We are very thankful and impressed by this community’s response to the current pandemic we are facing. As closures and social distancing set in, we are seeing the most vulnerable in our community be deeply affected by the loss of income and access to resources.

For this reason, we request that not only the governor’s executive order N-28-20 be respected, but that there be an additional suspension of rent given how many renters in this city are hourly service workers who no longer have a safe source of income while performing social distancing. We request as well that empty hotel/motel rooms be immediately offered to houseless community members who cannot self-quarantine without a space to do it in. It is vital emergency shelters be provided immediately.

As per the latest executive orders, we further recommend the city guarantee continued publicly-provided water and trash service regardless of payment.

We request that you do not fail your earlier promise to provide free tests to all who qualify and furthermore that these tests are provided regardless of doctor’s note—putting such a roadblock on students and those without insurance or local doctors will keep us from having the knowledge we need to keep our county safe.

Lastly, we ask that as per executive order N-26-20, you ensure state funds are allocated and properly used within our school systems. Parents deserve daytime childcare and school lunches need to continue to be provided.

We also ask the state for paid sick leave for those workers who have no source of income while following health directives. Flattening the curve necessitates avoiding public interactions for longer than those 14 days; disability and unemployment are not an adequate response.

In solidarity,
The Steering Committee of DSA SLO

Socialist Distancing

In order to keep our members and community healthy Miami DSA has suspended all in-person activities and meetings until further notice. If you have any questions regarding Miami DSA activities please contact: MiamiDSA@gmail.com

Solidarity Forever

Join the Miami DSA

If you like to renew your membership dues, or if you would like to become a new member, please click on the following link. Please note that in order to vote on important chapter decisions such as resolutions, endorsements, or steering committee elections, you must be a dues-paying member.   

https://miamidsa.org/donate

Click here to view the rest of the issue!

You’re listening to Revolution Per Minute on listener sponsored WBAI in NYC broadcasting at 99.5 FM and streaming on your favorite podcast app. To connect with us after the show you can email us at revolutionsnyc@gmail.com. You can find us on our website revolutionsperminute.simplecast.com or on twitter @nycRPM.

You’re listening to Revolution Per Minute on listener sponsored WBAI in NYC broadcasting at 99.5 FM and streaming on your favorite podcast app. To connect with us after the show you can email us at revolutionsnyc@gmail.com. You can find us on our website revolutionsperminute.simplecast.com or on twitter @nycRPM.

You’re listening to Revolution Per Minute on listener sponsored WBAI in NYC broadcasting at 99.5 FM and streaming on your favorite podcast app. To connect with us after the show you can email us at revolutionsnyc@gmail.com. You can find us on our website revolutionsperminute.simplecast.com or on twitter @nycRPM.

Today the people of North Carolina, 14 other states, and American Samoa will likely decide the Democratic nominee who will face Trump in the general election in November of 2020. Alongside chapters nationwide, the members of Charlotte Metro DSA have texted and called and knocked on doors in an effort to make sure that person is Senator Bernie Sanders. Since the chapter formally endorsed his candidacy in January , our small group has knocked on 1500 doors - going into neighborhoods every weekend to talk with community members about their struggles and the need for transformative change.

We asked several of our members to reflect on their experience with our local DSA for Bernie campaign, to share what they heard, and discuss why we need to elect Bernie Sanders.

“A woman told us she felt bad about the fact that she had to use her niece's insulin. Her niece was also on dialysis. After her insurance lapsed, she couldn't afford the insulin anymore. I've had several friends that have thousands of dollars worth of medical debt from needing to go to the emergency room, but none of them have needed something so crucial on a daily basis. This is why we need Medicare for All and Sanders is the only candidate truly standing up for it.”

— Corey

“Back in January we met a man who told us his 19 year old sister had just joined the military. Trump had just assassinated Soleimani and he was terrified that she would be deployed to Iran. He said Bernie is the only candidate he trusts to finally end the wars in the Middle East. Medicare for All and Bernie’s plan to make public colleges and universities tuition free also removes the coercive incentives that force poor kids to enlist just to get access to healthcare and education.

In the heavily gentrifying Belmont neighborhood we met a woman who said all but three families on her street had been pushed out of the neighborhood by new luxury development and rising rents. Charlotte at large also has a massive homelessness problem and an affordable housing shortage of 34,000 units. Bernie’s housing plan includes national rent control standards that would fight gentrification, protect tenants against rising rents, and invest $2.5 trillion into new affordable housing.”

— Dallin

“Only Bernie’s policies address the concerns of the American working class - this was made abundantly clear when I talked to people while canvassing. I talked to someone paying $200+ per month for medication, to someone afraid that their sister would be deployed and would die in another pointless war, to young and old people alike concerned that no one seems to be taking climate change seriously. Bernie is the only one prepared to face these issues, and who is tackling them head-on.”

— Morgan

“I felt encouraged this past weekend during our final canvassing push in the neighborhoods off Beatties Ford Rd. We spoke with several people who were excited and eager to let us know they had already voted for Bernie and others who are planning to do so on Tuesday. We also had some good conversations with undecided folks. After we spoke with with one undecided voter about Bernie's platform and asked what he thought, he responded with, ‘Sounds like a winner to me!’ There was even someone in a car honking, cheering and yelling ‘Bernie!’ at us at one point. Days like that just continue to push against the ‘Bernie Bro’ narrative that some are still trying to use to discredit this movement. Feeling good about Tuesday!”

— Allison

We are grateful to everyone who has come out to canvass or phone bank with us over the past few months! And special shout out to Dallin, who stepped up to lead our DSA for Bernie Working Group - thank you for all of your hard work!

You’re listening to Revolution Per Minute on listener sponsored WBAI in NYC broadcasting at 99.5 FM and streaming on your favorite podcast app. To connect with us after the show you can email us at revolutionsnyc@gmail.com. You can find us on our website revolutionsperminute.simplecast.com or on twitter @nycRPM.

Mutual Aid Mondays

Join Miami DSA’s Mutual Aid Working Group outside Lot 33 Downtown for Mutual Aid Mondays, a weekly program designed to directly address material distress and build solidarity in our community. We offer free food, clothing, and resources to anyone in need, with the aim of empowering the oppressed to fight for their dignity.

We begin serving at 7pm outside Lot 33 on SW 2nd St, near the cross street with SW 2nd Ave. The coordinates for the exact location are 25.772448, -80.196956.

Join the Miami DSA

If you like to renew your membership dues, or if you would like to become a new member, please click on the following link. Please note that in order to vote on important chapter decisions such as resolutions, endorsements, or steering committee elections, you must be a dues-paying member.   

https://miamidsa.org/donate

Miami DSA for Bernie Canvassing and Training

Join our local Bernie 2020 campaign!! Meet us at 12:00 noon for a detailed training on door-to-door conversations, followed by canvassing at 1 p.m. We’ll be knocking on doors making the case for a Sanders presidency and for deep working-class organizing between elections. Let’s get some wins!.

Click here to view the rest of the issue!

Although many members were out of town canvassing for Bernie in South Carolina, our monthly meeting was lively as always. We were delighted to welcome comrades from the new Morehouse College YDSA. We heard a report on electoral activities, especially our independent Bernie for Georgia campaign, and announcements of many important upcoming events, and we passed the bylaw changes (as amended) that were tabled last month. We also met in working groups to get updates and engage with other members active in political education (see photo above), mutual aid, local elections, ecosocialism, Afrosocialism and immigrant justice. Chair Councilman khalid announced that he will be taking a month-long leave of absence to work directly on Bernie’s campaign; Membership Secretary Brandyn Buchanan will serve in his place. We ended by singing the traditional labor anthem “Solidarity Forever” before regrouping for a post-meeting social hour at a friendly Edgewood restaurant. Photos: Barbara Joye

On December 8, graduate employees at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) voted by a landslide margin for a wildcat grade strike, refusing to submit final grades unless the administration gives them a cost of living adjustment (COLA). UCSC grad employees are asking for a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of $1,412 per month so they can afford to pay rent. Currently many of them pay over 50 percent of their wages towards rent – at a university where the president receives a $6,500 per month housing stipend in addition to her generous $400,000/year salary. At the final grade submission deadline on December 18, the administration had not met the workers’ demands and the graduate employees did not submit grades.

By February 10, as the administration had still not met their demands, UCSC graduate employees went on a full wildcat strike, putting a halt to classes, lectures, sections, labs, and office hours. Administrators have refused to bargain with graduate students or provide a living wage. University administration has responded to the graduate employees’ peaceful resistance with police force, bringing in police from other counties at the cost of $300,000/day. At least 18 supporters of the grad employees have been arrested.

Eugene DSA’s labor committee stands in solidarity with the UCSC grad employees on strike for living wages. Workers have been on a full wildcat strike for over a week now and have faced violence and threats of being fired. In an email to graduate employees on February 14, the administration threatened not to renew contracts for graduate employees who had not submitted grades, threatening not just their livelihoods but their ability to continue their education, as teaching appointments are tied to tuition reductions. This is a crucial time to show support for the strikers.  Those who are able to are encouraged to donate to the workers’ strike fund on GoFundMe.