Monthly Newsletter of the Rochester Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America

The post Rochester Red Star | October 2024 (Issue 06) first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

by Rochester Grants Pass Resistance

Editor’s Note: ROC DSA livestreamed this event. A recording is available on our YouTube page, here: YouTube.com/@rocdsa (Note: Timestamped to first speaker).

Housing advocates are holding a press conference to address the devastating Supreme Court decision that  criminalizes homelessness, Grants Pass v. Johnson. In the wake of the ruling, the group Rochester Grants Pass Resistance formed to address how the case could impact Rochester. 

The Supreme Court found that laws regulating camping on public property does not constitute “cruel and  unusual punishment” prohibited by the Eighth Amendment; allowing municipalities to arrest and fine  individuals for sleeping outdoors, even when there are no shelters available. 

We anticipate that this decision will have a significant impact on Monroe County’s population of  houseless individuals. We note alarming impacts of the Grants Pass decision in other cities: San Francisco  is preparing for more aggressive encampment sweeps that could include criminal penalties, and Portland  has enacted a long-planned city camping ban. We want to protect the houseless individuals living in our  community from facing similar consequences as a result of this decision. 

The press conference will feature multiple speakers who have been directly impacted by homelessness. They will describe why they are unable to access shelter. We will announce our call for legislative action and present a list of demands of the City of Rochester and Monroe County to limit the consequences of this court decision and help our houseless neighbors. 

RGPR is bringing the following demands to Rochester City Council and the Monroe County Legislature to address the potential impacts and protect our houseless neighbors: 

1. Make a municipal commitment not to arrest or fine people for sleeping in public areas.

2. Stop the “sweeps” of homeless encampments, including ending confiscation of individuals’ personal property. 

3. Remove all hostile architecture. 

4. Provide Housing for All: an apartment for each houseless person. 

5. Create No-barrier Shelter: meet people where they are, as they are. 

6. Fund Housing for All: direct tax on rental income or a countywide tax on sale of property.

7. Create a Housing Task Force to advise policy changes (Overdose Prevention Centers, overhaul of  DHS sanctions, MH community-based housing funding, housing vouchers).

Editor’s Note: The event, originally scheduled for ‘Peace Village,’ at 161 Industrial St., was forced to move several times. These updates are shared below.

[Update 9/28 @ 1:20pm] The city blocked off broad street at industrial street (peace village) so the press conference is moving to 1248 north Clinton Ave. Please find us there.

[Update 9/28 @ 1:58pm] We have heard that bringing people to North Clinton will be harmful to the folks in the encampment here. The encampment has been harassed by police often as of late. So we will move the press conference to the corner of Joseph and Loomis at the fenced in lot. Thank you for joining us at 3:15pm, to give you all time to make adjustments to another location. This, incidentally, is what it’s like, in a small way, to be unhoused and pushed from place to place, welcome nowhere, unwelcome again and again.

The post Press Conference to Demand Monroe County Protect Homeless Following Supreme Court Decision  first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

This fall voters face yet another election where we are left to choose between the threat of fascism or the neoliberal status quo. On one hand, Trump represents the threat of mass deportations of immigrants, attacks on bodily autonomy and LGBTQ rights, deepening attacks on unions and workers, racist attacks on people of color, and […]

by Brinn F.

The fight against climate change can often seem distant and on a scale beyond what the average person has the power to do. While it’s true that saving our planet is a task that can only be accomplished through collective action, we have an opportunity for that action right here in Austin, Texas. Within the past year, the city of Austin has unveiled a plan to construct a gas plant to be operated by Austin Energy. This unsustainable plan would only further add to the pollution in a city already struggling to keep the air safe and breathable.

It was this proposal that galvanized Austin’s environmentalists to form the Public Power Campaign. This broad coalition comprised people from a variety of backgrounds such as environmentalism, labor organizing, and simply being a concerned resident of Austin. The possibility of the city investing its limited resources towards a non-renewable, polluting source of energy was enough to pull together a diverse base of support.

The most immediate goal of the public power campaign is to prevent the construction of the planned gas power plant. However, the campaign extends beyond that to fight for climate justice well into the future. Beyond stopping the expansion of non-renewable energy, the campaign advocates for the construction of renewable sources of energy here in Austin. Not only would this create a safer environment to live in, it would also give the city access to federal funds under the Inflation Reduction Act. With this plan, Austin has the opportunity to be a national leader by simultaneously creating clean and sustainable energy infrastructure and growing the city budget.

Another priority of the Public Power Campaign is ensuring that the transition to green energy is done in a way that protects Austin’s workers in the long term. An invaluable part of the campaign has been its cooperation with organized labor. A common concern about the push for renewables is that it risks putting workers in the energy sector out of a job. By working so closely with, and being spearheaded by, workers in the field, the campaign’s goals have been tailored to protect labor during this transition. The campaign is fighting to prevent Austin’s energy infrastructure being sold off to private interests who are more likely to lay off workers for profit. At the same time, the campaign is pushing for protections to guarantee workers can continue to work in the field once unsustainable sources of energy are replaced by sustainable ones.

There are a number of ways to get involved with this effort. Those in the Public Power Campaign have emphasized that this work can only be accomplished with the continued efforts and support of Austin’s communities. One of the best ways to get involved at time of writing is to participate in the upcoming climate town hall hosted by the Austin Democratic Socialists of America. The town hall will take place on September 29th at 2:00 PM located at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection Parish Hall. Beyond attending Public Power Campaign events, representatives from the campaign encouraged people to support candidates who advance climate justice such as Mike Siegel, the DSA’s endorsed candidate for the District 7 council seat. As well as pushing for supportive candidates, a great way to help out is to talk to others about the campaign and its importance for the future health of our community.

In the fight for climate justice, the challenges ahead are significant. The construction of the planned gas plant would have negative effects for both Austin’s health and economy for decades to come. However, the combined efforts of so many sectors of this community have created a real chance to not only prevent this current catastrophe, but to go further and fight for future victories. Only through solidarity and collective effort can the Public Power Campaign help bring about a cleaner, just, and more prosperous future for the people of Austin.

This article was written based on information generously provided in interviews with Austin DSA Members Jay P. and Ramsey B.

The post Public Power Campaign Fights for a Green Austin first appeared on Red Fault.

Unions have relied on staff to encourage members to build the union through new organizing at non-union workplaces, but they could be doing much more.

The post Every Member an Organizer appeared first on EWOC.

How Maryland organizers used electoral canvassing to make voting about something more than the candidate—a tool in the fight for Palestinian liberation.

Metro DC DSA claims to be a “vehicle for the working class”. How can we open the door wider? Some thoughts...

Years ago, a judge found the NYPD's Stop and Frisk practice a form of systemic racial discrimination. The Stop and Frisk program in DC is even worse. Why can't we stop it?

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, September 24 (6:00 p.m.): Emergency Protest – All Out for Lebanon at the SF Federal Building (In person at 90 7th St.)

Wednesday, September 25 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1630 Haight)

Wednesday, September 25 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Independent Outreach (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Thursday, September 26 (5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Weekday Mobilization for Jackie Fielder (Meet at 3389 26th St.)

Thursday, September 26 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1630 Haight)

Thursday, September 26 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Thursday, September 26 (6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Ecosocialist Monthly Meeting (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Thursday, September 26 (7:30 p.m. – 9:15 p.m.): Palestine and Socialism Study Group: Session 2 (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Friday, September 27 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, September 28 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Meet at Alamo Square at Scott and Hayes)

Saturday, September 28 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Food Service – Castro (Location TBD)

Sunday, September 29 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder for D9 Supervisor Mobilization (Meet at Holly Park at Holly Circle & Bocana)

Monday, September 30 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Meeting (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Monday, September 30 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (Zoom)

Wednesday, October 2 (6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): New Member Happy Hour (In person at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia)

Friday, October 4 (11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Canvass (Meet in person at 876 Valencia)

Saturday, October 5 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Outreach Training (In person at 1916 McAllister)

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

Events & Actions

Emergency Protest TODAY: All Out for Lebanon!

There is an emergency protest today (Tuesday, 9/24) at 6:00 p.m. at the SF Federal Building at 90 7th St. in response to Israel’s attack on Lebanon this week.

Heavy Israeli air raids have killed 324 people, including 24 children, and seriously injured over 1,200 people. In response, the Bay Area is mobilizing a protest to show our solidarity with Lebanon and the Lebanese people, demand an end to Israel’s violence and escalation in the Middle East, and an end to the United States’ ongoing complicity in Israeli war crimes.

Palestine and Socialism Study Group

Looking to learn more about the history of the Palestinian liberation struggle with like-minded comrades? Been skeptical about whether socialist theory has anything to offer to the movement? Join DSA SF’s Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group on Thursday, September 26 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss these questions and more.

This event is the 2nd of 3 sessions in this series. In the last session, we covered some of the historical realities that underpin the Zionist movement and the establishment of the state of Israel.

This session will focus on frameworks outlined in Lenin’s Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism and The Right of Nations to Self Determination. Join us in a political discussion about how these frameworks can inform the current movement to liberate Palestine from the river to the sea.

This will be a hybrid event at 1916 McAllister St and on Zoom.

Volunteer with the Dean Team This Week!

We have ONE WEEK before ballots drop, so we’re pulling out all the stops! Come volunteer with the Extreme Dean Team this week. We have five different opportunities for you to show up and show out:

• 9/24: Turnout Tuesday (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at 1916 McAllister)
• 9/25, 9/26: Phonebanking (5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at 1630 Haight)
• 9/28: Canvass with the DSA (Meet at 10:00 a.m. at Alamo Square at Scott and Hayes)
• 9/29: Rally for Rent Control and Affordable Housing with Yes on 5 and Yes on 33 (10:00 a.m. at Raymond Kimbell Playground at Geary and Steiner)

Door Knock with the Jackie Fielder Campaign This Sunday!

Come door knock with the Jackie Team this Sunday, September 29th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Holly Park (Holly Circle and Bocana) and get out the word out about her campaign! We’ll be talking with our neighbors in D9 about what makes Jackie great and stacking voter IDs. Come out and help us get a socialist elected to represent District 9!

No Appetite for Apartheid in SF!

Inspired by long-standing Palestinian boycott tactics and the BDS call, the Palestine Solidarity Anti-Imperialist Working Group are canvassing local stores and asking them to pledge to become Apartheid-Free by dropping products from companies complicit in the genocide of Palestinians and colonization of Palestine. It’s time to turn up the heat on this apartheid regime and take apartheid off our plates!

Want to show your support? Sign our Apartheid-Free Pledge so business owners know how popular this movement is with their local customers. After signing the pledge, we would love to see you at any of our upcoming campaign strategy sessions and canvassing days. Check dsasf.org/events for updates.

Benefit Concert for Gaza

Join your DSA SF comrades and our coalition partners on Saturday, October 5th at a benefit concert for Gaza, in support of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people facing this ongoing genocide. This will be a night of Palestinian art and culture, with performances by Ramzi Aburedwan & his Dalouna Ensemble featuring Ouday Al Khatib. All proceeds of the event will be donated to the Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance (MECA). MECA has been instrumental in providing emergency assistance to families who have fled their homes. Discounted early bird tickets are available until this Friday!

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.

To help with the day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running, fill out the CCC help form.

2024 COMMITTEE PLATFORM UPDATES

Proposed Platforms

• Administrative Committee (Standing Committee)
• Climate Justice Committee
• Electoral Committee (Standing Committee)
• Housing and Homelessness Committee
• Labor Committee
• Mutual Aid Committee
  • Proposed Amendment to Mutual Aid Committee Platform
• Political Education Committee

Language updated and/or added to the platforms as of October 28, 2024, are noted with red colored text.

You can review more details and information about the 2024 Committee Platform Updates Plan and Process here.

Finalizing the Committee Platforms

The ratified Committee Platforms and Contested Amendments will be presented, debated, and voted on at the November Chapter Meeting on Saturday, November 9th.

Each platform and proposed amendment will receive a 2 minute motivation, followed by arguments for and against to conclude with a vote by show of hands. Each argument for and against will not exceed 75 seconds. Each debate block, which covers both the motivation and arguments for and against, will not exceed 9 minutes. Contested floor amendments will not be permitted given there was a formal process to submit amendments that concluded on October 28, 2024.

Committee Platforms must receive a two-thirds supermajority vote of the meeting attendees to be adopted and finalized. Proposed Amendments must receive a 50% + 1 vote of the meeting attendees to amend a Committee Platform.

The above set of rules are the same set of rules used for the 2024 DSA-LA Chapter Convention.

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Administrative Committee

(Standing Committee)
admin@dsa-la.org
Ratified at October Branch Meetings

Administrative Committee (AdCom) is a standing committee of DSA-LA that exists to fulfill core administrative work and assist elected leaders in making the chapter run smoothly by adding capacity to Steering Committee & building institutional functions. The committee is to work according to the direction of Steering Committee and its appointed liaisons.

Membership – AdCom members are to be appointed by Steering Committee by simple majority . Eligible candidates must attend at least two meetings of the committee followed by a written recommendation from Administrative Committee to Steering Committee on the appointment. Appointed members should be highly capable members who know how to develop projects and delegate tasks. Members will serve at the pleasure of Steering Committee or until resignation.

Chair – Per the bylaws, as a standing committee, a chair should be elected annually by the chapter from among committee’s membership.

Working Groups – Appointed AdCom members are given a mandate to lead approved Working Groups made up of volunteers who have been onboarded and trained to handle specific tasks. Working group meetings will not be posted on the calendar, but there should be clearly advertised opportunities for interested members to learn how to get involved. Working groups should not launch their own large-scale projects without guidance from a Steering Committee liaison, although they are empowered to use discretion when it comes to implementing directives given to them.

The currently approved Working Groups include:

• Operations (supporting the Recording Secretary via chapter tech projects and issues related to member data)
• Events (supporting Steering-At-Large via chapter meetings and other events)
• Comms (supporting the Communications Director via external and internal communications)
• Finance and Fundraising (supporting the Treasurer in maintaining the financial health of the organization)
• Growth & Development (supporting Steering-At-Large via member recruitment, capacity development, & recommitment)

Voting Facilitation – AdCom members will support internal elections/voting within the chapter by facilitating the formation & training of the Nominations Committee, performing the logistical tasks associated with internal chapter votes & sharing the results with Steering Committee, & aiding leadership transition by sharing access information & documentation.

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Climate Justice Committee

climatejustice@dsa-la.org
Ratified at a Committee Meeting

Introduction
At DSA-LA Climate Justice, we believe capitalism is the root cause of the climate crisis. Capitalism requires continuous growth, but you can’t have infinite growth on a finite planet. Capitalism tells us that our personal consumer choices are the only way to express our values, but the climate crisis demands a systemic, institutional overhaul. Capitalism tells us that market forces optimize outcomes, but the invisible hand chokes, smashes, and steals. Decades of denial, deception, and exploitation show how capitalism consolidates power at our collective peril. Capitalism pits workers against each other, but protecting ourselves and the planet requires solidarity. We can truly address the climate crisis through collective action, where workers and communities unite. Capitalism foists “negative externalities” on people who never had a say in decisions to extract our planet’s natural resources or exploit workers. While billionaires, the wealthy, and corporations contribute the most to the climate crisis, the ones who bear the brunt of the consequences, such as low-income workers and BIPOC communities, are often the ones least responsible.

The climate crisis is not a standalone issue; it intersects with all parts of DSA’s work. Will we allow market forces to hasten our descent into cruelty and injustice, or will we seize this opportunity to reshape our economy and way of living? The socialist response is clear: solidarity, organizing, and action. We refuse to be disheartened by the challenge of the climate emergency, and instead, we stand in unity with our fellow workers and inhabitants of this planet. As stated in DSA’s Green New Deal Principles, We can no longer tolerate an extractive system that siphons wealth from nature, communities, workers, and vulnerable communities while burdening them with all the costs. We will no longer accept corporate monopolies and their political puppets dictating the resources we need and the course of our lives. We demand justice and power for The People to shape our future—one that is inclusive, equitable, and just for everyone today and future generations.

Our long-term goal is implementing a real Green New Deal in Los Angeles. This includes:

• Energy — let’s decarbonize and democratize the grid and create good-paying green union jobs.
  • Cap and clean all oil industry sites and polluted brownfields with union workers setting aside ample land for green space and mixed-income public housing.
  • Offer a “just transition” for all workers currently employed in fossil fuel industries to unionized jobs in clean energy.
  • Create new public programs to ensure equitable climate adaptation. Ensure that no Angelenos are left behind during climate instability, such as drought, heat waves, etc
• Robust Public Transit & Pedestrian Safety
  • LA is ramping up public transit projects in the lead-up to the 2028 Olympics. Any new projects should focus on city residents rather than just visitors.
  • Newly built and created transit lines should provide restrooms, shade, and expanded housing & crisis intervention services.
  • Transit should be fare-free for ALL riders.
  • Bike lanes, sidewalks, and pedestrian crossings should be upkept and expanded with funds for Measure HLA.
• Land use — let’s prioritize people and nature instead of private profit.
  • Protecting local biodiversity by planting trees and promoting drought tolerant vegetation is one of the best ways to combat the urban heat island effect. In addition, we oppose sprawl as a way to build more housing, and supporting inclusionary zoning and infill affordable housing development allowing folks to live close to where they work and go to school.
  • All people should have access to robust public spaces such as parks and green space as a means of building strong communities.
• Protecting our water resources
  • Water conservation practices such as: stormwater capture, utilizing drought-tolerant and native plants in open spaces, gardens, and front yards are essential to decreasing our reliance on imported water to Southern California
  • Reduced reliance on plastics is essential to reduce pollution in our oceans.

Leadership Structure

The DSA-LA Climate Justice Committee is led by two chairs and two coordinators, elected for one-year terms during the chapter-wide elections held at the beginning of each year. Committee Chairs are responsible for formulating agendas and facilitating regular meetings accessible to the general DSA-LA membership. They help maintain focus and move forward on the program and priorities that were established by the committee. Committee Chairs also direct an onboarding process for new members to the committee and to the local chapter. Committee Coordinators are responsible for staying updated on ongoing work and opportunities to collaborate and share resources across DSA-LA’s internal resources and other issue-based committees. Coordinators will also send reports and communications to steering as required by the local’s bylaws. Any DSA-LA member in good standing is eligible to run for Climate Justice Committee chair or coordinator.

Near-Term Goals

1. Agitate towards escalating climate strikes in coalition with other climate groups, Palestine human rights groups supporting BDS, and organized labor.
2. Work to elect leaders who believe in the Green New Deal project, and utilize the DSA SIO program to work continuously with them post-election to fight for a real Green New Deal.
3. Lobby legislators and administrators for climate justice. This includes ongoing efforts to shut down dangerous gas facilities such as Aliso Canyon, Playa Del Rey, and the Chevron refinery in El Segundo and supporting statewide efforts to bring private utilities under public control.
4. Host regular meetings focused on the political education of committee members and DSA-LA members to encourage the growth of new leaders trained in ecosocialist organizing.
5. Ensure that LA City Council and other relevant bodies fully fund and enact Measure HLA and the 2035 Mobility Plan and other opportunities to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety.
6. Ensure that a viable successor to Proposition K (a measure that provides tax funding for parks and recreation facilities, which expires in 2026) is written, passed, and implemented. Utilize the SIO program to shape a new city project aligning with ecosocialist principles.
7. Organize transit ridership and transit labor around opportunities to improve public transit safety, cleanliness, and reliability in Los Angeles. Prioritize providing fare-free transit to all, building and improving amenities to serve riders and workers, demilitarizing Metro security and intervention, and improving working conditions for all Metro workers.
8. Coordinate with local union leaders to encourage adding GND principles to union contracts during collective bargaining, similar to the GND4PS demands that UTLA won in 2023.
9. In coalition with other community partners, demand that city leaders green public spaces such as the LA River and areas affected by the Urban Heat Island Effect. Engage in direct action by planting native trees, flowers, and other foliage, as well as cleanup projects and invasive species removal; utilize such events as outreach & recruitment opportunities.
10. Implement city-wide programs to systemically increase tree canopy to fight the urban heat island effect.
11. In conjunction with SIO, push city council and county officials to effectively utilize Measure W funds to create more stormwater capture programs for residents.
12. Push for developing more distributed generation solar/clean energy production & storage in communities most affected by pollution, creating green jobs, especially in communities of color.

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Electoral Committee

(Standing Committee)
electoralpolitics@dsa-la.org
Ratified at a Committee Meeting

MISSION STATEMENT
A democratic socialist world will only be possible when the multiracial working class — the vast majority of society who live off a wage, not wealth — is organized and united in struggle against the capitalist class that rules over our workplaces, our political system, and our lives.

The Electoral Politics Committee of DSA-LA exists to build power through endorsing and developing winning candidates, and by developing member campaign skills to likewise grow capable organizers able to serve in and staff a socialist candidate’s office, to truly bring socialist policy to the municipal halls of power. Key to this is a coherent political analysis held by our membership, and membership buy-in to chapter electoral campaigns. As part of this strategy we will also work with unions, community groups, allies, and other coalition partners to identify organizers outside of DSA-LA who we can recruit into our chapter and run as candidates. The end goal of these actions is to create an enduring political organization and be able to run a slate of DSA-LA developed candidates to seize local offices on a large scale and begin controlling the pathway to larger regional and national offices.

LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE
The Electoral Politics committee is composed of 5 committee members with one designated as a Chair by a formal vote. The role of the Chair is to set the agenda every meeting and to serve as the primary point of contact for Steering. The Committee also selects a member of the body to serve as the point(s) of contact for the Chapter’s Communications team.

Additionally, the Committee helps to appoint members to liaise with representatives of elected offices per the Socialist in Office (SIO) program, while also acting as liaisons during the term of the Committee.

If a committee member faces a conflict of interest, for example as a staffer of an elected office or involvement in an Independent Expenditure committee for an endorsed candidate, the committee member will recuse themselves from discussion and decisions making as needed.

COMMITTEE GOALS
Elections are one of the primary avenues through which ordinary working people experience politics. We run class-struggle electoral campaigns that appeal to the interests of the vast majority of Americans, foregrounding issues like housing, healthcare, education, racial justice, international anti-imperialism, and environmental justice. These campaigns create opportunities to bring our communities, our neighbors, and our unions into a united struggle against capitalist-backed candidates and corporate political interests.

Committee members are first and foremost tasked with carrying out the chapter’s electoral strategy as referenced in the Mission Statement as well as formalized in the 2021-2022 DSA National Electoral Committee Strategy. This includes identifying races and candidates where DSA-LA can make a meaningful impact on the electoral structure of Los Angeles County, supporting the working groups of Chapter endorsed candidates/campaigns, and coordinating directly with endorsed candidates around Chapter priorities. It is with this strategy in mind that we aim to become an incubator for democratic socialist candidates that carry a shared theory of change not just as a “progressive” campaign to get the most votes, but one that can organize with DSA-LA a working class base far after election day ends.

DSA’s model of electoral organizing is based on selecting races, making endorsements, winning elections and using the platform of public office in ways that advance class struggle by building a working class political movement. It is critical to avoid the trap of membership being understood as purely a volunteer base for campaigns to pull from. Rather, our membership engages in and shapes campaigns to run elections in the service of a transformative democratic socialist movement, not as an end in itself. That requires class struggle campaigns that develop a message and platform that speaks to working people’s needs and aspirations, and forces political actors to answer the question “which side are you on”. DSA campaigns should identify not just specific reforms that we want, but help polarize people against the corporate and capitalist interests that actively work to disempower them.

COMMITTEE PROJECTS
1-2 Year Goals

• Revise the Democratic Socialist Program. The DSP is a written assessment of what we believe we can achieve legislatively in Los Angeles County in the next several election cycles. The first iteration of DSP was written in 2021.
• Expand the DSA-LA SIO bench with strategic endorsements that support organizers running for office, engage DSA-LA members in class struggle elections, and bring new members into the chapter.
• Defend the 2022 wins by supporting the re-election campaigns of Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez, and Rocío Rivas
• Engage bases in SIO districts to defend against attacks from the right or establishment
• Power map Los Angeles at the city-wide level, and build up chapter capacity to get involved in strategic city-wide races.
• Identify municipalities outside City of Los Angeles with conditions and building blocks that provide avenues for running candidates to advance socialist policies, building organizing power, and other strategic opportunities
• Begin to build a roster of DSA-LA members who can staff council offices, particularly leadership roles, and other various jobs within city departments
• Complete other projects assigned to the Electoral Politics Committee through the 2024 Socialists in Office: Advancing a Program of Mass Politics resolution. Namely, interviewing other chapters with an SIO program to learn from their structure, compare progress, and bring areas of growth back to the chapter

3-5 Year Goals

• Run cadre DSA-LA members for office in viable and strategic campaigns
• Collaborate with labor and other coalition partners in identifying and developing candidates
• Create a training program to develop members for upper-level campaign and elected office staff
• Elevate members to non-elected impactful roles within municipal government, such as departments, commissions, or other bodies with key influence
• Expand our capacity to write legislation in partnership with sitting DSA-LA electeds
• Continue producing the DSA-LA voter guide for primary and general elections, and increase clicks and readership to expand the influence of recommendations

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Housing and Homelessness Committee

hnh@dsa-la.org
Ratified at a Committee Meeting

Mission Statement:
Shelter is a fundamental requirement for human survival and a basic means of subsistence. As socialists we affirm that housing should be a human right for all. We reject the capitalist system which creates and allocates housing as a commodity on the basis of its ability to generate surplus value for capitalists. We recognize that the capitalist class creates housing precarity and scarcity as a way to coerce us into laboring for them.

Because capitalism is the root of our varied housing crises the only solutions lie outside the capitalist market for housing. We will pursue both tenant organizing and “non-reformist reforms” which improve the existing power imbalance between land owners and tenants/the unhoused. We support the decommodification of existing housing and the development of new, decommodified housing which provides residents with a safe, sound, clean, healthy, environmentally sustainable, and permanent place to live, in proximity to jobs, under the direct control of residents themselves, which is not predicated on the displacement of other residents, which provides remedy and restitution for our history of racist housing segregation, and which is not created or allocated on the basis of residents’ ability to pay or to generate rent.

Leadership Structure:
DSA-LA’s Housing & Homelessness formal leadership structure requires a minimum of two co-chairs to be elected on an annual basis by chapter members in good standing.

Committee Goals:
DSA-LA’s Housing & Homelessness Committee goals for the 2024-2025 year are listed in the 2024 Power to the Tenants Priority Campaign Resolution. Future projects and goals will be proposed and assessed by committee membership, to be based in analysis of specific and current struggles, informed by socialist theory of change and the historical context of the struggle, and evaluated on the criteria of whether such goals contribute towards either the decommodification of housing, the explicit reduction of surplus value being extracted from housing assets for the benefit of the capitalist class, and/or the decriminalization, defense, and/or aid of those who have no choice but to try to survive without housing.

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Labor Committee

labor@dsa-la.org
Ratified at a Committee Meeting

INTRODUCTION
The Labor Committee (Committee) of the Democratic Socialists of America, Los Angeles (DSA-LA) is dedicated to developing workplace socialist organizers in order to strengthen the workers’ movement across Los Angeles County. The Committee is central to DSA-LA due to the role of labor organizing in our broader project of advancing the socialist movement. In addition to our local work, the Committee coordinates with the National Labor Commission (NLC) and other DSA labor formations.

As socialists, the Committee’s core philosophy is rooted in the conviction that the workplace is vital in the struggle for democracy and human dignity. Our work should empower DSA members to fight the struggle against capitalism and injustices broadly. Therefore, the Committee is invested in moving our members toward action by training them to organize in their workplace.

LA IS A UNION TOWN
Los Angeles has historically been a hotbed of worker militancy, including the concerted efforts of immigrants, women, and people of color workers over time. We see a link between this history and a resurgence in labor activity when the city became an epicenter of strikes in 2023. The combination of a tight labor market and an open devaluing of workers’ health and lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as an ongoing housing affordability crisis, produced the conditions that jolted many Angelenos to walk out of their workplaces. Entertainment, service/hospitality, education, and healthcare sectors led our city and the nation in worker activity last year. At the same time, Los Angeles politics is also now changing, with socialists in office on city councils, school boards, and more. Thus, our Committee has focused on strengthening relationships with unions in these sectors.

UNIONS ARE UNDER ATTACK
The recent wave of strikes nationwide and higher favorability about unions within the general U.S. population have led to a sense of optimism amongst socialists. While hope is an important force in our movement, we remain aware of the emerging threat of a right-wing that not only seeks to perpetuate the exploitation of workers, but is intent on weakening the power secured through unions and other struggles. More so, the capitalist class and the right-wing overlap in their insistence on the neoliberal and now, authoritarian order. For example, Donald Trump and his revanchist allies signal a turn toward a program that would decimate union membership rates, gut the National Labor Relations Act, and consecrate power in the bosses. DSA-LA, through the work of the Committee, prepares our members to establish a left pole in their unions and by extension the local labor council, in order to bridge the gap between the socialist and labor movements. We see this as connected to local and federal legislation, like the fight to pass the PRO Act, one of the most consequential labor legislation proposed in decades. The vision of this legislation translates beyond the policy: we value increasing union density, especially in the private sector, and we also value meeting the moment with strategy. We also recognize the call for a General Strike on May Day 2028, in part through our members’ unions and contract negotiation timelines, as another parallel tool to build the fight for working people. Last, we emphasize the intersectional nature of workplace struggles. Millions of workers fighting for a dignified life are counting on it.

STRUCTURE
Leadership Structure and Responsibilities:
The leadership body of DSA-LA’s Labor Committee is composed of two co-chairs and two coordinators who serve for a one-year term. This leadership body develops, implements, and maintains the chapter’s labor program. In addition to leading the chapter’s labor program, the leadership body is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with local unions, worker centers, and other labor organizations. Co-chairs are also responsible for formulating the goals, strategy, and priorities for DSA-LA’s labor program, including supporting the Labor Circles. This is done in partnership with the committee’s coordinators; the coordinators can co-advise on committee goals, strategy, and priority, as well as on opportunities for committee leadership development and liaising with DSA-LA branches and priority campaigns.

Labor Circles Responsibilities:
A Labor Circle is a formation set by the DSA-LA Labor Committee to group DSA-LA members based on their sector, employer, or union affiliation. These Circles consist of members with shared work experiences, enabling them to collectively advance their interests and develop the Labor Committee’s program. The Labor Committee’s role is to facilitate the creation of these Circles, regardless of whether the Circle’s members are formally part of the Labor Committee, attend Committee meetings, and/or are primarily involved in other chapter activities.

Labor Circles are based on the current employment or union membership of DSA-LA members. Current information on who our members are, where they work, and their role in their unions (or in organizing their unions) by and large determines our labor strategy and priorities.

The objectives of the labor circles are to:

• encourage DSA-LA members to lead their coworkers in unionizing their workplaces
• encourage DSA-LA members who are already union members to take leadership roles in their unions, as stewards, bargaining committee members, and elected officers
• guide DSA-LA members who seek to find specific employment with the primary purpose of organizing
• guide Labor Committee’s orientation toward issues regarding their sector/employer/union
• aid in developing a recruitment strategy for other workers in their sector/employer/union into DSA-LA

Our active labor circles are: K-12; Higher Ed; Hollywood Labor; Nonprofit; Starbucks Workers’ Solidarity; and Transit.

POPULATION
The Committee focuses on rank-and-file union members, union staff, and unrepresented workers. It seeks to promote and strengthen the role of women, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ+, and bi/multilingual workers within DSA-LA and the labor movement. We also organize strategic clusters of industries in the region, including but not limited to: Entertainment workers; Game industry workers; Grocery, retail workers; Food service workers; Hotel workers; Higher Ed workers; K-12 workers; Nonprofit workers; Rideshare drivers; Strippers and sex workers; Transit Workers; Warehouse workers.

DIRECTION & SUCCESS
The Committee will work towards supporting its labor circles, strengthening and creating new relationships with the labor movement, supporting striking workers and worker campaigns, and holding labor-oriented public programming.

We know the committee is successful when we have achieved:

• Programming on the state of LA’s labor movement and current strikes, currently called “Strike Hype” at least three times a year;
• Regular socials to bring together workplace organizers and socialists in the chapter and in the labor movement to forge a connection between DSA-LA and workers’ organizations
• Active labor circles with leadership development and workplace organizing support infrastructure
• New labor circles by analyzing the data collected in the Socialist Workplace Survey
• An ongoing relationship with the NLC and the LA Labor Movement
• Increased participation in the Socialist Workplace Survey by integrating the survey into the regular activities and communications of the chapter
• Active role in electing DSA-LA endorsed candidates to office and ensuring they are pro-labor and understand labor issues.
• Continued and deepened relationships with major unions such as Unite Here Local 11, UTLA, UAW to establish a left-labor political pole in Los Angeles that DSA-LA can actively coordinate and organize with on major political projects and campaigns.

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Mutual Aid Committee

mutualaid@dsa-la.org
Ratified at a Committee Meeting

What is Mutual Aid?
Mutual aid is a voluntary exchange of resources and services for the mutual benefit of all people involved. It involves people coming together to work as comrades and equals for the common good by addressing what people need and what people can provide. Mutual aid projects come from and are run by the community rather than nonprofit workers, foundations, or charity programs created by the ruling classes. No one is made to feel inferior for receiving help, as it is fundamentally an organic and egalitarian social relationship, not a material one based on hierarchy, and everyone provides what they can rather than separating into “givers” and “receivers.”

It is with this in mind that we maintain that mutual aid is not charity. While charity often has altruistic motives and can be helpful to people’s material conditions, it reinforces hierarchies rather than undermines them, and often is delivered with the explicit or implicit aim of control or conversion. We are deeply committed to organizing mutual aid networks that allow people with material needs to organize the solutions to their own problems. By doing so, we reject a charity framework which would limit the scope of our work to aiding only those deemed “worthy” by the capitalist class.

Re-Establishing the Connection Between Politics & Reality
During the past few decades, the fissure between the ruling elite and the rest of us has widened dramatically. As politics has divorced itself from providing material results to working people, many have become disengaged and disillusioned.

The Mutual Aid Committee addresses this disengagement by strategically attending to certain material concerns of working people inside and outside the organization. We seek to re-establish a connection between politics and reality by reframing working people’s notions of what politics can be. Through material interventions of mutual aid, we intend to dismantle the notion that political power is the sole domain of a class disconnected from our struggles and interests. Political power is the control of the distribution of resources; taking charge of our own resource distribution empowers others and ourselves to further engage in the struggle for political power. We want to move beyond the ballot box and invoke the centrality of politics in our every act of mutual care.

The long-term strategic goal of Mutual Aid with regards to socialist organizing is to create lasting connections between organizers, communities, and other activist institutions; these connections will form networks of support that address the needs of communities neglected by a disconnected elite class.

A Radical Transformation of Social & Material Relationships
The violent structures of capitalism alienate us from one another and from our collective struggle; we bear the weight of capitalism alone as individuals. We are taught that competition and scarcity are the natural conditions for our species.

Our committee aims to overcome this alienation through the radical transformation of our relationships with one another. Mutual aid is a liberatory practice rooted in the social and the material, working towards a radical shift in our relationship to one another and to capital. Engaging in this kind of work is transformative, and changes everyone involved into a political actor that can better envision a world in which working people take collective power and ownership.

Inside and outside DSA, we have the potential to create alternatives to the gendered and racialized capitalist model of reproductive labor. We seek to disrupt the transactional nature of this work within our communities while we work to create the world we imagine. We radically adopt egalitarian social relations in our actions and interactions.

In our political practice, we will embody the forms of social relations that are our goal: We must act now as we wish to act in our ideal world, for it is only by doing so that we will be able to create it. Our means and ends must therefore resemble one another, because each will shape the other. How will we know socialism if we do not model it within our own communities and relationships with one another?

Fostering An Internal Mutual Aid Network
We approach internal mutual aid with an eye towards fostering group cohesion, ensuring a high quality of life for all our comrades, and creating social safety nets for all in our organization in order to better equip ourselves for our chapter’s work. We do this with the goal of identifying and meeting both the specific needs of the chapter at large and of members individually. Some possible internal mutual aid projects include but are not limited to: Support infrastructure for children and parents, self-defense trainings, carpooling systems for DSA events, and direct action preparedness.

Our work is grounded in a recognition that it’s important to not only help people in the community, but also to help ourselves because we can transform our own lives most comprehensively.

Additionally, without systems in place, we know that women and nonbinary people will by default take on a disproportionate amount of undervalued but necessary labor. By making this labor visible and elevating it to the importance of other organizing work, we can change our own members’ relationship to traditionally devalued and invisible labor and ensure that it is shared equitably — especially among people who otherwise might not think to take it on — and that people are recognized and appreciated for their work.

The Importance of External Mutual Aid Projects
Within DSA there has been considerable conversation regarding the role external facing projects should play. At its core this Committee believes that external mutual projects are guided not only by a desire to relieve the material pressures of a capitalist system but also help inspire those we serve to “[imagine] radical alternatives for a new social, economic, and political reality.”[1]

External mutual aid projects spring forth not only from a socialist critique of capitalism, but also a vision of a world beyond capitalism. While we believe that there is an inherent value in external mutual aid, it is important to note that these sorts of projects can often require a large number of committee resources. With that in mind, any external facing mutual aid project is subject to material and political analysis in accordance with our Committee rules.

To ensure our committee’s work is sustainable it is important that external mutual aid projects consider soliciting external support. This support can take many forms, including but not limited to fundraising, forming coalitions, and engaging members of the community for help. That said, the committee will adhere to a “no strings attached” fundraising model and will follow the “Strategic Partnerships” guidelines laid out in the DSA-LA Mission Statement & Organizational Priorities.

Mutual Aid As Recruitment Opportunity
As DSA attempts to build a mass socialist movement across the United States, we believe that mutual aid is an essential part of that effort. Mutual aid can serve as a visible illustration of theory in an act that improves someone’s material reality.

Internal mutual aid programs demonstrate the power of collective ownership and responsibility in a clear and intuitive way and will make joining us a more attractive proposition on strictly material grounds. In addition to this, external mutual aid programs greatly increase our public profile and make the work of our organization integral to people’s daily lives, making us a reliable resource for communities and reaching and helping more people. Our actions themselves will carry the socialist message we wish to spread.

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Proposed Amendment to Mutual Aid Committee Platform

Submitted by: Marc K
Received at least 25 signatures by members in good standing to qualify for debate.

What is Mutual Aid?
Mutual aid is a voluntary exchange of resources and services for the mutual benefit of all people involved. It involves people coming together to work as comrades and equals for the common good by addressing what people need and what people can provide. Mutual aid projects come from and are run by the community rather than nonprofit workers, foundations, or charity programs created by the ruling classes. No one is made to feel inferior for receiving help, as it is fundamentally an organic and egalitarian social relationship, not a material one based on hierarchy, and everyone provides what they can rather than separating into “givers” and “receivers.”

It is with this in mind that we maintain that mutual aid is not charity. While charity often has altruistic motives and can be helpful to people’s material conditions, it reinforces hierarchies rather than undermines them, and often is delivered with the explicit or implicit aim of control or conversion. We are deeply committed to organizing mutual aid networks that allow people with material needs to organize the solutions to their own problems. By doing so, we reject a charity framework which would limit the scope of our work to aiding only those deemed “worthy” by the capitalist class.

Re-Establishing the Connection Between Politics & Reality
During the past few decades, the fissure between the ruling elite and the rest of us has widened dramatically. As politics has divorced itself from providing material results to working people, many have become disengaged and disillusioned.

The Mutual Aid Committee addresses this disengagement by strategically attending to certain material concerns of working people inside and outside the organization. We seek to re-establish a connection between politics and reality by reframing working people’s notions of what politics can be. Through material interventions of mutual aid, we intend to dismantle the notion that political power is the sole domain of a class disconnected from our struggles and interests. Political power is the control of the distribution of resources; taking charge of our own resource distribution empowers others and ourselves to further engage in the struggle for political power. We want to move beyond the ballot box and invoke the centrality of politics in our every act of mutual care.

The long-term strategic goal of Mutual Aid with regards to socialist organizing is to create lasting connections between organizers, communities, and other activist institutions; these connections will form networks of support that address the needs of communities neglected by a disconnected elite class.

A Radical Transformation of Social & Material Relationships
The violent structures of capitalism alienate us from one another and from our collective struggle; we bear the weight of capitalism alone as individuals. We are taught that competition and scarcity are the natural conditions for our species.

Our committee aims to overcome this alienation through the radical transformation of our relationships with one another. Mutual aid is a liberatory practice rooted in the social and the material, working towards a radical shift in our relationship to one another and to capital. Engaging in this kind of work is transformative, and changes everyone involved into a political actor that can better envision a world in which working people take collective power and ownership.

Inside and outside DSA, we have the potential to create alternatives to the gendered and racialized capitalist model of reproductive labor. We seek to disrupt the transactional nature of this work within our communities while we work to create the world we imagine. We radically adopt egalitarian social relations in our actions and interactions.

In our political practice, we will embody the forms of social relations that are our goal: We must act now as we wish to act in our ideal world, for it is only by doing so that we will be able to create it. Our means and ends must therefore resemble one another, because each will shape the other. How will we know socialism if we do not model it within our own communities and relationships with one another?

Fostering An Internal Mutual Aid Network
We approach internal mutual aid with an eye towards fostering group cohesion, ensuring a high quality of life for all our comrades, and creating social safety nets for all in our organization in order to better equip ourselves for our chapter’s work. We do this with the goal of identifying and meeting both the specific needs of the chapter at large and of members individually. Some possible internal mutual aid projects include but are not limited to: Support infrastructure for children and parents, self-defense trainings, carpooling systems for DSA events, and direct action preparedness.

Our work is grounded in a recognition that it’s important to not only help people in the community, but also to help ourselves because we can transform our own lives most comprehensively.

Additionally, without systems in place, we know that women and nonbinary people will by default take on a disproportionate amount of undervalued but necessary labor. By making this labor visible and elevating it to the importance of other organizing work, we can change our own members’ relationship to traditionally devalued and invisible labor and ensure that it is shared equitably — especially among people who otherwise might not think to take it on — and that people are recognized and appreciated for their work.

The Importance of External Mutual Aid Projects
Within DSA there has been considerable conversation regarding the role external facing projects should play. At its core this Committee believes that external mutual projects are guided not only by a desire to relieve the material pressures of a capitalist system but also help inspire those we serve to “[imagine] radical alternatives for a new social, economic, and political reality.”[1]

External mutual aid projects spring forth not only from a socialist critique of capitalism, but also a vision of a world beyond capitalism. While we believe that there is an inherent value in external mutual aid, it is important to note that these sorts of projects can often require a large number of committee resources. With that in mind, any external facing mutual aid project is subject to material and political analysis in accordance with our Committee rules.

To ensure our committee’s work is sustainable it is important that external mutual aid projects consider soliciting external support. This support can take many forms, including but not limited to fundraising, forming coalitions, and engaging members of the community for help. That said, the committee will adhere to a “no strings attached” fundraising model and will follow the “Strategic Partnerships” guidelines laid out in the DSA-LA Mission Statement & Organizational Priorities.

Mutual Aid As Recruitment Opportunity
As DSA attempts to build a mass socialist movement across the United States, we believe that mutual aid is an essential part of that effort. Mutual aid can serve as a visible illustration of theory in an act that improves someone’s material reality.

Internal mutual aid programs demonstrate the power of collective ownership and responsibility in a clear and intuitive way and will make joining us a more attractive proposition on strictly material grounds. In addition to this, external mutual aid programs greatly increase our public profile and make the work of our organization integral to people’s daily lives, making us a reliable resource for communities and reaching and helping more people. Our actions themselves will carry the socialist message we wish to spread.

Committee Leadership
Elections for the Committee Officer roles of Chairs and Coordinators, will be held in conjunction with chapter-wide elections as established by the DSA-LA Chapter Bylaws, and are subject to standard Chapter procedure.

Any member in good standing is eligible to run for a Committee Officer role and to vote in the Committee Officer election.

Any number of members may run for either the Chair or Coordinator positions, and up to two chairs and three coordinators may be elected to constitute the Committee Leadership.

Voting will be done by an approval system, by which each candidate is either approved or disapproved individually. All candidates with a simple majority of approvals, up to five members, are elected.

Filling Committee Leadership vacancies will be handled according to Article VII, Section 5 of DSA-LA Chapter Bylaws.

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Political Education Committee

politicaleducation@dsa-la.org
Ratified at a Committee Meeting

Mission Statement
Capitalism has taught us that a society structured around an endless quest for profit and the pursuit of individual self interest is natural and transhistorical; as socialists, we identify capitalism as a historically specific set of relations & imperatives that can be overcome. The Political Education Committee seeks to challenge what is understood to be “common sense” under capitalism and offer ongoing opportunities to expand our collective understanding of socialist concepts, histories, and strategies.

Through our work, we aim to revive socialist pedagogies that support the goals of the chapter as a whole. We are committed to dismantling hierarchical structures traditionally associated with education, and to providing opportunities for educating and learning to all people. As members of a multi-tendency organization, the Political Education Committee’s work will prioritize productive debate and the respectful exchange of socialist ideas and viewpoints rather than the pursuit of absolute political agreement among members.

We will work in partnership with all other DSA-LA committees and working groups to develop educational resources and programming which support ongoing campaigns, introduces the broader public to socialism, raises our own membership’s level of participation and knowledge, and expands ownership of our collective struggle for the fullest possible imagining of freedom, liberation, and power for all people.

Committee Goals
1) Ensure that all DSA-LA members have ongoing opportunities to learn about and discuss socialist theories, traditions, and practices.

In order to ground the various projects within DSA-LA in the context of rigorous socialist politics, we will support and develop educational programming and resources focused on the meaning and history of socialism, socialist analyses of power (along the lines of class, race, gender, origin, ability, and more), interpretations of pathways and solutions leading to socialism, common criticisms of socialism (and the respective rebuttals), and the current landscape of socialist and anti-imperialist politics here and abroad.

This will be made available to members in a variety of well-publicized and accessible formats, including but not limited to:

• One-time special events, such as day schools, debates, or teach-ins
• Ongoing educational series
• Thematic reading and discussion groups
• Film screenings
• Lending libraries
• Reading and discussion guides aligned with recommended readings
• Educational materials, such as newspapers or pamphlets

2) Forge strong connections across committees and working groups and work together to build and maintain emancipatory educational spaces that are welcoming and inclusive of all people—including non-members interested in socialism, members with marginalized identities, members new to socialist thinking, and long-time socialist members. We will endeavor to expand the reach of our politics towards all working Angelenos regardless of language or ability, empowering them to take ownership of their political development and analysis.

3) Build and maintain intentional and reciprocal relationships with other entities—such as leftist groups, academics, journalists, and activists—who have a focus on political education and share our broad political goals.

4) Provide ongoing opportunities to build members’ capacity to serve as educators and co-learners.

5) Maintain effective mechanisms for input from the membership to ensure educational programming and opportunities are responsive to the needs and stated interests of the chapter.

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