DSA LONG BEACH fully supports and stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine in their struggle for liberation from military occupation, colonialist oppression, and the brutal apartheid system imposed... Read more »

The post Statement of Solidarity with Palestine appeared first on DSA-LB.

As September came to an end, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, led by Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton and Judge Amul Thapar, disregarded established precedent on sex discrimination and rulings from other Circuit Courts. This allowed Tennessee and Kentucky to deny healthcare to trans children that is not denied to other children. 

The laws passed by right-wing legislatures and upheld by sympathetic judges contradict the right’s own rhetoric about protecting children, women, and girls and upholding parental rights. Health care for transgender people and youth is supported by every major medical association. Gender-affirming care has been found to be life saving for a population with high suicide rates. It is the lack of such care that causes life long difficulties. These laws not only put transgender youth at unnecessary risk, they infringe on well-established parental rights to make medical decisions for their minor children, and they hinder caring parents from supporting their trans children. 

It’s freakish they are focusing on this when people have real problems. The right may talk about inflation and gas prices, but the laws they actually put on the floor are the ones that take away people’s rights.

These laws are part of a calculated political agenda. Anti-trans activism and trans scaremongering, along with attacks on reproductive rights, public schools, higher education, and many other areas, are tools used by the ruling class to:

• Divert attention from economic policies that could benefit people. This tactic helps maintain the status quo and prevent scrutiny of policies that favor the wealthy.
• Create strife within the working class. When people are focused on cultural or identity-based conflicts, they can be less likely to unite around economic issues that would challenge the interests of the ruling class.
• Sow discord within the broader working-class movement. When marginalized groups are pitted against one another, it weakens our collective power to advocate for broader economic and social change.
• Maintain existing power dynamics and hierarchies through enforcing traditional gender norms and identities. Challenging these norms threatens the stability of their existing social order.
• Fundraise!

This is not a secret, not a conspiracy theory. Our own Tennessee legislature admitted to refusing to prevent the forced marriages of underage girls to adult men because doing so might interfere with their attempt to again outlaw queer marriages in the state. Anti-LGBT (and misogynistic and Chrisitian nationalist) activists have publicly affirmed switching from anti-gay activism to anti-trans activism to maintain their fundraising. National GOP strategists have often spoken about how they intend to use trans attacks as a wedge issue turning the electorate against each other and helping them maintain power. 

None of these people who claim to “protect the children” care about children, trans or cis. Especially children of the working class. If they did, they’d be writing laws to enact universal maternal care, to create a budget for paid parental leave for all workers, to provide universal childcare, preschool, and pre-k. 

They’re not. They’re writing laws to prevent children from getting the healthcare they need.

In the face of escalating attacks, it is imperative that we rise united and resolute. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are taking a bold step forward with our national campaigns, striving to provide the robust defense that the Democrats and others just aren’t doing. 

This fight requires collective action. The only thing that can beat an organized right is an organized left. Join DSA today at dsausa.org/join and get involved locally. Northeast TN DSA meets the second Wednesday of every month. Reach out to northeasttndsa@gmail.com for meeting details. 

Solidarity across the working class is how we win the future.

“When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.” – Frantz Fanon

The Salt Lake Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America stands in unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine in their decades long fight for national liberation and urges the people of Utah and the United States to stand up against settler-colonial, Zionist apartheid.

The Palestinian people have been held in apartheid since the establishment of the so-called State of Israel and the Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”) that followed. Millions of Palestinians have been removed from their homes, denied their basic human rights, and killed when they stood up against this tyranny upheld by the Israeli occupation. Israel is, per its constitution, an ethnostate, and it is not terrorism or anti-semitism to fight against this injustice.

The Palestinian people have shown us that no matter what walls Israeli forces may try to build to push the indigenous peoples out of their homeland, those walls can and will come down. We see this with the Palestinian people using bulldozers to tear down the fences surrounding Gaza, we see this every time Palestinians and their allies stand up in the face of violence, and we see this every time a smile crosses a Palestinian’s face. The Palestinian people are resilient people, and it is our duty as Socialists to stand with them. Apartheid structures will come down, and we will stand with the Palestinian people in their fight to tear down every structure used to uphold the apartheid they face.

Anti-Zionism is a principled Socialist position, and one that Salt Lake DSA takes seriously. Some of our members have worked with the DSA BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group and have relatives from Palestine themselves. It is also important for us because we are the only DSA chapter in Utah. Utah has its own history of settler colonialism, and much of the tactics and rhetoric modern day Israel uses in their attempt to eliminate the indigenous Palestinians, the European Mormon settlers used against the indigenous Ute, Paiute, Goshute, Shoshone, Dine (Navajo), and Timpanogos peoples. It is an issue personal to us, and to our history as a multi-racial, socialist organization in Utah.

From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free! 

The post Salt Lake DSA Statement in Support of Palestinian Liberation first appeared on Salt Lake DSA.

Thorn West: Issue No. 177

State Politics

• Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed political consultant Laphonza Butler to fill the US Senate vacancy left by the death of Dianne Feinstein. The choice has been criticized because Butler — whose resume includes consulting gigs for AirBnB and Uber, as well as many years as head of an SEIU local — was not a resident of the state at the time of the appointment.

City Politics

• Councilmember John Lee has been formally accused by the Los Angeles Ethics Commission for playing a role in the corrupt conduct of former councilmember Mitch Englander. Lee worked for Englander, who served time in prison for obstruction of justice, and was long suspected of being the unnamed “City Staffer B” in Englander’s written indictment. The commission’s written accusation makes it clear that this was indeed the case.

• At the most recent meeting of LA City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee for Government Reform, the committee finally came to a decision on a proposal for an independent redistricting committee. But a decision on the implementation of council expansion remains out of reach.

Incarceration

• In 2022, voters passed Measure J, which set aside 10% of the Los Angeles County budget for alternatives to prison and police. However, the county has entered into a $9 million contract with Accenture, a consulting firm that has done work for ICE, to design a pretrial jail diversion program using Measure J funds. LA Public Press covers the Accenture contract, which sidelines the work of local activists, who have already done substantial work designing a pretrial system.

• Knock LA is gearing up to launch their Incarceration Reporting Initiative next month, after platforming the work of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated writers earlier this year. The platform is doing some online fundraising for the endeavor this weekend, for more information, see here!

Labor

• WGA members vote on their tentative agreement with the AMPTP, while SAG-AFTRA negotiations with the AMPTP continue. Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA members have voted to authorize another strike, this one against 10 major video game studios. Issues underlying this dispute include stagnating wages for video game voice and on-camera performers, as well as worker protections against being replaced by AI. Statement from SAG-AFTRA here.

• Starting this past Wednesday and concluding tomorrow morning, 75,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities are conducting the largest healthcare worker strike in US history. The primary demand is that Kaiser address massive worker shortages, which place undue burdens on existing employees. More details available from the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

• SB 799, which makes striking workers in California eligible for unemployment benefits, as they already are in New York and New Jersey, was vetoed by Governor Newsom. The bill passed with a two-thirds majority in both houses, meaning that the bill’s supporters technically have the votes to override the veto. However, the California legislature has not overridden a veto in 40 years.

• Workers walked off the job at eight hotels near LAX, the latest in a rolling wave of walkouts as hotel workers negotiate for fair pay and benefits. Unite Here local 11, which represents the striking workers, is also organizing a Saturday-morning protest calling out the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are in town and have habitually disrespected the union’s boycott of hotels that have not worked out a new contract. Meanwhile, in Orange County, a low-turnout special election resulted in the failure of a ballot measure that would raise the minimum wage for hotel workers to $25 an hour.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• LAPD’s plans to test a new weapon, called the BolaWrap, on passengers of Los Angeles public transit have met with opposition from Metro Board and the mayor’s office.

Housing Rights

• This weekend, an Eastside local branch of the Los Angeles Tenants Union organized a tenants rally, in opposition to the coming citywide rent hikes on rent-controlled units. The rally, though peaceful, was assaulted by LAPD officers. Firsthand reporting here.

Environmental Justice

• The Los Angeles City Controller’s Office has released an analysis of the city’s Green New Deal, passed in 2019. Calling it “a promising start for climate action,” the office concludes that it “is in urgent need of a reboot.” The report can be found here.

The post CM Lee Accused of Ethics Violations + Newsom Appoints Former Consultant to Open Senate Seat appeared first on The Thorn West.

A wide-ranging interview with photo journalist Michael Key on the current problems with journalism and its future under socialism. 

Damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t, Mitski loves her job in a way that has been killing her.

DC is set to inherit full control over a prime parcel of real-estate. Should we build housing for all, or parking lots for a blood sport?

Criticism is a necessary component of revolutionary change. But how can we effectively criticize ourselves and the institutions we want to improve? Join the Education Committee for our upcoming book club series, where we will discuss the book Constructive Criticism: A Handbook by Vicki Legion. This book takes a look at the goals of criticism [...]

Read More... from Join the discussion: Giving and receiving constructive criticism

The post Join the discussion: Giving and receiving constructive criticism appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America | San Diego Chapter.

Thorn West: Issue No. 176

State Politics

• Governor Gavin Newsom continues to progress through the flood of legislation that was passed at the close of this year’s legislative season. This week Newsom vetoed a bill that would have taken into account parental acceptance of trans children’s gender during custody hearings. And he signed a bill that raises the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour. CalMatters tracks more of the legislation on Newsom’s desk.

• California Senator Dianne Feinstein has died after 31 years in office. After being filmed scolding a group of children who confronted her with concerns about climate change, Feinstein came to potently symbolize a class of politicians who were holding on to power past the loss of their ability to empathize. Her replacement will be appointed by Governor Newsom. He had earlier pledged to nominate a Black woman the next time he was in the position of appointing a senator.

• Another two months, another issue of California Red, the newsletter of California DSA!

City Politics

• Wednesday, Alex Johnson’s appointment to the Ethics Commission was confirmed 10–2. Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Tim McOsker voted no, citing conflict-of-interest concerns over Johnson’s status as vice president for a consulting firm that does campaign work.

• On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Unified School Board passed a resolution to create a district policy on charter school “co-locations.” The motion was supported by United Teachers Los Angeles, DSA-LA, LAANE, and LA Students Deserve. LAUSD Board Member Dr. Rocío Rivas elaborates.

Housing Rights

• A 100% affordable housing project in Sherman Oaks will move forward despite objections from nearby homeowners after the LA City Council voted 8–5 against revoking its permits. The project had previously been approved by-right under Mayor Bass’ executive order to streamline affordable housing and shelter, but her order was then amended to exclude single-family-zoned neighborhoods. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield brought forward the motion to revoke permission, despite the project being in his district.

• Meanwhile, an advocacy group for wealthy homeowners has sued the city to overturn some of Mayor Bass’ housing initiatives, as these new rules have made it more difficult for fringe groups to block the development of affordable housing.

• A peaceful protest led by Alliance for Californians for Community Empowerment was disrupted when a California Highway Patrol officer assaulted a protester and pulled his gun on the crowd.

• Monday, October 2, is the final day for renters to apply for the Measure ULA–funded “Emergency Renters Assistance Program,” which transfers state funds to landlords to pay off rent debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Labor

• After 148 days on strike, the WGA has won a tentative agreement with the AMPTP that the WGA negotiating committee called “exceptional” in an email to members. Guild members will vote on the contract, and in the meantime, will stop picketing. SAG-AFTRA members remain on the picket line, and AMPTP leaders will meet with their negotiating team beginning next week. More details about what’s in the proposed agreement here!

• Another victory for workers! The Millennium Biltmore Hotel has become the second hotel to reach a tentative agreement with hotel workers represented by Unite Here Local 11, since the union has been holding a series of rolling strikes.

The post WGA Strike Ends With Tentative Agreement +Senator Diane Feinstein Dies at 90 appeared first on The Thorn West.

The City University of New York improves the lives of millions. Founded in 1847 with the purpose of providing higher education to working class New Yorkers, CUNY today has 25 colleges spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving 243,000 degree-seeking students of all ages and awarding 55,000 degrees each year. Like many other institutions built to serve the public good, CUNY faces multiple intersecting crises. The university system could not function without its 30,000 strong unionized labor force. Many professors, graduate student workers, and staffers are underpaid and overworked. The Professional Staff Congress, of which I am a member, is currently in negotiations to improve the material conditions of workers across the board. CUNY has also suffered from decades of underfunding by New York state and city elected officials. This has not only forced thousands of educators into precarious employment, but led to decaying infrastructure. As funding has gone down, tuition has been increased at the once free public university system. We’ll discuss how PSC union organizers and their allies are fighting back to build the People’s University that this city deserves. Later in the show we’ll hear from Amy Wilson and her interview with Wren, a healthcare worker struggling to materialize reproductive rights in a capitalist society.