By: Jane Slaughter

I spent time in Chile in January, where a right-wing admirer of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, José Antonio Kast, was elected president by 58% in a December run-off, extending the wave of right-wingers elected in our hemisphere.

Kast, whose father was a Nazi in Germany, ousts the leftish government of Gabriel Boric, a leader of student protests in 2011–13 and a beneficiary of the militant estallido uprising of 2019–2020. Boric was elected in 2021 with high hopes for a new constitution — which was then rejected by the populace by 62% in 2022. (A new right-wing constitution was also rejected, by 56% in 2023.)

I chose Chile in part because of its historic attempt, 50 years ago, at an electoral road to socialism. I wanted to see what lessons could be learned. Socialist Party member Salvador Allende was elected president in 1970 with 36% of the vote (you could win with a plurality at that time), with the expressed goal of moving Chile to socialism.

I studied up, and particularly recommend “The Coup in Chile,” by Ralph Miliband, and the movies Machuca and Chile 1976. To go deeper, watch the three-part The Battle of Chile. I got contacts in the country through Labor Notes and through a DSA comrade with a Chileno background. I met with an American who had been a translator for Allende and had to flee the country when the military made its coup on September 11, 1973.

IMMIGRATION AND CRIME

Immigration and crime were big issues in this fall’s campaign. Right-wingers blame Venezuelan immigrants for everything. I asked a few comrades why the voters chose Kast over Boric’s coalition. Obvious factors are right-wing control of the media and the fact that voting is now mandatory, bringing in many low-information voters. Comrades were also critical of Boric for immediately modifying his goals and for not having a long-term plan that his supporters could explain to the people. It appears that government representatives did the usual politician thing of trying to make themselves look good rather than telling the truth.

For example, the new government wanted a pension reform that would do away with the privatization of the system that was initiated under Pinochet. It’s as if Social Security were turned over to private investors, with each individual having their own account. Instead, they got an increase in public pensions for the very poorest people but cemented in place private control of the pension investments — “for 30 years,” according to one comrade. Boric’s supporters tried to spin this as a victory.

Seeing insufficient results on this or on other concrete gains from the government, voters turned to the opposition, just as they turned away from Kamala Harris to Trump. My hope is that if Zohran Mamdani fails to win a piece of his agenda, he’ll say so and say why, calling out the villains that blocked it. People can tell when you’re putting a happy face on a defeat or a compromise.

STARBUCKS UNION

I saw one small bright spot: Chile’s Starbucks union, the first in the world and the only one to have a union contract.

Chilean Starbucks workers formed their union in 2009 and finally won a real contract in 2022. (In the U.S., workers at 550 stores finally brought Starbucks to the bargaining table in 2024 and in November last year they began a boycott and strike, in which more than 50 stores are now holding out, and some are walking out in short strikes, like seven stores that struck in Minneapolis for the ICE Out day January 23. Now 666 U.S. stores are unionized, but they still don’t have a contract.)

Asked the secret of his union’s unique success, past president Andres Giordano said, “This is not something that could be done in one or two years.” They did it through many ups and downs and without any full-time paid leaders.

Giordano started working at Starbucks while a student activist, in 2007, knowing nothing of unions. In 2009 he and others began the process to form a union, with only 16 of 2,500 workers officially on board. They recruited quickly, and Starbucks was obliged by Chilean law to negotiate — but “I imagine they imported their manual from the U.S.,” Giordano said, and management refused to bargain in any way. Between 2009 and 2012 Starbucks broke every single labor law, spelling out its illegal policies in internal documents. It is the most fined company in Chile, Giordano said.

MOTIVES FOR UNIONIZING

Meanwhile, workers were hurt by the 2009 financial crisis, with some stores closed down and heavy layoffs. Remaining workers were expected to work harder. Starbucks refused to give the usual annual cost-of-living raise that unionized workers expected. And in Giordano’s store in Santiago, rats were a big motivator. “We were required to clean up dead rats,” he said.

In 2011 a minority of workers struck, for 30 days. Union leaders held a noisy hunger strike for 12 days in front of Starbucks headquarters, twice putting padlocks on the doors (until the police showed up). They eventually had to call off the strike with no progress made. They got some help from government labor agencies. “They weren’t proactive but they didn’t like to see a multinational violating Chile’s laws,” Giordano said. “If it had been a mine, it might have been a different story.” (Copper is Chile’s number one export, and it is a big producer of lithium.)

But being right on the law went only so far. “We won our suits but not a contract,” Giordano said. Starbucks preferred to pay the fines.

At one point, Starbucks enlisted the help of a pro-employer union in Mexico, which sent a spy to learn the Chilean union’s strategy and report back to management.

In 2015 the union finally won a “contratito” — a little contract without a lot of content. Another change came when a Mexican holding company, ALSEA, took over management of Starbucks stores in much of Latin America. In 2021 Argentinian ALSEA managers — more used to dealing with unions — took over. In February 2022 the union signed a contract that extended the benefits of union membership, including raises, to new hires, a right that had not existed before.

CONTRACT GAINS

Twenty-six-year-old Romanett Belmar, a Starbucks veteran of nine years, is now the union’s president. I talked with her in a Santiago Starbucks that looked familiar. Signs said, “Pistachio returns” and “Reuse your cup and get 15% off.”

Belmar says that Starbucks in Chile now has 176 stores with usually ten workers per store. Of the 1800 workers nationally, two-thirds are in the union, and they make 40,000 pesos per month more than nonunion workers (about $44).

The contract clause she’s proudest of is the ability for customers to give tips electronically — credit cards are universal in Chile. Tips, she says, increased from 3,000 pesos a month to 30,000 a week ($3.30 to $33, and the store pays them in cash). The contract’s weakest point is that it allows Starbucks to hire all workers part-time.

Both Giordano and Belmar pointed out how Chilean labor law was somewhat helpful in their struggle and in securing workers’ rights — when the union enforced them. The opposite of the U.S., employers in Chile are literally not allowed to run an anti-union campaign against workers who are organizing. And tired baristas appreciate la ley de la silla (“the law of the chair”): every two hours, workers are entitled to a ten-minute break, sitting down. In Belmar’s eight-hour shift, she’s entitled to 50 minutes of break, including lunch.

But it was organizing that made the difference. Last year, they struck again, for 25 days.

In the end, Giordano says, it was patience and persistence that paid off. “I worked at Starbucks 15 years,” he said. “Antonio [the next president] worked there 18 years.”

[A version of the Starbucks portion of this article appears in Labor Notes.]

The Country Where Starbucks Workers Have a National Contract was originally published in The Detroit Socialist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The ultimate goal is to obtain a union contract or collective bargaining agreement that mandates and protects the workplace improvements you’ve won.

The post What happens after you win the union? appeared first on EWOC.

February Chapter and Verse: Where DSA is growing, new organizing committees, and more chapter news.

The post Chapters Prepare for a Busy Election Season in 2026 appeared first on Democratic Left.

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

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

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

Burlington

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winooski

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

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

South Burlington

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

Montpelier

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

Waterbury

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

Randolph

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

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

St Albans

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

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

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

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

You can check your voter registration here. 

The Denver Democratic Socialists of America (DDSA) echoes national DSA’s condemnation of the American-Israeli aggression against Iran. These unprovoked strikes have already killed at least 85 people at an elementary school for girls, the images of blood-stained backpacks mirroring the carnage and unrestrained slaughter of Gazan children we have all witnessed for the last two years. This is not coincidental – the brutality inflicted on Palestinians was never going to be limited to the land between the river and the sea, but was a step towards normalizing a more unmasked version of American imperialism around the world. From the unlawful abduction of Nicholas Maduro in Venezuela to the brutal blockade against the Cuban people, from Palestine to Iran, we are witnessing a dying empire lashing out in desperate attempts to reinforce its might around the world, for the benefit of a ruling class and no one else.  

This is a time for radicalization, organizing and action. While our unhoused neighbors suffer on Denver’s streets, our immigrant neighbors fear ICE raids and the working class struggles more than ever, there is always money for another imperial war. The insatiable hunger of the military industrial complex means that our ruling class will never address the needs of the people for health care, housing and child care. The oppression and carnage waged abroad in our names will turn into increased surveillance, incarceration and political targeting at home. We condemn the Trump administration for their arrogant, reckless aggression and also condemn the cowardice and tacit support for war against Iran from Democratic Party leadership, who have demonstrated that they are beholden to the interest of their donor class over the needs of working people.

DDSA mourns the lives lost in the American-Israeli attacks and demands a cessation of hostilities against Iran, a withdrawal of military assets from the Persian Gulf and the region, an end to unilateral coercive measures against Iran, and a return to diplomacy on the part of the United States. We call on the people of Denver to organize and participate in mass mobilizations against the attacks on Iran, contact their representatives in Congress and demand that they vote for the Iran War Powers Resolution, and join Denver DSA and its Internationalism Committee as we continue to struggle against American imperialism in West Asia and beyond.

No to imperialist war, yes to the sovereignty of the Iranian people! No war but class war!

Click here to contact your representative: NO WAR WITH IRAN! Support the War Powers Resolution!

Author: Serge S.

Artwork can carry many meanings. Sarah Selan, the artist behind the recent Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) exhibition What is Violence?, hopes that people can see the deeper meaning underneath the surface of her paintings and take action to end the genocide in Palestine. 

Her paintings consist of saturated dark backgrounds, figures of civilians forming protective barriers against ICE, interference with weapon manufacturers and other actions that highlight state hypocrisy when it labels direct action and peaceful resistance as “violence”. 

Selan has personally tasted the arbitrary nature of the government when she was charged, along with ten others, for her alleged involvement in a Nov. 2024 protest. According to the allegations, several buildings and landmarks at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) were smeared with red paint, including a statue of retired chemistry teacher “Doc Oc.” 

The action, which the school claims caused $400,000 in damages, was in response to the CWRU and CIA’s continued work with institutions in the genocidal state of Israel. Students have long demanded the university cut ties with the country.

As part of her punishment, Selan was ordered by The Cleveland Institute of Art to show what they categorized as “better” ways of protesting. She did, but she did it in her own style.

“To be frank, the assignment from the school felt a bit condescending,” Selan responded in a written interview. “I was told that I was fighting a good fight, but the way I was fighting is not acceptable. My instructions were to introduce ‘better’ protest ideas from people I do not believe want us to win in the first place. I wanted to use this opportunity to display the difference between peaceful protest and non-disruptive protest. The vandalism was a peaceful protest. Nobody got hurt or was threatened with violence.”

“That being said, it was a disruptive protest,” she added. “People who equate disruption with violence fail to realize that a protest without disruption gives no reason for demands to be met, and no reason for anyone to pay attention to what you are fighting for.”

The paintings remain unfinished. The reason why, Selan said, was to emphasize that the fight for liberation is never over, but also a way to honor the memory of those artists murdered in Palestine by Israel. 

“The first is that the revolution is never really over. The fight for global liberation is never really over,” Selan wrote. “We have miles to travel against our oppressors as we work to gain the freedom of ourselves and our neighbors. I wanted to portray that these acts against us are in progress, as are our acts of resistance against them.”

“The second reason was that I often found myself emotionally stuck,” she added. “What right do I have to make art when I should be out fighting? What lottery have I won to find myself in a situation where my punishment for disruption is art while others face death?”

“It was difficult to get the work done in time because I did not deserve the opportunity to make it in the first place,” she concluded. “The greatest artists have been killed by Israel during the genocide. The most creative minds sit in jails and prisons in the United States due to situations outside of their control. To me it serves as a reminder that the best art has never been made because we killed the beautiful people who would have made it.” 

Selan said that the school’s reaction to the protest shows the institute’s true stances on human rights, and she hopes that students continue to call for divestment. 

“I have no doubt that a day will come in the future where both institutions will boast that their students contributed to an encampment to end the genocide of the Palestinian people,” Selan wrote. “They will use it to draw in future applicants to come be a part of a historic campus with deep roots in liberation.

“They punished the brightest minds their schools have ever seen to promote their beliefs of hatred and bigotry. They work with groups that exterminate an entire group of people just to line their pockets. I condemn their hypocrisy and hope that as students continue to push for divestment, we will transform these institutions into respectful academic organizations that inspire calls for global liberation, instead of suppressing them.” 

Selan said that being an organizer as a student comes with its own limitations. When people graduate, movements slow down, and future participants can lose the memory of what worked and what didn’t in previous encampments.

She added that student organizing can only go so far, and for real progress to be made, the skills and experience developed among the encampments need to be put back into the community. 

“Student protesters have always been some of the most powerful voices in the activist community,” Selan wrote. “From anti-war movements to civil rights, our students are strong. That being said, we can not put the weight of the revolution on their back. 

“I am proud of the students who were able to achieve divestment through their encampments, but that cannot always be the case. There is a lot of pressure to change campuses that have been rooted in imperialism and oppression for decades, but most students will only be around for 4 years. These movements can take decades to achieve change and that can be an overwhelming thought to a lot of young people.”

“Do not take this to mean that campus-based issues aren’t worth fighting for,” she continued. “But rather as a reminder that even if you do not achieve what you hope to in your time at an academic institution, you are making progress towards personal growth and a strong community.” 

When asked for her final thoughts, Selan said that her future will be rooted in activism, and in a way, she can thank the state for that. 

“The vandalism and my alleged involvement changed my life,” Selan wrote. “I was thrown in jail, received death threats, and was forced to pay for damages that were obviously inflated. Despite all this, I have grown as an organizer and will hold these experiences with me forever. They will inspire not only my art, but everything I do in my life. I am grateful for my journey, and I am right where I want to be.” 

The post “What is Violence?” by Sarah Selan Highlights the Hypocrisy of the State When Faced With Action appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

Developers of a new app called Uniform hope that workers will use it to organize anonymously, but this is not how unions are won.

The post There’s no app for organizing appeared first on EWOC.