We are experiencing the most sustained and broad attacks on US democracy since the McCarthy period. MAGA has put together a fascist coalition of white supremacist, reactionary nationalists, Christian fundamentalists, libertarians, and techno-authoritarians, and they are on an offensive against the 20^th century. All the gains of labor, civil rights, women, and the LGBTQ community are under assault. The fascists intend to fundamentally restructure institutional democracy and to impose a straitjacket on civil society. This closely parallels the McCarthy period, and there are important similarities and differences between now and then, and lessons we can draw.

My uncle (Fred Fine) was on the leading committee of the Communist Party (CP) and closely involved in discussions about organizing an underground apparatus of safe houses for Party leaders. Fine himself was assigned to the underground, and was there for four years. During that time, he was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List, and never once spoke with his wife or young son. My father, who had fought in the Spanish Civil War, was threatened with deportation, and the FBI threatened to declare my mother “unfit” and told her they would have her children (ages 6 and 11) put into foster homes without visitation rights. Thousands suffered similar threats and intimidation, key leaders were jailed, some cadre turned informant, and Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed.

When the Party leadership discussed how to respond to McCarthy, there were two key assumptions: fascism was imminent and war with the Soviet Union inevitable. The similarities to today are striking. Many people feel fascism is imminent and war with China inevitable. The CP drew a number of conclusions from these assumptions that had drastic consequences for its members and mass organizing.

First, they purged members they considered untrustworthy or politically weak. And perhaps more damagingly, the Party concluded repression would be worst in the South, and so shut down all its southern districts and withdrew its organizers after 25 years of outstanding work organizing the South. When my parents divorced, my mother left Chicago and went to Florida with my brother and me to join a close friend—a woman who had been a nurse in the Spanish Civil War, working with the world famous doctor Norman Bethune. My mother was kicked out of the Party for moving to the South, and was only let back in when we moved to California. That didn’t stop the FBI from following her to Florida and getting her fired from several jobs.

My mother kept a journal of her time in Florida. Here is one short excerpt of her experience:

The Party went to great lengths to set up an underground apparatus. This had at least two levels: the most secure, in which eight national leaders were sent into hiding, and a less secure state and city underground into which hundreds of local leaders were assigned. This eliminated many of the best organizers from doing mass work. Moreover, local underground networks were largely penetrated by the FBI. Even at my uncle’s level, four of the eight leaders were captured by the FBI. Although he had a number of close calls at different safe houses, he held out until the Party decided to come out of hiding and he eventually stood trial with several other leaders in New York.

When the Party’s first line of leadership (William Foster, Eugene Dennis, and others) went on trial, they tried to defend themselves by educating the jury about the true meaning of Marxism-Leninism. The result was prison time for all. On my uncle’s wanted poster (up in post offices throughout the country) was the following charge: “unlawfully conspiring with other persons to knowingly teach and advocate the duty and necessity of overthrowing and destroying the government of the United States by force and violence.” Of course, the Party never told members to arm themselves, they never organized armed cells, nor did they have plans for an armed insurrection. They did teach about the armed revolution in Russia, the history of capitalist violence, and the ultimate need to defend any socialist electoral victory from a reactionary counterrevolution.

FBI “Most Wanted” Poster for the author’s uncle, Fred Morris Fine

By the time my uncle stood trial, the Party had switched its defense strategy to asserting the freedoms of speech, association, and assembly. There is a difference between speech and advocacy and actively organizing acts of violence. This focus on civil liberties proved more successful with the courts. In 1957 the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protected radical speech, overturning the conviction of 14 Communist Party officials and effectively ending the use of the Smith Act to target leftists for their political beliefs. A series of subsequent rulings forbade the use of blacklists and other methods of political persecution, which helped bring about the end of the Second Red Scare. However, the proceeding period of internal debates and bitter feelings resulted in about half the remaining members leaving the Party by 1957.

Lessons for Today

During the McCarthy period the ruling class was united in its efforts to destroy the left. From conservatives to liberals, Republicans to Democrats, a united front was made impossible. Even the ACLU purged Elizabeth Gurley Flynn from its board for being in the CP. Furthermore, social democratic union leaders like Walter Reuther were more than happy to rid labor of Communists. Loyalty oaths were demanded at universities, public schools, unions, Hollywood, and various industries. Public show trials were held by the House Un-American Activities Committee in cities across the country. Many former friends of the Party were running scared.

But while the persecution the Party faced was real, “the almost fatal blow,” as Party leader Peggy Dennis later wrote in her Autobiography of an American Communist, “was self-inflicted.” The decision to shutter its Southern districts and take the Party leadership underground anticipated a level of repression far greater than that which materialized. Designed to protect the Party from the advent of fascism and world war, it instead deprived mass struggles of thousands of their most militant organizers and activists, weakened the labor movement, cut off key linkages with the Black freedom struggle, and contributed to a decline of CPUSA membership from 80,000 in 1945 to less than 15,000 by 1957.

Today, conditions are in some important ways more favorable for us than during the McCarthy era. The ruling class is split. Already we see mass rallies and protests. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Bernie Sanders, Hands Off, and May Day marches have already gathered millions in opposition to fascism. Courts as of yet have often ruled against Trump. A united front is not only possible, but is in early formation.

In this moment, many leftists are concerned about safety and security – understandably. The harms caused by Trump’s repressive regime are real. But a key lesson from the McCarthy Era is that we must not let our fear of persecution isolate us from the masses and from mass movements. We can and must continue to organize, even as we take measures to help keep ourselves and each-other safe. The following are some suggestions for this period:

• Stay rooted to mass work, defend our friends and allies, and ask them to defend us.
• Defend the Bill of Rights, civil society, civil liberties, and civil rights for all.
• Stay calm but be aware of security.
• Make sure your financial records—particularly organizational finances—are in order.
• Organizations should have a house counsel, and individuals should always keep the number of a lawyer with you.
• Never write on social media or in email what you don’t want read back to you in court.
• Vocally reject all proposed violent acts at public meetings
• NEVER TALK TO THE FBI. Legally you don’t have to, but if you lie, you’re committing a federal crime. So, NEVER TALK TO THE FBI.

This is the time for courage and bold adventures. Collectively, our actions now will help determine what the future holds.

The post Lessons from the McCarthy Red Scare appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

As part of our 2025 Migrant Rights Campaign, DSA San Diego is pressuring Grossmont Union High School District to defend students against ICE raids. Read more. [...]

Read More... from Migrant Rights Priority Campaign: Summer 2025 Update

The post Migrant Rights Priority Campaign: Summer 2025 Update appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America | San Diego Chapter.

[[{“value”:”Fenway Park on the week of workers’ strike authorization. (Working Mass)

By: Andrew S

FENWAY PARK, MA – Concessions workers at the world’s oldest baseball stadium have decided resoundingly to strike for the first time in their 113-year history. On Sunday, June 15, 2025, Fenway Park concessions workers and MGM Music Hall workers across the street officially voted to authorize a strike against their employer, Aramark. The membership of UNITE HERE Local 26 passed authorized the strike with an overwhelming majority of over 95% workers in favor. In their press conference, Local 26 President Carlos Aramayo declared that management “has been nothing but disrespectful” and the “union could go on strike as early as this afternoon.”

On May 15, 2025, UNITE HERE Local 26 officially decided to hold a strike authorization vote a month later if the bargaining committee and Aramark were not able to come to any agreement on wages or technology. They didn’t, forcing workers to strike as a result.

Aramayo cited low wages as one primary reason for authorizing a strike: “The wage structure here is embarrassingly low, not just compared to other jobs in the region but also in comparison to other stadiums in the United States.” Organizers passed around flyers showing that cashiers at the Miami Marlins stadium made $21.25 an hour while beers there only cost $5.19. In contrast, beers at Fenway are sold for $10.79 a pop while workers are only paid $18.51 an hour. Aramark charges fans at Fenway more than any other ballpark in the country, and their workers still make less despite higher costs of living. 

The Red Sox are worth $4.8 billion and Fenway was the most expensive stadium to attend a ballgame in 2024. So, you’ve got to wonder – why are workers paid peanuts?

Automating Fenway

Part of it is a broader anti-worker strategy also involving automation. Workers have also noted that a source of tension with Aramark has been with technological changes forced on the workplace at the expense of workers. Aramayo claimed that Aramark had replaced some of Fenway’s highest paying jobs with automatic computer-based systems that recorded sales. 

That had two consequences. The first was that a significant amount of opportunities for promotion were eliminated or nullified, which directly impacted workers’ ability to survive rising rent and cost of living. That affected not only their ability to stay on the job, but also embedded in their communities around Boston. 

There is another consequence, though – poorer service. During the June 15 press conference, Local 26 member Natalie Green described the labor done by the thousand-strong workforce. On a daily basis, workers perform a variety of tasks that automated technology cannot:  

A computer cannot check if you are over-served or underage drinking. The reason why we stay here is that we are good at our jobs and we want to protect the community. 

Fenway Park: A Community-Rooted Workforce

Protecting the community is one dimension of Fenway work that comes alive in the hands of the workers. Many workers’ own ties to the park and to each other run deep. Fenway Park concessions workers share a remarkable legacy of working for many years at the park, season after season, bonds that have made labor organizing more effective. 

Laura Crystal and Richard Moffat are a couple who work concessions at Fenway, mentioning to Working Mass that both have been working at Fenway since they were in high school. Crystal’s and Moffat’s lives have revolved around the park. They emphasized that this is normal for Fenway workers: 

We got married here, we got engaged on the field, and we’re pregnant…this place becomes a part of your DNA. How do we not love this place? It’s so fundamental to us on top of being a job.

Fenway Park on the week of workers’ strike authorization. (Working Mass)

Mass Bargaining and Solidaristic Bonds

Fenway Park employees have used close familial networks as leverage for labor organizing in spite of Aramark’s disdain. President Aramayo noted that there were 75-80 people on the negotiating and organizing committee that spearheaded the campaign amongst workers in Fenway. In other words, a little less than 10% of the entire workforce was represented on the bargaining committee – ensuring that bargaining committee members and workplace leaders could convey and mobilize their networks directly.

Beer-seller Richard Moffat noted that, as a collective with UNITE HERE, Fenway Park workers used their close relationships to bring people on board for the strike vote and stand up to management. “Everyone has a larger network of friends here, and they try to use that to connect us as a large group,” Moffat said.  “We all help each other to vote, do actions. We have huddles during check-in to show that we can do this in front of management, and that you’re going to be okay. You’re not going to get into trouble, or sent home, or fired. It’s all about gaining momentum.” 

Crystal also chimed in to describe how Fenway’s high-pressure work created ideal conditions to build friendship and, thus, solidarity: “Everyone knows that you don’t know somebody better than when they’re your coworker on their worst day at the job. In there, it’s a hundred degrees, you’re behind a steamer making hot dogs, or running around with drunk fans. It’s a high-pressure situation, and we have strong friendships because of that. Local 26 used those strong friendships to push the message out and hold each other accountable.” 

The strong network built among coworkers at Fenway emboldened one another to organize on the shop floor, because workers knew they had each other’s backs – both as individuals and as a union.

Nonetheless, Aramark tipping workers to a boiling point with low wages and automation still leaves a bad taste in his mouth – just like many of his coworkers who have been fixtures of the park for decades. “A lot of us have had to sacrifice a lot to keep up with the high demands and to maintain seniority…it means a lot to us.” Moffat sighed.

We feel like [Aramark is] destroying the sanctity of America’s most beloved ballpark.

Andrew S is a member of Boston DSA and a contributing writer to Working Mass.

Fenway Park on the week of workers’ strike authorization. (Working Mass)

The post 1000 Fenway Park Concessions Workers To Strike For First Time in 113 Years appeared first on Working Mass.

“}]] 

By: Andrew S

FENWAY PARK – Concessions workers at the world’s oldest baseball stadium have decided resoundingly to strike for the first time in their 113-year history. On Sunday, June 15, 2025, Fenway Park concessions workers and MGM Music Hall workers across the street officially voted to authorize a strike against their employer, Aramark. The membership of UNITE HERE Local 26 authorized the strike with an overwhelming majority of over 95% of workers in favor. In their press conference, Local 26 President Carlos Aramayo declared that management “has been nothing but disrespectful” and the “union could go on strike as early as this afternoon.”

On May 10, 2025, UNITE HERE Local 26 officially decided to hold a strike authorization vote a month later if the bargaining committee and Aramark were not able to come to any agreement on wages or technology. They didn’t, forcing workers to authorize a strike as a result.

Aramayo cited low wages as one primary reason for authorizing a strike: “The wage structure here is embarrassingly low, not just compared to other jobs in the region but also in comparison to other stadiums in the United States.” Organizers passed around flyers showing that cashiers at the Miami Marlins stadium made $21.25 an hour while beers there only cost $5.19. In contrast, beers at Fenway are sold for $10.79 a pop while workers are only paid $18.51 an hour. Aramark charges fans at Fenway more than any other ballpark in the country, and their workers still make less despite higher costs of living. 

The Red Sox are worth $4.8 billion, and Fenway was the most expensive stadium to attend a ballgame in 2024. So, you’ve got to wonder – why are workers paid peanuts?

Automating Fenway

Part of it is a broader anti-worker strategy also involving automation. Workers have also noted that a source of tension with Aramark has been with technological changes forced on the workplace at the expense of workers. Aramayo claimed that Aramark had replaced some of Fenway’s highest paying jobs with automatic computer-based systems that recorded sales. 

That had two consequences. The first was that a significant number of opportunities for promotion were eliminated or nullified, which directly impacted workers’ ability to survive rising rent and the cost of living. This affected not only their ability to stay on the job but also their embeddedness in their communities around Boston. 

There is another consequence, though – poorer service. During the June 15 press conference, Local 26 member Natalie Greening described the labor done by the thousand-strong workforce. On a daily basis, workers perform a variety of tasks that automated technology cannot:  

A computer cannot check if you are over-served or underage drinking. The reason why we stay here is that we are good at our jobs and we want to protect the community. 

Fenway Park: A Community-Rooted Workforce

Protecting the community is one dimension of Fenway work that comes alive in the hands of the workers. Many workers’ own ties to the park and to each other run deep. Fenway Park concessions workers share a remarkable legacy of working for many years at the park, season after season, bonds that have made labor organizing more effective. 

Laura Crystal and Richard Moffatt are a couple who work concessions at Fenway, mentioning to Working Mass that both have been working at Fenway since they were in high school. Crystal’s and Moffatt’s lives have revolved around the park. They emphasized that this is normal for Fenway workers: 

We got married here, we got engaged on the field, and we’re pregnant…this place becomes a part of your DNA. How do we not love this place? It’s so fundamental to us on top of being a job.

Mass Bargaining and Solidaristic Bonds

Fenway Park employees have used close familial networks as leverage for labor organizing in spite of Aramark’s disdain. President Aramayo noted that 75-80 people were on the negotiating and organizing committee that spearheaded the campaign amongst workers in Fenway. In other words, a little less than 10% of the entire workforce was represented on the bargaining committee, ensuring that bargaining committee members and workplace leaders could convey and mobilize their networks directly.

Beer-seller Richard Moffatt noted that, as a collective with UNITE HERE, Fenway Park workers used their close relationships to bring people on board for the strike vote and stand up to management. “Everyone has a larger network of friends here, and they try to use that to connect us as a large group,” Moffatt said.  “We all help each other to vote, do actions. We have huddles during check-in to show that we can do this in front of management, and that you’re going to be okay. You’re not going to get into trouble, or sent home, or fired. It’s all about gaining momentum.” 

Crystal also chimed in to describe how Fenway’s high-pressure work created ideal conditions to build friendship and, thus, solidarity: “Everyone knows that you don’t know somebody better than when they’re your coworker on their worst day at the job. In there, it’s a hundred degrees, you’re behind a steamer making hot dogs, or running around with drunk fans. It’s a high-pressure situation, and we have strong friendships because of that. Local 26 used those strong friendships to push the message out and hold each other accountable.” 

The strong network built among coworkers at Fenway emboldened one another to organize on the shop floor, because workers knew they had each other’s backs – both as individuals and as a union.

Nonetheless, Aramark tipping workers to a boiling point with low wages and automation still leaves a bad taste in his mouth – just like many of his coworkers who have been fixtures of the park for decades. “A lot of us have had to sacrifice a lot to keep up with the high demands and to maintain seniority…it means a lot to us.” Moffatt sighed.

We feel like [Aramark is] destroying the sanctity of America’s most beloved ballpark.

Andrew S is a member of Boston DSA and a contributing writer to Working Mass.

The post 1,000 Fenway Park Concessions Workers May Strike For First Time in 113 Years appeared first on Working Mass.

[[{“value”:”

By Chris B.

BEACON HILL, MA – In 2024, as Israel escalated its genocide in Gaza and the political establishment ran cover, State Senator John Velis (D – Westfield) led Massachusetts legislators to authorize a state-level Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism. The Commission was charged with holding public hearings, reporting its findings, and recommending how to combat antisemitism to the Legislature by the end of November 2025. 

The amendment passed in a political environment where hate crimes and violence against minority groups, including antisemitism, are rising. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), often seen as an authority on antisemitism, claims 2024 as a high-water mark for antisemitic incidents recorded in a year. But that statistic is misleading. The ADL, a pro-Israel organization so explicitly Zionist and outwardly political that Wikipedia no longer considers it a reliable source for citations, equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. But while antisemitism is form of white supremacist hatred against Jews historically tied with the political Right (e.g., Hitler’s Third Reich or auto tycoon Henry Ford), critics of Zionism look to a settler colonial history in the government in Israel, which violently enforces what it sees as a divine right to a religiously segregated ethnostate, wherein the indigenous (Palestinian) people are annihilated.

The Massachusetts Teachers Union (MTA), Massachusetts’ largest union by membership, is no stranger to ire from the ruling elite, Republican and Democrat. Back-to-back victorious state ballot campaigns spearheaded by the MTA – the Fair Share Amendment in 2022, and removing the MCAS graduation requirement in 2024 – have cemented public educators as a powerful force for the Commonwealth’s working class. When the Globe routinely cites Boston-based “free market” think tank Pioneer Institute against teachers’ unions and public education, and Democratic Governor Maura Healey union busts striking local educators desperate for student resources, the ideological overlap of the settler-colonial (“Pioneer”) project and the anti-union project, both of the bipartisan ruling class, reveals itself.

Special Commission on a Zionist Mission

From its very inception, it was clear that the Special Commission was, in reality, a Zionist political project cloaked in virtuous language. Activists were quick to criticize the Special Commission for being a Trojan horse for anti-Palestinian repression during its founding. Sixty-four organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace, the Boston Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), UAW Local 2322, and 1,100 individuals, signed onto a June 2024 letter to the legislature requesting that the budget amendment authorizing the Special Commission not pass.

Written signatories also cited a lack of public input, the Special Commission failing to incorporate antisemitism into a generally anti-racist framework, and its adoption of the controversial, ADL-aligned International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition, which considers some criticisms of the state of Israel as a form of anti-Jewish hate, has far-reaching implications on education policy, civil rights protections, and the expansion of Massachusetts’ hate crimes statute.

Concerns about Israel’s influence over the Special Commission are well-founded. A June 2024 webinar on antisemitism in Mass. public schools, hosted by the Israeli-American Civil Action Network (ICAN) where Sen. Velis was a panelist, was sponsored by extreme Zionist groups such as StandWithUs, the Consulate General of Israel to New England, CAMERA Education Institute, and Christians and Jews United for Israel.

The webinar was exclusively focused on the alleged antisemitism of the Massachusetts Teachers’ Association (MTA). The presentation came from a group of Zionist rank-and-file MTA members calling themselves Massachusetts Educators Against Antisemitism (MEAA) who have worked to stomp out advocacy for Palestinians in Massachusetts and their union.

Sen. Velis has been on no fewer than three trips to Israel paid for by Israel-affiliated organizations. He emphasizes that these trips do not influence his credibility as Commission co-chair, since he claims to have also spoken to Palestinians on these trips. Still, in an October 2024 panel hosted by ICAN, Velis expressed doubt about well-documented Israeli apartheid and human rights violations. He then waxed about his experience on a tour of an Israeli air missile battery during his latest trip, commenting on the attractiveness of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) soldiers: “I’m thinking it’s gonna be a bunch of U.S. service members coming out, in my mind what U.S. service members look like…and please don’t take this the wrong way…but five of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in my life walk out…and I couldn’t tell you the first thing about the Iron Dome, because you know.” 

Working Mass applauds Senator Velis for his even-keeled assessment of the situation in Palestine.

Special Commission vs. The MTA

Sen. Velis’s amendment, passed last spring, also instructs the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to create antisemitism educational curricula for Massachusetts public schools. Under this pretense, the Commission summoned MTA President Max Page and Lexington High teacher Jessica Antoline to testify on February 10th, 2025. 

It quickly became clear that the hearing was a setup. Almost immediately, the testimony became an interrogation. What was advertised to MTA leadership as a good-faith dialogue regarding the resource page turned into a McCarthyist inquisition of the MTA, aiming to corner Page and Antoline into “gotcha” soundbites over any good-faith discussion. 

The Special Commission’s interrogation focused on the MTA’s internal list of resources for educators to use to teach a balanced approach to Israel/Palestine with respect to Palestinians’ self-determination. A democratic and popular MTA resolution led to the creation of the list. Sources in MTA tell Working Mass that over 1000 rank-and-file members and the MTA’s Board of Directors supported the resolution. Retired librarian and MTA member Sue Doherty said that since “most teachers are terrified to teach about this topic,” the resource list was broadly welcomed.

The Special Commission’s co-chair presented a list of images retrieved from secondary links embedded within the resource list and repeatedly demanded that President Page denounce them as antisemitic. He repeatedly ignored Ms. Antoline’s request to present her testimony, pushing it after the one-hour mark. Images selected included an image of Joe Biden with “serial killer” superimposed over him and another image saying “Zionists Fuck Off.” These images were not explicitly provided to teachers or students, but were found uploaded to some of the websites on the resource list. The individual images were presented to demonstrate an “anti-Israel” bias within the MTA, and to create an impression that the MTA is encouraging Massachusetts teachers to indoctrinate their students with antisemitic beliefs. 

A graphic published by the pro-Palestine rank-and-file caucus of MTA members demonstrates the Commission’s cherry picking. Image source: MTA Rank & File for Palestine

The Special Commission’s hearing was not expected, but not surprising, as rank-and-file MTA members have self-organized a powerful pro-Palestine caucus within the union, culminating in a successful resolution to divest their pension fund from military contractors. A simple Google search of ‘MTA antisemitism’ reveals countless articles demonstrating a concerted effort by Zionist organizations to punish the MTA for its pro-Palestine advocacy. The Free Press, an outfit of the Israel hawk Bari Weiss, summed it up in an article titled “Hamassachusetts”.

In the wake of the Special Commission’s interrogation, reactionary forces have capitalized on the MTA’s public flogging to attack public-sector unions writ large. These anti-labor efforts align with Trump’s attacks on federal workers, as well as long-standing warfare against teachers through efforts to privatize public education and kneecap the strongest union in the Commonwealth. The Special Commission is providing them with ammunition to make their case. 

Organized Educators Push Back

The attack was, of course, trumped up. Left out of the inquisition were critical facts, like how most of the resources presented were never actually shared with students in the classroom. The resource page includes a plethora of optional – not mandated – resources to utilize to help instructors learn and teach about Palestine. One of these resources was the organization Artists Against Apartheid, without any specific images attached, only a link to the website. The Commission combed through this website and others from the list, found the images it defined as the most antisemitic, and cited them as holistically indicative of the type of resources the MTA provided to its membership. 

The Commission cited an infographic about Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer with offices in MA, to attack the MTA.  However, the infographic was never included in the MTA’s list of resources, nor could it be directly navigated to from the list. This did not prevent the Special Commission’s co-chair, Rep. Simon Cataldo (D – Concord), from attempting to conflate criticism of an Israeli corporation with antisemitism. 

As members of MTA Rank and File for Palestine documented in an exhaustive report they submitted to the Special Commission in response to the February 10th hearing, the co-chairs’ cherry-picked “exhibits” may have criticized Israel and/or Zionism, but they were not antisemitic. The report also analyzes how the line of questioning and many of the images shown promoted anti-Palestinian racism. Merrie Najimy, former MTA president and organizer with MTA Rank and File for Palestine, also testified:

As an Arab-American educator, I bring to my teaching my own experience with racism, that very racism that I just experienced here. My watch went off, telling me my heart rate was elevated to 122.

Deep connections between Jewish labor and the MTA challenge the Special Commission’s incredulous charge of antisemitism to attack the union. Page himself is the child of two Massachusetts public educators, one of which was a Jewish refugee from WW2-era Nazi terror. And three different MTA locals were recently honored at the New England Jewish Labor Committee’s 2025 Labor Seder.

Image source: Union of Gloucester Educators Instagram

These facts complicate the Special Commission’s politically motivated smear campaign and highlight the absurdity of lecturing the child of Jewish refugees about antisemitism. As President Page continuously reiterated, teachers have the critical thinking skills to understand that a poster saying ‘Zionists Fuck Off’ is not relevant to the classroom. The labor leader argued:

Our highly educated teachers and other education professionals – creative individuals who have dedicated their lives to building a culture of learning for young people – are not robots who would somehow be brainwashed by a single set of resources.

Leaders of Jewish communities have also stepped up against the politically weaponized overreach of the Special Commission. On March 31st, 90 local rabbis and Jewish community leaders wrote arguing that the Special Commission’s activity was contributing to President Trump’s free speech crackdown under the pretense of combating antisemitism.

Elsa Auerbach, a professor emeritus at UMass Boston, MTA member, Boston Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) member, and one of the signatories of the letter, added that the trajectory of the Commission seems like a giant missed opportunity:

I will not project the intent of the Commission. But, Massachusetts has the opportunity to be the model to fight antisemitism in the current historical moment …  clearly framed as a Commission which stands against white supremacy… After the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia, I read that some rabbis were saying the suffering of Jews was being co-opted for an antisemitic agenda. That is the framing I’d like to see the commission looking at.

In Defense of Union Democracy and Public Education

Educators are fighting not only to keep the democratic will of their union’s membership respected in the face of the Special Commission’s attack, but also to teach facts. The death count in Gaza is estimated to be over 200,000, more than one in every two buildings is destroyed, and its entire living population is currently on a trajectory to starve to death. Constantly, Palestinians are told to put their lived experience as secondary to narratives mandated by polite society, when the reality is depravity that can never be truly articulated or taught. During a genocide facilitated by our United States government, and with our taxpayer money, it’s no surprise that organized educators are determined to teach the truth. Doherty summed it up:

Silencing the truth about the history of Israel and Palestine and marginalizing the experiences of Palestinian students and their families doesn’t do a thing to help fight antisemitism or make Jewish students safe.

Chris B is a DSA member, public sector union member and contributor to Working Mass.

The post How A Mass. Special Commission Became a Trojan Horse to Crush A Powerful Statewide Educators Union  appeared first on Working Mass.

“}]] 

By Chris B.

BEACON HILL, MA – In 2024, as Israel escalated its genocide in Gaza and the political establishment ran cover, State Senator John Velis (D – Westfield) and Rep. Simon Cataldo (D – Concord) led Massachusetts legislators to authorize a state-level Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism. The Commission was charged with holding public hearings, reporting its findings, and recommending how to combat antisemitism to the Legislature by the end of November 2025. But in its most publicized hearing, the Commission called to the stand representatives of the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA), the statewide educators’ union, to scrutinize an internally shared list of resources for member education on Israel/Palestine.

The amendment passed in a political environment where hate crimes and violence against minority groups, including Jewish people, are rising. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), often seen as an authority on antisemitism, claims 2024 as a high-water mark for antisemitic incidents recorded in a year. But that statistic is misleading. The ADL, a pro-Israel organization so explicitly Zionist and outwardly political that Wikipedia no longer considers it a reliable source for citations, equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. But while antisemitism is a form of white supremacist hatred against Jews historically tied with the political right (e.g., Hitler’s Third Reich or auto tycoon Henry Ford), critics of Zionism take a historical materialist analysis of the settler colonial ideology behind the modern Israeli statehood project. As the United Nations recognized the state of Israel in 1948 as a post-World War II settlement in the wake of the Holocaust, they also granted official superpower backing to the Zionist political movement for a Jewish ethnostate, which took for granted the annihilation, expulsion, and subjugation of the native Palestinian population. The U.S. and its allies have continued to support Israel primarily for their own colonial interests, since it serves as a friendly military outpost in the Middle East, a key shipping route and oil-rich region, even as blatant land grabs, civilian slaughter, and other abuses occur daily.

The MTA is no stranger to fury from the ruling class, Republican or Democratic. Democrat Governor Maura Healey, leading a consensus of state legislators, intervened to crush local MTA unions on strike in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The union’s victories in popular, back-to-back ballot campaigns it supported in 2022 and 2024, also opposed by Healey and state Democratic leadership – the Fair Share Amendment removing the MCAS graduation requirement – cemented organized public educators as a powerful, politically independent force for the Commonwealth’s working class. When the Globe routinely cites Boston-based “free market” think tank Pioneer Institute against teachers’ unions and public education, and a Democratic governor union busts striking local educators desperate for student resources, the political overlap of the settler-colonial (“Pioneer”) project and the anti-union project, both of the bipartisan ruling class, reveals itself. Still, the swift interrogation by the newly formed Special Commission on Antisemitism marked an escalation of manipulative tactics and state repression.

Special Commission on a Zionist Mission

From its inception, it was clear that the Special Commission was, in reality, a Zionist political project cloaked in virtuous language. Activists were quick to criticize the Special Commission for being a Trojan horse for anti-Palestinian repression during its founding. Sixty-four organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace, the Boston Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), UAW Local 2322, and 1,100 individuals, signed onto a June 2024 letter to the legislature requesting that the budget amendment authorizing the Special Commission not pass.

Written signatories also cited a lack of public input, the Special Commission failing to incorporate antisemitism into a generally anti-racist framework, and its adoption of the controversial, ADL-aligned International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition, which labels some criticisms of the state of Israel as a form of anti-Jewish hate, if legitimized by the state, has far-reaching implications on education policy, civil rights protections, and what is considered hate crimes.

Concerns about Israel’s influence over the Special Commission are well-founded. A June 2024 webinar on antisemitism in Mass. public schools, hosted by the Israeli-American Civil Action Network (ICAN) where Sen. Velis was a panelist, was sponsored by extreme Zionist groups such as StandWithUs, the Consulate General of Israel to New England, CAMERA Education Institute, and Christians and Jews United for Israel.

That webinar included a presentation on the alleged antisemitism of the Massachusetts Teachers’ Association (MTA). A group of Zionist rank-and-file MTA members calling themselves Massachusetts Educators Against Antisemitism (MEAA), who have worked to stomp out advocacy for Palestinians in Massachusetts and their union, led the presentation.

Sen. Velis has been on no fewer than three trips to Israel paid for by Israel-affiliated organizations. He emphasizes that these trips do not influence his credibility as Commission co-chair, since he claims to have also spoken to Palestinians on these trips. Still, in an October 2024 panel hosted by ICAN, Velis expressed doubt about well-documented Israeli apartheid and human rights violations. He then waxed about his experience on a tour of an Israeli air missile battery during his latest trip, commenting on the attractiveness of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) soldiers:

“I’m thinking it’s gonna be a bunch of U.S. service members coming out, in my mind what U.S. service members look like…and please don’t take this the wrong way…but five of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in my life walk out…and I couldn’t tell you the first thing about the Iron Dome, because, you know.” 

Working Mass applauds Senator Velis for his even-keeled assessment of the situation in Palestine.

Special Commission vs. The MTA

Sen. Velis’s amendment, passed last spring, also instructs the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to create antisemitism educational curricula for Massachusetts public schools. Under this pretense, the Commission summoned MTA President Max Page and Lexington High teacher Jessica Antoline to testify on February 10th, 2025. 

It quickly became clear that the hearing was a setup. What was advertised to MTA leadership as a good-faith dialogue regarding the resource page promptly turned into a McCarthyist inquisition of the MTA, aiming to corner Page and Antoline into “gotcha” soundbites. 

The Special Commission’s interrogation focused on an MTA internal list of resources for educators to use to teach a balanced approach to Israel/Palestine with respect to Palestinians’ self-determination. A democratic and popular MTA resolution led to the creation of the list. Sources in MTA tell Working Mass that over 1000 rank-and-file members advanced the resolution democratically, and the MTA’s Board of Directors voted in favor. Retired librarian and MTA member Sue Doherty said that since “most teachers are terrified to teach about this topic,” the resource list was broadly welcomed.

Rep. Cataldo presented a list of images retrieved from secondary links embedded within the resource list and repeatedly demanded that President Page denounce them as antisemitic. He repeatedly ignored Ms. Antoline’s request to present her testimony, pushing it after his presentation. Images selected included an image of Joe Biden with “serial killer” superimposed over him and another image saying “Zionists Fuck Off.” These images were not directly provided to teachers or students, but were found on tangential pages on some of the websites on the resource list. Cataldo presented the images to demonstrate an “anti-Israel” bias within the MTA, pressing Page and Antoline to confirm what he described as the union’s “indoctrination” of students with antisemitic beliefs. 

The Special Commission’s hearing was not expected, but not surprising, as rank-and-file MTA members self-organized a powerful pro-Palestine caucus within the union, culminating in a successful resolution to divest their pension fund from military contractors. A simple Google search of ‘MTA antisemitism’ reveals countless articles demonstrating a concerted effort by Zionist organizations to punish the MTA for its pro-Palestine advocacy. The Free Press, an outfit of the Israel hawk Bari Weiss, summed it up in an article titled “Hamassachusetts”.

In the wake of the Special Commission’s interrogation, reactionary forces have capitalized on the MTA’s public flogging to attack public-sector unions writ large. These anti-labor efforts align with Trump’s attacks on federal workers and long-standing warfare against public education through efforts to privatize schools and kneecap educators’ unions. The Special Commission sought to supply the offensive with additional ammo.

Organized Educators Push Back

The attack was, of course, trumped up. Critical facts were left out of the inquisition, like how most of the resources presented were never actually shared with students in the classroom. The resource page includes many optional – not mandated – resources to help instructors learn and teach about Palestine. One of these resources was the website for the organization Artists Against Apartheid, without any specific images attached. The Commission combed through this website and others from the list, found the images it defined as the most antisemitic, and cited them as holistically indicative of the type of resources the MTA provided to its membership. 

The Commission cited an infographic about Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer that had an office in Cambridge until recently, due to public outcry, to attack the MTA. However, the infographic was never included in the MTA’s list of resources, nor could it be directly navigated to from the list. This did not prevent Cataldo from attempting to conflate criticism of an Israeli corporation with antisemitism. 

At one point, Cataldo asked Page and Antoline to name individuals who had posted pro-Palestine sentiment on their personal social media accounts. An audience member rose and shouted, “Senator McCarthy, how is this any different than naming names of coworkers and associates during the 1950s Red Scare?” The crowd erupted in rapturous applause. Cataldo pounded his gavel to restore order and stated, “That was a nice remark from a former teacher of mine who taught Marxism class.”

As members of the MTA rank-and-file pro-Palestine caucus documented in an exhaustive report they submitted to the Special Commission in response to the February 10th hearing, the co-chairs’ cherry-picked “exhibits” may have criticized Israel and/or Zionism, but they were not antisemitic. The report also analyzes how the line of questioning and many of the images shown promoted anti-Palestinian racism. Merrie Najimy, former MTA president and organizer with MTA Rank and File for Palestine, later testified with a community group at the hearing:

As an Arab-American educator, I bring to my teaching my own experience with racism, that very racism that I just experienced here. My watch went off, telling me my heart rate was elevated to 122.

Deep connections between Jewish labor and the MTA challenge the Special Commission’s incredulous charge of antisemitism to attack the union. Page himself is the child of a Jewish refugee from WW2-era Nazi terror. And three different MTA locals were recently honored by the New England Jewish Labor Committee for their courage in going on strike, technically illegally as public sector workers and with the opposition of Gov. Healey, at the 2025 Labor Seder in Boston.

These facts complicate the Special Commission’s politically motivated smear campaign and highlight the absurdity of lecturing a first-generation descendant of Jewish refugees about antisemitism. As Page and Antoline continuously reiterated, teachers have the critical thinking skills to understand that a poster saying ‘Zionists Fuck Off’, on its own, with no context, is not relevant to the classroom. The labor leader argued:

Our highly educated teachers and other education professionals – creative individuals who have dedicated their lives to building a culture of learning for young people – are not robots who would somehow be brainwashed by a single set of resources.

Leaders of Jewish communities have also stepped up against the politically weaponized overreach of the Special Commission. On March 31st, 90 local rabbis and Jewish community leaders wrote arguing that the Special Commission’s activity was contributing to President Trump’s free speech crackdown under the pretense of combating antisemitism.

Elsa Auerbach, a professor emeritus at UMass Boston, MTA member, Boston Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) member, and one of the signatories of the letter, added that the trajectory of the Commission seems like a giant missed opportunity:

I will not project the intent of the Commission. But, Massachusetts has the opportunity to be the model to fight antisemitism in the current historical moment …  clearly framed as a Commission which stands against white supremacy… After the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia, I read that some rabbis were saying the suffering of Jews was being co-opted for an antisemitic agenda. That is the framing I’d like to see the commission looking at.

In Defense of Union Democracy and Public Education

Educators are fighting not only to keep the democratic will of their union’s membership respected in the face of the Special Commission’s attack, but also, as they are obligated to do by their profession, to teach facts. The death count in Gaza is estimated to be over 200,000, more than one in every two buildings is destroyed, and its entire living population is currently on a trajectory to starve to death. Constantly, Palestinians are told to put their lived experience as secondary to narratives mandated by polite society, when the reality is depravity that can never be truly articulated or taught. During a genocide facilitated by our United States government, and with our taxpayer money, it’s no surprise that organized educators are determined to uphold truth. Doherty summed it up:

Silencing the truth about the history of Israel and Palestine and marginalizing the experiences of Palestinian students and their families doesn’t do a thing to help fight antisemitism or make Jewish students safe.

Chris B is a DSA member, public sector union member and contributor to Working Mass.

The post How A Mass. Special Commission Became a Trojan Horse Against the Powerful Statewide Educators Union  appeared first on Working Mass.

Events & Actions

Tuesday, June 17 (5:50 p.m. – 7:20 p.m.): Socialist in Office + Electoral Board Meeting (Zoom)  Tuesday, June 17 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting (Zoom)  Tuesday, June 17 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Immigrant Justice Working Group & East Bay DSA: Know Your Rights & Immigration 101 Training (In person at 1916 McAllister)  Wednesday, June 18 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): What Is DSA? (In person at 1916 McAllister)  Thursday, June 19 (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.): Education Board Open Meeting (Zoom)  Thursday, June 19 (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.): Book Talk on US-China Relations with Dee Knight and Kyle Ferrana (Zoom)  Friday, June 20 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): Maker Friday (In person at 1916 McAllister)  Saturday, June 21 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Monthly Food Service (In person at Castro & Market)  Sunday, June 22 (12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Picnic (In person at Dolores Park, Dolores & 19th St)  Sunday, June 22 (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Capital Reading Group (In person at Dolores Park, Dolores & 19th St)  Monday, June 23 (5:50 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Socialist in Office + Electoral Board Meeting (Zoom)  Monday, June 23 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Tenderloin Healing Circle (In person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate)  Monday, June 23 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Regular Meeting (Zoom)  Monday, June 23 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (Zoom)  Tuesday, June 24 (6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.):  Ecosocialism Office Gardening (In person at 1916 McAllister)  Wednesday, June 25 (6:45 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.): Tenant Organizing Working Group Meeting (Zoom & in person at Radical Reading Room, 438 Haight)  Wednesday, June 25 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.):  Screening of ‘They Live’ (In person at Roar Shack, 34 7th St)  Thursday, June 26 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Immigrant Justice Working Group Meeting (Zoom)  Check out https://dsasf.org/events for more events and updates.

IJWG & EBDSA: Know Your Rights + Immigration 101 Training

Join the DSA SF Immigrant Justice Working Group and EBDSA Migrants Defense Working Group for a joint Know Your Rights + Immigration 101 training! We will be discussing the current political moment, a brief history of immigration in the U.S., and important Know Your Rights information, including the difference between a judicial and administrative warrant and how to exercise your rights or intervene as a bystander in various scenarios. The training will take place on Tuesday, June 17, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the DSA SF office at 1916 McAllister St.

Maker Friday on June 20

Join us for Maker Friday on June 20 at the DSA SF office at 1916 McAllister from 7:00 p.m. to  9:00 p.m.! Come make some art and connect with comrades. All are welcome. See you there!

Apartheid-Free Bay Area Training & Canvassing

Join the Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group at 1916 McAllister St this Saturday, June 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. as we canvass Hayes Valley as part of the No Appetite for Apartheid campaign! This campaign aims to reduce economic support for Israeli apartheid by canvassing local businesses to boycott Israeli goods.

You will receive training on how to talk to stores in your neighborhood, then we will go out and talk to stores together! This is a great event for both beginner and experienced canvassers.

Summer Social(ist) Events!

• June 22nd, 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Picnic @ Dolores Park! Bring some food or drinks, bring your dog, bring your friends, bring your friend’s dog! We will be in the Northeast corner by the tennis courts.
• June 25th @ 7:00 p.m. – Screening of They Live at Roar Shack (34 7th Street) – Let’s watch the classic monster movie inspired by the scariest monsters of them all (Ronald Reagan and Capitalism)!
• July 6th @ 11:00 p.m. – Screening of The Room at the Balboa Theater! We’ll meet outside at 10:30.
• July 11th @ 7:30PM – Comrade Karaoke at the Roar Shack (34 7th Street) – Come hang out and do some FREE karaoke with your fellow DSA SF comrades or cool people you want to impress with your incredible singing voice! No songs refused, no entry denied! Suggested Donation: $10. Drinks: Wine + Beer Available / BYOB
• July 27th @ 1:05PM – Oakland Ballers vs Northern Colorado Owlz baseball game + “Halloween in July Night” (at Raimondi Park) – RSVP here by July 13th so that we can put in a group order of tickets! Group tickets are are $15 per ticket, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds!

Ecosocialism Gardening

Come garden with our Ecoscocialism Working Group to talk socialism and get to know our garden! We’ll start with a discussion of the history of native plants in the Bay Area and then identify the native plants in our office garden. Join us Tuesday, June 24th at 6:30 p.m. at 1916 McAllister.

People’s Conference for Palestine: Gaza is the Compass

Come one, come all! We’re hoping to have a DSA SF delegation at the People’s Conference For Palestine: Gaza is the Compass from August 29-31 in Detroit, Michigan. Interested? We’re gauging interest, so please fill out this form by June 19th at 11:00 p.m. Limited financial aid may be available.

Reports

Chapter Convention

This past weekend we held our chapter’s Annual Convention. At Convention, we elect new leadership, charter our chapter bodies, consider bylaws amendments, and determine our chapter’s priority campaigns for the year. Here’s a recap from this year’s Convention!

Bylaws Amendments

We amended our bylaws to reduce the number of annual priority campaigns from up to 3 to only 2, now requiring one of those priorities to be an external-facing campaign and the other to be an internal organizing priority.

Priority Campaigns

• Our new priority campaign for the year is San Francisco Divestment: Confronting Israeli Genocide and Apartheid at Home. The priority campaign will be led by Christina W, Doc R, and Jayson V. You can read more about the goals for this campaign in the resolution we passed.
• Both of the priority resolutions up for consideration at Convention were external-facing campaigns, so we will have a single priority campaign for the year unless an internal priority is considered at a future chapter meeting.

Resolutions  Adopted

• Resolution for DSA SF to Take a Socialist Approach to San Francisco’s Overdose Crisis
• Resolution in Support of Christiana Porter, Demanding Justice and Accountability from the City and SFPD
• Resolution to Paint the Town DSA Red
• Editorial Policy Resolution
• Electoral Strategy Resolution

Chapter Bodies & Leadership

We rechartered several chapter bodies and elected new leadership for the first six-month term.

• Steering Committee – Aditya B, Annie R, Ellyn D, Jenbo, and Julian M
• Grievance Officers – Chloe J, Jenna L
• Electoral Board – Anya W-Z, Carlos C-R, Lizzie M, Harlo P, Jordan N
• Education Board – Matt R, Stephen A, Volo K
• Labor Board – Caitlin S, Erich F, James S, Reilly P, Sayuri F
• Ecosocialism Working Group – Rishav R, Sophie P
• Homelessness Working Group – Ben P, Keith H
• Immigrant Justice Working Group – Caroline G, Cindy R
• Palestine Solidarity & Anti-Imperialism Working Group – Andrew Y, Louise D
• Tenant Organizing Working Group – Dan E, Ellyn D

Sunday Streets Tabling

DSA hosted a table at Sunday Streets this past weekend on June 15 which took place in the Tenderloin, right outside the DSA convention happening in Kelly Cullen Auditorium. We had a group of 4 helpers representing the healing circle who facilitated the activities and spoke with community members.

We handed out flyers for DSA SF and the Tenderloin Healing Circle, Know Your Rights cards, educational zines previously created by members, buttons with various comradely phrases and information on No Appetite for Apartheid; and shared the QR code in support of Jackie Fielder’s legislation to extend family shelter stays. We also ran a button making station, which was incredibly popular, and had chalk available, which was especially popular with the littles but appreciated by all ages.

We had a steady stream of folks of all ages at our table the entire time, asking questions about DSA and the different projects we were promoting, or even just stopping to chat about life for a few minutes. In the end, we handed out the entire original stack of healing circle flyers, and the button design with “Stand Up Fight Back” really seemed to strike a chord. We found this to be a very engaging and inspiring event and would strongly encourage the chapter to attend again in the future.

A few other moments to highlight:

• The first person to use the chalk was a young man who drew the blue and pink design – a passerby stopped to compliment the artist saying it looked like a unicorn
• A mom with her three daughters sat and each made a pin together with great enthusiasm while chatting with our helpers
• A father and his three young daughters took turns with chalk and expanded the mural in front of our table, running up to our table each time to retrieve new colors

Behind the Scenes

The Chapter Coordination Committee (CCC) regularly rotates duties among chapter members. This allows us to train new members in key duties that help keep the chapter running like organizing chapter meetings, keeping records updated, office cleanup, updating the DSA SF website and newsletter, etc. Members can view current CCC rotations.

To help with the day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running, fill out the CCC help form.

Tech workers are still largely unorganized, but they can act together to stop the used of militarized weapons on people at home and abroad.

The post Tech Workers Must Fight the Anti-Immigrant Crackdown and Escalating Authoritarianism appeared first on EWOC.

This article is reprinted from the Socialist Forum, a publication of DSA. It was authored by Todd Chretien, who serves both on DSA’s Editorial Board as well as Pine & Roses’ Editorial Collective. It was originally published on May 30, 2025.

What happened? 

Hundreds of thousands of workers marched and rallied on May Day, making it the largest International Workers Day since 2006 when two million immigrant workers left work and marched to demand their rights. Protests were organized in 1300 locations, large and small; no doubt the first May Day protest in many places. Broadly speaking, there were three different levels of mobilization. First, as in 2006, Chicago stood out with some 30,000 marching, organized by a mass coalition of labor and immigrant rights organizations. Second, cities like Philly, New York, Baltimore, San Francisco, Oakland, Burlington, and Portland, Maine mobilized between two and fifteen thousand. Third, hundreds of cities and towns turned out crowds from a couple dozen to hundreds, including smaller cities like Davis, California. This ranking is not intended as a judgement on the organizers. In fact, some of the smaller rallies included higher percentages of the population than the largest. For instance, in the town of Wayne, Maine—population 1,000—seventy-five people turned out for both morning and evening rallies. 

It’s worth noting that the crowds were not as large as the April 5 day of protest initiated by Indivisible; however, participants were noticeably more multiracial, younger, and radical with widespread support for transgender rights and opposition to the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Though an important step in the process of building working-class unity against the billionaires and capitalist class, these efforts have a long way to go. For instance, although multiracial, at the national level, the marches did not entirely reflect working-class diversity. And if immigrant rights organizations were critical in many cities, Trump’s reign of terror against immigrant workers suppressed turnout from this community in many places. 

Who organized it and how? 

Memory and sacrifice play a role in sustaining oppositional working-class culture. No Haymarket Martyrs, no May Day. More recently, the 2006 May Day protests provided a living link to the past as well as the importance of International Workers Day globally. UAW president Shawn Fain’s call for unions to align contracts and lead a 2028 general strike, have introduced May Day to a whole new generation of labor organizers.

 Recently, precursor actions in the wake of Trump’s election laid the basis for pulling together a mass, class-based response. As the saying goes, the best organizing tool is a bad boss and Trump is one of the worst bosses possible. Repression and widespread layoffs do not always provoke resistance, but this time targeted workers put up a critical mass of opposition that gummed up the works and provided the time to organize a strategic response. 

Thousands of teachers from across the country responded to a call by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers for walk-ins in March to protest Trump’s destruction of the Department of Education. Bay Area activists organized a “Day of Resistance” against ICE even before Trump was inaugurated. The Maine State Nurses Association led a rally to protest Medicaid cuts in March and organized a mass town hall to prevent the closure of the obstetrics department in the small town of Houlton. Kathryn Lybarger, president of AFSCME 3299 representing 22,000 workers at the University of California, summarizes her union’s approach, “My union went on its fourth strike in six months on May Day, and the energy felt great. For union members fighting a powerful employer for our families’ futures, it was amazing to be joined on the picket line by all kinds of community members who are fighting billionaires for their futures too. The day felt like an event and an important step in building the movement we need to stop Trump and win a better world.”   In the single biggest display of working-class power on May Day, 55,000 LA County employees in SEIU 721 walked off the job and marched through downtown LA. 

As federal workers reeled from Trump’s layoffs, the Federal Unionist Network was one of the most important elements blunting the blitzkrieg. FUN organizer Chris Dols explains, “Amidst all the necessary defense we’re playing against the billionaires’ offensive, May Day is the labor movement’s opportunity to articulate a positive vision for the world we deserve. Federal workers are uniquely positioned and proud to help advance such a vision because, above all else, we are public servants, and it is the entire public that is under assault. As is captured by the FUN’s ‘Save Our Services’ demand, our approach to May Day was to foreground the crucial services and protections federal workers provide in an effort to not only cohere fighting federal labor movement but also to develop and deepen alliances with all who stand to lose the most if Trump gets away with smashing up our agencies.”

Pair these factors with decades of bipartisan misery inflicted on the working class, and it’s not surprising workers are angry. Politicians have failed to deliver on demands like healthcare for all, affordable housing, and a stronger public education system. Add inflation, union-busting, white supremacy, misogyny, transphobia and homophobia, genocide in Gaza, and anti-immigrant bigotry, and the potential for uniting large parts of the working class across its many divisions comes into focus.

Chicago takes the lead

Yet objective conditions alone cannot make a plan. Organized forces with the credibility and capacity to think through a strategy and to put it into practice are needed. 

According to Jesse Sharkey, past president of the Chicago Teachers Union and lead organizer with the newly-formed May Day Strong coalition, “Chicago became a center of May Day organizing this year for two reasons—first, there was a local coalition that got a lot of people involved. Activists from the immigrants rights community were extremely important in initiating it, and they held open meetings. They invited anyone who wanted to help organize. That drew in trade unionists, and many others. On a second front, Chicago was in the middle of initiating a national call for May Day protests… The call for that effort came from the Chicago Teachers Union and a handful of allied organizations such as Midwest Academy, Bargaining for the Common Good, and the Action Center on Race and the Economy. The NEA also played an extremely helpful role. In late March, we had about 220 people from over 100 organizations join us in Chicago to start planning for May 1 actions. The reason we were able to initiate such a widespread effort was because we have a past practice of closely linking trade union fights to wider working-class demands. In places where local unions have worked with community and activist groups, we had networks of communication and trust. Then, once that effort had reached a certain critical mass, some of the big national networks like Indivisible and 50501 got on board, and that really grew the reach of the day.”

It’s not that the CTU and immigrant community organizers in Chicago were the only ones thinking about May Day, but their action drew together and amplified similar efforts across the country, nationalizing the protest by providing a framework and resources for labor and community organizers in hundreds of towns and cities. Chicago didn’t create May Day 2025—thousands of activists across the country had to take up the call—but it did open a door. 

Socialists and the united front

Assessing the impact of May Day for the working class as a whole should not be conflated with DSA’s role in the organizing. But as this is an article that will mostly reach DSA members, it’s worth reviewing what we contributed. First, thousands of DSA members across the country turned out for May Day. This fact alone shows our organization’s strength, and it points to opportunities and responsibilities. If all your chapter was able to do was to turn out members or help publicize the local protest among coworkers and the broader community, that’s an important contribution. Second, at the National Level, DSA’s National Political Committee and National Labor Commission joined May Day Strong and organized membership Zoom meetings to encourage branches to take action starting in March. Third, and this should come as no surprise, DSA played a bigger role in some places than others. I think it’s worth considering the impact of the strategic and tactical choices local chapters made on the influence they wielded and the organic ties they deepened. After speaking with comrades from across the country, I will offer a few positive examples. I hope comrades will add to this picture and offer alternative ideas or criticisms. 

New York 

In October, the NYC-DSA chapter adopted a resolution to support the UAW’s call for a 2028 May Day strike. The chapter subsequently held an internal May Day 2028 strategy retreat and identified May Day 2025 as a key link in the chain of developing power and political momentum to fight against Trump and the broader machine. As one DSA organizer puts it, “It’s not enough to circle May Day 2028 on a calendar, we need to build a coalition to organize it and politicize it.” Rooted in this perspective, NYC-DSA turned out to support a mass post-election labor-left anti-Trump rally, the FUN day of action in February, the subsequent Stop the Cuts rally on March 15, and Hands Off on April 5. 

Olivia Gonzalez Killingsworth, co-chair of NYC-DSA Labor Working Group and National Labor Commission SC member (as well as a twenty-year member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA) picks up the story, reflecting, “After Stop the Cuts, I went to Chicago on March 19 and 20 as an NLC representative to join the May Day Strong meeting. Stacy Davis Gates, Jackson Potter, and Jesse Sharkey welcomed us all into the house that CTU built. Shawn Fain was there along with Randi Weingarten, who was enraged because Trump signed his executive order gutting the Department of Education that same day. We broke out into regions and were charged with going back home to build May Day as big as possible. In New York City, broadly speaking, there were three important currents: the core of the union movement represented by the Central Labor Council, the left-liberals like Tesla Takedown, and the labor/left, of which DSA is a part. Through a lot of coalition work, we made a circle out of this Venn diagram. Trump helped along the way. Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation really angered the Building Trades, further galvanizing them into participation. DSA played an important role in mobilizing: we had a huge contingent, and even more members marching with their unions. But more than that, we helped politicize May Day to point to the billionaires who are benefiting from the Trump administration’s attacks on us.” 

Part of this work included successfully advocating—alongside many others—for both AOC and Mahmoud Khalil’s lawyer to speak at the rally, which garnered significant national media attention, helping broadcast our message far beyond May Day participants. It’s important to point out that DSA did not initiate the coalition, but worked alongside long-time labor activists to support May Day, earning our stripes as a trusted and capable partner. 

On the day, NYC-DSA turned out some 500 members, many of whom marched with their unions. They did so while keeping up with other work—DSA member Zohran Mamdani is running for mayor—with NYC-DSA labor organizers having advanced a month-long Build to May Day campaign. Organizers called on committees and working groups across the chapter to make May Day a priority, turning out members and volunteer marshalls. The chapter is now in a stronger position to discuss next steps with the broader coalition and consolidate a layer of new members and allies. There’s more pain ahead, but May Day helped gather working-class forces together for action and to take the temperature of the most active and militant layer of trade unionists and community activists. As NYC-DSA Labor Working Group member David Duhalde suggests, “The New York City May Day rally and march from Foley Square to the iconic Wall Street Bull statue was a microcosm of the shift in energy in labor during Trump’s second term.” How far that shift goes can only be tested in practice.

Philadelphia

As in New York, Philadelphia DSA did not initiate the call for the May Day rallies. The AFL-CIO led the charge in alliance with immigrants rights organizations such as Milpa, New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, and Juntos, mobilizing some 5,000 workers. But Philadelphia DSA did add its organizing muscle, assigning Luke M to act as liaison. The chapter followed many of the same tactics as their New York comrades. When the AFL-CIO opened up the coalition, DSA members proved themselves energetic organizers; for instance, running the marshal training and providing a large portion of marshals. DSA members constituted a large part of the seventy-two people arrested at the end of the march in a civil disobedience action, including Rick Krajewski, a DSA member elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Seven union presidents joined in this calculated escalation of tactics, demonstrating a broad understanding that workers will have to take matters into their own hands to back down the billionaires and capitalist elites. 

And in a lesson passed down through generations, from the IWW to Sit-Down Strikes to the Civil Rights Movement to Occupy to Black Lives Matter to Gaza, no protest is finished until jail support is organized, a responsibility that was taken up by DSA members and coalition partners alike. That unity in action demonstrated the most important aspect of united front work, but the chapter also raised the socialist banner. Taking placards and membership interest card ideas from DSA members in California, Philadelphia DSA formed a visible presence on the march with some 200 members, and signed up sixty-two new recruits. It didn’t hurt that the unions invited Bernie to speak. After all the hard work, Luke praised his Philly comrades, “I have to say I’m genuinely proud of what we accomplished, and I’m looking forward to the debrief meeting to see what comes next.”

Portland, Maine

Maine DSA’s Labor Rising working group decided to focus on May Day in December, laying the basis to help initiate an organizing meeting open to all community groups and unions. Maine AFL-CIO leaders and UAW graduate students participated in a preliminary meeting to brainstorm ideas, and more than 70 people attended an April 12 meeting in the South Portland Teamsters’ Hall, where the group democratically planned Portland’s May Day. Working groups took up all aspects of the action, and we took all important decisions back to the coalition for votes. Running a long a related track, Maine Education Association and Maine AFL-CIO leaders called for actions across the state, amplifying the Chicago May Day Strong call and dramatically broadening what the Portland coalition could organize. 

Nearly 2,000 people turned out in Portland, starting with a rally at the University of Southern Maine to back UAW graduate students’ demands for a first contract and then marching to the Post Office to hear from postal workers. Members of the Portland Education Association and a trans student poet headlined the stop at Portland High School and a librarian union rep spoke in Monument Square before the final rally that heard from the president of the Metal Trades Council at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, a rep from the Maine State Nurses Association, members of the Maine Coalition for Palestine, an organizer from LGTBQ+ community group Portland Outright, a local immigrant rights group called Presente! Maine, and others. It was a great demonstration and showed the thirst for a broader coalition. Twenty-five other towns held actions, bringing the total number of Maine participants to over 5,000, the largest Maine May Day anyone can remember. 

It would be shortsighted to overstate the power and stability of this fledgling coalition. Large doses of patience and understanding will be necessary to foster bonds of trust. Sectarian pressures to draw “red lines” that exclude workers new to political activity and organizations who have various programs and interests represent one danger. A narrow focus on the midterm elections represents another. Fortunately, there’s a lot of room for creativity between those two extremes. 

Long road ahead

May Day was the first test of strength for the left and working class against Trump, MAGA, and forty-plus years of neoliberal rot. We face a long, complex problem where political pressures to return to passivity will be strong, but May Day 2025 constitutes a small step towards healing deep wounds in the American working class, the divide between organized and unorganized, immigrant and US born, etc. If brother Fain’s call for 2028 is to grow strong, then 2026 and 2027 must be practice runs.  If 2026 and 2027 are to be real demonstrations of strength, they must grow out of tighter bonds between labor, community, and the left, more active membership participation in all of those forces, and a combination of defensive struggles we are forced to fight and battles we pick on our own terms. As Sarah Hurd, co-chair of DSA’s National Labor Commission, spells out, “This year’s May Day actions showed the power of what we can accomplish just by setting a date and inviting people to take action together. It has also highlighted what work we need to do to scale up our level of organization in the next three years.” 

What did May Day teach us? Fittingly, the last word goes to Kirsten Roberts, a rank-and-file Chicago teacher, “The most important element of May Day 2025 is the explicit entry of organized and unorganized labor into resistance to Trump. Trump’s attacks are aimed directly at dividing the working class and turning ordinary people against one another while the billionaires rob and plunder us all. An agenda for working class unity can be built when we stand up for those most victimized and vilified by the right-wing bigots AND when we stand together to fight for the things that the billionaire class has denied us—the fight for healthcare, education, housing, and good-paying jobs for starters. For decades, we’ve been told by both parties that funding war, incarceration, and border militarization are their priorities. May Day showed that working people have another agenda. Now let’s organize to win it.”

The post Unions and Community Unite for May Day: Lessons for the Fight Ahead appeared first on Pine & Roses.

by Gregory Lebens-Higgins

Rochester’s mayoral primary debate took place on May 28, between incumbent Mayor Malik Evans, ROC DSA-endorsee and city councilmember Mary Lupien, and local businessman Shashi Sinha. Lupien spoke ambitiously of her vision for a better future, while Evans and Sinha invoked limitations and appealed to the status quo. The satirical exchange in the footnote below humorously captures the tone of the debate.*

About halfway through, the candidates were asked: “What is your stance on encampment sweeps? Do you support their removal, or do you think their removal [exacerbates] the issues of homelessness?” 

“How many people have we arrested for being on the street? The answer is zero,” said Mayor Evans. He elaborates, “you can’t arrest someone for being in poverty or having a substance abuse disorder.” But closer consideration reveals that arrest is the all too frequent response to poverty and substance abuse.

How does Mayor Evans’ logic hold up against racial disparities in policing? Black Americans comprise 33% of the prison population despite being just 14% of the general population, and are arrested at five times the rate of whites. Yet would Mayor Evans believe that “nobody has been arrested for being Black?” (or driving, running, shopping, and swimming while Black).

Of course, racial profiling will always be denied as the true motivation behind such outcomes. Following the Civil War vagrancy laws were enacted across the South, describes historian Eric Foner in his account of Reconstruction, punishing “the idle, disorderly, and those who ‘misspend what they earn,’” with fines or involuntary plantation labor. Virginia’s law punished those who demanded higher wages, while in Florida, disobedience and disrespect to the employer were criminalized. 

Many of these laws “made no reference to race, to avoid the appearance of discrimination and comply with the federal Civil Rights Act of 1866,” says Foner. “But it was well understood, as Alabama planter and Democratic politico John W. DuBois later remarked, that ‘the vagrant contemplated was the plantation negro.’”

Similarly, capitalist society builds a carceral framework around homelessness in more devious ways. The threat of homelessness disciplines labor, while the vulnerability of the homeless establishes a hyper-exploitable reserve army of labor. 

Today, more than 1,000 Rochester residents are homeless, and the city boasts the fifth highest child poverty rate in the nation, at over 40%. Homelessness in Rochester testifies to the racial legacy of America, with Black residents representing 40% of the general population but 55% of those experiencing homelessness. Meanwhile, rent continues to increase—a single-bedroom apartment now averages $1,200 per month—and a surging housing market pushes home ownership further out of reach. 

Housing is not the only rising cost of living, and income growth lags behind. Employment can be difficult to obtain, requiring a stable address, transportation, and a passing background check. Even retaining a job does not guarantee alleviation from homelessness, as employers provide low wages, unreliable hours, and limited time off, and employees are subject to termination at will. 

Rochester lacks adequate shelters for the unhoused, and those in extreme poverty have nowhere to go. Capitalism privatizes everything it can profitably possess. Modern public space carries a cost of occupancy, and minor violations such as sleeping in public or an open container can lead to arrest or a trespass notice. “Urinating and sleeping in public are both unavoidable and criminalized,” says Alex Vitale in The End of Policing, “creating a terrible dynamic.”

The unhoused are targeted by police and ostracized by the community. Despite Mayor Evans’ denial, encampment sweeps have traumatically displaced inhabitants and destroyed their belongings and continue to do so. Those occupying public spaces are more likely to have police contact or be subject to search, while poverty encourages crimes of desperation and nihilism—if society doesn’t care about me, why should I follow their rules?

Once the unhoused enter the criminal justice system, problems compound: “The criminal justice system, with its emphasis on punishment,” says Vitale, “[cannot] address the underlying and intertwined problems of homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse.” 

The unhoused are more likely to be held in jail, as they are denied release due to a lack of stable housing and cannot afford bail. They will encounter more difficulty paying fines, necessitating more court appearances or consequences such as license suspensions, and they can’t reliably stay in contact with their attorney or the court. Criminal entanglement can disrupt social services and limit job opportunities, leading to a downward spiral. 

So, yes, Mayor Evans, we arrest people for being on the street, in all but invocation.

Sinha’s response to this issue is not any better. Solving homelessness, he says, is “very simple and of course it’s [a] very complicated issue.” This answer is revealing—solving homelessness is simple in that the answer appears on its face: providing homes. It is complicated, however, because the desire for profit means this option cannot be delivered by the market. 

As mayor, Mary Lupien promises “[to] end homeless encampment sweeps day one.” “Homeless encampment sweeps can kill people,” says Lupien, by disrupting forms of support available to the homeless community through outreach and solidarity. Lupien clearly identifies the “simple answer”—“to provide them homes.” 

Mayor Evans admits “[homelessness] is not a problem that you can arrest your way out of.” Yet disproportionate city funding goes to policing rather than social services. With society’s wealth and capacity for production, we have the means to provide housing and a dignified lifestyle to all. When we arrange our society toward these ends, we will find not only that we can eliminate homelessness, but can create a more comfortable and safe community for all. 

* “Question: What pizza should we order?

Sinha: Pizza. Ordering. It has some crust. It has some cheese. But we never ask if we can afford it. You know…. sauce. Why aren’t we asking about why we need pizza? We need to fix this problem.

Lupien: I have been a staunch believer in pepperoni pizza, standing with the communities. More pizza in more mouths will feed so many hungry people. It is disappointing that Mayor Evans threw away two whole pizzas at the last pizza party that could have gone to feeding more people. We have the pizza available, we just need to get it to the right mouths. I’ve partnered with Pizza Justice and over a dozen other pizza communities, who understands what it takes to get there. It works.

Evans: I will never apologize for my pizza choices, because my pizza choices are right. I have personally delivered pizza to people, wasting not a single slice. When I was 14 I worked for Salvatores and cannot be ashamed at that. I have never thrown away a pizza. Three years ago we had a pizza crisis in this city. I rolled out Slice of the Night, which gave pizza to pizzaless communities. I will never apologize for what I’ve done. We don’t have the budget to just give everyone pizza. We could all make up misunderstandings about pizza waste, but that’s just not how things work. I have a three topping approach to pizza: sausage, onions, and peppers. You need all three. Let me be clear: without onions a pizza cannot happen. Just like I’ve been doing for 3.5 years, I’ve been bringing these together.

‘Sinha, you have your hand raised.’

Sinha: These two keep arguing. It just isn’t like that. It won’t happen unless we try.” – Reddit user Mysterious-Gold2220.

The post No Mayor Evans, the Answer is not “Zero”: On Arresting the Unhoused first appeared on Rochester Red Star.