Article from People’s World published by campaign member Cameron O.!

“Right To Counsel JC is fighting to have the program run by an office in city hall and funded by fees on big new development projects. Such a program would be a strong enforcement mechanism, empowering tenants to help the city make sure housing laws are followed and buildings are up to code.”

Read “Right to Counsel: Jersey City tenants fight for free lawyers in eviction struggles” in People’s World

Whereas: all 340,000 non-management UPS workers are covered by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and UPS Teamster members have been organizing escalating contract actions across the country as the contract fight heats up, and will need community support as they get closer to the August 1 deadline; and

Whereas: If they strike, they will need the whole labor movement behind them to show that when we fight, we win; and

Whereas: the Resolution #5 from the 2021 convention of the Democratic Socialist of America mandates the National Labor Commission engage DSA as a whole with labor work; and

Whereas: the Tampa Local Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America stands in unwavering solidarity with workers and prioritizes the labor solidarity work,

Therefore be it resolved: that Tampa DSA will take the following steps to be STRIKE READY: 

April 12th:

• The Chapter will publicly commit to the national Strike Ready campaign and supporting rank-and-file UPS Teamsters throughout the contract fight.

By May 13th:

• The Chapter will democratically choose two Solidarity Captains to liaise with the NLC for coordination on the national campaign to support the UPS Teamsters in their contract fight and ensure they are connected with the NLC and attending Labor Corps Solidarity Calls.

By June 30:

• The Chapter will have reviewed the Strike Ready 2023 Chapter Kit and familiarized members with key concepts of labor solidarity 
• Ask chapter members to sign the Strike Ready Pledge.
• Identify chapter members to assist Solidarity Captains in local support with chapter listwork and map the local labor community as outlined in the Strike Ready Kit.

Throughout June and July : 

• The Chapter will canvass their membership, local contacts and the community to build support for the UPS Teamsters by asking them to sign the Strike Ready Pledge. 
• The Chapter will support escalating contract actions as announced by the IBT, local UPS Teamsters, and the National Labor Commission.

August 1: The Chapter will turn out members and community supporters to show up at the picket line or the contract ratification celebration. 

After the fight: The Chapter will use the excitement generated by the contract fight to recruit chapter members to commit to the rank and file strategy and debrief on experience to prepare for future labor solidarity actions.  

The post Tampa DSA Strike Ready Resolution appeared first on Tampa DSA.

This episode is an edited version of a webinar built around Joerg Rieger's new book, Theology in the Capitalocene. He was joined by the incredible scholars Filipe Maia and Jason Moore. In the episode, we define the Capitalocene, upack the importance of class analysis for building solidarity, and close with a discussion of the intersectionality of all of these deeply related ideas. BIOS: - Joerg Rieger is a theologian, author, & speaker. He is the Distinguished Professor of Theology and the Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair of Wesleyan Studies. He is also the founding director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice. - Jason Moore is an author, editor, and professor. He is an environmental historian and historical geographer at Binghamton University, where he is professor of sociology and leads the World-Ecology Research Collective. - Filipe Maia is Assistant Professor of Theology at Boston University School of Theology where his research focuses on liberation theologies and philosophies, theology and economics, and the Christian eschatological imagination. LINKS: Joerg Rieger 
- Profile: https://divinity.vanderbilt.edu/people/bio/joerg-rieger - Website: https://www.joergrieger.com - New Book: https://www.fortresspress.com/store/productgroup/2056/Theology-in-the-Capitalocene Jason Moore - Essays: http://jasonwmoore.com - World-Ecology Research Network google doc sign-up: https://forms.gle/wgATH5KjsqsV5nMQ6 - Recent short essays: http://jasonwmoore.wordpress.com/ - World-Ecology Research Network: on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/worldecology/?ref=bookmarks on Academia: https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/World-Ecology Filipe Maia: - Profile: https://www.bu.edu/sth/profile/filipe-maia/ - New book: https://www.dukeupress.edu/trading-futures

Seattle voters passed Initiative 135 in February, creating the only radically democratic, tenant-led, publicly-owned social housing developer in the country. I sat down with Tiffani McCoy, Co-Chair of House Our Neighbors, the coalition who led the fight. Then I interviewed two leaders of Seattle DSA, Sydney Province and Ramy Khalil, to get their perspective on the fight ahead to fully fund social housing in Seattle. Both interviews were excellent, but went long, so we split this into a two-parter. Subscribe to get an alert when Part 2 drops. Thanks to Luke Wigren and Charlie Spears for help recording, editing, and mixing this episode.

I interviewed Julianna Dauble, president of the Renton Education Association, about the ballot initiative campaign her union and South Sound DSA members launched to raise the minimum wage in Renton to $19/hour. This first episode was produced in February as a prototype for Seattle DSA members as we considered whether or not to invest our Chapter's resources into producing a regular podcast. After three months of debate, in late April large majority voted to launch Socialist Sound as part of a wider plan to improve Seattle DSA's communications. While its dated and geared toward a specific audience, we thought it was well-worth sharing this prototype episode publicly. Thanks to Luke Wigren and Charlie Spears for help recording, editing, and mixing this episode.

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.

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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.

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]

The state chapter of the ACLU, the New Jersey Working Families Party, and the Fair Share Housing Center are among nine endorsing the right to counsel proposal in Jersey City.

The other groups lending their endorsement to the cause are the Latino Action Network (LAN), Housing Rights Initiative (HRI), Make the Road New Jersey (MRNJ), Our Revolution New Jersey, North New Jersey Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (NNJDSA), and the New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP).

Read “ALCU, NJWFP, & Fair Share Housing among 9 endorsing Jersey City right to counsel” in Hudson County View

A response to “Jersey City’s eviction proposal will help lawyers but not solve the real problem | Opinion” by Wendy Paul, Executive Director of the Apartment Owners Association:

“…let’s lay out what Paul’s op-ed forgot to mention: Dozens of studies have shown that Right to Counsel is an effective, moral and cost-saving solution to the housing crisis across the country. In New York City, before RTC was passed, only 1% of tenants had representation in landlord-tenant court, while 95% of landlords were represented. Now, 56% of all tenants are represented…in NYC, 84% of all tenants who were provided an RTC attorney remained in their homes.”

Read “Right-to-counsel laws proven to aid tenants, communities | Opinion” in the Jersey Journal