This past August, Cleveland DSA sent our 7 delegates to the National Convention. Our Education Committee asked these delegates to write up reflections on their experience, which will appear here over the next month. What follows is the first of these, from our comrade Julie C:

I have been a member of my local mid-sized DSA chapter since early 2021. I was a fan of Bernie as he grew in popularity but still thought socialism was a dirty word until 2020. Like many during the Covid lockdowns, I started to see the world as it truly was and became more and more disgruntled with the status quo. After the murder of George Floyd I was shoved into action. Well, “action” being more than just angrily debating people on Facebook. I checked out quite a few local and national organizations and stuck with DSA. They were far and away the group that was doing the most good locally and was not just a political campaign or a Zoom webinar.

The other reason I stuck with DSA is that in a society where barely any aspect of one’s life reflects a true democracy, our chapter exemplifies it. There is no high level board of directors who “work for” DSA and make decisions in a small group while members are off at their day jobs. Members who have been around for years don’t get a bigger say in what we do than someone who just signed up yesterday. Individuals are empowered to bring their ideas to the general membership and get a majority vote in order to make it one of our priorities for at least a set amount of time. We have built something unlike any other organization I’ve been a part of and it proves that democracy can work, it can be done!

One aspect of DSA that I shied away from entirely was our national structure and bodies. I had dealt with big, “non-profit-like” structures in the past and I had no interest in getting roped in again. I wanted to keep doing good work in my chapter and continue to ignore National as just “those people who keep track of our members and money and send emails that I occasionally open.” So when talk of Convention 2023 came around, I really did not have an interest in running as a delegate. But then I found out a little more about our dues structure and how much went to National versus local chapters. To be blunt, I wanted to see where all my money was going and if I thought it was being put to good use! I could see our work locally and believed in it. But hardly ever was any aspect of National brought up among our membership and we have rarely felt their impact.

A principle of democratic organizing that I strongly believe in is to stay and try to help fix a problem rather than skirting around it. With that principle in mind, I took a new approach to the Convention. I wanted to better understand National, where our dues were going, and how everything functioned at a national level. I ran as a delegate because I knew it would force me to learn and to experience it. Once I was elected I spent a lot of time preparing: reading proposed resolutions, learning past DSA history, and watching NPC candidate interviews to get a better idea of what choices lay before us to guide the next two years. Although I knew very little about caucuses and the inner workings of politics within DSA, I felt fairly prepared traveling to Chicago in August 2023.

The Convention itself surpassed all of my expectations. It was very professional, had many engaging speakers, panels, and discussions and being in a room with close to 1,000 delegates representing the largest socialist organization in the US was an experience I will never forget. I happily embrace the cliché when I say that it felt like we were making history. That I could imagine a time in the future when this moment will be viewed as an important catalyst to what will come next. I imagine it is similar to what new Congresspeople feel when they walk into the chamber for the first time–although with much more hope in real, lasting change. I digress, and apologize for my flare for dramatics.

Another reason I stuck with DSA after I joined is that I see it as practice for how to actually run a democracy. People talk about democracy like it is some high and mighty philosophy (which it is), but it is also a verb. How you tactically carry out a democracy is important, and we will not learn it from Washington, our statehouses, and certainly not our workplaces. Our chapter has good, solid structures for running our democracy and I was happy to see that the Convention was set up similarly. There were a few hiccups in getting the agenda set (which was democratically decided with a floor amendment) but overall the actual deliberation time was well-run and exciting.

The proposals that we voted on were a mixed bag. The committee resolutions tended to be the most detailed with plans on what the standing committee would continue to do, what would change, and how much of a budget it needed. Some of the proposals seemed to state ideas/beliefs of how we should operate without a lot of fleshed out details of what that looks like in action. I am more skeptical of these proposals as I feel the platform can be amended to give our political positions and would rather see proposals with detailed action plans. However, I usually voted in favor if I felt they were appropriate. 

There were a couple proposals – “Democratize DSA” and “Towards a Party-Like Electoral Strategy”- that showed clear lines between caucuses and forced very lively political debate.  “Democratize DSA,” according to its proponents, sought to expand the NPC as a way to help alleviate some of the political issues of past NPCs. Those who spoke against it said it would make the work of the NPC more difficult and the problem wasn’t the number of members. It did not pass the ⅔ majority needed, which prompted some procedural “fuckery” to re-vote, which also failed (all legal per our bylaws and rules). “Party-Like” was a proposal to hold elected officials endorsed by DSA to stricter standards around how to vote on certain issues and to begin bloc voting with other DSA electeds. It failed (41% to 59%) and seems that members are not yet willing to require hard lines for our elected officials. This could potentially lead to another embarrassing Bowman debacle if and when another DSA elected speaks or votes against one of our core principles. I was happy “Democratize” did not pass and disappointed that “Party-Like” failed; however, both of these battles were another lesson in the democracy “verb” and a good experience to have individually and as an organization

Of course one of the more heated debates and a topic many wanted to hash out further was the BDS working group resolution. The agenda was amended to add the full resolution but we only had time for deliberation on the NPC recommendation to move the BDSWG into the IC, which passed 52% to 48%. As someone who was tuned out during the Bowman debacle, I only saw it as an embarrassment to the DSA name and hoped that we could put the measure to rest at this Convention. I think we partially did that and have faith that our new NPC will finish the job. There will most certainly be members still polarized by this issue but I feel they will be in the minority. The debate and fight over drawing specific lines and details for electeds proves the need to have specific and detailed resolutions that our leadership can easily follow as laid out by membership.

Of course the main event at the Convention is the NPC race and election. As a non-caucused delegate, I prepared by watching almost every candidate interview. However, once I arrived and was immersed in Convention electioneering, I realized that most delegates formulated their votes based on caucus and which candidates their preferred caucuses recommended. I did find it very helpful to understand which caucuses seemed to best represent mine and our chapters’ opinions on how to organize and what tactics we should be using in order to continue to grow DSA into a powerful organization and admit that I ranked those caucus members higher on my ballot. Perhaps it is the midwestern in me but the flyering and politicking got a bit old after a day or so. I had done my research and would ask my comrades for opinions when I needed them! But, once I understood how many delegates formulated their ballot I understood the need for it. The best part of the NPC race (and the Convention as a whole) was that regardless of the outcome, I felt extremely comfortable and confident in all the comrades around me. Everyone running has organizing experience of one kind or another and wants to see our organization grow and be powerful. Obviously we have differing opinions on the best way to do that but I feel very confident in the members who were ultimately elected.

Overall, the DSA National Convention 2023 was a success in many ways. I am glad and honored that I was elected delegate and the experience has made me a better rounded DSA member. I believe that when we have significant growth in the next two years we will need to expand the Convention and spend more time deliberating on the core work and structure of our organization. While this experience has engaged me personally into what National does, we need stronger ties than just the ones our delegates make at Convention every two years. I wish National would function in a more integrated way with locals but as it stands now, we will need to force that integration from our level if we want to take advantage of the resources that may be available to us. I feel empowered to potentially write proposals for the next Convention based on what I saw this time around (“stay and try to fix it!”) and would like our national organization to have more of a structure like ours locally.

Finally, I’m expecting individuals or other organizations both to the right and left of DSA to downplay, insult, or dismiss what we did at Convention this year. And I hope that none of our members join with them. Because what we did was impressive. It was a true example of democracy in action. Possibly one of the largest democratic actions that has been held in a very long time. To those critics, I invite you to come join us. If you have improvements in strategy, tactics, organization skills then please, come and help fix it. Because if we really want what we say–a democratic society run by and for the working class, then we better keep getting the practice!

Notes:
1. While I feel I have supported and helped continue a culture of democracy, much of the hard work and structure was put in place before I joined and I give all the credit and kudos to my comrades who did it!

The post DSA National Convention Reflection #1 – Julie C appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

The Right’s Attack on Rights

This year has seen a barrage of over 500 bills introduced in state legislatures across the nation, all aimed at attacking trans and queer people. Meanwhile, the right wing is on a mission to enforce nationwide abortion bans, already successful in nearly two dozen states. Voting rights are also under siege, with racial gerrymandering and laws curbing early voting and mail-in ballots. In Georgia, offering water to voters in line is now illegal. Alabama is refusing to comply with a Supreme Court order regarding voting rights for Black citizens. The right’s attack on what they misname “critical race theory” is really an attack on people’s ability to learn the U.S. right’s history of opposing democracy, from slavery to segregation, to anti-suffragism, to denying bodily autonomy.

This struggle for reproductive rights, transgender liberation, and democracy is absolutely crucial for everyone in the working class. Let’s break it down:

Unveiling the Attacks

The assault on bodily autonomy is tightly intertwined with the capitalist system. As Karina Garcia explains in “Women, Capitalism, and the Ongoing Attacks on Bodily Autonomy and Reproductive Rights”1:
“It is not as a conspiracy for profits, but as a form of political rule based on disciplining and intimidating one section of poor and working people, distracting and confusing others, and finally winning over and satisfying other layers.”

This assault is spearheaded by reactionary elements in society, funded by the ruling class, and executed through governmental power. This includes leveraging the undemocratic Supreme Court and various levels of government, be it state, local, or federal.

It also includes state violence. Bans on abortion and trans rights enable the long arm of the police and the carceral state to intrude into the lives of everyday working people. As they introduce new methods of control, with alarming tactics like inspecting children’s bodies and demanding the reporting of menstrual cycles for sports participation, they lay the groundwork for further violations of personal freedom and expression.

The United States is “now in fascism’s legal phase,” according to Jason Stanley. Writing in The Guardian2, he says, “Fascist lies have begun to restructure institutions, notably electoral infrastructure and law.”
This right-wing movement is well aware that their stance is in the minority. Therefore, their goal is to eliminate even the limited democratic avenues available to the working class. They understand that given the opportunity, working people will rally to uphold their rights.

DSA’s Role in the Struggle

Chapters and working groups within the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are stepping up together to play a vital role in the fight for trans rights, reproductive rights, and democracy.

The most significant source of our power to defend and expand reproductive healthcare and trans rights is the building of a mass movement. This movement brings together diverse segments of the working class using tactics such as mass protests, civil disobedience, and labor and tenant action, along with working-class electeds ready to call out every injustice against bodily autonomy.

In 2022, YDSA, the youth wing of DSA, passed “For Abortion Rights, Bodily Autonomy, and Socialist Trans Liberation.” Since then:

• In the first state to criminalize abortion after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, YDSA at University of Missouri won affordable Plan B on campus.
• YDSA at ETSU organized the “Can’t Drag Us Down” drag show and story hour in protest of anti-trans bills prohibiting drag shows and gender-affirming care for trans youth, followed by a “No Hate In Our State Block Party” protest against anti-trans political commentator Michael Knowles speaking at ETSU.
• Wesleyan YDSA in Connecticut’s pressure campaign won free emergency contraceptives for students and for the University to cover all abortion-related costs that students’ insurance doesn’t cover, including transportation.
• University of North Texas YDSA organized to improve access to hormone replacement treatment (HRT) care on campus; they won a commitment to training in transgender healthcare for employees of the on-campus health center and to consider transgender care experience in hiring.
• New York University (NYU) YDSA won free abortions and Mifepristone for all in-network students.
• University of Louisville YDSA won increased funding to the university’s LGBTQ+ center.

This summer, the DSA national convention voted to, in coordination with YDSA, prepare for and launch a nationwide fighting campaign for reproductive rights and trans liberation and to defend abortion rights, trans people, and democracy.

Preparation for this campaign starts in Fall 2023, with a campaign launch in January 2024 and a national day of action in Spring 2024. DSA’s National Political Committee will collaborate with chapters and elected officials across the United States to construct a coordinated campaign of ballot initiatives, legislative bills, and public pressure to advance bodily autonomy and defend democracy.

DSA’s campaign will face the mounting attacks on reproductive rights and the ongoing discrimination against trans people head on. This includes but is not limited to highlighting and fighting discrimination in housing, at work, in healthcare, and in collective bargaining agreements that do not protect trans and reproductive healthcare.

We commit ourselves and the socialist movement to the struggle against all barriers to liberation. Autonomy and freedom aren’t just for a select few—they’re the rights of cis women, trans people (non-binary and binary), and gender nonconforming individuals, who are all part of the working class. Their liberation and autonomy cannot be cleaved from socialist struggle.

Join our movement: 1) Visit dsausa.org/join to become a member, 2) attend our local chapter meetings to get involved with our work on the ground, 3) if you’re a student, join YDSA at ETSU, too, for on-campus organizing!

Northeast TN DSA meets on the second Wednesday of every month. Meetings are hybrid: you can attend in person or over Zoom. Contact northeasttndsa@gmail.com for a registration link or meeting location.

YDSA at ETSU meets every Wednesday. Contact ydsaetsu@gmail.com for more information.

1 Breaking the Chains magazine, Vol 4, No 2 & reprinted online December 24, 2022 at https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/women-capitalism-and-the-ongoing-attack-against-bodily-autonomy-and-reproductive-rights
2 ”America is now in fascism’s legal phase,” Jason Stanley, December 22, 2021, The Guardian.

After Friday’s midnight deadline, the United Auto Workers went on strike against the Big 3 automakers of Ford, GM, and Stellantis, marking the first time in history the UAW has gone on strike against all three auto companies. As of this recording, 12,700 auto workers have walked off the job at three plants: a Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan, a GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri, and a Stellantis plant in Toledo, Ohio, and there are potentially many more plants to follow. While here in New York City, postdoctoral workers with the UAW at Columbia University and Mt. Sinai Hospital are fighting to transform the working conditions for postdocs in Higher Ed. Tonight, we are joined in-studio with Brandon Mancilla, Director of UAW Region 9A, and Chris Voila, an auto worker and UAW member, to hear the latest about this historic auto strike. We will also hear from PJ and Andrea, postdocs with the Columbia Postdoctoral Workers Union and Sinai Postdoctoral Organizing Committee, on their respective contract fights and how postdoc workers are ready, if necessary, to strike. 

Follow SPOC-UAW at @spocuaw (Twitter) and https://sinaipostdocunion.org/

And CPW-UAW at @CPWUAW (Twitter), cpw_uaw (IG), and https://columbiapostdocunion.org/

UPDATE: It’s on! Stand with United Auto Workers (UAW) at the Big 3 auto companies fighting for:

• An end to two-tier wages and benefits
• Cost of living raises
• Secure union jobs in a just transition to electric vehicles!

After years of concessions to the bosses and skyrocketing executive compensation, autoworkers are standing firm and saying enough is enough. They’ve organized in their shops and communities ahead of the contracts at Ford, Stellantis, and GM expiring. But the companies refused to give them what they deserve. Now that the bosses have refused their demands, they’re doing stand-up strikes at worksites around the country to keep the companies guessing where they’ll be next!This fight is important not only to the 150,000 UAW members who work at the Big 3. Their fight is the fight of the whole working class. Workers need to support each other as we fight for a better world. Pledge to support UAW workers in their fight and join them on the picket line!

Are you a DSA Member and want to stand with UAW? Sign the Strike-Ready pledge!

The strike has begun, DSA is in full solidarity mode, and even members in smaller chapters with no picketing nearby should take the Strike Ready Pledge. Duluth has no UAW plants, but we have heard that many of the auto mechanics at the dealers are members of the UAW. Stay tuned for actions, and meanwhile, take the pledge.

Thorn West: Issue No. 174

State Politics

• Thursday was the deadline to pass bills at the California state level, prompting a flurry of activity. CalMatters is tracking which bills have advanced to the governor to sign or veto. More below.

City Politics

• More on LA City Council expansion from LA Forward, which also maps some of the activist groups that have been pushing for reform. Both the Forward piece and this article in the LA Times note one elephant in the room: the latest report from the city’s Chief Legislative Analyst recommends delaying implementation until 2032, the first election after the next scheduled redistricting. The other key area of debate among sitting councilmembers is how many new seats to add, with Councilmember Nithya Raman pushing for doubling the size to 31 members, while others are calling for more limited expansion.

• DSA-LA membership is currently voting on three potential LA City Council endorsements, following a member forum last Sunday. If you are a member in good standing, you should have received an email ballot, and you may view the recording of that forum in the Member Portal.

Labor

• This week the Legislature advanced a number of bills that would benefit workers, all of which are now before Governor Newsom. AB 1228 slightly scales back the strength of a fast food workers council bill passed last year; but in exchange the fast food industry will withdraw a ballot measure that would fully overturn the worker’s council bill… SB 525 raises the minimum wage for tens of thousands of healthcare workers to $25 an hour, but prevents municipalities from raising it higher than that for ten years… AB 1 allows state legislative workers to collectively bargain; many similar bills have failed to advance out of the legislature… AB 799 allows workers who have been on strike for two weeks to claim unemployment benefits.

Housing Rights

• The state Legislature advanced two bills — SB 555, a study bill, and AB 309, a pilot program — that would take small steps to advance the cause of social housing in California. Both bills originated in the Legislature’s new “renter’s caucus,” but were significantly watered down from their original versions.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• SB 50, a bill introduced by Senator Steven Bradford that would combat racial profiling by prohibiting the police across the state from pulling over vehicles for pretextual stops —– a policy Los Angeles instituted last year — was pulled from consideration for this legislative year. Last year, a similar bill, also authored by Bradford, was also unable to overcome police opposition.

• Nearly 700 LAPD officers have joined in a harassment lawsuit against the city over the city’s compliance with a public records request last year. The release of records resulted in the publicly available headshots of every LAPD officer being made available in one searchable database — a measure intended to increase police accountability. (The plaintiffs are not “undercover officers” as the LA TImes repeatedly refers to them.)

Transportation

• SB 253, which will allow local governments to implement speed cameras, has advanced to the governor. Speed cameras have shown to be an effective deterrent against vehicle speeding where they have been tried. The bill was heavily qualified to accommodate opposition.

Environmental Justice

• SB 253, which would require business entities with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion to publicly disclose the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their operations, has advanced out of the legislature.

• Under AB 1572, now before the governor, ​​California businesses and institutions will have to stop irrigating decorative grassy areas with drinkable water.

• In April, a federal court ruled that Berkeley can’t ban gas in new construction. Now 25 California cities, including LA, have sent a letter to Governor Newsom saying he needs to step in to create a statewide zero-emission building standard.

The post Significant Labor + Climate Bills pass at Close of 2023 State Leg. Session appeared first on The Thorn West.

DSA stands in solidarity with the ​​150,000 UAW auto workers in their contract fight against the Big Three Detroit car makers — General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis. As of midnight, Ford Michigan Assembly Plant (Final Assembly and Paint) in Wayne, Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio and General Motors Wentzville Assembly in Missouri are on strike. Workers in other plants will continue working under the expired agreement, with no contract extensions. Future timing and locations of strike targets will be announced by the UAW based on progress at the negotiating table.

Their contract demands include an increase in wages and pensions, eliminating tiers, a 32-hour work week, a just transition to electric vehicles, with EV workers not relegated to second class, and the ability to strike over plant closures, among others.

Their demands are inspiring, but well within reach. The Big 3 companies are raking in record profits off the backs of their workers. These brave workers are striking today to take back power on the shop floor and win a better future, and we could not admire them more.

Over the past several weeks, DSA has prepared its members across the country to get strike ready to support the UAW auto workers. From electeds, to union workers, to DSA members in chapters large and small, we are ready to support our UAW siblings.

Today, we stand beside them on the picket lines, and we will continue to do so until they win the contract they deserve. The fight of the UAW auto workers is the fight of all of us. Solidarity forever!

The post DSA Stands With UAW Workers appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).