Tonight we’ll continue our series of interviews with the DSA For The Many Slate with David Alexis, a rideshare driver, working class father and climate organizer who is running to represent Senate District 21 in Flatbush, Brooklyn

Many began 2022 with some hope that with Andrew Cuomo out of office, New York might finally be able to pass a state budget that meets the needs of working class people. The budget was due April 1st and is now five days late. Much of the hold up is because of last minute additions from Governor Kathy Hochul to roll back bail reform within the budget and fund a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, owned by billionaire fracker Terry Pegula. And it's not just Governor Hochul doing the bidding of fossil fuel capital in Albany.  We talk to David Alexis about his campaign to unseat Senator Kevin Parker who has stalled climate legislation in Albany earning him the nickname the “Joe Manchin of New York.”  We’ll hear why David is fighting for Public Power for his neighbors in Flatbush, how being a dad impacted his run for office and his vision for public safety and housing.

Follow @David4BK or visit https://www.davidforbk.com/ for more info on David. 

 

 

Colorado Springs Democratic Socialists of America supports strong legislative protections for public sector workers. We support a bill that will allow all public sector workers the same rights that other workers enjoy, to collectively bargain, including the right to strike. We support a bill that respects and celebrates public sector workers who contribute to the state of Colorado and its citizens every day. Colorado Springs DSA believes that public sector workers deserve a seat at the table and to be part of the decision making process in their workplace. Colorado Springs DSA supports a strong bill that gives public sector workers democracy, not just at the ballot box, but also in the space where they spend the largest portion of their waking lives.

The right to collectively bargain is a basic right enjoyed by most workers in the state of Colorado and throughout the U.S. To deny this right to workers serving the public is to tell firefighters, teachers, healthcare workers, and anyone that serves the community that they don’t deserve basic dignity. A strong bill granting public sector workers the right to do what any other worker can do is simply asking for respect and equality. This is what the Colorado Springs DSA stands for and nothing less. If Governor Polis is worried about the ability to strike, maybe he should ask himself why this would even be a concern. Is Governor Polis aware of the low pay, poor treatment, and mediocre benefits of the people who serve the citizens of Colorado?  Does he not care?  Is he worried that empowered workers might actually have a reason to strike?  

Colorado Springs DSA demands that any legislation pertaining to public sector workers’ rights be fair and equal, not simply meaningless gestures. If the bill moving forward creates no real or meaningful change, the bill is less than useless. Any bill not granting public sector workers the same rights as other workers is simply spitting in the face of public workers. A weakened bill tells public sector workers that they aren’t worth as much, and that’s something we cannot stand for. We believe in democracy in the workplace. We believe that public sector workers have every right to make their voice heard and have a real and meaningful say in how they spend the vast majority of their lives. Let it be clear, any bill that fails to give workers the right to strike and collectively bargain is a bill that Colorado Springs DSA will actively and vocally oppose.

Tim Ryan may think echoing Trump-style generalizations will win him Republican votes, but using fear-mongering tactics against Ohio families will do nothing to grow the working class’ prosperity or keep those at risk of racist violence safe. It is simply unacceptable and abhorrent. In a time when Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders regularly face racially-based violence, Ryan’s ad further fans the flames of xenophobic Republicans who would rather deflect the criticism of America’s ruling class onto Asian Americans than be held accountable for their part in the decline of good-paying, union jobs.

The decline of Ohio’s manufacturing is not the fault of China, or any other nation, it is because Ohio’s political class is more focused on coddling big business donors and promoting the interests of Wall Street than building the power of workers in government and their workplace. No matter how much politicians want to blame other countries, the decrease in workers’ wages is a failure of capitalism and its enablers in government. When politicians serve the bosses and not the workers, Ohio manufacturing will always be at risk of disappearing, and the profits of Ohio’s labor will always be in the pockets of corporate CEOs.

Columbus DSA stands in solidarity with Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders of Ohio against racist attacks. We call on Tim Ryan to remove his disgusting ad, publicly apologize to the Ohioans he has put at risk, and change his campaign strategy to one that will actually promote workers’ interest: democratic ownership of their business.

We spoke with a Starbucks worker-organizer from Buffalo, NY back in January here on RPM, and since that time the fight has only gotten hotter. As of today, over 170 Starbucks locations in 27 states have filed for elections with the National Labor Relations Board – including several right here in New York City! With union victories in Buffalo, Arizona, Tennessee, at the heart of the Starbucks mythology in its hometown of Seattle, Washington, and more coming in every day, Starbucks corporate is upping the pressure on organizing workers and resorting to classic union-busting techniques. This month, DSA’s national labor commission launched a nation-wide campaign to engage DSA members and allies in support of coffee workers unionizing locally.  On tonight’s show, we’re live in the studio with Aimes, a Starbucks worker-organizer from the Starbucks Roastery in Chelsea, Manhattan, and Honda, from the national DSA Labor steering committee. We’ll be discussing Starbucks union campaigns in New York City, and what you can do to support local workers no matter where you’re tuning in from.

 

Follow @DSA_Labor and @SBWorkersUnited for updates on this campaign. Join Astoria Boulevard Starbucks worker-organizers for a rally on Friday, April 1 at 6pm outside their store at 3018 Astoria Boulevard, and follow them at @astoriablvdsbx. Solidarity to the worker-organizers of the Chelsea Reserve Roastery on their election on 4/1, and to all retail and service workers organizing today. 

Tonight we’re joined live in the studio by Sessi Kuwabara Blanchard  and Jacob Clary, organizers from NYC-DSA’s Socialist Drug Politics Organizing Committee. We discuss the class politics of drug use, overdose prevention centers AKA safe injection sites, and much more. Learn how the transformative perspective of socialist drug politics offers different ways of understanding drug use and the social forces that shape users' experience.

 

We also return to the South Bronx, where survivors of January’s devastating Twin Parks fire and their supporters are fighting for what they are owed from the city and landlord, in the face of corruption that may go all the way to the top of New York’s political structure. We speak to Ariadna Phillips from South Bronx Mutual Aid and Misra Walker from Take Back the Bronx on building real tenant power.

 

Follow the Socialist Drug Politics Organizing Committee on Twitter @socialistdrugs.

 

Join VOCAL-NY's Users Union for a Statewide Day of Action on April 7. The NYC event is a rally on the steps of City Hall at 11am. Sign up to receive more details here: https://vocal-ny.org/event/04-07-22-users-union-statewide-day-of-action/

San Antonio DSA expresses solidarity and support for the Starbucks baristas who are joining together and standing up for their rights as workers to form a union. Starbucks claims to be a progressive company, so they should live up to their professed values and stop making threats and intimidating their own employees. We know Starbucks workers will win their union, and with it the power to demand basic dignities such as reasonable scheduling, proper training, and a fair share of the record profits they’ve brought in. 

The energy and demand behind the union drive came from the workers, but we’ve offered what we would to anyone—an organizer skills training, connection to our DSA city council representatives, and the solidarity of showing up. We urge everyone to support the unionizing workers by using the name “Union Strong” or “Union Yes” with their order, making sure to tip baristas, and by joining our national Solidarity is Brewing! campaign kickoff on March 27th at 5pm: https://actionnetwork.org/events/solidarity-is-brewing-launch-call/

First Starbucks, then the River Walk! All service workers deserve a union.  dsausa.org/join

Madison Area DSA’s Executive Committee condemns in the strongest possible terms the National Political Committee of DSA’s decision to de-charter the BDS & Palestine Solidarity Working Group. That the NPC would take this dramatic action to discipline an official working group composed of dedicated DSA members, while refusing to discipline a sitting Congressman with enormous power and a tenuous commitment to DSA, speaks volumes about their politics and priorities. 

The BDSWG was established by DSA’s National Convention, its highest decision-making body, in 2019. Numerous chapters and DSA members reiterated their support for the BDS & Palestine Solidarity Working Group throughout the fall and winter of 2021 and early 2022. The NPC didn’t acknowledge this outpouring as it was happening and continues to ignore the will of numerous chapters and DSA members with its actions now. The NPC reveals its total disdain for the will of the membership at large by de-chartering this working group with the smallest possible majority in a 9-8 vote. As socialists whose hopes for a better world lie in the self-activity of the grassroots and the rank and file, we find this profoundly despicable. 

The NPC claims to have made its decision out of a desire to uphold democratic norms and enforce accountability. But it is clear that de-chartering the working group was a politically motivated attack on a dissenting group through procedural means. We are deeply concerned about the precedent set by this decision. For a democratic, socialist organization to thrive, discussion, debate, and disagreement must be allowed. When dissent from leadership is met with harassment, discipline, and dissolution, the only purpose can be to stifle the very openness that produces the best politics. Similar tactics have destroyed other socialist organizations. 

We fear that there will be serious repercussions to the organization as a result of this decision. It is likely that the NPC’s decision will cause irreparable harm to our organization’s relationship to other Palestine liberation and solidarity organizations and activists, including activists in our own ranks. We also anticipate that many DSA members will choose to leave the organization, unwilling to continue under its banner after this. While this might be a happy byproduct for those interested in cultivating a more politically homogeneous group, we find it deeply regrettable. Over the course of the last five years, members of Madison Area DSA have worked hard to rebuild a thriving, active chapter, full of dedicated activists. It is frustrating that the NPC’s conduct might cost us members.

Finally, while this conduct from the NPC would be distressing in any context, the timing of this particular decision is especially upsetting. Israeli Apartheid Week – a global week of action denouncing apartheid – begins today, Monday, March 21, just three days after the NPC announced its elimination of our organization’s BDS & Palestine Solidarity Working Group. This decision also comes at a moment when the world’s response to Ukrainian suffering and struggle to defend its self-determination has so many of us reflecting on how differently the world responds to Palestinian pain and resistance. At precisely the moment when our organization should be coming together to resist imperialism everywhere and raise consciousness around these inconsistencies, the NPC divides us and attempts to fold a working group that was already engaged in that work.   

We call on the NPC to reverse this decision and lift its ban on leaders of the BDSWG holding other leadership positions. 

We offer our solidarity to the members of the BDSWG.

The Colorado Springs Democratic Socialists of America condemn the actions of the Colorado Springs Police Department for their undercover surveillance of Colorado Springs DSA members and actions, along with other local leftist organizations. Such surveillance is anti-democratic and is intended to intimidate left-leaning individuals in an effort to prevent organizing efforts that promote equity and justice and threaten the current distribution of power.

We call on all democratically elected city leaders to join us in publicly condemning the unwarranted undercover surveillance of above-ground democratic organizations. It is vital that our leadership sets a precedent for the city that any threats to our democratic process will not be tolerated. We citizens of Colorado Springs deserve to live in a city where we are free to exercise our democratic rights to organize peacefully for policies that reflect our values. Regardless of political orientation, all city leaders must come out against actions that undermine the very democratic process that got them elected so that we can continue to have free and fair elections for people of all political affiliations. A threat to one is a threat to all.

We also call on all leftist organizers, including Colorado Springs DSA members and others targeted by CSPD, to publicly condemn the actions of CSPD. In the face of aggression and intimidation, it is more important than ever for us to take a stand and let CSPD know that we will not back down from organizing for the change we want to see in the city. 

In addition to undercover surveillance, there have been allegations of attempts by CSPD to manufacture crime where there is none. Recently some leftists have reported attempts by the undercover officer, April Rogers (alias Chelsie Kurti), to entrap members of the leftist community into helping her acquire illegal firearms, as well as to lay the foundation for the organization of an armed left-wing militia. While we applaud the integrity of our leftist comrades in declining to cooperate, we must also take a stand against the efforts of CSPD to manufacture crime that could then be used to entrap naturally law-abiding members of the leftist community. 

We also call out the dishonesty in CSPD’s official media statement on their actions. Their insistence that, “CSPD does not target groups or organizations based upon political affiliation or ideology. We are committed to safeguarding our citizens’ constitutional rights, including freedom of speech and the right to assemble. CSPD does however investigate criminal activity or allegations of criminal activity even if that person is a member of a political organization,” is not only misleading to the public, but is also false. In addition to attempts to instigate criminal activity, officer April Rogers also committed a misdemeanor crime under Colorado State law for registering to vote under her false identity. These actions are not only hypocritical and indicative of police corruption, but are further signs of an abuse of power meant to oppress a left political movement.

As an official chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, we value the preservation and expansion of democracy to create a more just and equitable world for all. We will continue to organize for the realization of our values unabashed and unafraid, and we are dedicated to peacefully pushing back against any efforts to silence or intimidate our organization and our individual members. We stand together as proud champions of justice and democracy, now and always. 

After three long weeks, Putin’s war with Ukraine has devastated the region with mass shellings of Ukrainian towns and villages, and bombings that have included hospitals and kindergartens. All of this has been under the banal guise of a [quote] “special military operation”, words which ring hollow to any Leftist familiar with the lies of Imperial Powers. This assault has taken thousands of Ukrainian lives and made tens of thousands more into refugees. With lines of Russian tanks that stretch for miles, marching onward to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, it can be easy to forget that this war carries the weight of history. To explore some of the deeper, historical complexities that led to this war, covering past, present, and future, we talked with Volodymyr Ishchenko, a Ukrainian sociologist and scholar of Eastern European history. Meanwhile back here in New York City, tens of thousands suffer under the regime of mass incarceration. Starting at the age of 15, Prakash Churaman lost six years of his life in pretrial detention after being forced into a false confession by the NYPD. Authorities claim he murdered his best friend, but there is no physical or forensic evidence linking him to the crime. Only the words of a scared, young kid locked in a room. Prakash proclaims his innocence and refuses to take any plea deal. Despite limited access to the outside world, Prakash organized to gather bail money for his release. Last week we spoke with Prakash and his lawyer Jose Nieves about his story and the Free Prakash Alliance.

The city of Lakeland is in talks about further criminalizing homelessness and poverty as well as cracking down on the organizations who step in to help their neighbors.
Private citizens and organizations have been handing out food to anyone in need for years in public parks like Munn Park, Webster Park and Dobbins Park with the support of the community. These organizations are providing hundreds of meals and drinks, free clothing, hygiene and personal supplies, books and art supplies, and more to anyone in need in Lakeland.
People will often walk up to tables and give kind words and even offer to come back with donations. Community members support these programs and it’s their encouragement that keeps them going. These organizations are led by local citizens who got started because everyday people are coming up and asking for help.
It’s a misconception that the only people who need help are unhoused. There are working people who can’t afford lunch, elderly people on fixed income, families and children who have run out of benefits for the month, people with disabilities, and people who just find themselves needing some extra help that day.
All of the groups who are providing mutual aid and services to their community are well within their rights to do so. As noted by the city attorney in the linked Ledger article, public sharing of food is legally considered a protected First Amendment right that’s strongly protected in places like public parks and sidewalks. There’s been many court cases establishing that limiting the ability to provide free meals to the public is a violation of free speech and free association.
If you support this kind of work and enjoy living in a community that is made up of active and compassionate people, please use the QR code in the graphic or follow the link below to send a letter to the Lakeland City Commission and the Mayor telling them that you do not want further criminalization of homelessness and you do not want laws passed preventing churches, organizations, or private citizens from helping their neighbors and community.
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/oppose-anti-homeless-measures-in-lakeland