Events & Actions

Tuesday May 19 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Wednesdady May 20 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Guarantee Act Petition Dropoff/Pickup (Mission Playground, 36 Cunningham Pl)

Wednesday May 20 (6:00 PM – 7:30 PM) What is DSA? (1916 McAllister St)

Thursday May 21 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Social Committee (zoom)

Thursday May 21 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Education Board Open Meeting (zoom)

Thursday May 21 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Immigrant Justice Regular Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Friday May 22 (9:30 AM – 10:30 AM) District 1 Coffee with Comrades (2 Clement St)

Friday May 22 (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM) Maker Friday (1916 McAllister St)

Sunday May 24 (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM) Physical Education + Self Defense Training (Panhandle, William McKinley Monument)

Sunday May 24 (1:00 PM – 3:00 PM) DSA Spring Picnic (William McKinley Monument, Panhandle)

Sunday May 24 (5:00 PM – 6:00 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle Working Group (zoom)

Monday May 25 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle (Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Monday May 25 (6:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Homelessness Working Group Regular Meeting (1916 McAllister St.)

Monday May 25 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) DSA Run Club (McClaren Lodge, Golden Gate Park)

Monday May 25 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Labor Board – Flex Meeting (zoom)

Tuesday May 26 (5:30 PM – 7:00 PM) Social Housing Working Group (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Tuesday May 26 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Public Transit Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Wednesday May 27 (6:45 PM – 8:30 PM) Tenant Organizing Working Group Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Thursday May 28 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Public Bank Project Meeting (zoom)

Thursday May 28 (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM) Bilingual Emergency Planning Training: How to Show Up for Immigrants at Their ICE Check-Ins (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Friday May 29 (9:30 AM – 10:30 AM) District 1 Coffee with Comrades (in person at 2 Clement St)

Sunday May 31 (1:00 PM – 2:30 PM) What Is DSA? (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Monday June 1 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) DSA Run Club (in person at McLaren Lodge)

Monday June 1 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Labor Board – New Union Organizing (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Tuesday June 2 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

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

We kicked off our campaign for the Affordable Housing Guarantee Act!

Come out to Mission Playground this Wednesday, May 20th anytime between 6 and 8 PM to drop off filled out petitions and pick up fresh petitions! We’ll train you in signature gathering and get you set up everything you need. Come help us guarantee our affordable housing funds!

RSVP here.

Join our Community Forum for wide-ranging discussions

We’re holding our Community Forum from 12-3 at the DSA SF Office. This will be our first run of the event, so we’re focusing on members first before rolling out to a wider audience, and we’ll be soliciting feedback and suggestions from attendees.

The goal of the event is to facilitate a discussion around concrete issues that people are concerned about at the global, national, and local levels, to discuss how problems that seem distinct are often interconnected through the logic of capitalism, and how socialism can tackle these challenges by targeting the roots.

EWOC Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing Course: Reportback for Weeks 2-4

The four week long Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing course had its final session this past Sunday. Our cohort was 8 to 12 comrades strong and we learned about the building blocks of organizing. These trainings are run regularly, with the next one coming up Tuesdays in July. You can find out more details here!

During the second session, the big idea was “socialize before you organize.” Building real relationships with coworkers outside of work creates the trust you need before any organizing conversation can actually happen. We talked through the 80/20 rule, 20% asking questions and sharing, 80% listening. The goal isn’t to come in with your own list of issues, but to get curious about what your coworkers care about and let them articulate what’s wrong in their own words. From there, you can start connecting people to each other and turning individual frustrations into collective ones, since a problem affecting one worker likely affects another. We also got into some of the practical strategies as well, such as not having organizing conversations at work or on internal communications tools like slack, always updating your chart afterward (if you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen!), and never assuming someone will say no before you’ve actually had the conversation. A few people shared updates on their own charting, including one person starting a chart at their workplace who got connected with another attendee organizing at the same company! We wrapped up talking about what makes someone “organizable”, things like prior social connections or signs they care about a cause, and how to redirect hopelessness by pointing to workplaces where organizing has actually won.

The third week’s plenary focused on “Campaigns and Collective Action,” and after watching it together we dug into how an organizing committee actually moves from building relationships into running a campaign. A big theme was structure tests: the idea that every action doubles as a diagnostic for how much cohesion you actually have. You want to front-load smaller, lower-stakes actions (stickers, swag, socials, asking OC members to commit to 1:1s, getting a question upvoted at an all-hands, raising an issue in a visible internal forum) so that if something flops, it flops early and tells you where the gaps are. Someone made the point that in tech especially, demands tend to be more amorphous than in service-sector campaigns, so you often have to get creative about what counts as an action. We also talked about how the most common failure mode isn’t unclear messaging but workers not feeling like others have their back, which is really a 1:1 trust problem dressed up as a communication problem. Recruiting natural workplace leaders into the OC matters a lot, and tactics like anonymous-signature open letters can lower the risk threshold for people who are nervous about visibility. On scope, we got into how a campaign can carry a #1 and a #2 issue rather than shoehorning everyone into one demand, with the Starbucks example as a reference point (pay and benefits across the board, hours and scheduling shop-specific). Identifying the actual decision-makers, which often means going past your immediate manager to the board, shareholders, or execs, came up as something bosses actively try to obscure. We closed by touching on the spectrum from business unionism to class-struggle unionism, with the sense that tech organizing probably can’t stop at the business-unionism layer. Recommended reading from the discussion included *What the Boss Doesn’t Want Us to Know*, *Class Struggle Unionism*, and *Unions of Our Own*.

The final session went over inoculation, which is the practice of preparing your coworkers against common talking points the boss and anti-union coworkers may share. We used the Union Busting Bingo Card to practice responses and reasoning behind the canned responses that union busters will have. Our scenarios went over phrases including “We’re already making those changes”, “If you don’t like it then don’t work here”, “You can always come to us”, and “We’ll give you a pizza party <or any kind of small gimme>”. We also discussed how to respond to concerns about immigration/work status being threatened and the myth that unions only ask for raises so that they can get more union dues. The boss is your strongest organizer because inoculation can prove to your coworkers that the boss isn’t there to support the workers and that they’d rather read from a union-busting playbook than respond to worker demands.

If you’d like to get involved with the SF local chapter of EWOC, reach out to the lead coordinator Caitlin S or email labor@dsasf.org. EWOC is a standing topic at meetings of the Labor Board, which are held every other Monday at 7:00 PM, both in-person at 1916 McAllister and over Zoom. Anyone is welcome to attend, and we’re always looking for people interested In workplace lead canvassing, organizer trainings, and volunteer outreach. If you’re interested in organizing your workplace and would like to be connected with an EWOC organizer, fill out the request form here.

Procedure Steps

1. The Chapter Member(s) wishing to make an expenditure request (hereafter referred to as the “Requestor”) fills out and submits the Milwaukee DSA Expenditure Request Form at least one (1) week in advance of any deadlines associated with the request.
2. The Chapter Finance Team and/or Chapter Treasurer (hereafter referred to as the “Reviewer”) reviews the request within one (1) week. The Reviewer then determines if the request meets the following:
   • Criteria:
     • If the request meets both these criteria, the next steps of this procedure are then performed. If the request fails to meet any of the above criteria, the Reviewer denies the request and informs the Requestor of the reason(s) for denial, after which this Procedure is complete and no further steps are necessary. 
     • It is qualified for consideration according to the Governing Documents of Milwaukee DSA
   • If the request meets both these criteria, the next steps of this procedure are then performed. If the request fails to meet any of the above criteria, the Reviewer denies the request and informs the Requestor of the reason(s) for denial, after which this Procedure is complete and no further steps are necessary. 
3. The Reviewer determines what body of the Chapter is required to approve or deny the request (hereafter referred to as the “Grantor”), and refers the request to the appropriate party.
4. The Reviewer contacts the Requestor to inform them of the date, time and location at which the Grantor will consider the request, and asks if the Requestor or another person is available at that date and time to explain and motivate the request to the Grantor.
5. The Grantor approves or denies the request at the next available opportunity, and informs the Requestor of their decision. 

Purpose

The Internal Communication and Moderation policy will ensure that chapter communication spaces remain welcoming, constructive, and aligned with the DSA’s Code of Conduct for members as well as Milwaukee DSAs Online Code of Conduct policy and Meeting and Events Code of Conduct.  By establishing consistent moderation practices and clear guidelines, this Policy will help facilitate productive discussion, reduce disruptive behavior, and protect the ability of members to organize effectively online. 

Community Standards

1. At all chapter meetings and events, members must adhere to the Policy: Meeting and Event Code of Conduct.
2. For all online communication, members must adhere to Policy: Online Code of Conduct. 
3. Members may appeal a moderation decision through the Procedure: Moderation Appeal Process. All thoughts and concerns regarding a moderation action may not be shared on public platforms. Any questions regarding a moderation appeal or action must be asked privately and directly to a moderator or HGO.

Platforms

1. Milwaukee DSA members may use the Discord server, moderated by the chapter (hereafter referred to as the chapter Discord) to communicate with other active members, to discuss among themselves as individuals, and to advocate for their own individual perspectives. With the exception of announcements from moderators or duly elected or appointed chapter officers, posts are understood to represent individual opinions, not official decisions or positions of the Milwaukee chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
2. Signal should be used occasionally, concisely and for person to person, immediate communication. Signal may also be used in the event that said communications need to be encrypted.
3. The Milwaukee DSA Signal Chat has been terminated. There is no official Milwaukee DSA Signal Chat. 
4. The primary official method of outreach shall be through regular direct outreach to members and supporters at the contact information they have shared with DSA and Milwaukee DSA (e.g., email newsletters and occasional phone calls or texts). Chapter officers shall organize this outreach. Outreach using chapter contact lists shall be conducted using DSA resources to ensure members’ privacy. Scripts and emails shall be approved by duly elected or appointed chapter officers to ensure that they reflect the collective decisions of Milwaukee DSA.

Role Definitions

1. Moderators: members who moderate and monitor discussion in chapter chat servers
2. Harassment and Grievance Officers (HGOs): responsible for overseeing the investigation of Members accused of engaging in prohibited behavior according to the Harassment Policy (Resolution 33) of DSA. See chapter bylaws for more detail. 
3. Administrators: Maintain membership in the chapter chat server, adding in new members and channels plus removing members who are no longer in the chapter. Admin roles will be given to mkedsaoutreach@gmail.com and milwaukeedsa@gmail.com and be maintained by the Secretary, Outreach Officer and Communications Officer. More admins will be added on an as needed basis.

Role of Moderators

1. To remove, mute or ban any content or person that does not follow all applicable codes of conduct and policies 
2. To document all incidents in which the moderation team removed, muted, or banned content or persons
3. To seek advice from those on the moderation team for guidance on how to proceed with member infractions/removals
4. To cooperate with Chapter HGOs in the event of content needing to be retrieved for an HGO filing
5. To keep discussions and other chapter business on topic and concise
6. To receive feedback from members regarding content or user interactions, and clarify to members why the moderators modified their participation in the chapter server
7. Provide 48 hour notice to members who receive infractions or banning

Guidelines for Moderation Actions

1. This set of community guidelines follows a “three strikes you’re out” guideline for removing members from the chapter server. Once a member has acquired three or more infractions, they will be removed from the chapter server for a year or possibly more, depending on the severity.
   • Infraction #1
     • Member(s) will be notified by a moderator why the content they shared did not follow the Community Guidelines within 48 hours of the incident occurring
     • Member and Moderator will discuss and/or re-educate the member about how to interact with the chapter chat server in the future
   • Infraction #2
     • Member(s) will be notified by a moderator why the content they shared did not follow the Community Guidelines within 48 hours of the incident occurring.
     • Member will be banned from server ranging from a day to a week, depending on severity
     • Member and Moderator will discuss and/or re-educate the member about what they can do in the future
   • Infraction #3
     • Member(s) will be notified by a moderator why the content they shared did not follow the Community Guidelines within 48 hours of the incident occurring.
     • Member will be banned from server ranging from one  to indefinitely, depending on severity 
     • Member and Moderator will discuss and/or re-educate the member after the length of the ban time to determine if both parties are ready to bring the member back into the server.

2. Moderators will use their best discretion to enforce all applicable Community Standards (see section I.) and to maintain an orderly and safe place for all members to organize.  
3. At any point a member may discuss with the moderation team about why they received any moderation actions (deleted posts, account banned or muted)  against them. Questions regarding a moderation appeal or action must be asked privately and directly to a moderator or HGO. Members may appeal moderation actions through the Procedure: Moderation Appeal Process. 
4. In the event that a conversation is generally heated and may escalate, a moderator may temporarily put a channel or thread into “slow mode” to allow all parties time to cool down. Moderators should consult other moderators and/or HGO(s) if they chose to put a channel in “slow mode”  

Choosing moderators

1. Chapter Harassment and Grievance Officers (HGOs) will manage the moderation team under the purview of the Executive Committee; they will not personally moderate membership posts except in the case of inappropriate moderator behavior or when immediate emergency action is needed.
2. There must be at minimum 2 moderators (not including HGOs). The Executive Committee may appoint additional moderators as recommended by the moderation team. Appointed moderators will be subject to a confirmation vote by membership at a General Meeting.
3. Moderators must be members in good standing
4. A Moderator’s term shall be no longer than 1 year following their confirmation vote, unless reappointed by the Executive Committee. All moderators are subject to appointment or reappointment by the Executive Committee in June each year.

Today marks the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, the catastrophe where the Zionist militias, Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi — later to become the Israeli Occupation Forces — expelled nearly 750,000 Palestinians to pave the way for the state of Israel; a critical turning point in world history. In the 78 years since, Israel has murdered and displaced millions more, culminating in the brutal and ongoing genocide in Gaza. Today, the Palestinian cause is the moral compass for justice. 

The Nakba is an ongoing process. Since 1948, every war Israel waged has served to bolster their settler-colonial project. The Nakba rages on across Palestine, as Israel persists in its genocide in Gaza, with the aims of complete annihilation. The Nakba continues in the West Bank, as the Israeli state continues to clear Palestinian villages to make way for settlements. The Nakba continues in Lebanon, as Zionist battalions push into the heart of the south of Lebanon, once again seeking to expand their borders. The Nakba is an ongoing process that we must organize and fight to end.

We understand the Palestinian cause for liberation, the fight against the ongoing Nakba, as the fight against US empire. Israel’s genocidal project enjoys endless support from the US, so long as Israel serves as the colonial outpost for US interests in the region. The ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, which stole thousands of Iranian lives and threatens havoc on the world, is yet another desperate attempt from Zionism and US imperialism to maintain their grip on the region. All pathways to liberation from imperialism lead back to Palestine. No country in the region has known peace since the Nakba. No country in the world will find peace in Zionism’s pursuit of domination.

Our task as socialists in the heart of empire is to dismantle the empire from within. Anti-capitalism is anti-imperialism; we fight for a world free from domination. As US hegemony declines, our solidarity with Palestinian resistance and their efforts to dismantle apartheid must not falter until we see a liberated Palestine, FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA.

Join DSA and the thousands of members organizing arm embargo campaigns, campaigns to end our complicity in apartheid, and much more today!

DSA has also signed on as an organizational sponsor of member and elected official, Representative Rashida Tlaib’s Nakba Day Resolution. You can read the press release and text of the resolution from her office here.

The post DSA Commemorates the 78th Anniversary of the Nakba appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Purpose

A primary goal of DSA is to be welcoming and inclusive to our members and others who share DSA’s core values of liberty, equality, solidarity, as well as our commitment to restructuring gender and cultural relationships to be more equitable and not oppressive within the context of building a diverse working class movement. As such, we are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.

This code of conduct outlines DSA’s expectations for all those who participate in DSA meetings, conferences, and other public-facing events, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior. That includes DSA members, allies, vendors, donors, supporters, and others. We invite all DSA members and allies to help us create welcoming and positive experiences for everyone

1 Expected Behavior

The following behaviors are expected and requested of all persons – including members – who participate in Milwaukee DSA meetings, conferences and other events:

1. Abide by DSA Guidelines for Respectful Discussions and with all applicable Community Codes of Conduct;
2. Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech;
3. Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the health and longevity of DSA;
4. Exercise consideration in your speech and actions;
5. Share analysis and opinions rather than accusations;
6. Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. 
7. Alert a DSA chapter officer if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential;
8. Trust your gut if you notice someone who might be an infiltrator, and let a DSA chapter officer know. For DSA resources as to what infiltrators historically do, please read this and this.

2 Unacceptable Behavior

The following behaviors are unacceptable within our community and may lead to the person being subject to our harassment policy or code of conduct and expulsion process:

1. Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person, as well as language which could reasonably be interpreted as encouraging or threatening violence;
2. Concealing, carrying, or brandishing weapons;
3. Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language;
4. Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material;
5. Posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxing”);
6. Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability;
7. Inappropriate photography or recording. You should have someone’s consent before taking their photograph and/or recording their voice;
8. Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someone’s consent before touching them;
9. Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes: sexualized comments or jokes; inappropriate touching, groping, and unwelcome sexual advances;
10. Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following (online or in person);
11. Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior; Disruption of community events, including meetings, talks and presentations; including by anyone who is in substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization, as provided by the DSA Constitution.

3 Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

3. Unacceptable behavior from any person who attends a Milwaukee DSA meeting, conference, or event will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.
4. Infiltrators will be removed from meetings, conferences, and all other events immediately. An infiltrator is defined any of the following: (a) anyone who is advocating for principles or actions which are in substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization, as provided by the DSA Constitution (b) anyone who is engaging in systematic/planned disruption of DSA meetings/events/etc. regardless of their stated principles, (c) anyone who misuses DSA data. For example: tracking/compiling/using/disseminating DSA data (lists, minutes, etc.) for the purpose of surveillance, for use by an outside organization, or for other unapproved uses.  
5. If a person engages in unacceptable behavior, Milwaukee DSA leaders/organizers may take any immediate action they deem appropriate, including expulsion from the meeting, conference or event, and without refund in the case of a paid event. Until the chapter can investigate whether the unacceptable behavior violated DSA’s harassment policy and/or any applicable code of conduct, the person may be prohibited from further participation in the organization.

4 Reporting Guidelines

1. If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behavior, or have any other concerns, please notify a meeting marshal, HGO, or DSA officer (including the elected chapter leadership and/or meeting or committee chair). 
2. Solely as an option of critical need, depending on the nature of the conduct, DSA officers may help community members engage with local law enforcement or to otherwise help those experiencing unacceptable behavior feel safe. At in-person events, organizers will also provide escorts as desired by the person experiencing distress.
3. Chapter HGOs (harassment grievance officers) can assist with filing a grievance for a potential violation of DSA’s harassment policy, Resolution 33, and/or chapter codes of conduct. If an HGO is not present at the meeting, please contact a chapter officer or look on the chapter website to obtain the confidential email address to submit a grievance.

5 Scope

3. We expect all community participants (DSA staff, members, allies, vendors, donors, supporters and others) to abide by this Code of Conduct in all community venues–online and in-person–as well as in all one-on-one communications pertaining to DSA business.
4. This code of conduct and its related procedures also applies to unacceptable behavior occurring outside the scope of community activities when such behavior has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of community members.
5. The Executive Committee may pre-approve appropriate security for any meeting or event if needed. Nothing in this code shall be interpreted as prohibiting security steps deemed necessary by the EC.

More than 300,000 people in Maine are renters who live in one of Maine’s 155,000 units. And almost half of those people are paying much more rent than they can afford. 

In the past decade, many have seen rent increases in the double digits, well above inflation and raises in pay. On top of that, tenants can be evicted for no reason, have their rent gouged regularly, and have very little recourse when a landlord violates the rules.

And yet, most housing affordability solutions in Maine have focused on property tax relief, or some form of homeowner assistance. In reality, on average, property taxes amount to less than 4% of a homeowner’s income, compared to almost 50% of a renter’s income. 

To that problem, I offer the “Tenant Bill of Rights.” This is an action plan pulled from all the best ideas I have seen or based on personal experience as a renter in Maine. While it should be enacted statewide, municipalities can take up many of its tenets as well.

1. Prohibit no-cause evictions. No tenant should be kicked out of their home for no reason, yet the practice is legal and frequent in Maine. Half a dozen states have laws requiring landlords to show “just cause” to terminate/not renew someone’s lease (even New Hampshire, for heaven’s sake). Maine should do the same.
2. Cap all rent increases to the rate of inflation. Right now, as every renter knows, landlords can and do raise the rent hundreds of dollars a month. A freeze tied to inflation, preferably permanent, but for five years would work, will protect hundreds of thousands of Mainers from rent gouging, as we look to longer term solutions.
3. Create a statewide rental registry including rent levels. In order to fully understand the rental housing crisis, and to track the rent gouging which has made thousands homeless, we need a statewide registry of the rent charged for every unit and all increases imposed. This is also essential to administer number two (rent increase cap).
4. Require landlords to negotiate with organized tenant unions. Unions for workers have basic protections. If a majority of employees vote to form a union, ownership must negotiate with them as a unit. While landlords can’t evict tenants for forming a union, landlords are not required to negotiate with them. They should be.
5. Require 90-day notice for all rent increases. When a landlord raises the rent, it is only humane to ensure that they give a tenant a full 90 days to prepare. That creates an opportunity for the tenant to seek a new place, ask for a raise at work, or, most likely, squeeze some other part of their budget to stay housed.
6. Limit security deposits to one month’s rent. One of the biggest detriments to tenants getting an apartment is that under current law, a landlord can ask for two months’ deposit plus the first month’s rent. For a unit renting at $1,500-$2,500 a month, that can be entirely prohibitive. Limiting up-front costs to a one month deposit and the first month’s rent will free up many tenants. And while we’re at it, landlords should be required to pay the tenant back the interest they earn holding that deposit for years.
7. Ban broker/application fees to apply for an apartment. Currently, a landlord can require a tenant to go through a broker to rent an apartment, who, in turn, can charge a tenant thousands to secure the unit. Also, a landlord can pass on the costs of doing a background check. Both should be banned.
8. Allow tenants to recover legal fees/damages for illegal evictions. Current law does not allow for tenants to recover legal fees or damages, even if your landlord does something illegal to you. When mine tried to evict me for organizing a union, we had to raise tens of thousands of dollars, including thousands of dollars of my own money, to fight back. Very few tenants have access to those kinds of resources.
9. Require significant civil penalties against landlords for violations. Right now, landlords in Maine face almost no consequences for breaking the law. The repercussions for health hazards, illegal fees, confiscating deposits, violating lease terms, etc, are basically fix it/pay it back. If the penalty for getting caught stealing was just to return the money, we’d all be bank robbers.
10. Create a cabinet level office to protect tenants. New York City has the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. The office advocates for tenants by enforcing rent laws, reversing housing discrimination, stopping landlord harassment, and preventing illegal evictions right in their tracks. Maine needs the same.

While implementing the above will not end our housing crisis overnight, it will quickly begin to alleviate the economic straightjacket currently burdening renters across Maine. I hope elected officials, candidates, and activists alike take up the torch. 

***

This story was originally published by The Beacon, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from the Beacon, sign up for the free Beacon newsletter here.

The post A Tenant Bill of Rights appeared first on Pine & Roses.

Enjoy your May National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected 27-person body (including both YDSA Co-Chairs) which functions as the board of directors of DSA. This month, check out May Day actions across the country, apply for our summer conference, sign up for organizing classes, and more!

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

• From the National Political Committee — May Day Raises the Bar
• Join Us in Chicago! Summer Organizing Conference Application Deadline Extended to Monday 5/25
• Hear Florida Congressional Candidate Oliver Larkin Wednesday 5/20!
• Action Alert — Help Abolish ICE!
• Help Support DSA — RSVP for Growth and Development Phonebanks Starting Sunday 5/24
• Learn New Skills! Sign Up for a Growth and Development Committee Training Starting Friday 5/22
• Read All About It — The New Labor Herald!
• Sign Up for Religion and Socialism Working Group Meeting Monday 5/18 — And Check Out Our Podcast!
• National Political Education Committee Spring Political Educators Conference Online Sunday 5/31
• RSVP for Fundraising Committee Solidarity Dues Training Saturday 6/13

From the National Political Committee — May Day Raises the Bar

Dear Comrades,

It has been an incredible month in DSA. Over 170 DSA chapters participated in May Day actions, showing our solidarity with the labor movement and the global working class in the streets, in our workplaces, in our schools, and beyond. This was one of the largest May Day actions in recent memory — all over the country, we’re recovering the deep American roots of this international workers day. We are building toward May Day 2028 (and looking ahead to the 2028 Presidential Election, too). That means exercising our organizing muscles by using mass demonstrations like the May Day and No Kings actions to channel organic energy into campaigning to win socialist demands: tax the rich, abolish ICE, raise our wages, increase worker protections, and so much more. Scroll down for more ways that you and your chapter comrades can plug into our national organizing projects and trainings!

Both Co-Chairs have had the opportunity to represent DSA in international spaces in the past month. Megan has participated in events in Brussels with the Party of the European Left and the European Left in Parliament, and Ashik visited our comrades in Sweden and Brazil for events with their left parties. We cannot emphasize enough what an incredible honor it is to attend these international events, and to represent the work that DSA is doing across the country and in different arenas of struggle. Our comrades overseas see that members like you are building a strong US American left and challenging global capital for state power from the belly of the beast. Billionaires and the ruling class are operating more openly than ever as a “reactionary international”, to suppress democracy across countries, fuel the rise of the far right, scapegoat people they consider expendable in our societies, and strip our public resources for parts. The stakes for all of us are very real, our struggles are intertwined, and we’re learning from each others’ challenges and successes in real time — we have a historic responsibility to win!

People around the world are inspired to see how socialists in power in the U.S. are raising expectations and resisting “capitalism realism” that tells us good things just aren’t possible from government — like mayor Zohran Mamdani organizing a balanced budget that overcomes a multibillion deficit crisis while resisting draconian cuts to public services in New York City, and fueling the fight to tax the rich. As enthusiastic as our comrades overseas are about our higher-profile wins, they are also delighted to hear that we are organizing everywhere, in big cities and small towns, chipping away at the stranglehold that capital has on the working class and refining the techniques that help us organize our fellow workers in an era of extreme alienation and exploitation.

Here are just a few of the wins we’ve been inspired by (and that we’ve been bragging about):

• Portland, Oregon passed a historic “Keep Portland Housed” social housing package, brought forth by City Council Member Mitch Green, a longtime DSA member and endorsed elected, which invests $17 million in social housing and millions more in tenant protections
• Troy, New York passed a Good Cause Eviction law after a 2-year campaign led by Troy DSA
• Bloomington, Indiana declined to renew their contract with Flock after Bloomington DSA members helped organize opposition to their unfettered mass-surveillance technology
• Dallas, Texas voted to maintain Dallas Area Rapid Transit services in the key areas of Addison and College Park, saving public transit for working-class riders across the metro area after DSA North Texas mobilized to knock thousands of doors

And DSA continues to grow! We’d like to welcome our newest chapters, Red River Region DSA (in the Montgomery, Alabama area) and Humboldt DSA (Northern California), as well as our newest Organizing Committee, Broome DSA (in the Binghamton, New York area).

We’d also like to congratulate all of the chapters that have (so far) been awarded our matching funds grants to open their own offices and organizing hubs: Lehigh Valley DSA, Rochester DSA, Northern Colorado DSA, DSA-LA, Salina DSA, Boulder DSA, Chicago DSA, Atlanta DSA, Portland DSA, Salt Lake DSA, North New Jersey DSA, Birmingham DSA, Boston DSA, Cleveland DSA, Metro Detroit DSA, Tampa DSA, Lincoln DSA, Dayton-Miami Valley DSA, and River Valley DSA, with even more in the pipeline. Office and organizing space will help all of these chapters level up their work and build DSA everywhere, and we are beyond excited to see this program back in action!

As we move into the summer, with its cookouts, swimming, and miles upon miles of door-knocking, we invite you to jump into chapter work if you’re not already involved. And bring some new folks along — we have a world to win!

In Solidarity,

Megan Romer and Ashik Siddique
DSA National Political Committee Co-Chairs

Join Us in Chicago! Summer Organizing Conference Application Deadline Extended to Monday 5/25

There’s still time to apply for the 2026 Democratic Socialists Summit, DSA’s National Organizing Conference! Join DSA in Chicago from July 31st to August 2nd. There, members will gather to learn to organize for the work ahead through political education, skills training, organizer development, general programming, and social activities.

In order to cover a variety of topics, the NPC has created 5 different programming tracks. You can find more information on these tracks on the website. You may apply for up to two of the following tracks:

• Governing as Socialists: The DSA Difference (NEC)
• Workers Deserve More: Building to a General Strike (NLC)
• A Free Palestine in our Lifetime: End Apartheid and War
• No Walls, No Cages: Organizing to Abolish ICE in the Trump Era
• Organizing Fundamentals: Building Blocks for Socialist Victory

The application deadline has been extended to Monday 5/25. For questions, please reach out to us at DSAcon@dsausa.org. Apply today!

Hear Florida Congressional Candidate Oliver Larkin Wednesday 5/20!

DSA has endorsed Oliver Larkin for Congress in Florida! Join us Wednesday 5/20 at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT/6:30pm MT/5:30pm PT as we chat with him, St. Petersburg councilmember Richie Floyd, and scholar of democracy Aziz Rana (author of The Constitutional Bind). On the call, you’ll hear about Oliver’s fight for Medicare for All and against the Supreme Court’s attacks on voting rights in Florida and everywhere.

Action Alert — Help Abolish ICE!

Act now to help abolish ICE!

The NPC has passed a resolution to endorse comrade Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s Ban Warehouse Detention Act (HR 8494). Please sign on here to support Rep. Tlaib’s bill.

And call your US House Rep to ask them to join as a cosponsor or thank them if they are one of the nineteen who have already signed on! You can find the cosponsors list and a link to contact your representative here.

Your financial support can help chapter organizing now. DSA is fundraising to support local chapters coping with surges in ICE activity, and now local chapters can apply for grants to access those funds. Chapters can get assistance for:

• Legal observation of ICE activities
• Mutual aid to neighbors who need to shelter at home to reduce their risk of being kidnapped
• Pressure campaigns on public officials
• Development and production of Know-Your-Rights materials
• Renting spaces for trainings and community gatherings

You can make a contribution to the grant fund here, and help melt ICE!

Help Support DSA — RSVP for Growth and Development Phonebanks Starting Sunday 5/24

Join the Growth and Development Committee for an upcoming phonebank!

• Recommitment Phonebank Sunday 5/24 at 5pm ET/4pm CT/3pm MT/2pm PT
• Solidarity Dues Phonebank Thursday 6/4 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT
• Recommitment Phonebank on Thursday 6/18 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT

Learn New Skills! Sign Up for a Growth and Development Committee Training Starting Friday 5/22

Check out the Growth and Development Committee’s membership trainings! Our core curriculum spans topics from meeting facilitation to membership engagement. Spots are available now for sessions through the end of June!

Read All About It — The New Labor Herald!

The latest issue of the National Labor Commission’s bulletin, the New Labor Herald, is here!

In this issue, you’ll find reports from chapters across the country on May Day organizing. And check out our front-page article on a graduate workers’ union in Pennsylvania building immigrant solidarity and winning their first contract through a credible strike threat! You’ll also find an anonymous article by a member of the Alphabet Workers Union at Google, plus DSA National Political Committee member and postal worker Sarah M on her efforts to win the respect and solidarity of her cisgender coworkers through patient struggle. And finally, to mark International Workers Day, we’re republishing Eugene V Debs’ 1898 tribute to the original martyrs of May Day.

Please print and share in your chapter labor formations, and read our back issues here! We are currently accepting article pitches and submissions for our June issue at nlc@dsacommittees.org. Please put “BULLETIN” in the subject field.

Sign Up for Religion and Socialism Working Group Meeting Monday 5/18 — And Check Out Our Podcast!

If you’re a religious socialist, come to our monthly meetup Monday 5/18 at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT/6:30pm MT/5:30pm PT to see what others are doing, ask questions, share information, and give us your ideas! Write to religioussocialism@dsacommittees.org to get the Zoom link. If you want to know more about us, visit our new website. And listen to our podcasts here!

National Political Education Committee Spring Political Educators Conference Online Sunday 5/31

The National Political Education Committee (NPEC) invites all chapter or committee political educators to our spring online conference Sunday 5/31 at 2pm ET/1pm CT/12pm MT/11am PT! The topic will be “Political Education During Trump 2.0.” Whether you’re a seasoned poli ed leader, or are just learning the ropes, come share your experiences doing this work in the past year. We’ll discuss the path forward as we grow and develop together. Join us!

RSVP for Fundraising Committee Solidarity Dues Training Saturday 6/13

Join the Fundraising Committee for a training on how to run a Solidarity Dues Drive on the chapter level. The training will be held Saturday 6/13 at 5pm ET/4pm CT/3pm MT/2pm PT. RSVP today!

The post May Day Raises the Bar — Your National Political Committee newsletter appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Las Vegas DSA’s Electoral Working Group (EWG) has prepared a process-driven voter guide targeting Southern Nevada. EWG developed a list of candidates that had the potential to be aligned with our positions, and invited candidates on the list to fill out the questionnaire. Based on the questionnaire responses, EWG made recommendations to the General Body, which approved the following voter guide for publication.

Please note: Las Vegas DSA treats recommendations differently than endorsements. When we endorse a candidate, we commit a significant portion of our chapter resources to fight to get that candidate elected and they are expected to act as representatives of LVDSA. Although multiple candidates sought our endorsement in 2026, only two were endorsed – Val Thomason and Shaun Navarro. The additional recommendations in this guide are intended to help voters with their choices, but they do not imply endorsement.

View the full guide

A friendly boss and a healthy wage are increasingly rare, but do workers lucky enough to have both need a union?

The post I have a good boss. Do I still need a union? appeared first on EWOC.