The Nevada landscape is not the same as the federal landscape. In Congress, we know that power players like Big Pharma and AIPAC run the show. Here in Nevada, it’s the Chambers of Commerce, the Nevada Realtors, the Retail Association of Nevada, mining companies, and big casinos. Labor unions get a slice of the pie, like prevailing wages for new construction and raises for public workers, thanks to their generous donations, with most progressive bills existing due to union backing.

During this legislative session, these power players have run the show. In a published statement, Sandra Jarauigui stated that her bill was watered down by Nevada Realtors, who then decided not to back it anyways. This bill, AB280, would limit rent increases for senior citizens to 10% (now 5%) for one year before sunsetting in 2026. That’s right, a one year long rent stabilization bill, that would allow landlords to immediately raise it to any number they want again when it expires in December 2026. This would conveniently be months before the end of the next legislative session and leave them without protection for over six months, even in the event that a second bill is passed.

Retail Association of Nevada, or RAN, has been loudly opposed to Attorney General Aaron Ford’s anti-price gouging bill, even publishing a condemnation of the bill in their monthly newsletter. They lobbied against it, pushing legislators to vote down the bill. Unfortunately for RAN, if you want legislators to take a politically ugly position such as this one, you’re going to have to pay them the big bucks. Only 3 Democrats voted against the bill: Duy Nguyen, Venise Karris, and Joe Dalia. All 3 of them received the maximum donation of $10,000 from the Retail Association of Nevada. They were the only Democrats to do so.

The bills are then written, sponsored, and presented by corporate lobbyists. AB523 is a bill written and presented by Uber lobbyists. Several articles refer to this bill as a “settlement” or a “compromise”, we prefer the term “quid pro quo”. Uber launched a nationwide campaign to lower their insurance liability in 2023, as a response to a litany of lawsuits regarding sexual assault, injury, and wage theft. Uber decided to go to war with a key pillar of the Nevada political class: legal services professionals.  Uber presented this bill as a ceasefire. You allow us to carry lower insurance limits, shield us from all liability prosecution, and define drivers as “independent contractors” in law, and we will stop running ads against your friends in the law firms. Howard Watts allowed Uber lobbyists to fast track the bill through the Growth and Infrastructure Committee. It was introduced, heard, and passed in 24 hours. It then passed the floor unanimously. Not a single state lawmaker opposed the bill.

Next up is AJR8, what some are referring to as a desperate offering to Elon Musk. Sponsored by Assembly Democrat and Corporate Darling Joe Dalia, the bill is heavily supported by the Retail Association of Nevada. A reasonable person can assume that the world’s richest oligarch Elon Musk might have something to gain from the bill, due to his continued reliance on Nevada public dollars for his operations. Musk has also been railing against the existing business court in Delaware, because the court increasingly has ruled against corrupt CEOs and Trump-connected henchmen. Musk expressed his desire to establish a business court in Nevada on X.  AJR8 passed the house with 40 votes, with only Assembly Democrats Erica Roth and Selena La Rue Hatch in opposition.

Then there’s SB371, presented by Resorts Association lobbyists on behalf of strip casinos. This bill would increase the penalties for trespassers on the Las Vegas strip. While that might sound reasonable to some, these “trespassers” are mostly homeless people moving from their way down the strip to access the tunnels (a local residence for the unhoused). This bill seeks to “deter” people who have no other choice, by locking them away for three years. Most notably, the bill is sponsored by Nevada Senate Democrat Fabian Doñate and Senate Republican John Steinbeck. Doñate represents one of the poorest districts in Las Vegas, and has seemingly sold out his own constituents. Doñate received the maximum contribution from MGM Resorts in his last election, as well as more than $5,000 in donations from various casino properties. SB371 passed the senate with no opposition.

Lastly, the disappearance of BDR 10-513, rent stabilization. The bill was viciously opposed by the entire corporate coalition, most strongly by Nevada Realtors. The bill was one of only a few bills to not be introduced at all in the session.

In all, the legislative session has been dominated by corporate lobbyists. While their presence is overwhelming — there are 900+ lobbyists in a building with 60 legislators — Nevada state lawmakers have given up on the pretense that working Nevadans have the same influence as their corporate campaign donors. There are no backroom deals between legislators and corporate lobbyists in Nevada, the lobbyists are standing in the middle of the room and loudly declaring “I wrote this bill.”

Neither party stands up against corporate interests. Whether it’s giving away federal lands, lowering insurance rates for Uber, arresting the homeless, or pouring public money into state funded billionaire slush funds, the CEO always comes first in Nevada. Las Vegas DSA wants to see a legislature dominated by worker power, and we will keep fighting until we’ve defeated the corporate giants.

If you want to stay up to date on what bills are making their way through the legislative session and who is supporting them, check out our bill tracker:

…by a reading group member

From November 2024 to March 2025, Madison Area DSA embarked on an ambitious political education project. A reading group formed to tackle Paul Reitter’s 2024 translation of Capital. The challenges of this book were clear and immense from the beginning. Marx’s words measure to a total of 710 pages with over 100 more pages of introductions and endnotes. It tackles a vast array of topics starting with a theoretical analysis of value, a mathematical assessment of the working day, and a historic review of the working class’s conditions across Great Britain. To call this work a magnum opus feels like an understatement. 

How did MADSA respond to the challenge? There are different measures of success that should be considered. Over a dozen members signed up in December to attend the weekly meetings. Attendance dwindled rapidly to a core four members who finished the text earlier this year. We held a majority of meetings in-person at the Social Justice Center, though occasionally some were converted to Zoom due to scheduling conflicts. By the end, a transition from Thursday nights to Saturday mornings was made to facilitate reading group members taking on other active organizing projects on weekday nights. 

The drop in attendance was likely multifactorial. For some members, the scheduled in-person weeknight meetings were inaccessible. For others, missed meetings due to other end-of-year holiday obligations made it difficult to catch up. Because each chapter of Capital references previously introduced concepts, falling behind often meant being left behind. In response, reading group members employed a combination of audiobooks, physical books, and digital ebooks to read the material. This allowed time-strapped members to maximize opportunities to read between sessions. Basically, whenever I had free time this winter, I needed to crack open Capital to stay ahead. 

Sessions originally consisted of facilitated meetings with a self-nominated leader agreeing to summarize key concepts and key vocabulary each week. The decline in membership led to a decline in formal structure. At the conclusion, the four remaining members brought an equal share of questions and key passages to the table for others to review and discuss. This second model reduced scheduling anxiety and remained effective because as members grew to understand and build off of each other’s strengths. In general, a key source of success was having a member already familiar with the text, this member provided valuable context at the beginning of each session and prepared us with signposts to pay attention to when we read the into the next section.

In summary, I believe MADSA should form a Capital reading group every two years to maintain institutional knowledge of the key socialist theories among chapter members. Future reading groups will benefit most from regularly scheduled meetings that do not interfere with the end-of-year holidays. They should also seek to have members who are already familiar with the text to help draw attention to key ideas for new readers. It is worth considering the use of supplemental material, such as David Harvey’s chapter by chapter lecture series, which could reduce entry barriers or help members stay up to date despite occasionally missing a section. However, I believe there is significant benefit to engaging in the written metaphors and analogies Marx uses to explain his concepts. Members relying only on summarized material will miss the humor and jokes very much needed in the socialist vernacular to call out the contradictory monstrosity of capitalism. 

The question of in-person versus video meetings remains up in the air. I invite current MADSA attendees of Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism reading group to contribute a follow-up report to Red Madison to help direct the chapter’s burgeoning political education committee on the best practices for maximizing access to important member education. 

Finally, what other key theory should enter the MADSA reading group roster? In addition to reading European socialists like Marx and Lenin, MADSA should make dedicated space for non-European theory exploring the mechanisms of capitalist oppression. Given we organize within occupied Ho-Chunk land in the shadow of a massive land grant university, members would benefit from critical theories of settler colonialism. Reading groups for Fayez Sayegh’s 1965 thesis, Zionist Colonialism in Palestine and La Paperson’s A Third University is Possible represent exciting ways to build the membership’s capacity for material analysis and historical critique.

This May Day, we gather in a moment of rising pressure. The bosses exploit us, the politicians sell us out, and the system demands our silence. In a city and country where labor action is far too rare and organizing faces constant resistance, it can be easy to feel isolated. May Day reminds us that we are not alone. We stand in a global tradition of struggle and solidarity, one that has always grown strongest in the face of repression. Rooted in the demand for basic rights – from the eight-hour workday to healthcare and housing for all – May Day is our yearly call to keep fighting back.

This tradition belongs to us all – workers, tenants, students, and everyone struggling for a better future. Across the country, workers are reclaiming their power, forming unions, making their voices heard, and building something better. We can and must embody that spirit here in Madison. As capitalism decays our world around us and threats to our lives and livelihoods escalate, our task is clear: build working-class power and wrench back our wealth from the bosses and billionaires.

Let this May Day be a reminder: the future is not yet written. We create it. With courage, with care, and with each other, we organize – not just for survival, but for dignity, for justice, and for the world we know is possible. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but it starts when ordinary people come together. Whether it’s supporting the next generation as they walk out of school, preparing for a 2028 general strike, or spending a spring day talking socialism with comrades in the park, every step forward counts.

Below are a few ways to get involved this May Day and beyond to help build our power – no experience required. All you need is the belief in a better future and a willingness to stand in solidarity against the ruling class. Let us plant the seeds for a stronger movement, together.

• Thu. May 1, 9am – East + West High School Walkout
• Thu. May 1, 7-8:30pm – May Day Mass Meeting & Panel Discussion: The Road to a General Strike
• Fri. May 2, 3pm (or Thu. May 1, 9:30am in MKE) – A Day Without Immigrants & Workers Rally
• Sat. May 3, 10am-1pm – Family Friendly Spring Park Social
• Sat. May 3, 2-3:30pm – New Member Orientation
• Sat. May 10, 6pm – Hands Off Medicaid! Town Hall

By Colleen L

In the heart of North Carolina, a storm is brewing once again. Senate Bill 516 (S.B. 516), misleadingly titled the "Women's Safety and Protection Act," threatens to unravel the fabric of inclusivity and respect that binds our communities together. The bill is not just a step backward, it's a direct assault on the dignity and rights of transgender individuals, and it places everyone, regardless of whether or not someone is transgender, at greater risk.​

But the danger doesn’t stop at restroom doors. S.B. 516 is part of a broader political strategy rooted in upholding systems of patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism. These types of laws seek to control bodies, especially the bodies of those who resist gender norms, who are people of color (POC), queer, disabled, working-class, and/or poor. By weaponizing fear and moral panic, these bills distract from the real crises facing our communities: lack of access to housing, healthcare, education, and living wages. In doing so, they divide the working class and shift blame away from the systems that actually endanger us.

When the government polices gender, it enforces rigid roles that serve the interests of power, not the safety of people. S.B. 516 does not protect women or children. It reinforces a violent, narrow view of who is “acceptable,” while putting trans people, non-binary people, and even cisgender people at risk of surveillance, harassment, and violence. This bill isn't about safety, it's about control.

What is S.B. 516?

Senate Bill 516 (S.B. 516), also known as the “Women’s Safety and Protection Act,” is a proposed North Carolina law that would force people to use bathrooms and changing facilities in public buildings based on their sex assigned at birth, not their gender identity. The bill would also prevent transgender people from updating the gender marker on their birth certificates or driver’s licenses, legally erasing recognition of trans and non-binary individuals. S.B. 516 does not increase public safety. Instead, it puts transgender people, non-binary people, and even cisgender women and men at greater risk of harassment, violence, and discrimination in public spaces.

A Violation of Privacy and Safety

Studies have shown that transgender individuals face alarmingly high rates of harassment in public restrooms. According to GLSEN, over 75% of transgender students feel unsafe at school due to their gender identity, and restrictive bathroom policies exacerbate this vulnerability.​

Moreover, these policies don't just harm transgender individuals. They hurt all of us.

S.B. 516 is written as though gender is binary and everyone fits neatly into one of two categories. But we know that’s simply not reality. Countless people, non-binary, gender nonconforming, and intersex, exist outside that rigid framework. This bill erases their identities and their humanity by forcing them to choose between unsafe or inappropriate public spaces. 

Harmful policies like S.B. 516 create an environment where anyone who doesn't conform to traditional gender norms, whether it be appearance or mannerism, can be subjected to scrutiny and discrimination. This includes cisgender women who are perceived as masculine, who could also be challenged or harassed when simply trying to use the restroom.​ Cisgender men aren’t safe either. Fathers helping their daughters in public restrooms or caregivers assisting elderly family members may find themselves accused of suspicious behavior.

Consider the case of domestic violence shelters. Transgender women, who are already at a heightened risk of intimate partner violence, could be denied access to these critical resources under S.B. 516. This exclusion not only leaves transgender women without support but also undermines the very purpose of these shelters: to provide safety and refuge to those in need.​

S.B. 516 doesn’t create safety, it invites profiling. And worse, it encourages everyday people to act as enforcers of state control. Much like abortion bans, ICE raids, or anti-trans legislation across the country, this bill relies on surveillance and snitch culture, where suspicion alone becomes justification for confrontation. It deputizes citizens to police each other’s bodies, turning public spaces into battlegrounds of judgment and fear. 

The GOP knows these laws are both harmful and unpopular. But rather than govern democratically, they push these policies through by stoking fear, bypassing public consensus, and using political power to force their agenda, regardless of the lives at risk.

This bill, created under the guise of “protection,” doesn’t protect anyone. It targets the most vulnerable among us, and it empowers the public to do the state’s work.

We’ve Seen This Before: HB2

We don't have to look far back to see the repercussions of such discriminatory legislation. In 2016, North Carolina passed House Bill 2 (HB2), which mandated individuals to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates. The backlash was swift and severe. Major corporations halted investments, leading to significant economic losses. The NBA relocated its All-Star Game, and numerous entertainers canceled performances. The Associated Press estimated that HB2 would cost the state over $3.76 billion in lost business over a dozen years.​

The public outcry and economic impact were so profound that the legislature eventually repealed HB2. Yet, here we are again, with S.B. 516 threatening to repeat history.​

Infringement on Fundamental Rights

Beyond the tangible harms, S.B. 516 strikes at the very core of individual freedoms. Denying transgender individuals access to facilities that align with their gender identity is a blatant violation of their rights. It's not about safety; it's about codifying discrimination. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina has aptly described S.B. 516 as a bill that "erodes fundamental rights and dignity by enforcing rigid definitions of sex and gender in state law."​

But this bill is about more than restrooms. It is part of a larger strategy to maintain systems of control. Policies like S.B. 516 reinforce patriarchy by policing gender roles, white supremacy by disproportionately harming POC trans people, and uphold capitalism by criminalizing the poor while denying them access to safe public space. These systems rely on strict hierarchies of power and punishing those who refuse to conform.

In the face of this institutional violence, LGBTQ+ communities have built alternative systems of care. Many rely on mutual aid networks to meet their most basic needs: hormone therapy kits, gender-affirming clothing swaps, safe housing resources, and fundraising support for legal, medical, or survival costs. These acts of collective care are not charity. They are acts of survival.

S.B. 516 seeks to sever these networks by increasing stigma, limiting access to public life, and pushing people into deeper precarity. It targets the very communities that have always had to build their own safety. When the state abandons these communities, or actively legislates them out of existence, the communities are the ones who respond. Mutual aid is a reminder that real safety doesn’t come from the state. It comes from each other. And that is exactly what this bill is trying to dismantle.

The Urgent Need for Compassion and Understanding

To those who support this bill under the guise of protecting women, consider the real-world implications. Policies like S.B. 516 don't make spaces safer; they make them more hostile and divisive. True safety comes from fostering environments of understanding, respect, and inclusivity.​

Taking Action: Preventing the Passage of S.B. 516

There are so many ways to show up in this fight, and not all of them require being physically present at a protest. Activism is strongest when everyone participates in the ways they’re able.

1. Show up for trans and non-binary people: That means listening, believing, and advocating alongside them.
   
   

2. Contact your legislators: Contact your state senators and representatives. Express your opposition to S.B. 516 and explain how it harms the community. Personal stories and well-reasoned arguments can be particularly impactful.​
   Find your NC legislators here: https://www.ncleg.gov/FindYourLegislators
   
   

3. Support local organizations doing the work: In addition to national advocacy groups, grassroots organizations here in North Carolina are building power for reproductive justice, LGBTQIA+ rights, and working-class liberation, such as:

The NC Triangle Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – Socialist Feminist Working Group

The Socialist Feminist (“SocFem”) Working Group of the NC Triangle DSA envisions a world rooted in reproductive justice, bodily autonomy, and dignity for all people, values that stand in direct opposition to S.B. 516.

Their work connects the fight for trans rights and reproductive freedom with broader struggles for labor rights, housing justice, and free, accessible healthcare. They organize for systemic change, not just defensive actions.

Their past efforts include:

• Rallies in response to the overturn of Roe v. Wade

• Picketing anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers”

• Teach-ins on abortion care and bodily autonomy for trans people

• Active participation in the chapter’s Priority Campaign for Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy, which challenges the state government through civil non-compliance and organizing.

To learn more or get involved:
Website: https://triangledsa.org/working-groups/socialist-feminist-working-group/
Instagram: @triangledsa

Other organizations include: ACLU of NC, Equality NC, and the Campaign for Southern Equality (and more!)

1. Attend protests and community events: Show public solidarity. Visibility matters. If you can’t attend physically, raise awareness digitally.
   
   

2. Educate others: Use your voice on social media and in your local communities. Help people understand that this isn’t about safety. It’s about control and discrimination.
   
   

3. Vote: Remember this moment during election season. Support candidates who champion inclusivity and oppose discriminatory legislation.​
   
   

Let's not be a state that legalizes discrimination. North Carolina can champion the rights and dignity of all its residents. S.B. 516 is not the path forward. It's a regression that North Carolinians cannot afford morally, socially, or economically.​

It's time to stand together, to uplift every member of our community, and to ensure that our laws reflect the values of equality and respect. Reject S.B. 516. Embrace compassion. Champion justice.

By Nathan K & Dan C

In the wake of October 7th, another round of Israel’s genocidal actions towards the Palestinians in Gaza has begun, pushing Zionism and antisemitism to the top of American public consciousness. While Israel has been engaged in brutal repression towards the Palestinians for decades, what has made this moment so different from previous ones has been the sharp outcry against Israel’s actions from a wide swath of western capitalist society. In an effort to suppress these newly dissenting voices, Zionist affiliated organizations have turned to a tried-and-true method in their playbook: conflating anti-zionism with antisemitism. Criticism and even awareness of Israel’s actions are positioned as antisemitic smears by the left, juxtaposed against a rational and palatable “Liberal Zionism”. The waters are only muddied further with the arrival of far-right groups inadvertently bolstering this effort, attempting to hijack the narrative to insert actual anti-semitic rhetoric into criticism of the Israeli state.

So what is antisemitism, why and how is it being conflated with Zionism, and how do we push back against the narrative of “Liberal Zionism”?

Antisemitism is rooted historically in Europe’s conversion to Christianity, though there were certainly discriminatory actions levelled at Jews in the classical era, such as expulsions and slavery in the wake of conquest or revolt, the prejudices we are familiar with grew out of the perception that Jews were “killers of christ”. Restrictions on where Jews could live, bans from certain occupations, and everyday racism were all part of a systematic campaign of persecution with the goal of forcing conversion. These pressures led Jews to practice in secret, flee their homes, or take up socially inferior jobs such as moneylending, peddling wares, or tax/rent collecting. The latter resulted in representations of Jews as “greedy” or untrustworthy and made them scapegoats in times of crisis, despite Jews in these professions working on behalf of Christians who could not practice usury.

Starting in the Enlightenment, race as a “science” gained popularity as attempts to retroactively justify the religiously motivated prejudices of the past. The rising nationalist movements of the day viewed Jewish identity as inherently oppositional to national identity and Jews as conspirators against national rejuvenation. To fight their oppression, Jews in turn began flocking to revolutionary movements, leading to further tension. Jewish and gentile intellectuals alike debated whether Jews could assimilate or would always face discrimination. In the pro-assimilation camp, various movements to secularize Jews and fight for their rights within society were founded. Among Jews from the anti-assimilationist camp, a new political ideology emerged: Zionism.

Political Zionism began with Theodore Herzl and his manifesto Der Judenstaat written in 1896, though its existence as an aspirational religious goal predates that. Unlike assimilationists, Zionists did not necessarily reject scientific racism and accepted the formulation that Jews were a distinct and separate race from their European counterparts, requiring a homeland of their own. The British Empire saw Zionism as an opportunity to expand influence in the Middle East and offered patronage through the The Balfour Declaration, and Zionists in turn encouraged activity in Mandatory Palestine due to its religious and historical significance in Judaism.

Following the Holocaust and the death of six million Jews, assimilationist positions seemed absurd. How could Jews possibly turn around and attempt reintegration in a society that had just planned their mass extermination? The Zionist position seemed like the obvious way forward: to settle in a new land, far from Europe,and  establish a Jewish nation-state with complete political control. The words never again etched their way into Zionist lexicon as their strongest argument. This is the common refrain of the Liberal Zionist, that the Holocaust uniquely proves the necessity of a Jewish Nation-State — that it is a given fact that without a Jewish Nation, a genocide will occur again.

According to this mindset, the "excesses” of the Israeli state boil down to bad policy or bad actors. Following this line of thought, Liberal Zionists, argue that the right politicians or the right policy can create a Zionism that is palatable and free of such “excesses”. The problem is this outlook refuses to see the settler-colonialism at the heart of the Israeli project, which will cause those “excesses” to occur again and again. Benjamin Netanyahu’s Nationalist Likud Party, the ones currently conducting the campaign of slaughter in Gaza, wasn’t always the ruling party of Israel; the first governing coalition was composed of Liberal and Labor zionists. That didn’t stop Jewish settlers and soldiers who had just fled persecution and suffering turn around and inflict that same violence against the Palestinians. As negotiations broke down into war in 1948, the Israeli paramilitaries that would eventually become the core of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing known as the Nakba. Over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from the land they called home, 16,000 Palestinains were killed,and land and property were expropriated by the nascent Israeli state.

No matter how much liberal or socialist window dressing takes place, Zionism is an ideology of settler-colonialism, and nothing can change that. Its rallying cry, “A land without a people for a people without a land” erases the personhood of Palestinians, leading to its atrocities being buried or ignored. Zionists believe, implicitly or otherwise, they are on a “civilizing mission” for the Levant. When media outlets and politicians push rhetoric like “Israel is the only stable democracy in the Middle East,” the implication is clear: Israel is a western democracy, it has European founders, it is stable like us.

That also doesn’t change the fact that many Jews support Israel out of fear of antisemitism, with a true conviction that Israel serves as a bulwark against it. Zionism itself proudly claims this to be true, but history paints a different picture. Israel, through its material actions, has no issues with antisemitism aimed at the Diaspora. It materially supports evangelical “Christian Zionists” who support the Israeli State out of perceived fulfillment of biblical prophecy, a prophecy that ends in genocide: with all Jews either dying in the apocalypse or converting to Christianity. Christian Zionism and American backing leads to widespread acceptance of Israel on the ideological Right, even among groups who perpetrate antisemitism against Jews in their home countries. That’s how a party like the AfD in Germany can advocate for tearing down Holocaust Memorials and laws outlawing Kosher slaughter but be a vocal proponent for Israel in the German legislature.

Israel does nothing to protect those who are victimized by these groups and their supporters. There is no material support, and no amount of “soft power” actually helps the people trying to live their day-to-day lives. At most, Israel’s claim of being a shield against antisemitism amounts to cynical invocations of the Holocaust to justify its own existence through methods like the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which notably includes:

“Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”

These alliances between Zionists and antisemites are a feature, not a bug. Theodore Herzl once noted in his diary that “The antisemites will become our most dependable friends, the antisemitic countries our allies.” This remains the strategy of Israel to this day, and why not? It’s of material interest to the Israeli project. Antisemitism against the Jewish diaspora means more Jews emigrating to become Israeli citizens. There is still the implicit understanding of Herzl’s internalized antisemitism in policy: that the “weak” diaspora must be transformed into a “proper” Zionist nation. This is to say nothing of the destruction of traditional Jewish culture within Israel, the eradication of local practices in the name of stamping out the “ghetto culture” of the diaspora (Ashkenazim, Sephardim, etc) for the homogenized monolith of the Hebrew-speaking Israeli.

This brings us back to the question of antisemitism. Is anti-Zionism antisemitism, like so many politicians would have us believe? No. Just from the Nakba alone, there are clear political reasons to oppose the Zionist project that have nothing to do with the hatred of Jews. Definitions like the one used by the IHRA obscure this, framing the discussion of Israel around Jewish self-determination as opposed to the suffering and dispossession of the Palestinians.

That doesn’t mean critiques of Israel can’t still cross the line into antisemitism, such as when those critiques cross the line into targeting Jews who have no connection to the Israeli state. Other offensive tropes include invoking claims of sinister conspiracies headed by the Rothschilds or George Soros,  implicating Jewish individuals and institutions as part of some secret cabal for Israeli power, and implying a dual loyalty across an entire people. Baseless accusations like these are just the old tropes of antisemitism given a new coat of paint for the world Jews find themselves living in today.

DSA is against all imperialist and colonial ideologies, including Zionism and anti-Muslim racism. We reaffirm that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism! We stand with the oppressed peoples of Palestine and work with them in solidarity and support through actions like our No Appetite for Apartheid campaign and by working on the ground with Palestinian organizations. We do this while fighting antisemitism in our communities at the same time. Freedom for the Palestinian People and safety for the Jewish diaspora are not in any way mutually exclusive. Recent events have made people more conscious of this, but it is only through action and education that we can make sure it is a reality.

By Nathan K

When an American hears Labor Day, what comes to mind? The end of Summer? barbecue, beers, and the flag? Not wearing white? It seems kind of odd that, besides getting a day off on the calendar, labor itself is put on the backburner, and agitation is conspicuously absent from America’s ostensible worker holiday. To those wondering why, it should come as no surprise that the first Monday in September is an aberration compared to Labor days across the world, a holiday in the United States and Canada, but meaningless to the more than 150 countries around the world that instead recognize May 1st as International Workers Day. You may know it by another name: May Day.

The roots behind the choice of May 1st as an international holiday for labor come specifically from the fight for an eight hour workday in the 1800s. Prior to the First World War, most countries had laws for 10 hour days, usually 6am to 6pm, if they had any laws regulating working hours at all. This brutal state of affairs had workers spending over half their waking hours on the clock, with little spare time before needing to sleep after a shift. As the labor movement consolidated through the 1800s, the fight for an eight hour day became a crucial centerpiece of worker demands.

In the United States, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, a precursor to the AFL, set May 1st 1886 as a deadline to make the eight hour day standard. 500,000 workers turned out in force to fight for workers rights, and as the strike progressed into its 3rd day strikebreakers and police in Chicago caused the death of two workers. Retaliation against this act of police violence led to a further 3,000 gathering in Haymarket Square the next day to rally in solidarity, and the clashes with Police that followed as they attempted to forcibly disperse this peaceful rally led to a further 15 deaths and 70 injuries.

The men behind the “Haymarket Affair” were sentenced in a rigged trial. Four were executed and the remaining three were given lengthy prison sentences. Capitalists across the world hoped that workers would learn their lesson, and Haymarket would fade into history.

But the workers didn’t forget.

Those killed, either at the riot or at the hands of the state, became Martyrs for the cause of an eight hour day. At the meeting of the Second International in Paris in 1889 a great demonstration, the first “International Workingmen's Day”, was planned for May 1st of 1890 in honor of those who died fighting for the cause of work hour reduction. The success of this event around the world led to the establishment of the May Day we all know and love.

Of course knowing the history of May Day, and how inextricably it is tied to the American Labor movement, makes the “Labor Day” recognized by the US in September all the more cynical. Anxiety over the explicitly political and socialist meaning behind May 1 led President Grover Clevland to push the first Monday of September as a moderate alternative. This date had already been discussed in some AFL-affiliated circles as a potential “holiday for labor”. The American government’s attempts to suppress awareness of May Day continued into the 1950s with the establishment of “Loyalty Day” on May 1st as a nationalist celebration, though laughably few people know about this holiday to commemorate “American history and declaring loyalty to the United States”.

Though the eight hour workday has been won in the global north, the worker’s struggle for control of our economic and political agency is far from complete — especially for our comrades in the global south. This May Day, we should remember our forebears, who fought for eight hours between backbreaking 12 hour shifts. If they could win eight hours, what could we win?

May Day 2025 will measure the broad left’s strength vis-à-vis the Trump Administration and the MAGA Republican Party here in Maine and across the country. It won’t tell us everything, but it will tell us a lot. 

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”—Sun Tzu

Know your enemy. Trump had a bad week. Even Fox News had to admit that “Americans are not overly thrilled” with Trump as his approval rating slumped into the low 40s. Hegseth keeps on Signaling, Putin doesn’t seem interested in a ceasefire, Netanyahu is ratcheting up his genocide machine, he fell asleep at Pope Francis’s funeral, and, worst of all, his trade war has rattled the markets. “He’s tanking,” as Rachel Maddow put it this week. I hope she’s right. 

Yet it’s Maddow, not Trump, who is being pushed aside, reduced to one show per week starting May 5 by MSNBC’s new CEO who is encouraging producers to take a more “measured” tone towards Trump. Meanwhile, the Republican Party is moving in lockstep towards its single most important goal this year: slashing $1.5 trillion from the federal budget. They will hand hundreds of billions in tax breaks to corporations and the rich and they will gut social programs, most likely tearing the first pound of flesh from Medicaid. Republican Congressmen may face angry crowds at constituent meetings, but compared to the millions of dollars pouring into their campaign coffers, they just don’t care. 

[Read next: Thousands say Hands Off! in Maine]

The one group that may have the power to back Trump down at this point are the big banks. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank are collectively worth $10 trillion. Trump’s tariffs may trigger a recession—which he clearly doesn’t mind—but if stagflation threatens the bond market and the status of the US dollar as the global benchmark currency, the Lords of Finance might try to get him to move on. But even if they do put their thumbs on the scales, it will only be to save themselves. Remember, Occupy taught us who gets bailed out and who gets sold out.

To my eye, Trump looks happy. He loves this. He may—or may not—believe his plan will bring manufacturing back, but his real goal is to Make his American Great Again. Meaning, make the rich richer. The elite and their hangers on are going to make out like bandits and they love him for it. The MAGA upper middle classes—the managers, big landlords, medium size businessmen, wealthy lawyers and professionals, tech bros—love him for telling them that they will get rich too. Deeper down in the MAGA-inflected sections of the working class, decades of betrayal and swindles from bipartisan union busters, insurance company pirates, and devious banksters have enraged millions of people. And in the absence of a powerful labor movement or a party willing to fight for workers interests, millions have thrown their lot in with Trump because almost anything is better than the status quo. 

Trump doesn’t need 50% approval ratings. He needs a ruthless Republican Party willing to gerrymander and intimidate, a loyal base of 35 to 40% of the electorate, and a Democratic Party leadership that has no idea how to fight. As of today, he’s got the trifecta and he intends to run with it.

Know yourself. The working class in the United States has been bruised and battered by neoliberalism. Unions represented about 30% of workers in 1970, today less than 10%. The rich, the very rich, and the ultra rich have scraped an unprecedented share of the national wealth off the rest of us and are—literally—sending their fiancés into space. Meanwhile, holes in the social safety net grow by the day and grocery store inflation hits the lowest paid the hardest. LGTBQ+ workers suffer escalating harassment at work, Black workers endure double-the-average unemployment, women still earn less than men for equal work, and immigrant workers face a terrifying escalation of hatred and repression. Basic democratic rights are under attack to a degree not seen since McCarthyism. In sum, we’re in rough shape. 

[Listen to the Maine Mural podcast: Camp Hope, Bangor, Maine]

Throughout the grim neoliberal period, unions and social movements have put up a fight: Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, Bernie’s presidential campaigns, mutual aid during COVID, education and healthcare workers organizing and strikes in Blue and Red states alike, the UAW stand up strikes, Amazon union drives, and too many more to name. Each of these struggles proved that there are two sides to the class war. Chief among these was UAW president Sean Fain’s call for unions to align their contracts to expire on May Day 2028 and to lead a general strike to make working-class power visible. In fact, the UAW proposal—alongside the living legacy of the 2006 mass May Day marches and strikes by immigrant workers—is an important motivation for this year’s May Day mobilizations.  

Despite all this, we remain far weaker than our enemies. There is no shame in recognizing this fact. Nor is there any point in dwelling on it. If we want to defeat Trump and to change the social and economic conditions that gave him a mass base to begin with—Democratic leaders only care about the former—we will have to find ways to accomplish things that only seem possible in history books. How did we get unions in the first place? Factory occupations, mass picket lines, and defiance of pro-corporate courts. How did Black people win the right to vote? Civil disobedience in defiance of racist police and politicians. What brought the Vietnam War to an end? Courageous resistance by the Vietnamese people, campus and urban revolts, postal wildcat strikes, mass marches in the U.S., and soldiers refusing to fight. 

The scale and power of these events can seem impossible to reproduce. Too often, people attend a protest or two and despair that the monstrous policy they marched against remains in place. But this is to misunderstand history. The unions fought for seventy-five years before they beat General Motors. African Americans struggled for hundreds of years for freedom. Nothing important changes easily. 

However, that truism can lead to a certain kind of fatalism. The trick to bringing history to life is to understand the following. Those decades-long struggles moved in fits and starts, leaps forward and costly setbacks. Success always, in every instance, emerged from 1/ sharp strategic and tactical debates, which 2/ were only possible because hundreds of thousands of people joined political and social organizations, who in turn 3/ created local and national leaders, active and informed rank-and-file members, and skilled organizers. Whether they were called political parties or community organizations or unions or caucuses or churches, no examples of progress towards social justice were won outside the reality of mass membership participation. Why does this matter? 

Because we are weak and we must become strong. And the only way to do so is to practice democracy and politics by joining a political, community, student, or union group and dedicating time to building it into something powerful enough to defend yourself and those close to you. Root yourself locally and then link up with other groups and communities in mutual defense pacts, organizing campaigns, and united fronts. This will not be done online. It will require hundreds of thousands of people learning how to listen and how to persuade and participate..

What will May Day teach us? May 1st will show us how many people we can bring out to protest Trump. But May 2nd will show us how many people joined the fight to better our chances in the hundred battles to come.

[Read next: Solidarity against Trump means joining an organization]

The post What will May Day 2025 teach us?  appeared first on Pine & Roses.

You’ve come up short in a union election. It’s painful, but it happens. Where do you go from here? First, you mourn — then you organize!

The post You lost your union election. Now what? appeared first on EWOC.

Socialists oppose all forms of colonialism, imperialism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. Palestine cannot be an exception!

On April 27, 2025, Peninsula Democratic Socialists of America (Peninsula DSA) unanimously adopted a resolution affirming our chapter’s anti-zionist stance in both principle and practice. Following the leadership of chapters like Silicon Valley, Seattle, Twin Cities, Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego, Colorado Springs, Inland Empire, Boston, Philadelphia, Austin, Tidewater, Greater Baltimore, Houston, Connecticut, Boise, New Orleans, Northwest Ohio, Salt Lake City, NEPA, Tampa, Denver, Long Beach, North Texas, Spokane, Syracuse, Orange County, Tacoma, North New Jersey, Champaign Urbana, Orlando, Greater Lafayette, and others, we join a growing movement within DSA standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation.

Zionism is a settler-colonial ideology that has enabled the violent displacement, dispossession, and oppression of Palestinians for over 75 years. Today, the Zionist project continues through an ongoing genocide against Palestinians, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank, carried out with the full financial, military, and political backing of the United States. Israeli forces have bombed hospitals, schools, refugee camps, homes, and entire neighborhoods, targeting civilians and vital infrastructure. They have imposed mass starvation as a weapon of war, destroyed Gaza’s universities and cultural institutions, and deliberately cut off food, water, medicine, and electricity to millions. As socialists, we oppose all forms of colonialism, imperialism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. Our commitment to international solidarity demands that we reject Zionism in all its forms and actively work to dismantle systems of apartheid, ethnic cleansing, military occupation, and settler colonialism.

We affirm that opposing Zionism is not antisemitic. Peninsula DSA stands firmly against antisemitism and all forms of racism and bigotry. We recognize that many Jewish comrades — within DSA and beyond — are leading voices in the fight against Zionism and in the struggle for the liberation of all oppressed peoples. Peninsula DSA reaffirms our solidarity with the Palestinian people and upholds the full right of return for all Palestinian refugees. We oppose the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and reject any framework that denies Palestinians their full human rights, freedom, and sovereignty.

We expect our Anti-Zionist resolution will make us an even stronger ally in the struggle for a free Palestine, and commend the work of several local organizations and coalitions fighting towards this end, including:

• Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM)
• Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC)
• Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)
• CA15forPalestine
• Vigil4Gaza
• Stanford Against Apartheid in Palestine (SAAP)

We look forward to working more closely with our allies, who have made it clear that DSA National must explicitly connect the fight against Zionism with our socialist and anti-colonialist principles.

We call on DSA chapters and the national organization to take a clear, principled Anti-Zionist position, and to help build an internationalist, anti-colonial, and anti-racist socialist movement.

A better world is possible — a world without colonialism, apartheid, or genocide.

Free Palestine.