Are you interested in becoming the best organizer you can be? Do you want to expand socialism here in Milwaukee, but are unsure of where and how to start? Have you been involved but feel like the project did not go anywhere? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the Milwaukee Socialist Organizer Class is for you! 

This nine week program will focus on holistically teaching you to be an unstoppable organizer who builds socialism, changes hearts and minds, and impacts our city.  You will learn direct action organizing, as defined by Organizing for Social Change: Midwest Academy Manual for Activists, in which we organize actions, campaigns, and tactics to “1) win real, immediate, concrete improvement in people’s lives . . . 2) Give people a sense of their own power . . . 3) Alter the relations of power.” 

Interested individuals will apply (click here for application, which is due Thursday, May 18), be interviewed, and enter the program if selected.  DSA membership is not required to participate, but is encouraged. 

This education program will be a combination of in-person events with virtual events if necessary. Each unit will be roughly a week, with a week break in the middle of the program. Each unit will consist of classroom-style instruction in the unit topic (no more than 2 hours, which will be in-person), field work in organizing (which will be at least 3 hours and consist of having conversations, moving people to action, and building infrastructure for a strong socialist movement involving several types of campaigns), and time for personal reflection. Each participant must commit to the entire program and, unless excused, attend every unit instruction, and field work session.  Missing more than two classes and field work sessions may result in removal from the program.  

Time commitment per week: 

Unit instruction: 2 hours 
Organizing work: 3 hours 
Miscellaneous tasks: 1 hour 
Total time per week: 6 hours

Weekly Schedule 

Class will be conducted on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. and held in-person at various locations.  

Field work will be held at regular intervals over the week, with options to organize at several points during the week: 

(tentative schedule, subject to change . . .) 

Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

Sundays 12:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. 

Mondays 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. 

Program Timeline: 

Thursday, May 18:

Application deadline – apply here

Tuesday, May 23: 

Start of nine week program (class held, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.), location TBD, but in City of Milwaukee 

Tuesday, May 30:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 6:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 13:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Monday, June 19 to Monday June 26:

Week Break

Tuesday, June 27

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, July 4:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, July 11: 

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, July 18,: 

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Friday, July 21: 

End of class party (tentative) 

Monday, July 24:

Completion of program

Units

Each unit helps to answer the question: what is organizing? 

Welcome: what is organizing?

• Get to know participants and instructor
• Define scope of class and intentions 
• Determine goals and desired outcomes 

Organizing is one-on-one Conversations

• Learn the 7 point organizing conversation 
• Practice the conversation and its elements 

Organizing is building the committee and the campaign 

• The importance (or not) of the committee
• Power Mapping the campaign 
• Strategy Chart 

Organizing is holistic productivity 

• Traction versus distraction 
• Time management and its importance
• The Reverse Calendar 
• Overcoming blocks to action

Organizing is a mindset 

• Acknowledging hurdles and setbacks 
• Failure is a great option
• Develop a practice to keep you going

Organizing is raising money and managing it

• Why money is OK 
• How to bring energy and money to your campaign 
• The basics of campaign budgeting and finance 

Organizing is communications

• What does “messaging” mean? 
• The power of media 
• Writing workshop

Organizing is bringing it all together

• You’ve got momentum – now what? 
• Recap of unit themes

Reviews

Here is what previous students have to say about the Milwaukee Socialist Organizer Class: 

“[Before the class] I had no idea about the actual work of organizing.  Now I feel confident that I would be able to become a leader in a campaign setting . . .” 

“I loved the practical application of socialism . . . [and] I loved the far-reaching application of some of the class content.” 

“This is a great way to move into the world of socialism. . . thank you so much for offering this course” 

“This [class] is a great first step for anyone looking to start organizing . . .” 

“I radically grew in my comfort around being upfront and simply being able to approach a complete stranger with a potentially controversial topic.” 

“New organizers and experienced organizers can benefit from this class.” 

“Generally speaking my confidence level just interacting with people about socialism has gone through the roof.  I have been given a phenomenal overview of how to organize and I feel confident that I can find out what works best for me in the future.”  

“It was great to grow as an organizer within the confines of a welcoming community/instructor.” 

“I feel more confident organizing outside of an electoral context.”  

Meet your instructor: 

Alex Brower is a labor leader, socialist organizer, and the chapter co-chair of the Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America. Professionally, Alex is the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, which organizes union retirees.  In his organizing work, Alex has saved jobs from privatization, helped workers win a union voice on the job, defeated a temp agency, organized against a proposed iron-ore mine, helped bring comprehensive sex education to Beloit Public Schools, and won workplace healthcare for many uninsured MPS Substitute Teachers. As an MPS substitute teacher and former Milwaukee Rec. Department instructor, Alex brings a host of experience teaching others. Alex has also been a candidate for Milwaukee City Comptroller and School Board, running both times as a socialist. 

Any questions? 

Contact Alex Brower at 414-949-8756 or milwaukeedsa@gmail.com 

Apply now!

Click here to apply, or copy and paste this URL into your web browser: https://forms.gle/DChATjAzgXPFdhG59

Tucson Democratic Socialists of America Greetings Comrades!  On Saturday May 13th from 12:00-2:00 PM, we're holding a hybrid general meeting at the Woods Memorial Library, which is located at 3455 N 1st Ave. The meeting is hybrid to ensure that it is accessible to anyone unable to attend in person or folks who are uncomfortable with indoor in-person meetings. You can register in advance for the zoom meeting here and if you have any trouble with the link, please let us know by replying to this email. Please see our general events for the month of May below.  Solidarity,  Jeanne L.  Co-Chair, Tucson DSA  DSA Tucson Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

This email was sent to <<Email Address>> why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences DSA Tucson · PO Box 1038 · NYC, New York 10272 · USA

ilmDSA was out last Saturday to pick up some trash in an area neglected by the city.  In just a few short hours, we bagged up and took to the dump over 1,500 pounds of trash!  We made a difference in the area and helped keep a lot of litter out of our local waterways.  

If you want to come out and help this month, RSVP Here and we’ll see you out there!

To enhance the safety of all residents in the District, DC must embrace a decarceral regimen that funds care and support, not cages and violence.

To celebrate May Day as a single event can lead one to miss the spirit that animated its origins as an international workers holiday.

Assessing the power of the Manifesto today, Miéville illuminates the document’s power as prediction, prophecy and call to revolution.

The United Auto Workers emerged as a powerful force during the 1930s. Sit-down strikers challenged the capitalists of the Big Three car companies. Their willingness to take militant action unleashed a wave of unionization in the industry that could not be contained and spread to other sections of the working class. The UAW formed the bedrock of the Congress of Industrial Organizations which shifted the balance of power between capital and labor. A decade later leadership negotiated the Treaty of Detroit. An agreement that established wage increases, pensions, and health insurance. It became the foundation of labor relations in the United States. The union fought for more than bread and butter as it developed into a key backer of the civil rights movement. Various factors began to undermine the power of the UAW. Many of its most effective organizers were purged amidst the Red Scare. The Midwest experienced deindustrialization as factories were moved down South or out of the country. The Administrative Caucus led throughout this process and became increasingly corrupt. A movement for workers’ democracy in the union sprouted forth and demanded competitive elections. After securing One Member, One Vote in a referendum, ​​Unite All Workers for Democracy successfully elected new leadership. What does this mean for the UAW and the broader movement for working class empowerment? UAW member Chris joins us to discuss this and much more.

DSSL Public Statement Regarding the WGA Strike

As of midnight today, May 2nd, 2023, the 12,000 movie and television writers in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are striking to demand appropriate compensation pre- and post-production, more pay for experienced writers, and basic benefits and protections for all industry writers. WGA members voted overwhelmingly to authorize this strike, with 96% of members voting and 97.3% of members voting YES. The Democratic Socialists of Salt Lake are proud to stand in solidarity on the picket line with these artists and demand that studios reward the brilliant minds of the WGA for all they contribute to the companies they work for and American arts and culture as a whole.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed the world, whether they realized it or not, that the role of the artist is one of the most important roles one can undertake as a human person. With the world in lockdown, millions of people passed the time with their favorite movies, TV shows, music, and literature. Hundreds of thousands of people took up painting or ceramics as a hobby, and some even dabbled in creating jewelry. When the world came to a stop, and many people found themselves in the darkest times of their life, we turned to artists for guidance, for comfort, for joy. Even if it was just for a moment.

Which is precisely why artists, like these WGA movie and television writers in Hollywood, deserve fair compensation for the art they produce and the culture they cultivate. These media CEOs, who reap the benefits of art they did not produce to the tune of billions of dollars, are not the backbone of this business; they are not the creative, visionary innovators, they are corporate oligarchs who don’t have an artistic bone in their body. It is criminal that these capitalist leeches have treated these WGA artists so poorly that they are in the position where they have no other choice but to strike.

Because of this, the DSSL demands that these companies, including Disney, Netflix, HBO, and NBC Universal, to bargain in good faith and give in to the writers’ demands. We call on other workers and unions in the entertainment industry, including directors, actors, and crew, to stand in solidarity with these writers and not cross the picket lines. The DSSL also recommends our members and people in the community follow these good practices until a collective bargaining agreement is met:

• Cancel subscriptions to any streaming platform you don’t use/don’t frequent often. Hollywood has a backlog of content waiting to be produced, so they will still theoretically be able to produce content for a while, and in turn make money. Cancelling you subscriptions puts economic pressure on these companies and shows them that we will not support them until they give in to workers demands
• Refrain from watching late night series on television or Youtube until an agreement is met. These series will be most affected by the strike, and a huge drop in viewership will put pressure on the companies.
• Refrain from watching reality series. Media companies lean on these during labor strikes, and will force more of these on viewers if they are shown to be popular. Besides, The Apprentice gave us Donald Trump, and nobody likes Donald Trump.
• Publicly show your support for WGA on social media and share information about it to sympathetic peers!

DSSL is first and foremost a socialist organization fighting for working people, and we are proud of WGA members for taking things into their own hands and sticking it to the man!!

Solidarity,

The Democratic Socialists of Salt Lake

The post DSSL Stands in Solidarity with the Writers Guild of America During their Strike! first appeared on Salt Lake DSA.

Our vote tracker has launched. Find out where your Jersey City Council rep stands on a Right to Counsel for ALL and use this script to get them to vote YES:

The Right to Counsel (RTC) would guarantee legal representation for all tenants facing eviction or other issues with landlords. NO tenant should have to fight for their homes alone!

**Calling Script**

Hello, my name is [your name] and I am calling to ensure [council member] is supporting the Jersey City Right-to-Counsel ordinance in its fullest capacity. Let’s make sure this includes universal coverage for all renters regardless of income!

Landlords and developers have accelerated the soaring rent costs that make Jersey City the most expensive city in the United States to live in. With [council member]'s support, residents will no longer fear facing eviction alone.

Can we count on your support to vote for a Right to Counsel for all tenants paid by developer fees?

**Send an Email**

Dear [council member],

My name is [your name] and I am calling to ensure [council member] is supporting the Jersey City Right-to-Counsel and Developer Fee ordinances in their fullest capacity. Let’s make sure this includes universal coverage for all renters regardless of income!

Landlords and developers have accelerated the soaring rent costs that make Jersey City the most expensive city in the United States to live in. Landlords more often than not have legal representation in housing court, tipping the scales in their favor. With [council member]'s support, residents will no longer fear facing eviction alone.

In nearby NYC, evictions were reduced by an estimated 30% after the passage of their Right to Counsel program. Let’s pass one of the strongest RTCs in the nation by making sure all tenants are protected from eviction, landlord malfeasance, habitability issues, illegally high rents, and more!

Can we count on your support to vote for a Right to Counsel for all tenants paid by developer fees?

Best,

[your name]

Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America Chapter Committee condemns the recent introduction of Assembly Bill 642, legalizing law enforcement use of facial recognition technology (FRT) in California. We further condemn the recent co-sponsorship of AB642 by SV-DSA member and District 25 State Assemblymember Alex Lee. Only determined and militant social movements can chart a safe and just future for Californians and for the world.  AB 642 will open the door  to intensified surveillance on already over-policed communities and movements that challenge the status quo.

Assemblymember Lee retweeted the claim AB 642 is needed to institute oversight over facial recognition, given the impending sunset of the extant FRT ban and the Assembly’s failure to extend it last year. We reject this logic wholesale – the place of socialists is at the leading edge of the struggle for a just society, not tinkering at the margins in the vain hope of staving off further defeat. Another bill attempting to re-extend the FRT ban (AB 1034) is already in committee –  Lee should show real leadership by putting his support behind it.

We condemn AB642 in the strongest terms and call upon Alex Lee to withdraw his co-sponsorship immediately.

The post Chapter Committee Statement on Assemblymember Alex Lee and AB642 appeared first on Silicon Valley DSA.