by Brent

The following comments were delivered by ROC DSA Co-Chair Brent at the April 21st Solidarity Dues Call-a-Thon. Join an upcoming Solidarity Dues phonebank here: https://actionnetwork.org/campaigns/2023-solidarity-income-based-dues-drive-national-phonebanks

Hi comrades! Thank you all for being here both to activate members and to raise money for our organizing efforts both locally and nationally. My name is Brent, my pronouns are he/him, and I’m one of the Co-Chairs of the Rochester Chapter. I’ll keep it brief so we can hop back on the phones but I want to talk briefly about two campaign victories we’ve had recently in Rochester.

After months of Speak to Council sessions and coalition meetings with electeds, both DSA endorsed and not, Rochester City Council passed two ceasefire resolutions. One was submitted by our comrade Councilmember Stanley Martin, and a competing resolution that removed the reference to Israeli apartheid was submitted by a non-DSA elected. Both received 5 signatures, a majority of City Council, adding Rochester to the list of over 100 US cities that have called for a Ceasefire in Palestine.

Our second victory was a campaign that Eric from DSA staff helped us build when he was in town last year. That was our “NO BID” campaign. Wealthy landowners planned to implement a “Business Improvement District” in downtown Rochester, which would have established a slush fund of both public tax dollars and fees levied against all property owners in the district, and would absolutely be passed down through higher rents. This fund would be controlled by a majority owner class board and would be used to do anything from landscaping to hiring armed private security to harass “loiterers”—their term for unhoused people or even just teenagers just existing without spending money.

In a coalition with the “BID Education Committee”, an organization founded to combat the BID, we held public discussion sessions about the BID, hosted phone zaps to contact councilmembers, held presentations for local unions and neighborhood associations, mobilized dozens of people to Speak to Council—and hired a videographer to livestream the sessions since city council had stopped doing so. (We have since purchased the equipment necessary to do this ourselves, which was made possible through member dues!) We had even planned to force a referendum and launch a canvassing campaign to win that referendum. The day after the ceasefire resolutions were signed, the capitalist organization behind the BID put out a statement saying they were halting their efforts in implementing a BID due to lack of political will and majority support from City Council. Back to back victories for Rochester!

I want to close by talking about solidarity. Something powerful happened in the city council chambers when our members and supporters approached that microphone, and that’s that we united our struggles. When we spoke about the BID, we also demanded City Council sign the ceasefire resolution. When we spoke about the ceasefire resolution, we demanded City Council stop the BID. And when we talked about either, we demanded City Council launch a vacancy study that’s necessary to implement rent control. It is solidarity that won those two victories. It is solidarity that shows the working class that our struggles are united. It is solidarity that is our greatest weapon against the owner class. Solidarity Forever!

The post Solidarity Is Our Greatest Weapon: On Recent ROC DSA Victories first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

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By Vanessa Bartlett

BU’s Reslife Union and Grad Workers Union gathered for a rally at Marsh Plaza on Friday

BOSTON – The Boston University Reslife Union joined BU Graduate Workers on strike, walking out during the Boston Marathon weekend, which they describe as the busiest weekend of the year for Reslife workers. 

“You may know, Halloweekeend, Saint Patrick’s Day are huge days and weekends. Marathon Monday is bigger than all of those combined,” said Jasmine Richardson, a second-year RA and junior at BU. “[RA’s] are incredibly valuable to making sure that Boston University is functioning.” 

RA’s have been negotiating with BU for a contract since December. According to an SEIU-509 press release, undergraduate RA’s, Graduate RA’s and Graduate Hall Assistants all receive housing as compensation. 

The Reslife Union is fighting for a $15/hour wage and a meal plan for all RA’s, as well as temperature control for the summer, a commitment to back-pay, narcan and CPR training, and increased job security. 

RA’s gave BU an ultimatum: meet our demands, or we strike on Marathon weekend. BU dragged their feet, waiting until the day before RA’s were set to strike to respond to the union’s proposals, and not responding to several of their biggest demands.

“We provided ample opportunity for us to reach an agreement with BU, and they kept fumbling the ball,” said Richardson.

Reslife workers and allies picketing in front of Warren Towers on Friday

Currently, RA’s are subject to dismissal from their positions if their GPA drops below a 2.70 (a B-minus average). “We have actually filed a ULP over this, because only after we unionized was this enforced,” said Richardson. “One staffer was able to prove she never had above a 2.7 for the entire academic year, 2022 through 2023, and then she was fired this year, over the GPA issue. And that was after she had provided many hours of her labor.”

Community supporters and union members at Friday’s rally on Marsh Plaza

The fact that RA’s job security and housing security are dependent on students’ academic performance, on top of the lack of monetary compensation for hours of labor, add up to an extremely exploitative situation for RA’s.

Guensly “G” Desir shared her story as an RA who lost their job when BU started enforcing GPA requirements for RA’s.

Guensly Desir, an RA in BU’s South Campus, spoke on Friday about being fired over GPA requirements. “One bad semester, or even one bad grade, can cost us our ability to afford living on campus, which is exactly what happened to me last semester,” said Desir. “We deserve a contract that protects our peace of mind as we take on the roles of student leaders.”

BUGWU member Meia Sparks-Lin delivers an impassioned speech at Friday’s rally.

“That BU continues to funnel its most financially vulnerable students into unpaid jobs under the promise of housing remission is not an accident. They refuse to meet your demands because they challenge the very system of debt trapping that inflates BU’s $150 million operational surplus,” said BUGWU member Meia Sparks-Lin, speaking at Friday’s rally. 

RA’s have now returned to work, but BUGWU remains on strike for a fair contract. As grads enter their fourth week on the picket line, they are still asking for strike fund donations. You can donate at givebutter.com/bugwufund. 

Vanessa Bartlett is a staff organizer for UAW, an editor of Working Mass, and a member of Boston DSA. She has a background in print and radio journalism, but please don’t hold that against her.

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By Vanessa Bartlett

BOSTON – The Boston University Reslife Union joined BU Graduate Workers on strike, walking out during the Boston Marathon weekend, which they describe as the busiest weekend of the year for Reslife workers. 

“You may know, Halloweekeend, Saint Patrick’s Day are huge days and weekends. Marathon Monday is bigger than all of those combined,” said Jasmine Richardson, a second-year RA and junior at BU. “[RA’s] are incredibly valuable to making sure that Boston University is functioning.” 

RA’s have been negotiating with BU for a contract since December. According to an SEIU-509 press release, undergraduate RA’s, Graduate RA’s and Graduate Hall Assistants all receive housing as compensation. 

The Reslife Union is fighting for a $15/hour wage and a meal plan for all RA’s, as well as temperature control for the summer, a commitment to back-pay, narcan and CPR training, and increased job security. 

RA’s gave BU an ultimatum: meet our demands, or we strike on Marathon weekend. BU dragged their feet, waiting until the day before RA’s were set to strike to respond to the union’s proposals, and not responding to several of their biggest demands.

“We provided ample opportunity for us to reach an agreement with BU, and they kept fumbling the ball,” said Richardson.

Currently, RA’s are subject to dismissal from their positions if their GPA drops below a 2.70 (a B-minus average). “We have actually filed a ULP over this, because only after we unionized was this enforced,” said Richardson. “One staffer was able to prove she never had above a 2.7 for the entire academic year, 2022 through 2023, and then she was fired this year, over the GPA issue. And that was after she had provided many hours of her labor.”

The fact that RA’s job security and housing security are dependent on students’ academic performance, on top of the lack of monetary compensation for hours of labor, add up to an extremely exploitative situation for RA’s.

Guensly Desir, an RA in BU’s South Campus, spoke on Friday about being fired over GPA requirements. “One bad semester, or even one bad grade, can cost us our ability to afford living on campus, which is exactly what happened to me last semester,” said Desir. “We deserve a contract that protects our peace of mind as we take on the roles of student leaders.”

“That BU continues to funnel its most financially vulnerable students into unpaid jobs under the promise of housing remission is not an accident. They refuse to meet your demands because they challenge the very system of debt trapping that inflates BU’s $150 million operational surplus,” said BUGWU member Meia Sparks-Lin, speaking at Friday’s rally. 

RA’s have now returned to work, but BUGWU remains on strike for a fair contract. As grads enter their fourth week on the picket line, they are still asking for strike fund donations. You can donate at givebutter.com/bugwufund. 

Vanessa Bartlett is a staff organizer for UAW, an editor of Working Mass, and a member of Boston DSA. She has a background in print and radio journalism, but please don’t hold that against her.

By Henry De Groot

CHICAGO – Speaking at an event on the first day of Labor Notes, workers from Essential Workers For Democracy (EW4D) announced a lawsuit by two rank and file members which they are bringing against the United Food and Commercial Workers international (UFCW).

“UFCW’s system is rigged to keep certain rank and file members’ voices quiet, just as CEOs and corporations rig the workplace to keep workers’ voices quiet,” said one of the plaintiffs, Iris Scott, who is a grocery worker in Western Massachusetts and member of UFCW 1459.

“We’ve seen how equal representation has transformed the Teamsters, SAG-AFTRA, and UAW into fearless, powerful forces, winning big raises for workers, and organizing more members, through strikes and coordinated bargaining. We want to make UFCW a stronger and more effective force for more than 1 million current members” Scott said in a press release. Scott is a member of River Valley DSA who has previously written on the UFCW reform movement in Working Mass.

The lawsuit focuses on the apportionment system of convention delegates, which appoints larger locals fewer delegates per member than smaller locals. The EW4D suit alleges that this diminishes the rights of members in larger locals.

“Voting rights for union members should not vary by a 300 to 1 ratio depending on the size of the local union you belong to,” said Kyong Berry, UFCW 3000 member and grocery worker in Washington state who is the other plaintiff in the lawsuit.. “My union is the largest with more than 50,000 members but we have fewer votes per member than other unions. This isn’t an accident, it’s the way UFCW International has rigged the system to keep certain people in power indefinitely and it’s illegal.”

The lawsuit also takes issue with how the UFCW constitution privileges ex-officio delegates, by allowing locals to appointment of officers and staffers as delegates while refusing to pay the cost of rank and file delegates to attend convention, thereby elevating the influence of the union officialdom. The constitution also requires that the local president and secretary treasurer serve as the first two delegates of each local’s convention delegation, preventing members from having an equal opportunity to serve as delegates.

“As the Teamsters and UAW show the rest of the nation how to empower rank and file members and win big for workers, other unions like UFCW are lying dormant,” said Steve Williamson, Executive Director of Essential Workers for Democracy, a funder of the lawsuit. “Rank and file members are waking their sleeping union giants. We want to put workers back in control of their own unions to build power so they get what they need to care for themselves and their families.”

One member one vote is largely seen as a transformation reform in the labor movement. The reform, enforced by the federal government on the Teamsters and UAW unions in separate legal actions, helped open a path for opposition candidates Sean O’Brien and Shawn Fain to win contested leadership elections in those unions.

The lawsuit alleges that the issues with representation outlined above result in a violation of Section 101(a)(1) of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, 29 U.S.C. § 411(a)(1), which states as follows:

Every member of a labor organization shall have equal rights and privileges
within such organization to nominate candidates, to vote in elections or
referendums of the labor organization, to attend membership meetings, and
to participate in the deliberations and voting upon the business of such
meetings, subject to reasonable rules and regulations in such organization’s
constitution and bylaws.

Changes in the Teamsters and UAW unions were part of larger investigations into corruption in those unions. It is not clear whether the EW4D lawsuit would have a similarly viable legal path to enforcement.

The lawsuit has been filed by attorney Thomas Geoghegan of Despres, Schwartz & Geoghegan in Chicago. Geoghegan represented the Teamsters Democratic Union against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Department of Justice, which helped establish the permanent right of rank and file Teamsters to directly elect their principal officers, also known as one member, one vote. The complaint on behalf of Kyong Berry of Washington state and Iris Scott of Massachusetts was filed with the D.C. District Court on Friday morning. 

Henry De Groot is the Managing Editor of Working Mass, and formerly the Organizing Director of UFCW local 1445.

Organizing for Labor Notes 2024, remembering Jane McAlevey, and how you can join the fight

The post A collective bargain appeared first on EWOC.

A U.S. House Committee is demanding access to a union’s internal communications after it passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza—a move that threatens both the Palestine solidarity movement and the rights of organized labor.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce sent the subpoena to the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA-UAW Local 2325) in March, after the union passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire, an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and support for workers’ political speech. 

The committee, chaired by Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC), is the same congressional body that held hearings with the presidents of Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the pretext of investigating antisemitism on college campuses. These hearings, and the ensuing criticisms from neoliberal and conservative voices, led to the resignations of the presidents of Penn and Harvard. Now the committee is using its wide latitude of discretionary powers along with antisemitism as a pretense to silence union criticism of Israel and infringe on workers’ constitutional rights.

The committee justifies its invasive legal inquiry in its cover letter under the pretext that “several of Local 2325’s members were forced to be associated with a union that had taken a critical position affecting their faith, the State of Israel, and Israel’s sovereignty.” Alarmingly, in the text of the cover letter to the subpoena, the committee indicates that it may also be using this investigation to look into “whether there is a need to make reforms to the NLRA [National Labor Relations Act] or LMRDA [Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act] to protect labor union members’ rights, to ensure that labor unions act in a manner that advances members’ interests, and to provide appropriate transparency to all members,” indicating that the Committee may have a larger agenda in play.

The Committee’s reasons for inquiry are dubious. After all, the first amendment of the Constitution protects political speech and the right to assembly in particular. The union’s resolution is clearly within the protections of the first amendment as a piece of political writing. Moreover, the union’s resolution was voted on by its members and passed by a considerable margin (1067 to 570).

The content of the resolution itself was devoid of explicitly or implicitly antisemitic language—a viewpoint reinforced in a statement signed by over 100 Jewish members of the ALAA. Titled “Not in Our Name: Never Again is Now”, the statement affirms that the members “stand with the Palestinian people because of [their] Jewish values, not despite them” and that the members “categorically reject the dishonest conflation of antisemitism and anti-Zionism”. The statement also condemns the committee’s inquiry as part of a “new McCarthyism” that “attacks all who speak out against the current atrocity in Gaza,” reaffirms the demands made in the ALAA’s resolution, and further demands that Congress overturn House Resolution 894, which states that anti-Zionism is antisemitism—a conflation and obfuscation which has been used to silence criticism of Israel in the past.

The resolution was penned after Palestinian trade unions issued a statement calling for unionists worldwide to pressure governments to stop all military funding for Israel, take action against companies involved in Israel’s brutal and illegal siege, and pass motions to this effect. It also draws attention to the genocidal public statements made by Israeli public officials following October 7, as well as Israel’s genocidal bombing campaign in Gaza and the death toll of 11,000 Palestinians at the time of the resolution’s writing. In accordance with the ALAA’s values as a union of legal workers serving the people of New York City, the ALAA calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to Israeli apartheid and the occupation and blockade of Palestinian land, sea, and air by Israeli military forces. The ALAA opposes all existing and any future military aid to Israel, endorses Not on Our Dime legislation, supports the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland, and resoundingly rejects all attempts to intimidate workers for their political speech on Palestine.

The committee’s inquiry into the ALAA’s activities arrives on the eve of their hearing with the administration of Columbia University, where bad faith allegations of antisemitism were used to punish universities for not fully repressing student protests of Israel and Columbia University’s ties to Israel. The Committee’s recent attacks on the ALAA along with its continued attacks on political speech on university campuses suggest that it is making a concerted effort to silence intellectual dissent and workers’ protest of the government’s continued support of Israel. The government of the United States has long been a funder of Israel and its genocidal and illegal policies towards Palestinians—and callous statements from U.S. public officials show no indication that the government intends to cut Israel’s funding.

The ALAA responded to the subpoena on March 25, 2024 and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and Levy Ratner sent a letter on behalf of the ALAA, rightfully objecting to the Committee’s specific requests as overbroad and invasive. The union has refused to share any documents with the Committee that are not already publicly available. “ALAA stands behind our resolution and the democratic processes that led to its overwhelming passage. We are proud to be part of the growing movement of unions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. We continue to condemn all forms of antisemitism and Islamophobia, and reject the harmful rhetoric that conflates anti-zionism with antisemitism. Our membership will not be intimidated into abandoning our core principles, including advancing the interests of working people worldwide by this blatant attack on organized labor” said Leah Duncan, ALAA Financial Secretary-Treasurer.

DSA’s International Committee expressed support for the ALAA when the NY Supreme Court wrongfully blocked the union from voting on its ceasefire resolution back in November 2023. Labor unions have a right to political speech, and, as an organization, DSA recognizes the protection of this right as central to the struggle for socialism. Further solidarity efforts are necessary to support the ALAA in its struggle against the McCarthyite House Committee’s legal probe, however. As the HCEW intensifies its efforts to silence any political speech that is pro-Palestine in both the workplace and in higher education, DSA in turn must amplify the efforts of labor unions to resist congressional overreach. This may well be a critical moment where a positive outcome would strengthen the rights of labor unions and curtail the HCEW’s power and influence.

The just armed resistance in Palestine, as well as Israel’s heinous crimes against humanity perpetrated in the wake of the Palestinian resistance’s counteroffensive, has become a point of primary contradiction in the struggle against American imperialism. The ruling class interests clearly align with continuing to support the settler-colonial entity known as Israel. The working masses recognize that the Palestinian cause is righteous. It is the duty of socialists and the American working class to oppose the government’s imperialist policies in solidarity with, and in the interest of, the global working class and the Palestinian people in particular. To that end, New York City DSA and the National Labor Commission must publicly and institutionally support the ALAA’s fight against state repression, and condemn the House Committee on Education and the Workforce as anti-labor and anti-Palestinian. 

Ask yourselves: what kind of precedent is set when Congress is able to police the speech of the working class? The dual threats of state repression and the rise of fascism are very real. To deny the importance of this legal battle would be to deny the importance of workers’ political speech and the just struggle of the Palestinian people. Every conflict with the state is a battle of principle. We can never lose, as a matter of principle, so long as we remain on the side of the people—and the people demand a FREE PALESTINE!

The post Union Solidarity with Gaza Under Attack appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

The successful struggle for telework, transit subsidies, alternate work schedules and similar programs was the result of the hard work of federal workers and their unions.

Enjoy your April National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected 18-person body (including two YDSA members who share a vote) which functions as the board of directors of DSA.

And to make sure you get our newsletters in your inbox, sign up here! Each one features action alerts, upcoming events, political education, and more.

• From the National Political Committee — Deliberate and Afraid of Nothing
• Sunday 4/21 — Come Phonebank with Socialists in Office for the Choose Solidarity Bonanza!
• Disability Working Group Relaunch and Disability Justice 101 Presentation Series
• Subscribe to our Democratic Left Newsletter!

From the National Political Committee — Deliberate and Afraid of Nothing

A few days ago, we received Jane McAlevey’s heartbreaking announcement that she has ceased treatments for an aggressive form of cancer and is entering hospice care in her home. The loss of McAlevey’s writing, teaching skills, and contagious hard-nosed willpower will be widely and acutely felt across the labor movement and the broader left, where her critical organizing and analysis played an outsize role in our recent growth after many decades of retreat. Our thoughts are with her and her loved ones as they navigate this transition.

If you are newer to DSA, you may not realize how transformative Jane’s guidance has been to our organization in particular, especially in the post-Bernie-Bump era. In 2019, Jane hosted a training series specifically for DSA organizers based on her groundbreaking book No Shortcuts. You can watch videos of her three sessions here — and we encourage you to do so, especially alongside comrades from your chapter.

Our methodology as DSA organizers largely comes directly from Jane’s synthesis of best labor organizing practices, painstakingly researched back to the earliest days of the US labor movement: how we approach listwork, organizing conversations, and structure tests; our entire framework of campaign-focused organizing with clear win or lose conditions that help us figure out what actually works; the importance of relational organizing and power-mapping, and on and on and on. 

Jane’s model of whole-worker organizing encouraged us to organize as hard as possible as workers in our workplaces, and to see this as tied intimately to organizing to change conditions in our community as a whole — that in fact, organizing for any lasting change on any particular issues we care about requires that workers figure out how to organize their power with an expansive sense of their own self-interest in solidarity with many others. Many of us who participated in her trainings remember pieces of sharp advice she offered, like: “Stop talking and get into a win or lose campaign, and let people rise or fall with their actions.”

Losing her mind and spirit and whip-smart analysis is devastating, but so much of her work will live on for as long as it takes to win the whole world. Jane concluded her announcement with a quote from the brilliant Audre Lorde: I am deliberate and afraid of nothing. May we all find such grace and courage for the fights ahead.

In Solidarity and Sadness,

Ashik Siddique and Megan Romer
DSA National Co-Chairs

Sunday 4/21 — Come Phonebank with Socialists in Office for the Choose Solidarity Bonanza!

Join New York State Assembly Members Zohran Mamdani, Marcela Mitaynes, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Sarahan Shrestha, and NY State Senator Jabari Brisport this Sunday 4/21 for our ALL DAY Choose Solidarity Bonanza! Hear campaign updates and hit the phones to ask comrades to switch to Solidarity Dues so we can build the powerful working class organization we need to win! 

Every hour a member spends on a Solidarity Dues phonebank raises approximately $1000 for DSA over the year. We’ll start calling at 12pm ET/11am CT/10am MT/9am PT and go until 6pm ET/5pm CT/4pm MT/3pm PT. Hop on for a shift or stick around for the whole day!

Can’t make it on 4/21, but ready to make some calls? Check out upcoming Solidarity Dues phonebanks here and get signed up for a time that works for you!

Disability Working Group Relaunch and Disability Justice 101 Presentation Series

The Disability Working Group (DWG) is reorganizing after a period of inactivity. We invite DSA chapters and committees to reach out and engage with us in the work of making DSA a more welcoming and inclusive space for your disabled comrades! 

Relatedly, the DWG is relaunching our Disability Justice 101 presentation series, which aims to educate our fellow comrades on the tenets of Disability Justice and the indispensable role which disabled people have to play in our socialist movement. Chapters interested in the Disability Justice 101 presentation, or in working more generally with DWG, please contact [email protected].

Subscribe to our Democratic Left Newsletter!

Our national publication, Democratic Left, is relaunching. Subscribe to our online monthly newsletter today! You’ll receive new pieces from members across the country, including reports, reviews, profiles, and so much more.

The post Deliberate and Afraid of Nothing — Your National Political Committee Newsletter appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

In this episode we meet Jonathan Soto, the DSA endorsed candidate running for New York State Assembly in the North East Bronx. Jonathan is a public school parent, an inter-faith organizer and a democratic socialist, campaigning to unseat longtime incumbent Michael Benedetto in Assembly District 82.