Published in The Daily Princetonian.

Free speech is understood to be a central tenet of academic life at Princeton. Members of the University across the political spectrum have considered how free speech can and should be upheld on campus while maintaining a safe environment. But these conversations have failed to include an essential part of our campus community: workers. Until the University removes the ban on worker strikes, its commitment to free speech will remain hollow.

Members of the Service Employee International Union (SEIU) Local 175 (a union on campus that includes dining hall, custodial, and landscaping staff, among others) are unable to fully access their right to free speech. Workplace discussions about organizing are limited, and their freedom of expression is sharply restricted as well. Article 35 of their contract with the University prohibits the Union and employees from participating in “any strike, sympathy strike, work stoppage, concentrated slowdown, refusal to cross any picket line or interrupt work in any other way.”

Article 35 is justified under the University’s Statement on Freedom of Expression, which protects free speech unless it is “directly incompatible with the functioning of the University.” The University’s statement claims this is a “narrow exception to the general principle of freedom of expression.” However, strikes are one of the most meaningful and impactful practices of free speech.

Free speech has played a vital role in unionization and workers’ rights movements. In the early 20th century, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), an organization that advocated for workplace democracy through general and industrial unionism, engaged in a series of “free speech fights.” Members of the IWW spoke out and organized strikes across the United States, often resulting in their arrest. Many organizers refused to be released from prison and demanded a trial as a platform to advocate for both free speech and the right to strike and unionize.

Working conditions improved during the Progressive Era as the federal government was forced to make concessions to labor organizations in the face of strikes and other forms of union activism. For example, in the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912, mill workers who were predominantly immigrant women went on strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, after their wages were decreased. 23,000 workers went on strike and almost 20,000 were on the picket line. Ultimately, the Bread and Roses Strike increased not only their own wages, but the wages of textile workers across New England.

Labor activism has played a critical role in achieving many of the labor protections which we take for granted, including weekends, overtime pay, and the elimination of child labor. Without the ability to strike, SEIU Local 175 is significantly disempowered in their contract negotiations with the University.

To investigate the state of worker satisfaction on campus, the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) at Princeton surveyed 116 union service workers during the Spring 2023 semester. On one hand, the survey found that most workers seemed grateful that the University offered relatively good non-wage benefits. However, as expressed by Abdul-Bassit Fijabi ‘24 and David Beeson ‘26 in a separate piece, surveyed workers have consistently expressed concerns; for example, some noted that they are woefully underpaid – especially in a time of high inflation – as staffing shortages and a sense of alienation plague many union shops on campus.

SEIU Local 175, which employs over 700 employees at Princeton University, makes active efforts to improve working conditions and wages for unionized workers. As one worker expressed, the union “[f]ights for all employees and has… sav[ed] employees’ jobs”; and as another notes, the union has “done well with getting us increased raise amounts over the past couple years.”

Yet, these aims are severely limited by the imbalance of power in the contract negotiations between the University and the Union, particularly when the University bans free expression in the form of a strike.

In the United States overall, unions consistently demonstrate strong benefits for workers, including up to a 20 percent income premium compared to similar non-union workers. Unions, moreover, demonstrate comparable lifetime earnings gains to those of a college degree despite earlier retirement, with a major part of the causal mechanism being the strike. As demonstrated by economist David Card, strikes in the US have historically had significantly positive effects on unionized workers’ wages, and such strikes were deeply intertwined with empowered labor unions.

Within the University of California system, this freedom of expression enabled educators to gain substantial improvements to students’ education quality and their workplace conditions, with 48 percent higher minimum wages for teaching assistants and 61 percent for graduate students. In 2022, even the mere threat of a strike among Kaiser Permanente nurses resulted in major improvements for both workers and patients, with 22.5 percent higher pay and improved staffing to provide improved patient care. More recently, though the fight continues, the Rutgers strike enabled faculty and graduate students to make strong gains, including 14 to 44 percent higher wages, after the Rutgers University administration simply refused to make reasonable concessions for its employees to see decent compensation for their contributions, by extension ensuring that educators can better serve their mentees.

With the no-strike clause in Article 35, SEIU Local 175 and the workers it represents have less power in their negotiations with the University, as they lack one of the most “powerful tool[s] for any union [to] express its voice,” as put by an anonymous employee. If the University disagrees with a demand, the union cannot effectively use its leverage to encourage the University to listen to workers.

This unconscionable restriction sharply contradicts the University’s romanticized rhetoric about its free speech policies, preventing workers from freely expressing themselves. Free speech is an essential value that must be accessible to everyone, including workers and including for expression that challenges Princeton University, if it is to truly value free expression. Even some past Supreme Court rulings have protected the right to strike on the grounds of protecting workers’ freedom of expression, such as Thornhill v. Alabama (1940) and NLRB v. Washington Aluminum Co. (1962).

Although workers are severely limited in the extent of free expression permitted by the University, students do have the ability to platform the unheard grievances of workers. By acting in solidarity with the employees who sustain our education and living as students, we can show that students will not accept the University’s neglect and disrespect of workers’ needs and free speech principles.

We encourage you to sign on to student groups’ petition for the University to address campus workers’ needs. Additionally, please join YDSA on May 1st to amplify workers’ grievances as a part of Unidad Latina en Acción’s May Day Rally, starting at 112 Witherspoon St on May 1 at 6:00 pm.

Lucía Armengol ‘26 and Bryce Springfield ‘25 are members of Young Democratic Socialists of America at Princeton. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of SEIU 175. This article was written alongside another in a series on campus labor.

We're crossing the Hudson River once again to speak to our socialist comrades fighting for workers’ and tenants’ rights  in New Jersey. We’ll hear live from Isaac and Julia of the Right to Counsel campaign in Jersey City, now the priciest city in the nation, on their organizing to guarantee representation from an attorney for all tenants facing evictions and other housing issues. We also speak to Deepti, an undergraduate student at Rutgers University, and Sarah, a member of the grad union’s bargaining committee, on their recent and historic strike and what’s next for workers at the largest university in New Jersey.

To learn more and get involved with the Right to Counsel campaign in Jersey City, visit righttocounseljc.org.

Follow Rutgers AAUP-AFT at @ruaaup and Rutgers One Coalition at @r1coalition. 

There are two San Antonio DSA endorsed candidates on this guide and one proposition: Jalen McKee-Rodriguez in City Council District 2, Teri Castillo in City Council District 5, Prop A: San Antonio Justice Charter.

Candidates/propositions must seek the endorsement of SADSA and our general membership votes on the decision to endorse. Several community members have reached out to SADSA for a voter guide, so we have created one. It is by no means expansive and does not cover every race in our area, but we hope this can help inform your decisions if you’re looking to a socialist organization for electoral advice.

Our struggles go beyond the ballot box, but it is a site of struggle that we cannot withdraw from, we can take it back if we fight together. Join San Antonio DSA.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t email SanAntonioDSA@gmail.com. 

In Bexar Co. you can vote at any voting location. You can go to the Bexar Co. Elections Department website to find voting locations, hours, your individual sample ballot and more.

City Council Landscape

It’s true the highs of 2021 have worn off. No matter how you slice it, City Council will be lurching to the right for the next two years. The 2023-2025 City Council will still be made of mostly centrists, but things just feel worse this time around. This Council has made historic investments though American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) decisions, Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding, and the largest municipal bond in history, but the vibes are most certainly fucked. 

There are a few bright spots in union and tenant organizing, but efforts desperately need to be ramped up to exert political pressure before monumental races in 2025. Alongside an open mayoral election, District 4, District 6, District 8 and District 9 will likely be open, if Councilmember Courage (D9) can secure a fourth term this year. The 2025 races will be on the heels of what will certainly be a very entertaining, and likely devastating, Presidential cycle that will most definitely change organizing landscape and conditions. 

We sincerely hope that no matter what happens on May 6th and over the next two years, you’ll commit to joining an organization (hopefully DSA dsausa.org/join) and start organizing. Regardless of where you see yourself “on the Left,” your politics are assuredly not reflected across local elected offices…but they should be, even a glimpse! Our Voters Guide is admittedly a bit bleak, no candidates aside from our endorsed candidates are receiving a recommendation before the runoff. We understand this might not really help people who want to vote, but don’t know for whomst. Unfortunately, the who this cycle is mostly anti-Prop A, Chambers of Commerce-types who all say generally the same thing. A total lack of political imagination fueled by a void of community organizing, being filled by (hopeful) careerist politicians. Two years ago, we fought to get Teri and Jalen elected to City Council. This year, we will make sure they stay, and two years from now we must get them comrades on Council. 

Organize where you work, organize where you live, and let's organize for a better San Antonio.

Click here to view full voter guide.

Many of us frequently interact with United Parcel Service (UPS) workers in our daily lives. You see them driving down your street in their emblematic brown trucks. You count on them to deliver birthday gifts to far-flung family members. You may even chit-chat with the UPS worker who regularly delivers packages to your door. UPS is the third largest company headquartered in Atlanta, and it employs nearly 400,000 essential workers who are responsible for transporting 25 million packages and documents daily, across 220 different countries and territories. Millions of us rely on the hard work of UPS drivers and warehouse workers. But did you know that these workers are currently gearing up for a critical contract fight to win better wages, hours, and respect on the job?

All 350,000 non-management UPS workers throughout the U.S. are covered under a national contract, known as the National Master Agreement (NMA), that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) has with UPS. This contract governs their wages and working conditions.  Some UPS workers — but not all! — are also covered by a local “supplement,” which is a second contract negotiated by local or regional bargaining committees that often has stronger language than the NMA. So while all UPS Teamsters have some baseline protections, there is a lot of variation in the level of protection members receive depending on location. That’s why it’s crucial to have a strong NMA. 

And guess what? The NMA is currently up for renegotiation, which is a huge opportunity for UPS Teamsters trying to strengthen their contract. It will expire in just a few months, on July 31, 2023. This time around, IBT is being led by a newly-elected coalition of militant reformers, including General President Sean O’Brien. They’re done making concessions, and if UPS does not end two-tier driver jobs, raise pay for part-time workers, and give in on other key issues, the UPS Teamsters plan to strike nationwide on August 1, 2023. 

DSA is ready to go all in on this fight! Last weekend, DSA labor and electoral organizers from all over the country gathered in Chicago to announce that 71 and counting DSA electeds have signed on to support the UPS Teamsters this summer. Ahead of July 31, we’re gathering the support of members, our coworkers, and the larger community to stand with UPS Teamsters on the picket line when the time comes. We’re counting on YOU to get involved, sign the pledge, and take a moment to learn what this struggle is all about!

When was the last UPS Strike?

The last UPS Teamsters strike took place in August 1997, during which 185,000 UPS workers went on strike for a better contract. This was a pivotal moment for the U.S. labor movement. The strike lasted 15 days and cost UPS hundreds of millions of dollars. The company admitted that fears of even bigger losses led them to finally agree to IBT’s demands. In other words, the Teamsters showed their company and the world that, when well-organized and well-supported, workers hold the power. IBT won pay increases for part-time workers and drivers, secure pension plans and increased benefits, the conversion of 10,000 part-time jobs into full-time ones, and more.

Strikes have always played a vital role in the American labor movement, but striking actions have declined greatly in this country over the last four decades. Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 1,796,000 workers were involved in major work stoppages in 1974. That number hit a low in 2009 with just 12,500 workers participating in major work stoppages. Major strike activity saw a 35-year high in 2018 and 2019, according to Economic Policy Institute. Most recently, in 2022, 120,600 workers were involved in 23 major work stoppages, which was a nearly 50% increase from 2021. Though striking is becoming more popular and union approval rates are increasing in the U.S., UPS hasn’t dealt with a strike in over 20 years. The company is likely unprepared, but the Teamsters aren’t. IBT is ready to stand firm on its demands.

Teamsters’ Contract Demands for UPS Workers

As members of DSA and the Atlanta community gear up to support UPS Teamsters in their contract fight, it’s important to know what workers are fighting for so we can uplift their demands and spread the word! Here are a few of the most urgent issues that will decide if the Teamsters launch the largest strike in recent American history and why each demand is meaningful.

No more two-tiered driver classifications

The 22.4 full-time worker tier was created by the IBT’s 2018 contract with UPS, which was negotiated by former IBT General President and business unionist, James Hoffa Jr. This tier is made up of mostly new drivers who do the same work as more senior drivers — classified as regular full-time package car drivers (RPCD). RPCD pay tops out at $41 per hour, but 22.4’s pay ceiling is $6 per hour less. In addition to lower pay, 22.4s have much less control over their schedules than RPCDs, which leads to high turnover rates. 22.4 drivers deserve the same pay and protections as RPCDs. 

Higher pay for part-time workers

Despite what you may assume based on how often you see UPS drivers out and about, most Teamsters at UPS are not drivers. Over half work inside distribution facilities, and many of those workers are part-time. These part-time workers play a vital role in making sure UPS runs smoothly, and they deserve to be compensated fairly for their significant contributions. Starting part-time pay must be increased to above $20 an hour and catch-up raises must be given to existing part-time employees. 

UPS must also end its use of Market Rate Adjustment pay discrimination against part-time workers. MRAs can take the form of hourly rate increases or weekly bonuses and can cover a whole geographic area, a single center, or just certain shifts. By using MRAs, UPS has raised the wages of some workers without implementing raises across the board. The use of MRAs divides unions by pitting senior workers against new hires and even members at one building against another.

More full-time jobs

UPS needs to create more full-time 22.3 jobs, which are inside jobs doing tasks like sorting packages, loading and unloading semi-trucks, and more for 8 or more hours a day. The many part-time workers who are so critical to how UPS runs should be afforded more opportunities for reliable, full-time work if they want it. 

No more excessive overtime

Package drivers need stronger 9.5 rights, or the right to cap work at 9.5 hours, three times a week. All people deserve a life outside of work. At UPS, however, employees are often forced into working six days a week. Workers refer to this as the forced 6th punch. Workers who want overtime hours and pay should have the choice to pursue that, but it should be just that — a choice.

Job security for feeders and package drivers

Feeder drivers are usually workers who drive semi-trucks from warehouse to warehouse. UPS sometimes diverts this feeder work to nonunion carriers. It’s time to put an end to the subcontracting of feeder work. 

There must also be stronger protection for the jobs that are being eliminated by Access Point and Surepost. Access Points are local businesses that serve as drop-off and pick-up locations for people sending or receiving items through UPS. The company utilizes Access Point as a tactic to cut costs. Surepost is an economy service offered by UPS that delivers items through the USPS. Both render UPS drivers unnecessary, which cuts back on potential jobs.

Video camera and harassment protection

In recent months, there has been a push from UPS to install driver-facing cameras inside vehicles. The introduction of surveillance systems is made even more egregious by the fact that many company vehicles are not even properly outfitted with air conditioning, which has led to hospitalizations for drivers, and in one case, even death. Stronger language to protect workers from this kind of company harassment — including financial penalties against UPS for any violations — must be put in place.

Why Atlanta DSA stands with UPS Teamsters

As socialists, we’re committed to standing with the UPS Teamsters every step along the way of their contract battle because we believe that building power in the workplace is essential to building a better, more democratic economy and society for all working people. The entire working class must stand together with rank-and-file UPS Teamsters in this historic fight to show large corporations like UPS that when workers overcome divisions and unite as a class, we win!

As this is the largest private sector contract in the nation, IBT’s upcoming fight is sure to have a ripple effect in union organizing across the country. Workers make up the majority of the population and create all value in society, but in the U.S., we are highly unorganized with only 11% of U.S. workers represented by a union. To ensure the momentum continues, we should bring everyone into this campaign and work to elevate workers’ demand in a way that helps grow class consciousness among all workers. This campaign is a crucial opportunity to win not just a great, hard-earned contract for UPS workers nationwide, but to send a message to the working class: strikes get the goods! If UPS refuses to concede to workers’ demands and they decide to strike, workers far and wide will see in real-time the power they hold. 

How to support UPS Workers

Just like the Teamsters, DSA is asking members and supporters to get STRIKE READY! Sign the Strike Ready pledge and commit to standing in solidarity with IBT UPS workers this summer as they prepare for the biggest potential strike this country has seen in decades. Get updates on upcoming #StrikeReady events this summer, including educational panels, picket line trainings, rallies, and phone banks. Plus, check out the information we’ve put together on the contract fight at atldsa.org/ups-solidarity.

Talk to your union members, coworkers, friends, family, and neighbors about the potential strike! Get them to sign the pledge, attend a phone bank, or join you on the picket line in August. When the working class stands together to fight, we win!

After you’ve committed to join striking workers on the picket line this summer, make sure to brush up on DSA’s Picket Line Do’s and Don’t’s to be prepared and helpful during the strike!

Finally, to get involved in DSA’s strike solidarity and labor organizing work, get plugged in with our Labor Committee by emailing labor@atldsa.org. 

The post UPS Teamsters Gear up for the Contract Fight of a Lifetime appeared first on Red Clay Comrade.

The New York State budget is now 18 days late and while the media focuses on the horse trading going on between Governor Hochul and Senate and Assembly leadership behind closed doors in Albany, there are of course, as there always are, workers keeping everything running behind the scenes. 

Tonight we’re joined live by two of those legislative staffers, Astrid and John. We’ll talk to them about New York State Legislative Workers United - an effort to unionize and improve working conditions for legislative staffers across the state. 

You can follow New York State Legislative Workers United on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NYSLWU

A major housing bill is making its way through the Colorado legislature, SB23-213 – referred to as ‘land use’ – has driven much of the recent discussion over state housing policy. The bill, among other things, would enable greater housing density in municipalities around Colorado by compelling municipalities to change their land use regulations. In many cities, including Denver, it would effectively end single-family zoning and allow multiple units (currently up to 4) to be built on lots previously zoned for only one unit.

This legislation has much to like. Exclusionary and restrictive land use policy has made our housing and environmental crises worse, and it is important to use state power to break down this land use status quo. The rules to change occupancy limits are welcome, as are water audits, reforms to HOAs, and reduced parking requirements. We also recognize the importance of encouraging development patterns that are environmentally sustainable, promote housing density, and push cities away from suburban sprawl. We know that the status quo of single family zoning primarily serves to protect the interests of wealth and property values, not the interests of tenants. We do need more housing, and ultimately, housing for all. While this bill can inch us closer to housing for all, it is only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

Denver DSA’s support for SB23-213 is conditional. We demand that this land use bill passes together with two other critical housing bills: local control of rents (HB23-1115), which would enable municipalities in Colorado to enact rent control (aka local control of rents), and just cause eviction protections (HB23-1171). These bills are absolutely essential to defending tenants at a time of ever-increasing housing instability and exploitation from landlords. 

Through this legislative session, we have seen attention and support diverted away from these bills and towards land use, leading to a situation in which land use is upheld as a magic bullet for the state’s housing crisis. We reject this framing and demand that land use is passed together with local control of rents and just cause eviction protections. Otherwise, lawmakers are abandoning the immediate needs of tenants and instead opting for a legislative track that avoids direct confrontation with capital – namely the developer and landlord interests that wield substantial power over Colorado’s politics and that are invested in policy “solutions” to our housing crisis that prioritize their profits, not the needs of tenants. This imbalance of legislative attention, typical in prior sessions, is unsustainable in a context where renters are more cost burdened than ever while owners reap record profits. 

This legislation could very well be beneficial to our state in the long run. However, we have to temper our expectations for what it can achieve. We can’t rely on market-rate housing to solve our housing crisis. Moreover, the slogan of this bill, “More Housing Now” is misleading, as it will take many years, if not decades, for a significant amount of new housing to be built as a result of these policy changes to land use law. Without other major efforts to transform our housing system, including social housing, rent control, community land trusts, robust tenant protections, metro district reform, and tenant organizing — many tenants will continue to find themselves living in unstable, exploitative housing arrangements, and housing will continue to be financially out of reach for working people in our state. We are ultimately fighting for a transformation of our housing system to one in which enough housing is under democratic and community control to make housing a basic human right. It is imperative that we struggle for this transformation and build tenant power in all of our organizing and policy efforts. The land use bill does not, in any meaningful way, alleviate the necessity and urgency of this struggle. 

Land Use Reform is a good step, but its benefits are contingent on choices beyond the bill itself. 213 will not meaningfully address our housing crisis on its own, and must be implemented in conjunction with legislation that enables cities to pass rent control and just cause eviction protections, and must be amended to protect against displacement. Otherwise, we are continuing to neglect tenants and are missing an opportunity to bring about the fundamental changes that we so urgently need in our housing system.

Find a running list of resolutions and bylaw/constitutional amendments here.

If you’d like to support our delegates getting to Chicago, please donate here!

Congratulations to our elected delegates and alternate!

• Brian Escobar
• Amber Ruther
• Jermaine Covington
• Eric Cortes-Kopp (alternate)

Candidates (Alphabetical by Last Name):

Hi! My name is Gabriel Bit-Babik (he/him), a student at Hamilton College and co-chair of Hamilton YDSA. I’ve been organizing in DSA since my first year, helping found my college’s chapter and working with students nationwide on key labor campaigns, including the Student Worker Alliance and Red Hot Summer. I’ve also been involved with housing activism in New York, collaborating with Housing Justice for All and the Met Council on Housing to fight for Good Cause and tenant protections. I am deeply passionate about the work Syracuse is doing with housing and labor and hope to represent it at convention!

Hi I’m Eric (he/they). I joined DSA back at the end of 2021 when I unionized my workplace and re-founded Hamilton College YDSA. I currently serve on YDSA Labor Committee and as Syracuse DSA Secretary. I also work at UFCW Local One. I’ve been involved in the local STOP! Coalition, starting the group newsletter, and frequent Mutual Aid meetings.

Although I am relatively new to DSA, I will continue to support the important work being undertaken by YDSA, and help build our labor solidarity & organizing capabilities.

Jermaine Covington has been a member of DSA since 2017 and of the Syracuse chapter since moving here from Tampa in 2021. He has previously served as Vice Chair of the DSA National Tech Committee and as president of the University of South Florida YDSA chapter. Most recently, he has been an active member of the unionization effort among graduate student employees at Syracuse University. In keeping with his tech background, Jermaine aims to further the use of technology within DSA in pursuing an unashamedly socialist political agenda. His favorite color is orange and he makes pretty good muffins.

Brian Escobar: I’ve been involved in leftwing politics since the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011. Not seeing many ways to learn about socialism locally I started a local socialist reading group in 2014 and worked for and volunteered with the Syracuse Peace Council. I was involved in the local Sanders campaign in 2016, when DSA started to grow exponentially. I co-founded the Syracuse chapter of DSA in 2017. I’ve been a chapter co-chair all but 15 months in that time and since March have been taking a refreshing partial break (I’ve been able to focus more energy on the national organization).

Amber Ruther (they/she) I’ve been in DSA since 2016 – first in NYC-DSA, now in Syracuse DSA. I helped organize for and win the Build Public Renewables Act, which will ensure a just transition to renewable energy built with union labor. I’ve also canvassed for Mo Brown, canvassed with Families for Lead Freedom, and helped organize mutual aid free stores, member socials, and political education discussions around achieving peace in Ukraine and Palestine. As a delegate, I’d support resolutions that strengthen internal democracy and electoral accountability, reform the NPC and NHGO, and support all types of work in DSA – from labor to anti-imperialist organizing.

Image Caption: Amber Ruther (left) and Clayton Terry (right) canvassing for Maurice Brown, a DSA Candidate running for the Onondaga County 15th Legislative District

Syracuse DSA Delegate Election Timeline (Updated May 30, 2023)

• May 21st: Nominations Period Closes
• June 2nd: Deadline to Confirm Candidacy
• June 3rd to June 5th: Election Period Open using Rank Choice Voting
• By June 6th: Announcement of Results

What is the DSA Convention?

The DSA Convention is the highest decision making body in DSA. Every two years, chapters and at-large members elect Delegates to vote on resolutions, make changes to DSA’s national bylaws and constitution, and set the vision for the work that DSA will be doing for the following two years.  

The 2023 Convention will run from the morning of Friday, August 4 through the early afternoon of Sunday August 6. Delegates must arrive on Thursday, because Friday will be a full day starting at 9 am.

Why discuss the Convention?

In order to participate in the democratic processes of our organization, it is imperative that chapter leaders communicate to members about the Convention, its role in our work, how to participate, and what will be voted on at the Convention.

Chapter leadership should include information about Convention in general meeting agendas and in chapter communications in the lead up to Convention. 

All members in good standing should be afforded the opportunity to run as delegates and give feedback on Convention proposals. 

What happens at Convention?

In order to participate in the democratic processes of our organization, it is imperative that chapter leaders communicate to members about the Convention, its role in our work, how to participate, and what will be voted on at the Convention.

Chapter leadership should include information about Convention in general meeting agendas and in chapter communications in the lead up to Convention. 

All members in good standing should be afforded the opportunity to run as delegates and give feedback on Convention proposals. 

Who attends the Convention?

Delegates are elected to attend the convention. Most Delegates are elected by their chapter’s membership. Others are elected by the at-large membership to represent members who are not currently in a chapter. 

Chapters will also elect alternates in case their Delegates cannot make the Convention. Alternates have the opportunity to attend Convention, but they do not vote unless they are filling in for a Delegate from their chapter. 

For more detailed information on delegates here.

The post 2023 National Convention – Important Information appeared first on Syracuse DSA.

As workers, tenants, and families settled down in the late hours of Thursday April 13th, after a long day of our labor being used to keep Florida running, Governor DeSantis signed a wholly unpopular bill into law that aims to escalate the unwanted exclusion of Floridians from access to abortions. This action has been decades in the making. As money from the evangelical elite poured into the Republican Party, and as the Democratic Party stood idly by on the sidelines while focusing their hate towards us as democratic socialists, the State of Florida has intensified its attacks against a person’s right to basic healthcare.

We are continuing our struggle as a chapter to force local policymakers and law enforcement to decriminalize abortion and protect citizens in the Tampa Bay Area from some of the most draconian laws in the country. We need to mobilize to apply pressure on these forces with popular public will. Join us to fight back.

SIGN THIS PETITION AND SIGN UP FOR DSA MEMBERSHIP

The post Tampa DSA’s Statement on the 6 Week Abortion Ban appeared first on Tampa DSA.

The Tampa chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has voted in favor of signing onto a resolution from the National DSA International Committee in support of Cuba. The resolution, among other things, insists that the obscene, deadly blockade of Cuba be lifted so that people on the island can have the same access to food, medical supplies, and other essential goods the United States cut off from the Cuban people. Read the resolution by the IC, below.

DSA International Committee: Chapter Call to Action

ince 1959, the United States has restricted trade, travel, remissions, and even the foreign relations of Cuba. Although opponents of U.S. imperialism refer to this hostile orientation as el bloqueo, or the blockade, the US restrictions are actually a patchwork of congressional acts and executive orders initiated during the Eisenhower administration and expanded by virtually every administration since. Despite a temporary thaw in relations during the Obama administration, Donald Trump reversed all progress and imposed even harsher restrictions on Cuba’s economy. Make no mistake: the blockade of Cuba is a multi-generational economic war. 

Today, the US blockade on Cuba touches every facet of the lives of the Cuban people. The threat of secondary US sanctions prevents international businesses and financial institutions from doing business with Cuba, cutting off not only credit and investment, but also crucial industrial and manufacturing equipment. The blockade prevents Cuba from purchasing life-saving medical equipment and basic goods, and even prevents Cubans in the US from sending remittances to family members. As a result of Trump’s escalation during the global pandemic, Cuba has been hindered in its plans to produce and share its locally-developed vaccines with the world. President Biden has failed to deliver on campaign promises to return to Obama’s Cuba policy and has instead continued the Trump policy of collective punishment.

At the 2019 convention, DSA adopted a resolution to support Cuba Solidarity work and to join the National Network on Cuba, of which we are a proud member today. In 2021 we further adopted a commitment in the DSA Political Platform to push for normalizing relations with Cuba and lifting sanctions. Our position has been to unite a broad front to oppose the blockade and to fight locally and nationally to dismantle its key components including the sanctions, travel ban, and the baseless designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terror. Learn more about DSA’s fight against the blockade: https://international.dsausa.org/cuba-solidarity/ 

Now is the time for DSA and YDSA chapters across the country to get involved with this vital work to end the blockade! The Cuba Solidarity Working Group, working through the IC Americas Subcommittee, is calling on local DSA and YDSA chapters to commit to fighting to end the US Blockade on Cuba by supporting the following goals:

• Our chapter will select a liaison to contribute to national Cuba organizing and coordinate the sharing of information, resources, and calls to action back with our chapter. 

• Our chapter will promote and sign on to coordinated national statements and campaigns with other DSA chapters and partner organizations that seek to dismantle key elements of the blockade, including congressional pressure campaigns. 

• Our chapter will seek to support local, municipal, and state government resolutions for Cuba normalization.

• Our chapter will participate in national political education events about the blockade and seek to organize events for members locally.

• Our chapter will share and promote opportunities for members to travel to Cuba on trips coordinated by DSA and partner organizations.

DSA and YDSA chapter leaders, please fill out the form below to sign your chapter up to participate:

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The Troy City Council will soon be considering adopting a new zoning code, the laws that shape how Troy is developed in the future. The zoning code is the set of rules that developers must abide by, and the zoning code is, arguably, the strongest way the community can influence what their community looks like, feels like, and how it physically works.

The new zoning code, as proposed, is a huge step in the right direction for working people over the current code. It takes large steps to increase the ability of low-income people and people of color by lowering barriers to opening businesses that meet the needs of their communities and adding affordable housing options in wealthier parts of the city, among other things.

However, the zoning falls short of many of the laudable goals and metrics it sets for itself by retaining single-family exclusive districts and low intensity development. We believe that the council should remove single-family exclusive districts and the lowest intensity zone (labeled as Neighborhood I) because this type of development:

• Limits equity and housing affordability: single-family exclusive zoning is historically racist and classist, and was used to keep black families from moving to white neighborhoods. Allowing multi-family units alongside single-family ones can improve opportunity for affordable housing and diversity of both race and income levels in our community .(https://www.planning.org/blog/9228712/grappling-with-the-racist-legacy-of-zoning/)
• Damages environmental sustainability: the proposed code does encourage more environmentally sustainable development in parts of the city (mostly concentrated near the Hudson and South of Lansingburgh), but allowing low intensity and single use development areas still causes environmental harm. Additional vehicle trips and related pollution, energy inefficient buildings, and more inflict harm on all of us, whether we live in these typically more wealthy areas or not. (https://gppreview.com/2019/11/05/green-houses-greenhouse-gases-exclusionary-zoning-climate-catastrophe/) 
• Causes traffic deaths and injuries: the code has a number of provisions to encourage the improvement of the safety of people walking, biking, or rolling. However, it does not strike at the root cause of most traffic violence: the necessity to drive for nearly every trip created by low intensity and exclusively single-family development. The more vehicles on our streets and trips taken, the more traffic deaths and injuries we see. Reducing this type of development will save lives. (https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.93.9.1541)
• Creates fiscal imbalance and inequality: more compact development improves the city’s financial resilience by collecting more tax revenues per acre, and allowing us to build and maintain cheaper infrastructure and services per capita. By keeping single-family exclusive and low intensity zones, the more dense, typically lower-income neighborhoods will continue to subsidize the lower-density, typically wealthier areas in the city’s budget, increasing the cost of living for renters and encouraging displacement. (https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2020/5/14/americas-growth-ponzi-scheme-md2020)

An additional issue is that while the proposed code encourages more mixed use development in more of the city – which increases the quality of life (convenient to grab something from the corner store) and reduces pollution (no need for a vehicle trip) – the code then undercuts this effort by including a buffer around convenience stores so that two stores can’t be across the street (or even down the block) from each other. This means that if the store closest to you doesn’t have the item you need, you may end up walking quite far, which encourages people to simply drive to the store. It also has the effect of granting those store owners who may not be great neighbors something of a local monopoly – making it impossible for competition to offer an alternative. 

Given the social, environmental, health, and fiscal cost of single-family exclusive and low intensity development, it is incumbent on the council to remove this kind of zoning from Troy’s zoning code. The cost of inaction – and half measures – are real and born by the most vulnerable of us. We, the undersigned, call for the Troy City Council to remove the exclusionary and harmful single-family exclusive use districts and the lowest density zones, as well as the convenience store buffer from the proposed code.

Stephen Maples

Mark Speedy

Renee Rhodes

Chel Miller

Anthony Olivares

Peyton Whitney

Dan Phiffer

Dylan Rees

Dara S.

David Banks

Line Kristine Henriksen

Ethan Warren

Rafael varela

Xan Plymale

Kristoph DiMaria

Caroline Nagy

Jack Letourneau

Rindle Glick

Rhea Drysdale

Daniel Graham

Marie H.

Zachary Guthrie