Thorn West: Issue No. 217

State Politics

• AB X2 – 1, which requires oil companies to maintain higher reserves with the goal of preventing gasoline price spikes, was approved by the State Senate today in a special legislative session. All that remains now is for the Assembly to approve the Senate’s amendments. Governor Newsom promoted the legislation and called for the special session.

City Politics

• DSA-LA has released its voter guide for this November! Read and share!

• Across California, ballots are in the mail. Here is how to register to vote.

• A quarter of the way through the current fiscal year, the city has already spent the entire $100 million budgeted to settle liability claims against the city. The Controller’s office had previously broken down which city departments are most responsible, with the LAPD responsible for over half of the city’s liability.

• Following the latest round of settlement payouts, the city’s reserve fund is now below 4% of the total general fund, and is likely to dip further. Per the Controller’s office, dropping below 2.75% triggers an official “fiscal emergency.”

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• Amid a budget crisis, Charter Amendment FF would spend 23 million to give certain police officers and park rangers better pensions. The LA Times (and DSA-LA) endorses a no vote.

• Non-stop fear-mongering from media, politicians, and law enforcement about a non-existent crime wave appears to have made an impact on voters. Nathan Hochman, considered the most right-wing primary challenger of incumbent LA County District Attorney George Gascón, leads him in the general by high double digits, according to a recent poll. Similarly, Prop 36, which rolls back criminal justice reforms voters approved in 2014, also shows broad support in polls.

Labor

• 2,400 Kaiser Permanente behavioral health workers in Southern California, represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, have announced that they will go on indefinite strike beginning on October 21 if their demands are not met. At issue are several concessions won by a similar strike of Kaiser workers in Northern California, in 2022.

Transportation

• AB 761, which further enables California municipalities to take advantage of federal loans to fund critical infrastructure projects, has officially passed. The new funding opportunity has been suggested as a way to expedite the planned extension of the Metro K Line from LAX to West Hollywood.
• This Sunday from 9am – 4pm, CicLAvia will hold one of its biggest car-free open streets events of the year, closing a route sprawling from Echo Park to East LA to all auto traffic.

Climate Justice

• The California Air Resource Board will soon consider whether to amend the Low Carbon Fuel Standard to require that gasoline manufactured in California produce less carbon-intense emissions. Meanwhile, the media has focused on the likelihood that this would likely raise the price of gas.

The post DSA-LA Voter Guide is Here + LA Over Budget On Liability Claims appeared first on The Thorn West.

This month we are proud to present part two in our three-part series on noted Maine socialist and naturalist, Norman Wallace Lermond. This episode focuses on Lermond’s political radicalization, his active role in the early socialist movement in America, and his efforts to help the Brotherhood of the Co-operative Commonwealth establish the Equality Colony in Washington state. Please listen, share, and enjoy!

The post Maine Mural: A Maine Socialist – Norman Wallace Lermond, pt. 2 appeared first on Pine & Roses.

Editor’s Note: The following remarks were delivered by ROC DSA’s Internal Organizer Skye, at the March to End Fossil Fuels, held Friday, September 27 and organized by Metro Justice and other ROC DSA allies.

Poverty. Global warming. The ongoing genocide in Palestine. These are just some of the threats of our time, and to win against them we must recognize they are all the same struggle: The struggle against capitalism. It is the capitalist’s endless quest for profit that keeps workers deciding between whether to buy groceries or to pay their ever increasing rent. It is the war profiteers who benefit when they sell a bomb that is used to wipe out a Palestinian family. It is the owner class putting their own interests over those of the working class that is killing our planet! Let’s tackle these one by one. 

Every megayacht and private jet polluting our atmosphere represents the unpaid wages of the workers who put in the labor that allowed the capitalist to purchase their fancy toys in the first place. Wages that could have provided their family financial stability, put food on the table, bought a house, put a kid through college. It is the workers who do the work, it is the workers who should reap the reward! 

Locally, there’s a company you might have heard of, RG&E. They extract 100 million dollars in profit from their rate payers Every. Single. Year. That $100 million in profit goes to their shareholders, including those of their parent company Iberdrola, which isn’t even based here! It’s all the way in Spain!

Imagine what we could do with that money if we, the ratepayers, owned RG&E: We could lower rates, keep more local union jobs, and build more publicly owned renewable energy. A future that is not dominated by the insatiable profit motive means a future that is bright, clean, and democratic. 

Lastly, how does Palestine fit into all this? Since October 7th, Israel has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, with US supplied bombs. Bombs you and I paid for. The official count is close to 40,000 dead, but we all know it’s higher than that, with uncounted bodies trapped under the rubble throughout occupied Palestine.

It is in the best interests of the shareholders of Raytheon, Lockheed, Boeing, and right here in Rochester—L3HARRIS—to continue the genocide and keep the sale of weaponry flowing.

This genocide is directly impacting the climate. The climate impact of the first 60 days after October 7th was equivalent to burning 150,000 tons of coal; almost half of this from US cargo aircraft flying weaponry and equipment from the US to Israel. That was just the first 60 days—we’re on day 356. To save lives and the planet, this genocide must end. 

These struggles stem from the same cause: capitalism, and that demands a united response. A movement bound together in common cause, a movement united in solidarity, a working class movement to advance the cause of socialism! 

The post Chapter Statement: All the Same Struggle first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

Thorn West: Issue No. 216

State Politics

• The deadline for Governor Newsom to sign or veto state legislation passed on Monday. Prominent legislation vetoed by the governor include SB 1047, an AI safety bill, SB 961, a bill that mandated new cars sold California warn drivers when they’re speeding, and AB 3129, which would have allowed the state to block private equity purchases of health care facilities. Further roundup here. 

• Newsom approved several bills that derived from the work of the California Reparations Task Force, including one that required the state to acknowledge and formally apologize for the its role in American chattel slavery. However, Newsom vetoed SB 1050, which facilitated restitution for those who had property taken through racially motivated eminent domain, because it relied on a separate bill to establish a Freedmen Affairs Agency, which was stalled just before the legislative deadline.

• It’s rarely noted in media coverage of vetoed legislation, but of the 189 bills Newsom vetoed, 170 passed with veto-proof majorities in both chambers. However, the legislature has not overridden a governor’s veto since 1979.

City Politics

• Newly appointed City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson sat for an interview with LA Public Press

• Leaked documents revealed that the state attorney general wants Los Angeles to redraw council districts ahead of the 2026 election, after the most recent redistricting process in 2020 was discredited by scandal.

• Mayor Bass has appointed former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell to serve as chief of the LAPD. Next, City Council will vote on the appointment.

• Two candidates from DSA-LA’s 2024 endorsement slate have received endorsements from the LA Times: Karla Griego for School Board District 5 and Ysabel Jurado for CD 14. To help get DSA-LA’s endorsed candidates elected, see our event calendar, or sign up for a working group here.

Housing Rights

• DSA-LA was part of a coalition that organized a tenants and workers solidarity march on Saturday to demand affordable rent and liveable wages. This year, the city will reconsider the formula that determines how much  rent on the city’s rent-stabilized units can be raised each year. DSA-LA is organizing to ensure that the adjustments favor tenants; see here for more.

• The city of Los Angeles must increase its zoning capacity by 250,000 residential units to comply with state housing law. The LA Times notes that almost all of this added capacity is currently being planned for already dense areas. This makes it more likely that building the new units will come at the expense of tenants, and will require demolishing existing rent controlled units.

The post Tenants and Workers Rally for Fair Rent and Wages + Gov Newsom Vetoes 16% of 2024 Legislation appeared first on The Thorn West.

Last month, several GRDSA folks traveled to the Straits of Mackinac for a gathering of Great Lakes Water Protectors. We joined a potluck, a kayak paddle-out, a water festival and a day of workshops on a gorgeous campsite.

The impetus for this annual gathering is the struggle to stop the construction of the pipeline tunnel across the Mackinac straits and ultimately shut down Line 5 completely.

In many ways, it’s fitting that this took place over Labor Day weekend. This holiday is disproportionately enjoyed by those who work weekday 9-5 jobs, while many working class people, often doing essential jobs, still have to work.

We know that the current and coming environmental crisis will disproportionately affect working class people who don’t have the resources to adapt to disasters caused by pipeline spills and continued reliance on fossil fuels. These challenges range from access to clean water to mitigating damage from floods and extreme weather events.

The struggle against Line 5 is also deeply related to indigenous land and water rights as it trespasses on tribal land and threatens access to traditional food sources. They would be disproportionately hurt if it were to ever break, despite having no say in its construction or maintenance. Every day Line 5 is allowed to operate risks disaster, if it were to fail it would cause incalculable damage to our environment and drinking water for generations. That’s why it’s so important we protest it every chance we get, only a mass movement of those most affected can finally remove this threat.

The post Protect Our Water: End Line 5 appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, October 2 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1630 Haight)

Wednesday, October 2 (6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): New Member Happy Hour (In person at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia)

Thursday, October 3 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1630 Haight)

Thursday, October 3 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group (In person at 1916 McAllister and on Zoom)

Friday, October 4 (11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Canvass (Meet in person at 876 Valencia)

Friday, October 4 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Friday, October 4 (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Voter Guide Research Party: Candidate Edition! (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, October 5 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder for D9 Supervisor Mobilization (Meet at TBD)

Saturday, October 5 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Outreach Training (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, October 5 (4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Bay Area Benefit Concert for Gaza: Nurturing Sumud (In person at Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, 1433 Madison Street, Oakland)

Sunday, October 6 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Mega Mobilization for Dean Preston (Meet at Jefferson Square Park at Turk & Laguna)

Sunday, October 6 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Palestine Mobilization: One Year of Genocide, One Year of Resistance (In person at Valencia & 16th St)

Monday, October 7 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): Maker Monday (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Monday, October 7 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Reading Group: Marx’s Wage Labor and Capital (On Zoom)

Wednesday, October 9 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): October General Meeting (In person at 2973 16th St and on Zoom)

Thursday, October 10 (6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Ecosocialist Monthly Meeting (In person at 1916 McAllister and on Zoom)

Saturday, October 12 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Location TBD)

Sunday, October 13 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder for D9 Supervisor Mobilization (Meet at TBD)

Sunday, October 13 (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Canvass (Meet at TBD)

Monday, October 14 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Meeting (In person at 1916 McAllister and on Zoom)

Monday, October 14 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Tenderloin Healing Circle (In person at 220 Golden Gate)

Monday, October 14 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (On Zoom)

Check out https://dsasf.org/events for more events and updates.

Events & Actions

Bay Area Benefit Concert for Gaza: Nurturing Sumud

Join your DSA SF comrades and our coalition partners on Saturday, October 5th at a benefit concert for Gaza, in support of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people facing this ongoing genocide. This will be a night of Palestinian art and culture, with performances by Ramzi Aburedwan & his Dalouna Ensemble featuring Ouday Al Khatib. All proceeds of the event will be donated to the Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance (MECA). MECA has been instrumental in providing emergency assistance to families who have fled their homes. 

Want help covering the ticket cost for you or a friend? Reach out in the #palestine-solidarity Slack channel and we will buy tickets for you!

Palestine Mobilization: One Year of Genocide, One Year of Resistance

This October marks one year since Israel’s ramping up of the ongoing Palestinian genocide, we will be hitting the streets with Palestinian Youth Movement, AROC,  and others from the Palestinian Action Network coalition to commemorate the lives lost and honor the continued resistance of the Palestinian people. Please join us at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 6 at 16th St & Valencia. RSVP to join the Signal chat for our contingent; we will sort out our exact meeting point and time from there.

Volunteer with the Dean Team This Week!

Come volunteer with the Extreme Dean Team this week. We have five different opportunities for you to show up and show out:

• 10/1: Turnout Tuesday (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at 1916 McAllister)
• 10/2, 10/3: Phonebanking (5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at 1630 Haight)
• 10/5: Canvass with SF Young Dems (Meet at 10:00 a.m. at Alamo Square at Scott & Hayes)
• 10/6: Mobilize with Edward Wright for BART, SF Latino Dem Club, and the Harvey Milk Club (10:00 a.m. at Jefferson Square Park at Turk & Laguna)

Dean’s office is also open 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day and always looking for volunteers. Drop by if you’re interested in helping the campaign!

Maker Monday

Join the Tenderloin Healing Circle and the Palestine Solidarity & Anti-Imperialist Working Group in an art make at the office on Monday, October 7 at 7:00 p.m.! We’ll be crafting buttons and flyers with lino prints, markers, and more.

No Appetite for Apartheid in SF!

Inspired by long-standing Palestinian boycott tactics and the BDS call, the Palestine Solidarity Anti-Imperialist Working Group are canvassing local stores and asking them to pledge to become Apartheid-Free by dropping products from companies complicit in the genocide of Palestinians and colonization of Palestine. It’s time to turn up the heat on this apartheid regime and take apartheid off our plates!

Want to show your support? Sign our Apartheid-Free Pledge so business owners know how popular this movement is with their local customers. After signing the pledge, we would love to see you at any of our upcoming campaign strategy sessions and canvassing days. Check dsasf.org/events for updates.

Behind the Scenes

The Chapter Coordination Committee (CCC) regularly rotates duties among chapter members. This allows us to train new members in key duties that help keep the chapter running like organizing chapter meetings, keeping records updated, office cleanup, updating the DSA SF website and newsletter, etc. Members can view current CCC rotations.

To help with the day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running, fill out the CCC help form.

Statement of Solidarity with the International Longshoremen's Association

For Immediate Release: October 1 2024

Contact: northnj@dsanj.org 

 

North NJ DSA stands in solidarity with the International Longshoremen’s Association as the clock ends on USMX’s disgraceful responses to the union’s demands. As multinational corporations move their wealth around, the ILA stands on business demanding what the nation’s largest maritime worker union, and all workers deserve–more. 

 

We support the locals in North Jersey, and call on DSA members to support active pickets at ports from Maine to Texas.

In addition, this strike also coincides with the one year anniversary of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Let us remember that the capitalist bosses who are cracking down on the rights of dockworkers are also providing critical backing for Israel’s settler-colonial war in Palestine and Lebanon. An ILA strike could potentially halt arms shipments to Israel and make a firm show of solidarity with the Palestinian working class.

 

To truly have worker interests in mind, the U.S. government must side with those striking as well as refocus the trillions of taxpayer dollars funding war and genocide overseas into creating quality jobs and public services for all back at home, from education to healthcare. However, we cannot rely on the political establishment to achieve this as both Republicans and Democrats have repeatedly deferred to corporate and imperial interests and crushed workers’ strikes.

 

It is incumbent that DSA and the socialist movement pick up this fight. We encourage the sharpening of class consciousness among rank and file workers taking part and taking notice of this strike by drawing links between imperialist wars abroad and repression at home. We support the workers in this moment while calling on union leadership to fight for their rights as well as demand an end to illegal arms shipments to Israel, which directly violate Section 6201 of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act. We stand with said leadership and remain firm if the Biden administration attempts to intervene in the strike, as it did during the 2022 railroad strike, for it is within the union’s right and power to hold the administration to account for its flagrant and immoral violation of domestic and international law.

 

When the shipments that make our economy move come to a halt, we’re all reminded by the power of an organized working class and the withholding of our labor to fight for a better society.

 

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Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States. DSA is building a working class movement from the bottom-up, establishing a democratic socialist presence from the workplace to our neighborhoods and broader society.

The post Statement of Solidarity with Striking ILA first appeared on North NJ DSA.