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By Dylan

The fundamental case for corporate accountability rests on the principle that significant power—whether political or economic—must be subject to ethical scrutiny. In a globalized economy, the actions of large-scale enterprises have profound consequences for the communities and environments in which they operate. Consider the devastating impact that corporations like Union Carbide, Nestlé, Monsanto, and Halliburton have had on the environment and human lives.¹ When a corporation’s pursuit of profit intersects with regions marked by conflict, repressive governance, economic injustice, or social inequality, the company ceases to be a neutral bystander and instead becomes an active participant in the local landscape. If an organization benefits from or reinforces systems that result in human suffering or environmental harm, it incurs a moral responsibility that transcends simple legal compliance. Therefore, corporate accountability is not merely a regulatory preference but a necessary safeguard to ensure that private interests do not supersede human rights and dignity. In the absence of a unified global authority to govern these interactions, public awareness and ethical pressure serve as essential tools for aligning corporate behavior with the broader interests of humanity.

One of the most troubling, contemporary, examples of a lack of corporate accountability involves the Chevron Corporation. While its economic power and technological capacity are often framed as engines of development, Chevron’s operations in Israel and Venezuela reveal a more troubling dimension of corporate involvement in human rights abuses. In both cases, Chevron’s activities raise serious concerns regarding complicity, accountability, and the exploitation of people in politically volatile environments by non-state actors.

In Israel, Chevron’s involvement in the Tamar and Leviathan offshore natural gas fields has positioned the company as a critical contributor to the country’s energy infrastructure.² These gas fields supply a substantial portion of Israel’s electricity, thereby reinforcing the operational capacity of the Israeli state. While energy development is frequently presented as politically neutral, such claims become untenable when corporate profits are closely intertwined with prolonged military occupation and structural inequality. Revenues generated from Chevron-operated gas fields flow directly into the Israeli economy and, by extension, support state institutions that administer and enforce policies in the occupied Palestinian territories. As a result, Chevron’s presence cannot be separated from the broader political context in which systematic restrictions on Palestinian movement, economic activity, and self-determination persist.

Furthermore, Chevron’s stake in regional energy infrastructure, including gas pipelines operating in the eastern Mediterranean, intersects with security policies that have restricted Gazan’s maritime access. According to Investor Advocates for Social Justice:

• “The Company holds a partial stake in the East Mediterranean Gas pipeline, which transports gas from Israel to Egypt along the coast of the Gaza Strip. Under international law, including the Hague Regulations and Geneva Conventions, economic activity in occupied territory without the agreement of the affected population is considered unlawful and may constitute “pillage,” a war crime. The pipeline is also closely linked to Israel’s longstanding naval blockade of Gaza, which restricts Palestinian maritime access and has had a devastating impact on the region’s economy since 2009.”³

Although Chevron does not directly administer these policies, its operations benefit from and reinforce a system sustained through coercive state power. In this respect, Chevron exemplifies how corporations become embedded within structures of control and repression while maintaining formal distance from their consequences.

Chevron’s role in Venezuela also raises concerns about corporate ethics and humanitarian responsibility. The oil giant continues to operate in Venezuela even as the United States government has sanctioned the Caribbean nation’s economy. According to a report last year by EuroNews,

• “Chevron’s operations are structured so that cash flows and profits do not directly benefit PDVSA (Venezuela’s state-owned oil and gas company) or the Venezuelan state under current sanctions licences….The Venezuelan government does not receive fresh revenue from these operations — no dividends, no budget income, no direct cash transfers….US officials argue that Chevron’s continued presence actually strengthens sanctions enforcement rather than undermining it.”⁴

Basically, Chevron functions as the sanctions arm of the US government by not having to pay taxes or royalties to the Venezuelan government. Add in that Venezuela must sell its oil abroad for debt relief and it becomes clear that the country and its people are being exploited by state and non-state actors.⁵

This means that Chevron’s ongoing oil production in Venezuela has not translated into meaningful improvements in living conditions for Venezuelans experiencing shortages of food, medicine, and basic services due to U.S. sanctions. As two economists at the Center for Economic and Policy Research noted:

• “It is important to emphasize that nearly all of the foreign exchange that is needed to import medicine, food, medical equipment, spare parts and equipment needed for electricity generation, water systems, or transportation, is received by the Venezuelan economy through the government’s revenue from the export of oil. Thus, any sanctions that reduce export earnings, and therefore government revenue, thereby reduce the imports of these essential and, in many cases, life-saving goods.”⁶

Chevron has also faced numerous allegations of failing to comply with mandated cleanups, leading everyday, working-class people to bear the social and economic costs.⁷ Their privileged status highlights a recurring pattern in global energy politics: corporations maintain access to strategic resources while civilian populations suffer.

With the Trump administration’s recent coup against Venezuela’s government, Chevron stands first in line to profit from Trump’s oil grab as the only U.S. company currently operating in Venezuela.⁸ This has ramifications for Americans as well. If Venezuelan oil production is increased, it is likely that more Venezuelan heavy crude oil would be imported by U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, largely located where Black, Latino, Indigenous, and low-income communities are already exposed to fossil fuel pollution.^9,10

Boycotting Chevron should therefore be understood not as an isolated consumer choice, but as part of a broader effort to impose ethical constraints on corporate behavior within the international system. Historically, boycotts have functioned as tools to expose moral contradictions, mobilize public awareness, and pressure powerful institutions resistant to reform. Consider the progressive, humanitarian, impacts of the Montgomery bus boycott or international divestment from South Africa’s apartheid regime.¹¹ In the absence of effective international regulation of corporations, public accountability becomes one of the few remaining mechanisms for challenging corporate complicity in systemic injustice.

Ultimately, Chevron’s involvement in Israel and Venezuela illustrates a wider failure to reconcile profit-driven enterprise with ethical responsibility. A boycott, while limited in scope, signals a refusal to normalize corporate practices that benefit from occupation, repression, inequality, and human suffering. In doing so, it affirms the principle that economic—like political—power, must be subject to moral scrutiny.

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Footnotes:

1. CorpWatch: The 14 Worst Corporate Evildoers

2. AFSC: Chevron Fuels Israeli Apartheid and War Crimes Additionally

3. Investor Advocates for Social Justice: Proposed Human Rights Policy Implementation

4. EuroNews: Why Chevron still operates in Venezuela despite US sanctions

5. Venezuelanalysis: Chevron Back in Venezuela, A Tale of US Imperialist Arrogance

6. CEPR: Economics Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela

7. AmazonWatch: Chevron’s Global Record of Denial and Destruction

8. USPCR: From Palestine to Venezuela, Chevron Profits From U.S. Imperialism

9. S&P Global: US Gulf Coast refiners seen benefiting from increased use of heavy Venezuelan crude

10. PBS/NPR: Oil refineries release lots of water pollution near communities of color, data show

11. Ethical Consumer: History of Successful Boycotts

While American workers labor under austerity at home, the federal government commits its resources to oppression abroad. Baton Rouge DSA stands with Cuba and all the workers of the world.

It is that time of year again, time for Vermont’s annual Town Meting Day tradition. 

The last two years have seen schools and school budgets become the focus on local as well as state politics. As in every year, Green Mountain DSA (GMDSA) recommends voting yes on your local school budget. 

GMDSA only chose to endorse one candidate for a local race this year, but there are elections in every town, city and village, some of which are more exciting than others. The rest of this voter guide will be a town-by-town breakdown of local races in areas where there is an active GMDSA presence, of both elections and ballot questions. 

Burlington

Green Mountain DSA has only endorsed one candidate this TMD, being Marek Broderick, for re-election to the city council in Ward 8. Before first being elected in 2024, Marek was co-chair and an organizer with the UVM chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, DSA’s youth section. As a councilor, Marek has fought for tenants’ rights on and off campus, including notably organizing with UVM's Student Tenant Union to win unanimous support for a resolution holding UVM accountable for poor housing conditions. Marek was unanimously endorsed for re-election by the chapter because the fight is not over. If Marek wins on March 3, he will continue to fight for housing for all, tenant rights, and a city that everyone can call home.

However, Marek’s advocacy for renters, students and the broader working class has not made him any friends within Burlington’s establishment. This year, the Democrat Party chose to nominate only one candidate to run against an incumbent: the landlord Ryan Nick, scion of commercial real estate tycoon Jeff Nick, is running to unseat Marek. 

Nick has been able to raise considerable cash through his connections to the city’s monied interests, mostly from other landlords and real estate moguls. This is fitting, as Nick has made a name for himself as a vocal opponent of essential harm reduction services like the Howard Center’s needle exchange, and an opponent of mutual aid groups like Food Not Cops. Ryan himself works for his father’s real estate company, JL Davis Realty, on “tenant relations,” according to his CCTV candidate forum. Between his status as one of Burlington’s landlords and his antagonism of community groups, Green Mountain DSA believes that Nick cannot be trusted to hold police accountable and exactly represents the elites’ status quo that is crushing us workers. 

If you live in Ward 8, please vote to re-elect Marek Broderick!

Green Mountain DSA recommends voting for all other Progressive candidates, including in Ward 7, where Bill Standen is running to unseat Democrat Even Litwin.  Green Mountain DSA also recommends voting yes on question three, which would enshrine the city’s Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Office in the city charter. 

Lastly, the coalition that put Proposition 0 on the ballot in 2023 is at it again, aiming to get the direct democracy charter change on the ballot again in time for the November midterms. We recommend signing the petition to get Proposition 0 on the ballot. 

Winooski

In Winooski, there are no contested races for city council or the mayor. Green Mountain DSA offers no recommendations for this election, other than a yes vote for both the city and school budgets, particularly article six which would allow the school to purchase a nearby home to the school with surplus funds. The property will be used by the school for specialized educational settings for students who need it. Currently, the school system does not have something like this and students who need a specialized education setting are required to travel out of district. We would also like to note that an added benefit of this purchase is removing a known Zionist's pro Israel propaganda from the property being purchased.

GMDSA also recommends Katie Livermore, who is running for re-election to the School Board. Many Winooski GMDSAers know her from her work on the Winooski AFC campaign which passed last year with over 70% approval. Katie played an integral role in that campaign and continues to organize in her community both in the school and outside.

South Burlington

Unlike Burlington, and like Winooski and the rest of Vermont municipalities, South Burlington elections are officially non-partisan. However, this does not stop them from being competitive. For the two-year seat this year, the two candidates running are Amy Allen and Beth Zigmund. Allen seems to be a typical pro-business, establishment candidate, while Zigmund is running with the support of progressive non-profits like Run on Climate (which also endorsed Marek Broderick). Green Mountain DSA offers no recommendation in this race, but leans toward favoring Zigmund. 

Montpelier

Montpelier residents will again vote on the Apartheid-Free Communities (AFC) pledge, after it was voted down last year. The pledge, which passed last year in Winooski and various other towns across Vermont, condemns Israel’s system of Apartheid, settler colonialism and occupation, and commits the signer to fighting for liberation in Palestine. Green Mountain DSA endorses AFC, and urges Montpelier residents to vote yes. 

Waterbury

On Waterburry’s ballot this year, there are three seats up for election: one three-year seat, and two one-year. For the three-year seat, Republican Chris Viens is the only candidate to have made it onto the ballot. Fortunately, former Selectboard member Don Schneider has announced a write-in campaign, and we recommend writing in his name. The chapter offers no recommendation for the one-year seat, but recommends voting yes on the Randall Meadow bond question .

Randolph

Randolph residents of the police district again face an increased police budget, this time to $893,357. Despite the district containing less than half the town’s total population of just 4,774 people, the police budget is approximately a sixth of the town’s budget. Green Mountain DSA recommends residents vote no on the police budget.

Randolph also has two selectboard elections this year. The three-year seat race is between Ashley Lincoln and Emery Mattheis, and the two-year seat is between Bethany Silloway and Dustin Adams. Mattheis and Adams are running with the newly-formed “Committee for a Cooler ‘Dolf,” organized by a GMDSA member. Adams is also a GMDSA member himself, although he did not seek the chapter’s endorsement. GMDSA recommends voting for Emery Mattheis and Dustin Adams.

St Albans

St. Albans has a relatively slim election this year. Three city seats are open – two city counselors and the Mayor – all of which are uncontested. 

Article three continues a seven year project to upgrade and update the city's 1953 water system. The current ask is for St. Albans residents to permit the borrowing of $800,000 to refurbish the existing town water tank; this accounts for half the total cost (project total of $1.6M) with the remaining $800,000 covered by a no-interest 40 year loan. Completion of the project will ensure that St. Albans continues to provide safe, clean water to residents without service interruption caused by maintenance: GMDSA recommends voting yes on Article three. 

Article two is a proposed budget for FY2027. Effort has been made to keep expenses low for residents with a modest property tax increase of 2.2% (estimated to be $50 more per resident throughout the year), and the budget includes capital improvements for the Welden Theater, new breathing apparatuses for fire responders, a lawn mower for city parks and properties, an increase in services provided by the Restorative Justice Center, and a new snow plow. The budget also includes a substantial increase for Police and Dispatch wages, as well as two new vehicles (one marked, one unmarked) for the St. Albans Police Department. Because the FY27 budget devotes nearly 50% of its total projected $15.5M expenditure to Dispatch and Police service, GMDSA recommends voting no on Article 2 unless the police budget is disentangled from other budgetary needs or the increase in police spending explicates integration of support/social service resources into law enforcement services. 

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Town Meeting Day is Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Please email us at hello@greenmountaindsa.org if you’d like to join a canvass between now and then, or if you’d like to see an item on your town’s ballot included in this guide. 

You can check your voter registration here. 

Early this morning, the US and Israel struck Iran as people in the region woke up to siren calls and explosions. One of their targets was an all-girls elementary school […]

Read more at Memphis-Midsouth

This article is written by a DSA member and does not formally represent the views of MADSA as a whole or its subgroups. 

Welcome to Vol. 7 of the monthly round-up! The content in this publication overlaps significantly with our DSA newsletter and monthly General Membership Meetings. To sign up for the newsletter or check out an upcoming General Membership Meeting, visit: https://madison-dsa.org/events/

ICE Out Hub / Strike Out ICE!

MADSA has launched a centralized resource for community defense and related organizing in Madison. Members in the February GMM debriefed about MADSA’s ICE-related efforts so far, and approved a proposal for Strike Out ICE!

MADSA’s goals are to support other groups already doing this work – especially Voces de la Frontera – while also developing networks of mutual aid, supporting MADSA members in becoming active organizers, and building towards a national general strike on May 1st. What is most exciting to this author is that the strike plan is a movement backed by real strategy and community ties, not just a random internet call to action. The chapter is working on political education, building community bonds, spreading the word among coworkers and friends, and coordinating with other organizations, including unions. The strike could be a historic step in taking back the people’s power across the nation and in turning the tides of politics in the United States, if people embrace the spirit of making real, concrete demands, and shutting down the economy to ensure they are met.

You can check out the hub here: https://madison-dsa.org/ice-out-hub/ The hub also contains weekly strike reports, and members will receive these reports in their email inboxes as a newsletter.

I encourage all members to take action today, whether that’s joining a neighborhood group chat, attending an educational meeting about strike history or organizing skills, being trained as a legal observer, or talking to people in your life about the strike. And remember – millions of people participating imperfectly will always outweigh a few dozen participating perfectly. Embrace uncertainty and imperfection as a normal part of your political process! 

MADSA Endorses Heidi Wegleitner for Re-Election

Members voted in the February meeting to endorse Heidi’s re-election campaign for Dane County Board. Heidi has served as a delegate to the South Central Federation of Labor, is in a leadership role with the United Legal Workers union in Madison, and has a long history of fighting for housing rights. She will be running in District 2, which includes most of the Isthmus north of E. Washington Avenue, including neighborhoods around James Madison Park, Tenney Park, and Demetral Park. Elections will take place on April 7th, 2026.

Additional Organizing

Other important efforts this month included the following:

• No Appetite for Apartheid held a launch party, and is now regularly hosting Grocery Scouting with DSA. At these 1 hour events, you can meet a MADSA member at a specific grocery store and learn how to spot products for boycotting, and how to build your voice for pressuring stores to stop carrying companies that are complicit in the subjugation of Palestinian people.

• Phil Gasper held a talk on Trotsky’s Marxism at the Madison Public Library.

• Southern Dane County Branch successfully had its own membership meeting.

• There is now a working group meeting regularly about Fran Hong’s campaign.

• A temporary working group is aiming to establish a physical office for MADSA to help with our growing size and work load.

• Some chapter members have been seeking to grow community ties through art and music, and are building towards a community art build in March, as well as fostering a stronger chanting and music presence at protests.

Social Events

We continue hosting recurring social events – New Member Orientations, DSA 101, Coffee with Comrades, and the Rosebuddies program. A highlight from February was a special Galentine’s day event on February 13th! 

The chapter also has a newly-started reading group for The Communist Manifesto, meeting on Saturdays at 10am.

Protest Song of the Month

MADSA members highlighted a few songs this month as part of the budding art and music efforts in the chapter. A recent feature was a modernized version of The Internationale, with lyrics updated in 2020 by Billy Bragg. Check it out here – song starts at 3 minutes in!

And that concludes our monthly round-up!

By Andrew D. & CB C. We’re launching a campaign called Trans Sanctuary Davenport: we want Davenport City Council to pass an ordinance that protects people who are receiving or providing gender-affirming or reproductive healthcare. At a time when the State of Iowa and the Federal Government are restricting the rights of trans people and […]

By AJ M I stay around for too long again I listen to the same song I think the same scene ripe and real for adaptation till it gets too old and rotten. Floating eyes encircle the cerebral barge like pigeons. I’m a performer spinning plates, or handling rings from limb to limb. I disappear […]

By AJ M The band sings in an uplifting tone about things that bore down on them till nothing was left of the city but bones, till skin shrieked in the wind, tattered flags menacing the visitors who could afford a way out. We were there, we saw it all, it didn’t surprise any except […]