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.

by Christian P.

Early Saturday morning, September 16, Education Austin, the union for certified and classified employees of Austin Independent School District, hosted a town hall to address the district’s failures in special education. Austin ISD has undeniably struggled to meet special education requirements in the past, allowing a backlog of thousands of student evaluations to build up. This is why the new progressive school board majority, elected less than a year ago, has moved to fix the situation. A district-wide raise for teachers and other staff resulted in hundreds of empty positions being filled, and the special education backlog has already dropped by half.

Despite these major improvements, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) moved to place a monitor over AISD, citing the special ed programs. The reality is that previous administrations have created problems in our district, but the growing voices of our teachers and community through the school board and the teacher’s union have already proved that they are much better equipped to address flaws in our schools than an outside state agency with a track record like TEA’s. Sensing the threat to our public schools and acting in defense of working people, Austin DSA’s new Schools For All campaign stepped up to boost this meeting with our community’s educators. 

After two weekends of door-to-door canvassing from Austin DSA, showing up to the meeting were education workers, parents, and community members, with at least a fourth of attendees being concerned and invested members of Austin DSA. The event started off with the frustrated story of an AFT leader from Houston, giving all a good idea of what could be expected from a TEA conservatorship. After succeeding in reform by all of TEAs own metrics, Houston ISD’s democratically elected school board was removed and TEA advanced its authoritarian vision for public schools by appointing an unaccountable superintendent: Mike Miles.

Miles’ history is spotty at best, resigning from Dallas ISD without increasing test scores (they actually lowered in some cases) and with many veteran teachers and principals leaving the district. This is the same Mike Miles who recently gained internet attention after starring in a musical about his life at a HISD teacher training.

HISD has since seen more than 2,300 layoffs, teachers forced into teaching a scripted curriculum, and libraries turned into detention centers. It is a grave look into the future that TEA wants for Texas children. Importantly, the union leader also noted that TEA’s idea of special education in Houston has meant incorporating those with special needs into regular classes, without the accommodations that they need. This makes it clear: TEA does not have a plan for special education in Austin, they just want to tear down one of the last public goods we have left.

This, unfortunately, isn’t a new story. By degrading the quality of our public education, private schools become more attractive in comparison. Schools are just the latest public good neoliberals are seeking to privatize and deregulate, and they’re nearly the last. Republicans in Texas have been trying to gut public school funding for decades, through school vouchers, charter schools, and school closures in working class neighborhoods. Their recent attacks on public education seek to further degrade the quality of our already underfunded schools, hoping that desperate Texans will be deceived into supporting a two-tiered charter school system, where rich families can afford an expensive education, and working class children are forced into under-resourced classrooms.

The union meeting showed that well-informed community members can confidently support their local teachers and stand strong against TEA’s heavy handed takeover. Moving into breakout rooms, groups were able to discuss what real solutions to the special education crisis could look like. Special education teachers spoke about the difficulties they faced in classrooms, often doing the jobs of what properly resourced schools would have three people doing. Incredibly engaged parents of special needs children spoke out about how the state legislature continued to fail to increase funding to important programs, and how they trusted teachers while they dealt with an inept administration. Often a sentiment arose of a need for regime change, believing that TEA couldn’t do any worse than AISD is doing now. Union members did a great job revealing just how much worse it could get, while demonstrating that the real solutions reside with those closest to the situation: with the workers and the teachers. The meeting ended enthusiastically with Education Austin calling for a coalition to defend public schools against TEA takeover and with a big thanks to Austin DSA for helping to mobilize around the cause. 

We were just following our principles. As socialists, we know that public education is the lifeblood of democracy and a crucial institution of the working class. A quality education used to be available only to the wealthy, and it is the wealthy that now seek to bring about a return to that sort of society. 

Austin DSA’s work in the Schools for All campaign will engage the community with an alternative to neoliberal austerity: democratic worker-led answers, and community investment. Going beyond the purely defensive, the campaign is an opportunity to say, yes there are problems in schools, but privatization is not and has never been the answer. The campaign will work with the community, Education Austin, and our pro-union school board to gather a list of demands and press forward with real improvements to our schools. High-quality education is a human right, and the way to achieve it is not via top down decision-making and privatization, but through well-resourced school districts that can hire more teachers for our overcrowded classrooms, provide more resources for students, and make teaching a viable long term career for professionals by reducing their work hours and paying them a livable wage.

Public schools are a bastion of the working class. They’ve suffered many blows in recent years, but Austinites should embrace improving them with worker-led problem solving and democratic community-led action. This campaign stands to bring parents, teachers, students and community members into solidarity by communicating with our neighbors, supporting the work of the union coalition, agitating in our Campus Advisory Councils, and pressuring the AISD Board of Trustees. As long as the Texas government continues to make draconian assaults on our schools, the campaign will organize against them. As long as working-class families aren’t getting the schools they deserve, this campaign will push forward with them.

If public education is something that’s important to you, there’s never been a better time to get involved. The Schools for All Campaign welcomes you to join us in building the schools Austinites deserve. 

On Saturday, October 7th, the Schools for All campaign will join alongside other Texans against vouchers at the Boot Vouchers Rally, talking to community members about how they can get involved. We’ll need all hands on deck this October as we phone bank lawmakers and plan other pressure tactics. After the special session of the Texas Legislature, we’ll focus on building momentum for local demands!

The post

No Takeover, No Privatizing Schools

As the entire country deals with forced migrations, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has declared that the migrant crisis will “destroy New York City.” He claims that a city with the largest concentration of millionaires in the world lacks the resources to provide every migrant with adequate shelter. Shortly after making this announcement, he proposed that every New York City agency cut its budget by as much as 15% starting next year. Not all New Yorkers will be affected in the same way by the mayor’s proposed budget cuts, however. It is the multiracial working-class that will suffer the consequences of Adams’s loyalty to the elite. 

As a result of the increased surge of migrants into the city, the Adams administration has taken measures to roll back New York’s constitutional “Right to Shelter,” which makes it unlawful for the administration to deny shelter to homeless people in the city. On May 23, 2023, the New York City Law Department filed an application for modification of that right.

During initial budget negotiations, Adams cited the need for increased funding to provide shelter to migrants as a pretext to slash the budgets of nearly every agency except the New York City Police Department. To account for the budget shortfall, New York’s Socialists in Office have proposed a series of tax increases. DSA member and State Senator Julia Salazar stated, “We should increase taxes because it’s economically just policy to offset the costs for our state to function. I’d say that even if our city and state hadn’t seen an increase in migrants seeking asylum, this moment makes it all the more important for the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes.” Tax increases enacted in 2021 under then-Governor Andrew Cuomo are set to expire in 2027, increasing the likelihood of a budget deficit. 

In May, the Adams administration claimed that it would send hundreds of single adult men to hotels in Rockland County and Orange County. In response to Adams’s move to send migrants upstate, Governor Kathy Hochul rebutted by stating that “… you cannot involuntarily take people from the city and send them all over the state of New York. Putting someone in a hotel on a dark, lonely road in upstate New York and telling them they’re supposed to survive is not compassion.” Hochul has initiated her own lawsuit against the state’s Right to Shelter law, arguing that the right only applies to New York City, not New York State. In an apparent affront to Hochul’s administration, the Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, has decided not to represent the state in this matter. 

Adams has not made many allies in the federal government due to his criticism of the White House for not providing aid. Recently, however, the Biden administration announced it would allow New York City to shelter migrants on nearby federal property, including in Floyd Bennett Field. 

What can we do about the “Migrant Crisis?” 

Although New York City has indeed experienced a recent uptick in the amount of migrants seeking asylum, the actual number of migrants arriving is not historically unprecedented. As of September, more than 113,000 migrants have arrived in New York since spring of 2022. In 1907, Ellis Island processed more than 100,000 immigrants in a single month. Between 1996 and 2001, an average of 111,828 immigrants settled in New York per year. What’s different? The cost of housing and basic services has become significantly more expensive in just the last decade alone. According to Adams, it costs New York City $383 a night per migrant family that the city cares for. 

Adams’s management of the city budget, however, has raised some eyebrows. In August of 2022, Adams announced an emergency procurement declaration, which allowed his administration to skirt normal contract approval procedures, such as requiring competing bids from vendors. As a result, the cost of basic goods and services to care for migrants has skyrocketed. For example, one of the vendors contracted for laundry services at migrant shelters charged the government $3 per pound, while the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) pays 99 cents per pound of laundry. 

What else is different? A century ago, migrants could find work, albeit in jobs with very little worker protections. Today, many migrants arriving in New York are not authorized to work. As a result, migrant populations cannot sustain themselves and must rely on government services.

It is estimated that 40% of migrants arriving in New York City are Venezuelan. Recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension and redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which will allow migrants hailing from the country to work. Some, however, have called for more systemic change, including repealing sanctions against Venezuela to address a root cause of the influx of migrants. According to the DSA International Committee, sanctions against Venezuela have cut government revenues by a staggering 99%. The blockade has eliminated “nearly all of the foreign exchange needed to import medicine, food, medical equipment, spare parts and equipment needed for electricity generation, water systems, or transportation.” 

Recently, twenty legislators in New York, including Socialists in Office, released a statement advocating for the end of vicious budget cuts and calling for the expansion of rental assistance voucher programs, such as New York City’s Family Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Supplement (FHEPS) program, as well as a plethora of other policy measures. Moving people into permanent affordable housing is more sustainable and will reduce the burden on New York City’s shelter system. Socialists in Office have also called for the state to utilize its $13 billion “economic uncertainties” fund, which will allow the state to transfer savings from previous budget surpluses to boost funding for social services. 

The multiracial working-class forms the backbone of New York City. Contrary to the mayor’s implication that the influx of migrants would “destroy” New York City, the cultural and economic fabric of the city would crumble without multiracial working-class people. Turning people away is not the solution. Under the Adams administration, New York City has divested from core social services. Instead of advocating for systemic change, the Adams administration has blown xenophobic dog whistles, gaining allies on the Right and alienating the already wary Left. As New York City fails to provide asylum-seekers with basic services, mutual aid organizers have stepped in to fill the gaps. Mutual aid groups, such as the South Bronx Mutual Aid Collective have prepared free food, donated clothing, and distributed hygiene products for new arrivals. The collective also developed a real-time app called AyudaNYC, which offers asylum-seekers assistance links to various services in several languages. 

New York City DSA and Socialists in Office have offered a bold plan to support homeless people, and people all across the country should stand in solidarity with migrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families in the United States–not turn them away or treat them with contempt.

The post New York to Adams: Raise Taxes on the Rich and Stop Blaming Migrants appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

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 and outlines a practical approach. The book is available in PDF or you may purchase a hard copy here. (Please note that this store ships from France, so please allow a few weeks to receive your order.)

Schedule

Our book club sessions will be held both in-person and on Zoom. See the schedule below to help you prepare your readings prior to our discussions:[…]

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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.

Start: Monday, October 2, 2023 at 8:30 PM ET

Join MAWG organizers from around the country to navigate distributing our long-anticipated disaster readiness plan. Our plan is being tested by 3 chapters, but we need more (and we need help following up with the ones who have started) – if disaster organizing is your passion, we really, really need your help!

Join us to talk about how we’re going to get it done, put a little work in together in real time, and strategize for a solid release plan.