In this episode, we sit with Dr. Tim Conder and Dr. Daniel Rhodes of the Black Mountain School of Theology and Community to discuss a marxist, community-centered mode of theological research, organizing, and education. Visit their website at https://blackmountainschool.org

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, 4/23 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Mutual Aid Priority Meeting (Zoom)

Wednesday, 4/24 (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): DSA SF Karaoke Night at TaishoSF (In person at TaishoSF, 1161 Post Street)

Thursday, 4/25 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity Working Group (Zoom)

Friday, 4/26 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, April 27 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Meet at Kimbell Playground at the corner of Geary and Steiner St.)

Sunday, April 28 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder Campaign Mobilization (Meet at Coleridge Park)

Sunday, April 28 (1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.): May Day 4 Palestine Art Build (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Tuesday, April 30 (1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.): SFMTA Hearing – Stop the MUNI Fare Increase (In person at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 400, Floor 4)

Wednesday, May 1 (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.): International Workers Day March and Rally (Meet at 24th St. BART)

Wednesday, May 1 (6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): New Member Happy Hour at Zeitgeist (In person at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia)

Thursday, May 2 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity Working Group (Zoom)

Thursday, May 2 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Ecosocialist Monthly Meeting (Zoom)

Thursday, May 2 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (Zoom)

Friday, May 3 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, May 4 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder Campaign Mobilization (Location TBD)

Saturday, May 4 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Sock Distro (Meet in person at 1916 McAllister)

Check out https://dsasf.org/events/ for more events.

Events & Actions

DSA SF Endorses Jackie Fielder for District 9 Supervisor!

We are excited to endorse Jackie Fielder for District 9 Supervisor! A Democratic Socialist, renter, water protector, and climate advocate, Jackie is dedicated to social housing, community safety, and a public bank. Join us to get Jackie to City Hall! We’ll have mobilization events every weekend leading up to election day, so keep an eye out for opportunities to lend a hand.

Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization on Sunday, 4/27

We’ll be having a mobilization this Saturday, April 27th starting at 10:00 a.m. at the Raymond Kimbell Playground on the corner of Geary and Steiner Street. The voters we’ve talked to love Dean’s record of tenant protections and taxing the wealthy to provide funds for affordable housing, and we’re hoping to reach even more people to get Dean re-elected so he can continue to deliver results for tenants! Join us and show the billionaires that just like Dean, San Francisco is for the people, not the powerful!

Jackie Fielder Campaign Mobilization at Coleridge Park!

Join us this Sunday, April 28th for a mobilization for Jackie Fielder’s campaign at Coleridge Park at 10:00 a.m.! We’ll be getting the word out for District 9’s future socialist-in-office.

Organizing for Power: Core Fundamentals Training Registration Closes Friday!

Registration for the Organizing for Power: Core Fundamentals training is closing  this Friday, April 26th! This training focuses on how working people can use the strength of our numbers to build majority-led disciplined structures that come together around shared goals and win campaigns in our workplace, including:

• leader identification: understanding who can move people, and that it’s often not who you first think;
• semantics: recognizing that the words we use matter – they must center each worker’s active participation as key to winning;
• structured organizing conversations: preparing what it takes to win over the hardest-to-move leaders;
• charting: incorporating a simple method to understand human social relationships, and to prioritize and systematize outreach;
• structure tests: developing mini campaigns to build solidarity and site structure, and to know when you are ready to win.

If you’re interested in learning how to become a better organizer, register using the form below!

Spring Socials with DSA SF

Come hang out with your friendly neighborhood socialists this spring! For the next few months we will be having a variety of outings and you are invited – be sure to mark your calendars and watch this space for more details! Our next event is a karaoke night at TaishoSF this Wednesday, April 24th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and we can’t wait to see you there!

The 2024 Chapter Convention is Coming Soon!

It’s all hands on deck as we prepare for the 2024 Chapter Convention this June 15th and 16th! Here are some handy reminders for the next few weeks to help you get ready.

• Nominations for Steering and Grievance Officers are open! Submit your nominations here. Nominations will remain open until the May 8th chapter meeting, and elections will be held at the convention in June.
• April 24th – Deadline to submit bylaws amendments for voting at Convention
• April 28th – Deadline to submit priority resolutions for feedback from Steering
• May 1st – Pre-Convention Info Session and Workshop #2
• May 8th – May Chapter Meeting
  • This is the deadline to submit priority resolutions to steering
  • Bylaws amendments concerning voting at Convention must be read to the chapter for consideration at this meeting.
  • Annual reportbacks from all chapter bodies
  • Nominations close for Steering Committee and Grievance Officers
  • First reading on proposed bylaws amendments
• May 16th – Deadline to notify all members of the upcoming convention

Tenant Organizing Movie Night Boom: The Sound of Eviction

Join the DSA SF Tenant Organizing Working Group for our next movie night on Saturday, May 11th at 5:00 p.m. at 1916 McAllister! We’ll be watching Boom: The Sound of Eviction. While our city’s rulers and the fawning media celebrated the Dot-Com Boom of the ‘90s, the reality was different for thousands of tenants who were evicted or priced out. From the dot-com party crashing at one end of the economic spectrum to painful moments with evicted families at the other, this documentary features interviews with dot-com workers, real estate developers, and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, as well as those who challenged the new economic order through community organizing, electoral politics, and direct action.

This event is free and open to the public, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Kickball(s) for Abortion Access on May 18th

Connect with your neighbors on Saturday, May 18th at 1:00 p.m. while raising money for abortion access!

San Franciscans don’t need to be reminded that the struggle for bodily autonomy is universal. Or, that when someone is denied an abortion it’s more than a hardship for the individual and their family—it’s a test of our community and our commitment to basic human rights. So, let’s put our money where our mouths have been, are, and always will be: BALLS DEEP FOR ABORTION!

We’ll have a friendly fundraising competition, kickball tournament, snack bar, prizes & more! 100% of proceeds will be donated to Texas grassroots abortion access orgs Frontera Fund and Buckle Bunnies (recommended by our comrades at DSA Austin).

For more information about how to get involved, RSVP below!

Behind the Scenes

The Chapter Coordination Committee (CCC) regularly rotates duties among chapter members. This allows us to train new members in key duties that help keep the chapter running like organizing chapter meetings, keeping records updated, office cleanup, updating the DSA SF website and newsletter, etc. Members can view current CCC rotations.

Questions? Feedback? Something to add?

We welcome your feedback. If you have comments or suggestions, send a message to the #newsletter channel on Slack.

For information on how to add content, check out the Newsletter Q&A thread.

The Democratic Socialists of America’s International Committee (DSA IC) affirms Iran’s right to self-defense in response to the illegal Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. DSA IC reiterates our firm opposition to providing any military or diplomatic assistance to the Zionist project, which is currently engaged in a genocidal campaign against the Palestinians and reckless attacks on neighboring states, posing a serious risk of escalating into a full-blown regional conflict. We oppose any U.S. participation in or support of Israeli strikes against Iran and denounce punitive measures such as sanctions and travel bans enacted by the Biden administration or Congress in response to Iran’s defensive strikes on Israel. 

Despite western attempts to paint Iran as the aggressor, DSA IC recognizes that Iran has long been targeted by the U.S. and its allies for its efforts to establish national self-determination and champion Palestinian liberation. Since the CIA-orchestrated overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953, the US and Israel have wrought war on the Iranian people by murdering millions in the Iran-Iraq war, carrying out regular assassinations of its leaders, scientists, and top-commanders on diplomatic missions, and depriving the Iranian people of necessary medical supplies through sanctions. This is part of the U.S.’s imperial policy: destruction and de-development against any country that exercises sovereignty or opposes U.S. hegemony. 

The Israeli Occupation Force’s (IOF) April 1st strike against the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, which killed at least 16 people including a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander, represents an extremely serious violation of international laws and norms governing diplomatic relations between states, including the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and 1963 Convention on Consular Relations. The Biden administration’s “iron-clad” support of the Zionist project has allowed Israel to operate with total impunity, resulting in gross violations of international humanitarian law and military provocations against regional allies of Palestinians which threaten to destabilize the whole of West Asia. 

Not only has the Biden administration refused to deescalate the current crisis with a denunciation of  the Israeli strikes on the Iranian consulate, but it also blocked the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) from doing so. Likewise, President Biden did not act on the purported Iranian offer to forgo a retaliatory strike on Israel in exchange for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. On April 13th, Iran launched a limited defensive strike against Israel, hitting several Israeli bases including the Netavim Air Base from which the attack on the Damascus consulate was launched. The strike was telegraphed in advance, allowing for ample preparation by Israel and the U.S. The strike’s success highlights the ability of Iran to defend itself against Zionist aggression and restore crucial deterrence against increasingly rogue Israeli actions. Additionally, the Iranian defensive strikes have helped to further undermine the mantle of invincibility which the Zionist project has constructed in order to allow its continual ethnic cleansing and genocide in their colonial occupation of Palestine. 

While it is reported that the Biden administration will not participate in Israeli strikes against Iran, continued statements of “iron-clad” support for Israel leave the door open for runaway escalation. With Israeli Occupation Forces crossing the Lebanese border in recent days, intensifying bombing of southern Lebanon, and their continued genocide in Gaza, Israel is dragging the U.S. into a larger death spiral. DSA IC reiterates our demands for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to all military aid to Israel and an end to sanctions against the people of Iran. The power to stop this genocide and end this rapidly escalating regional crisis remains in Biden’s hands. The Biden administration bears full responsibility for every death that follows. No war with Iran! Free Palestine!

The post DSA IC Affirms Iran’s Right to Self-Defense appeared first on DSA International Committee.

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.