U.S. federal law provides certain protections to workers against retaliation and surveillance. Knowing these rights can strengthen your organizing campaign.

The post Your rights to privacy in the workplace appeared first on EWOC.

The following remarks were delivered by ROC DSA Co-Chair Gregory Lebens-Higgins at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s (RoCo) “Route of Refusal: A Public Art Walk” on Saturday, October 3, held as part of the national 2026 Fall of Freedom weekend. The event mixed creative art and expression with community and activism, including poetry that invoked words censored by the Trump regime, and collective music-making.

RoCo’s current featured exhibit, “Sanctuary: Borders & Belonging in 2026,” is a mixed-media presentation on dichotomies of sanctuary and isolation. “Projects in the exhibition amplify immigrant voices, document criminalization and detention, examine border politics and architecture, and give impacted people space to share diverse immigration stories.” The exhibit runs until November 14. ROC DSA is planning a group outing.

DSA is creating a world of sanctuary for all from the predations of capitalism. A world of safety, a world free from exploitation, a world of access to the means for a dignified life.

We know our immigrant neighbors are among the most vulnerable. That race is a tool used to justify and enforce their hyperexploitation. Those who speak up, those who try to organize, are the first targeted for detention and deportation. Because when the working class does act in solidarity, when we do call out with unified voice, we present a challenge to the unearned power of our rulers.

Let us create a sanctuary that is not defined by borders, but by inclusion and acceptance. A sanctuary not limited to the privileged few.

The Protect Our Neighbors campaign is calling on the Monroe County Legislature to declare our county a place of sanctuary for our immigrant neighbors by providing assurance that local resources will not be used for federal immigration enforcement. The county must also use its financial leverage by divesting from companies involved in the construction and operation of immigrant detention centers.

Join the call by emailing your legislator at bit.ly/pon_email. We’ll also be hosting a canvass kick-off on Oct. 10 @ 11:30am in Maplewood Park, collecting petition signatures throughout our community.

Help us to build a network of sanctuary, organizing our momentum locally, nationally, and worldwide. Participate in ICE watch, ensuring their activities are not done in the dark. Support mutual aid, so vulnerable communities are not unnecessarily exposed.

The only way we respond effectively is together.

The post Sanctuary for All first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

Let’s ETOC: HJC on the Class podcast!

HJC Steering Committee members, Sebastian of Triangle DSA and Triangle Tenants Union, and Kelly of Boston DSA and the Boston local ETOC branch join the crew of the National Political Education Committee’s own Class podcast. They discuss the Emergency Tenant Organizing Committee (ETOC) and the exciting rise of tenant unionization on the socialist left.

How does it fit into the broader scope of working class organizing for the crucial fight for decent housing? Listen here and find out!

Apple podcast link

NPEC Class Podcast link

Monthly Newsletter of the Rochester Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America

Welcome to the October issue of Rochester Red Star, ROC DSA’s monthly newsletter. This month, find essays on DSA’s internal democracy, a voter guide, remarks on Marx, and more. You’ll also find upcoming events and coverage of chapter activities.

Interested in contributing? Send submissions to bit.ly/SubmitRedStar, or get involved with our Communications Committee. Reach out to steering@rocdsa.org and join DSA today!

The post Rochester Red Star | October 2026 | (Issue 30) first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

Portland DSA resolutely denounces the political coercion by Texas State police of DSA member and Austin City Council candidate Misael Ramos, who was wrongfully arrested the morning of September 26. Ramos had recently attended a protest decrying ICE brutality, particularly the violence against Venezuelan immigrant Wilber Rafael Garces Perez who still remains critically injured after being shot by immigration police.

Misael is one of many people in Texas being targeted for exercising their free speech in rightfully condemning state violence against the immigrant community. What we’re seeing is a racheting up of state repression, now targeting citizens and socialist political candidates.

We will stand by our people, immigrants and poor alike, against this violence. Portland DSA demands the charges be dropped against Misael and that Wilber be released to his family. We also echo calls by DSA to the following:

No one is free until everyone is free.

In solidarity,
Portland DSA

We the Democratic Socialists of America demand justice for Filiberto Ojeda Ríos.

Twenty-one years ago today, FBI agent Luis S. Fraticelli directed an operation in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, to arrest Ojeda Ríos—the leader of the Boricua Popular Army, known as Los Macheteros. The FBI shot him in his own home. They then waited 18 hours to enter the residence. By the time they did, he had bled to death.

Medical experts have since determined that the gunshot wound was survivable had Ojeda Ríos received medical attention. During those 18 hours, the FBI actively denied him that care. This was not a failure of procedure. It was an intentional act of violence designed to ensure his death.

The US Government’s internal review found that the actions did not violate its policies at the time or justify accountability—a finding that has been widely criticized and questioned. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s Civil Rights Commission conducted its own investigation and called his death an illegal killing. Make no mistake: this was a brutal assault, a murder, and a grotesque act of negligence.

The FBI chose September 23rd for its historical weight. On this date in 1868, the Puerto Rican people rose against the Spanish Empire in the Grito de Lares. Every September 23rd, Puerto Ricans reclaim their call for independence. The FBI’s attack on Ojeda Ríos was not a coincidence—it was a deliberate act of terror against a national liberation movement that has resisted imperial violence for centuries.

We the Democratic Socialists of America call for the immediate re-opening of a full, independent, and transparent investigation into the killing of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos. Luis S. Fraticelli and his accomplices must be held accountable.

Demand action. Demand independence. Demand justice for Puerto Rico.

Declaración 

Nosotros, los Socialistas Democráticos de América, exigimos justicia para Filiberto Ojeda Ríos.

El día de hoy se cumplen veintiún años desde que Luis S. Fraticelli, Director Regional del FBI, dirigió una operación en Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, para arrestar a Ojeda Ríos—el líder del Ejército Popular Boricua, conocido como Los Macheteros.  En ese operativo, los agentes del FBI le dispararon a Ojeda Ríos en su propia casa.  Luego esperaron 18 horas para entrar en la residencia.  Cuando finalmente lo hicieron, él ya había muerto desangrado.

Expertos médicos han determinado que la herida de bala de Ojeda Rios era sobrevivible si se le hubiese dado atención médica a tiempo.  En ese lapso de 18 horas, el FBI se negó deliberadamente a brindarle ayuda. Esto no fue un mero fallo en los procedimientos del FBI.  El retraso fue un acto intencional de violencia diseñado para asegurarse de que no pudiese salir con vida.

La investigación interna del gobierno de los Estados Unidos determinó que las acciones no infringían sus políticas vigentes en ese momento ni justificaban exigir responsabilidades; hallazgo que ha sido ampliamente criticado y cuestionado. La Comisión de Derechos Civiles del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico llevó a cabo su propia investigación y determinó que el homicidio fue un acto de naturaleza ilegal.  Que no quepa duda: esto se trató de un ataque violento, un crimen y un acto grotesco de negligencia.

El FBI eligió el 23 de septiembre por su significancia histórica.  En esta fecha, en 1868, el pueblo puertorriqueño se reveló en contra del Imperio Español,en el intento revolucionario conocido como El Grito de Lares.  Por eso, cada 23 de septiembre, los puertorriqueños conmemoran esta gesta patriótica y reanudan su reclamo de independencia.  El ataque del FBI a Ojeda Ríos no ocurrió por coincidencia—fue un acto deliberado de terror en contra de un movimiento de liberación nacional que durante siglos ha resistido la violencia imperial.

Nosotros, los Socialistas Democráticos de América, exigimos la reapertura inmediata de la investigación del asesinato de Ojeda Ríos y reclamamos que se realice de forma exhaustiva, independiente y transparente.  Luis S. Fraticelli y sus cómplices deben enfrentar las consecuencias de sus actos ante la ley.

Exige acción.  Exige independencia.  Exige justicia para Puerto Rico.

The post DSA Demands Justice for Filiberto Ojeda Ríos appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

By: Andrew S

BOSTON COMMON – On September 14, sex workers and their allies gathered at Brewer Fountain under a canopy of red umbrellas for Boston’s historic first March for Sex Worker Pride. Led by organizers Rita Romero from Red Light Disco, Amanda Rodriguez from FemMenThem, and Jessica Van Meir from Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective (BSWAC), the march both centered the public celebration of sex worker pride and the ongoing fight for full decriminalization.

Several sex workers, community organizers, and local political leaders spoke to a crowd about the importance of the event before participants marched from the Common to Jacques’ Cabaret, the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the city.

Speakers at the rally spoke on decriminalization, the importance of protecting bodily autonomy, and the contributions sex workers have made to the feminist and queer rights movements. The march was the first in Boston history, creating an opportunity to publicly recognize sex workers and their allies. Save Our Selves (SOS) and Protect Trans Futures were both crucial supporters of the event.

For some participants like Savannah Sly, the march marked a huge milestone:

I have been a sex worker since 2003, and I am so ecstatic to see sex workers and allies visibly marching through Boston and demanding our rights be respected. I wish something like this existed when I was eighteen and was first getting started.

Members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA) in attendance supported the same. Rat, chair of New Hampshire CPUSA said:

This is another step toward destigmatization, decriminalization, and collective liberation, and to be recognized for who we are in public.

Full Decriminalization vs. Nordic Model

The question of decriminalization has long been a battleground of policy for sex workers. One side favors the Nordic Model (also known as “end-demand”), where prostitution is a phenomenon manufactured from societal gender inequality, understanding buyers in the sex trade as the main culprit. Nordic Model organizations seek to illegalize commercial sex trade from the consumer side by targeting “Johns,” or customers of sex workers who are customarily presumed to be men. Nordic Model supporters believe that if the consumption of the commercial sex trade is made illegal, trafficking in the trade and the exploitation within the industry will effectively diminish.

But advocates for full sex work decriminalization actively see the Nordic Model as a dangerous misstep that is more likely to harm the livelihood of sex workers. Sex workers experience higher levels of violence within the Nordic Model because clients are less likely to provide their personal information for screening purposes and more likely to want to meet in hidden, discreet locations. Dr. Niina Vuolajärvi’s research from the London School of Economics reports that a resounding majority of sex workers she interviewed – 96%, to be exact – felt that Nordic Model legislation put them in more harm both from clients and the police. The resulting difficulty to find clients also causes greater impoverishment for sex workers. According to the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), the Nordic Model has failed to achieve its intended goal of decreasing incidences of sex work. The burden of the Nordic Model therefore falls heavily on the sex workers it claims to protect, not just the buyers legislation targets.

Organizations such as the ACLU and Human Rights Watch have advocated for full decriminalization of sex work.

Protection of sex workers’ right to bodily autonomy was a center pillar for many in attendance at Boston’s first Sex Worker Pride March. Beyond keeping them safe from wrongful discrimination, autonomy plays an inevitable role in sex worker earnings, too. Zachary Flynn, a sex worker in the area, spoke on his own experience:

In late-stage capitalism, autonomy is important. If you would rather judge someone for sex work than pay them a livable wage, then what else do you expect us to do? I work three to four jobs on top of sex work, and that is barely keeping me afloat.

Zachary continued, speaking on how sex work builds wealth through labor: 

I think the fact that even with sex work being one of three to four jobs someone can have and even then not being able to support themselves financially says a lot on its own, but not everyone’s story with sex work is strictly about survival. It’s a chosen (and needed) profession for a fair amount of society. The point of the march is autonomy. All forms of work are selling your mind or body through means of labor, so why is it different in this context? If you have ever watched or rented porn, visited a strip club or advocated for women/queer rights, that means you support sex work, whether you realize it or not.

From Origins to Pride

Carol Leigh was the first to coin the term “sex work” in the 1980s to provide a term alternative to the stigmatized “prositution.” According to Mary Carol of the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective (BSWAC), an important part of that was the emphasis on work and labor.

BSWAC organized events in the community around this foundational concept in the run-up to the Pride March. On September 7, BSWAC hosted a screening and panel on Working Girls (1986), independent filmmaker Lizzie Borden’s movie about a day in the life of a woman working in a brothel in New York City. An overbearing manager forces her to stay beyond her hours, while displaying glimpses of interaction between workers and clients throughout the entire day. Working Girls is a representation of sex workers and their connection to labor in the view of Mary Carol.

The Pride March also took the time to remember what sex workers have contributed to and suffered historically. The red umbrellas ubiquitous across the march were not coincidence, but rather the universal symbol of solidarity that has called attention to poor working conditions faced by sex workers since 2001. Further, sex workers’ contributions far outdate the symbol. Sly stated:

Sex workers helped start Pride. Sex workers are the canaries in the coal mine for how people are treated. They are at the forefront at the advancement of human rights and bringing home the bacon for their communities at the same time. Pride is sex workers claiming their own unique space and being the focus for collective liberation.

Many steps remain to make in order for sex worker pride to be fully enjoyed.

Rat claimed that more needs to be done legislatively and culturally: “we need to challenge elected officials on their decriminalization stance, and we need people to speak up for sex workers even when they’re not in the room.” BSWAC’s Legislative Priorities include legislation for full decriminalization, safe reporting, and mechanisms to protect workers from sexual assault by cops.

Andrew S is a member of Boston DSA and associate editor of Working Mass.

EDIT: A previous version of this article misstated the origin of sex work, which has been corrected in this version. A previous version also listed CPUSA’s affiliate as a chapter in Southern New Hampshire, rather than New Hampshire CPUSA, which has also been corrected.

The post Red Umbrellas: First Sex Worker Pride March Organized in Boston History appeared first on Working Mass.

ETOC Cadre News:

Jersey City tenants declare a rent strike at 5 separate buildings on the city’s west side

FROM HUDSON COUNTY VIEW: Jersey City tenants declared a rent strike at five separate buildings on the city’s west side, alleging issues ranging from neglect, pests, and no on site building superintendent.

“They just don’t care to fix anything. The kitchen floor is in awful shape. They put some screws in the kitchen floor tile so that they don’t move around too much. It’s an awful thing. We just gotta go on strike to get what we want,” Charlie, a tenant at 154 Belmont Ave. where a rally was held last week who declined to give his last name, said.

“I’ve been living in this building 40 years. Nothing gets done, they want me to get out. Rats, mice, holes in the bottom, holes on top, and they still have the nerve to make me pay for water,” added fellow building tenant Luneste Alexender.

429 Bergen Ave., on rent strike since November, was joined this month by 150 and 154 Belmont Ave., also owned by Amir Ben-Yohanon. The Belmont buildings were previously without heat in the winter of 2024 along with 35 Kensington Ave., as HCV first reported.

Ben-Yohanon owns these buildings through a separate LLC from 429 Bergen Ave., a common practice among Jersey City landlords who may have dozens of LLCs obscuring their real estate portfolio in the city.

Tenants at 19 and 25 Kensington Ave. are also withholding rent from Optimum Properties.

“I learned about this building a while ago but just recently I just learned the severity of how people are living here. I’m talking rats biting peoples’ toes, what looks like cracks in drooping walls,” Bergen Grand Tenants Association President Liv Malone declared at the rally.

A tenant in the crowd interjected that the building at 429 Bergen Ave. has “water coming in everywhere.”

“So I’ve just really enjoyed getting to know everyone who lives here and thinking about how they can get to live in a home that’s safe and that’s clean. Because I can promise you that the landlord that we share, Amir Ben-Yohanon, does not live like this and the only way that that will change is by the people living here deciding it’s done and that’s what you guys are doing here,” Malone concluded.

Eli King, an organizer with Jersey City Tenants Union, echoed that sentiment without mentioning calling out any specific landlords.

“Landlords know their power and they’re not afraid to use it, to neglect basic living standards in buildings they own to maximize the profit from their investment. Tenants are coming together and using our power: there’s more of us than there are of them and every dollar of those profits is money that we work for,” he asserted.

“Both of these owners own massive portfolios in the city and we’re not going to stop with these buildings or with these landlords. Anyone who is ready to get organized and fight back against their landlord, come talk to us.”

Ben-Yohanon did not return an email seeking comment on Sunday, while Optimum Properties could not be reached for comment.

READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE!

By: Reid Jackson

BOSTON – On September 16, Boston announced the end of its contract with Flock Safety after uncovering the company sharing local data with outside law enforcement.

If this is shocking news to you, you may be a Boston City Councilmember: “Boston City Councilor Ben Weber said he was disappointed to see the agency was sharing data.”

Boston is now the latest – and largest – city in New England to find out the hard way that Flock cameras are more trouble than they’re worth. The cancellation is the latest but not the first. While City Hall can be given a crumb of credit for doing the bare minimum and shelving the contract once the threat to data security became evident, it’s strange that the eight separate cases of cops misusing Flock cameras primarily to stalk former partners did not incentivize City Council to act. It’s also hard to excuse Flock violating the data sharing policy despite being strictly forbidden by the city’s contract:

“When the Boston Police Department discovered that a Flock data-sharing function had been enabled despite a clear, contractual agreement prohibiting its use, BPD immediately directed the vendor to disable it,” the city and the Boston Police Department said in a joint statement on WCVB 5. “The city has since ended all use of Flock and will not use its services going forward.”

The public can watch city officials and police run headfirst into its own crisis, considering the reputation of Automated License Plate Readers across the country. The public perception of state-approved spy cameras is exactly what you think it is, and according to some organizers in the Metrowest region, exactly the weapon that many fear.

Bobbie, one Framingham resident and member of the Metrowest Neighborhood Group of the Boston chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), has been present at every step of the process of the push to get Flock cameras not just removed, but outright banned in her town. 

The Metrowest area of Framingham and Marlborough has the largest population of Brazilian immigrants in the state, which has opened the towns up to become the main targets of ICE in the region. The movement to target surveillance technology arose from organizers within the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of MA, after shifting from a focus on ICE verification training that characterized much of LUCE’s activity in 2025.

Immigrant justice organizers were aware of ICE’s use of data from cameras like Flock’s to coordinate kidnappings. According to Bobbie:

There was a lot of concern that ICE could have access to this technology to identify and kidnap our neighbors, and that the federal admin could use it to stalk activists. Plus, police forces from outside of Massachusetts could use it to track citizens looking for healthcare across state lines, which we had already seen proof of in 404 Media reporting.

Bobbie said the first and most crucial step of their crusade against Framingham’s Flock program was to gather information, especially of the actual number of cameras in the city’s limits. This was a task that was only possible with the coordination of Framingham residents who mapped out everywhere they could find a camera on a city street, in order to accurately measure the success of the campaign. Framingham residents report using the website deflock.me to identify the cameras, as well as driving to each spot to visually confirm their location in town.

Next was the ordinary avenues of public pressure on the local government. Despite the City Council’s sidestepping and shifting of responsibility between the police chief and the mayor, organizers successfully managed to land a date for a public hearing with a Flock official in Spring 2026 through a Framingham City Councilmember arranging a public forum to ask questions of a company representative. Coalition members held the representative’s feet to the fire as they attempted to dodge questions and explain away the infringements of residents’ civil liberties.

Depending on the city leadership, campaigns here have two choices: extra pressure or public protest. Power-mapping is the strategic tool most helpful here, to determine the power relations unique to the municipality. Longer fought battles have been the case in similar campaigns against the much better funded data center projects such as the Dungeon in Lowell, which recently had its expansion paused by a state judge.

Alternatively, in towns like Natick or Waltham, the town does not need an excuse to do away with a surveillance program. In Natick’s example, the project was not made known to the public or voted on by the Town Meeting or Select Board. Natick voted unanimously to end the program this February, and Waltham shut their cameras down just this month.

For many of these towns, including Framingham’s removal of cameras this June, this marks only the first step. Since the state legislation is lagging behind this issue, municipalities are forced to set their own rules – and be pressured as organizing targets – for surveillance in their neighborhoods case-by-case. 

[When we started this campaign]… a few of our organizers initially thought we would only get regulation and not a full ban,” Bobbie said. “Even though we all wanted a ban… we learned we had more support on the full council for a full ban… after a ton of public comment from our organizers.

Despite the reservations of more entrenched institutions, expanding the horizons of the politically possible is the organizers’ role. The fight against mass surveillance will be fought town-by-town, but with the help of a broad coalition like Mass 50501, Indivisible Mass Alliance, and DSA, the tools of one successful campaign can easily be repurposed for use in other towns, or in other fights against encroaching tyranny in the American empire. 

With Flock and other ALPR’s only becoming less and less popular, the tide is on the side of those fighting against accountability-free data collection.

Reid Jackson is a member of the Metrowest Neighborhood Group of Boston DSA and contributing writer for Working Mass.

NOTE: A previous version of this article misattributed LUCE as the source of reporting, when 404 Media was the actual source mentioned in-quote. This has been corrected in this version of this article.

The post Flicking the Switch on Flock appeared first on Working Mass.