation of profit, that limits people’s access … Keep reading »
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The GM Layoffs and the Logic of Neoliberalism
The perverse logic of neoliberalism took even more twisted turns on 21 November 2005. General Motors, the largest manufacturing company in the world, had just months ago been promised $450-million in government money to create jobs in Canada. Keep reading »
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GM, the Delphi Concessions and North American Workers: Round Two?
It is important to recall that until the 1970s, collective bargaining in the United States and Canada was largely about workers demanding improvements from their employers. But a new era … Keep reading »