We are issuing the following statement regarding the theft and defacement of our bus stop benches by a local fascist group, as well as Commissioner Dane Scalise’s response to their actions and his promise to get in the way of mutual aid efforts to provide a place for all to rest. We will also take the opportunity to further contextualize this situation.

One of the key aspects of Democratic Socialism is the practice of mutual aid, which aims to share resources without seeking profit, build solidarity, and ultimately lead to community self-determination. Repurposing the waste of Capitalism by collecting discarded lumber and inviting neighbors to improve their community is a form of mutual aid. Residents are entitled to a better life than what their governments provide. The messages on our benches are an expression of that solidarity with the city and people in it. The physical structure is a material good to improve the lives of those living here. Our name is as essential to the benches as anything else. The benches are not a secret advertisement for democratic socialism; the benches themselves are the product of Democratic Socialism. DSA doesn’t dictate the hopeful messages that are painted on our benches as some form of advertising, they come from the hearts of the community members who come to our public bench paints. The benches exist because to us Socialism is when everyone works together to assure the means to secure their own agency and dignity. This means a right to housing, medical care, education, fast and reliable public transit and yes, the right to a place to sit and rest in public.

The stolen bench says “Socialism is Slavery” and “Socialists want to take everything that you have except your job.” Disagreements aside, we appreciate the irony that the vandals could only display their message on a bench built by socialists which they proceeded to steal instead of building something on their own. We have no plans to play tag for a stolen and repainted bench. That serves no one, especially the individuals who used that bench to get to and from work, or around the city. If the bench is, indeed, at a new location, we hope it is able to be used by people who need it. 

Dane Scalise, vice-chair of county commissioners, and Luke Waddell, a former city councilmember, have now both come forward calling for “decisiveness,” and Scalise has requested permission from NCDOT for the County to remove all benches to avoid “vigilantism” and “lawlessness.” It is noteworthy Scalise and Waddell offered no solutions to the transit issues in our city, just the removal of material goods that had been in place for up to 15 months without issue until now. They barely attempt to hide their political motives, with Scalise going so far as to suggest he will do everything in his power to prevent Wave from “partnering” with the DSA. He makes it apparent that he’d rather transit riders stand rather than sit on a bench built by socialists. Their solution only makes everyday transit riders’ lives harder. Holding up the actions of a small group of fascists as a justification is only punishing the people of Wilmington for the actions of an isolated minority. We want to be clear: these people are not concerned with public safety; they are concerned with denying a service to the community because they’re scared of the theory it is born out of. They are scared of a world where everyone has their needs met, because that is a world where they have no power. This project is not intended to empower either political party. We are first and foremost affiliated with the people of Wilmington. 

We acted because we want to highlight the contradiction between what people can do with small resources, and what hasn’t been done by those with ample resources. The state of public transit in Wilmington is not set in stone. This city and county have the money and resources for improvements. It comes from policy decisions, made by our elected leaders, and carried out by staff. That means it can be changed. Anyone who is telling you otherwise, or telling you they are helpless and that you just need to vote more, is lying to you. If you appreciate our work and want to see it continue, please come build and paint benches with us, and sign on to our letter campaign demanding that Commissioner Dane Scalise and the rest of the county commissioners stop obstructing our work caring for the people of Wilmington. 

In June, ILWU Local 6 and Local 10 workers at C&H Sugar in Crockett, CA went on strike against contract takeaways and to demand the company negotiate in good faith. The company responded by rerouting a shipment of raw sugar to a nearby non-union facility, bypassing the striking ILWU workers, and dumping sugar from Negros Island in the Philippines onto its docks. Negros, where just months earlier, the Armed Forces of the Philippines massacred 19 human rights activists, community journalists, and land defenders, including Bay Area organizer and SFSU alumnus Lyle Prijoles.

On August 7 at 6:00 PM at the DSA office (1916 McAllister St), come to Bloody Sugar: The C&H Strike and Justice for Land Defenders in the Philippines, where we’ll connect the C&H strike to the struggle of Filipino sugar workers and land defenders, examine sugar’s bloody history and the imperialist global supply chains that bind us together in struggle, and discuss how we can organize in solidarity here in San Francisco. 

• RSVP for Bloody Sugar: the C&H Strike and Justice for Land Defenders in the Philippines
• Read DSA SF’s statement: Justice for Lyle Prijoles and the Negros 19!

Tuesday August 4 (5:30 PM – 7:00 PM) Social Housing Working Group (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Wednesday August 5 (6:00 PM – 9:00 PM) Social Housing Happy Hour (MOTHERSHIP, 3152 Mission St)

Wednesday August 5 (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM) Tech Worker Reading Group (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

 Thursday August 6 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Education Board Open Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Thursday August 6 (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM) Immigrant Justice Regular Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Friday August 7 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Bloody Sugar: the C&H Strike and Justice for Land Defenders in the Philippines (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

 Saturday August 8 (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM) No Appetite for Apartheid: Consumer Pledge Canvass (Dolores Park, by the Miguel Higalgo Statue)

 Saturday August 8 (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM) Fundamentals of Tenant Organizing [ETOC] (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Sunday August 9 (5:00 PM – 6:00 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle Working Group Meeting (zoom only)

 Monday August 10 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle (Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Ave)

 Monday August 10 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM)Labor Working Group Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

 Tuesday August 11 (6:30 PM – 8:30 PM) Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting(zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

 Wednesday August 12 (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM)DSA SF General Meeting (zoom and in person at Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco, 1187 Franklin Street (at Geary) in the Starr King Room)

 Saturday August 15 (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM) Fundamentals of Tenant Organizing [ETOC] (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

 Saturday August 15 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Homelessness Working Group Food Service (Patricia’s Green Picnic Area, 499 1/2 Hayes St)

 Sunday August 16 (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM) Affordable Housing Guarantee Act Field Kickoff (Duboce Park)

 Monday August 17 (6:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Homelessness Working Group Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Bloody Sugar: the C&H Strike and Justice for Land Defenders in the Philippines

Join us on the evening of Friday, August 7 at 6:00 PM at the DSA SF office, 1916 McAllister St — we’re hosting a guest speaker from San Francisco Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines to discuss the recent events that connect the strike against C&H Sugar in Crockett, California to the massacre of 19 land defenders and activists in Toboso, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. We’ll dive into sugar’s bloody history, learn about the links in the imperialist global supply chain that bind us together in struggle, and discuss what we can do here in San Francisco.

RSVP for Bloody Sugar: the C&H Strike and Justice for Land Defenders in the Philippines

Apartheid-Free Bay Area Consumer Pledge Canvassing

Come join us for our next No Appetite for Apartheid consumer canvass! We will be meeting in Dolores Park on August 8 at 11:00 AM at the Miguel Hidalgo Statue. Help build support for the 200 apartheid-free zones our campaign has established in SF.

RSVP for the NA4A Canvass 

Social Housing Ballot Measure Field Kickoff

Great news: according to recent polling, the DSA SF-endorsed Affordable Housing Guarantee Act has support the support of 67% of San Franciscans, but there are still so many who haven’t heard about the measure yet. We need your help to make sure every San Franciscan hears about this measure directly from us – join us to kickoff the field campaign for the Affordable Housing Guarantee Act, Sunday, August 16 at 11:00 AM at Duboce Park.

RSVP for the Social Housing Ballot Measure Field Kickoff

Picnic in the Park

Join your friendly neighborhood socialists at Dolores Park on August 22 from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM for an afternoon hanging out in the park. Great for families and new members! Bring snacks to share and a blanket! Meet in picnic area by the playground.

Beach Day with Palestine Solidarity Working Group

Join the Palestine Solidarity Working Group at Ocean Beach on August 29 at 2:00 PM as we play some games and enjoy some time on the beach together! We’ll have snacks/drinks and a volleyball net, and of course we will be snagging a bonfire pit for the vibes.  Please bring whatever you’d like to roast over the fire and come learn more about our work with Palestine!

RSVP for Beach Day via Partiful

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

Know Your Rights Canvassing in the Fillmore

A small but mighty crew of four DSA members met at Raymond Kimbell Park on Saturday, August 1st to do some Know Your Rights Canvassing in the Fillmore District. The group went out into the community to chat with employees and business owners about what to do in the event of ICE agents showing up at their business. Informational handouts in both English and Spanish were distributed along with red cards that provide an easy script on what to say if you are in a situation confronting ICE.

Several blocks of Fillmore were covered and the businesses were receptive and often appreciative of the information being given to them. It also was a chance for DSA members to interact with the public in general, and some direct conversations were sparked with members of the community. DSA members enthusiastically encouraged curious people to seek out https://dsasf.org/events/ to get involved.

If you are interested in joining our next KYR Canvassing event or have suggestions on neighborhoods we should visit please join our Immigrant Justice Slack channel or check the events page for our upcoming meetings and planned community events.

EWOC Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing Week #3
Last Tuesday, we held our third session of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) course Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing, a four week course that goes into the basics of organizing: from organizing committees to inoculation against the boss. A group of about 10 met in person at 1916 McAllister to watch the course plenary before engaging in group discussion about the material.

This week’s topic was “Collective Action and Escalation” and was focused on the approach of building the cohesion and unity within a workplace necessary to make demands of the bosses. The plenary emphasized that Organizing Committees need to pick issues that promote worker cohesion in the campaign. Following that: the demands in a campaign need to be widely and deeply felt, definable, specific, measurable, and significant enough to actually change peoples’ lives. Also noted was the fact that often the choice of campaign target is as important as the issues chosen for the campaign–campaign targets should be people who are within reach of the workers and who are decision-makers. Finally, the plenary emphasized that escalating the campaign requires buy-in from coworkers at every stage. The campaign should only be escalated when your coworkers are ready for the next step. Discussion touched on stress tests, the mechanics of escalation, and the tact necessary to organize workers who are on visa or are undocumented.

The next session will take place on Tuesday, August 4 at 7:00 PM, hosted at 1916 McAllister St and will cover the Inoculation Against The Boss’s Campaign.

If you’d like to get involved with the SF local chapter of EWOC, reach out to the lead coordinator Caitlin S. or email labor@dsasf.org. EWOC is a standing topic at meetings of the Labor Working group, which are held every fourth Monday at 7:00 PM, both in-person at 1916 McAllister St and over Zoom. Anyone is welcome to attend, and we’re always looking for people interested in workplace lead canvassing, organizer trainings, and volunteer outreach. If you’re interested in organizing your workplace and would like to be connected with an EWOC organizer, fill out the request form here.

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 publishing the weekly newsletter. Members can view current CCC rotations. 

Interested in helping with the newsletter or other day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running? Fill out the CCC help form.

Publicity can significantly shape a union campaign. Learn how to pressure your boss, rally public support, and sow doubt and division among management.

The post How to talk to the press about your union campaign appeared first on EWOC.

A roundup of recent coverage

The post DSA’s “Workers Deserve More” Platform And Why the Press Can’t Stop Wringing Its Hands appeared first on Democratic Left.

On August 4th, 2026, at approximately 5am, officers from the Madison Police Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol surrounded the Corey Ruiz Memorial Vigil at the intersection of Willy St. and S. Baldwin. These police officers cowered behind the city workers tasked with descending upon the barricades in Bobcats, bulldozers, and garbage trucks. The police only engaged with the volunteers when they were comfortably armed to the teeth in riot gear. With overwhelming force, they brutalized the protesters at the Vigil. 

Verbal reports provided to Madison Area DSA included statements that police forces threw protesters onto broken glass, comrades were bound and carried like suitcases, and these brutes gloated about their mistreatment of the volunteers and houseless people at the memorial. These armed forces of the state profaned a community space that, through 13 days of sustained care, served a need for collective grief and remembrance of a man murdered at their hands.

Here is the so-called “peaceful” transition encouraged by Mayor Satya in her correspondence with the general public. Let us all remember just what Mayor Satya means whenever she dares to speak about “peace.” Peace for whom? Certainly this is not peace for the houseless of Madison. Not for Black and brown working class people. For Mayor Satya, peace is the restoration of convenience for the white and well-off.  Peace is the end of the community’s  disruption of a system that has murdered Corey Ruiz, Tony Robinson, and Richard Lee Johnson. That is Mayor Satya’s “peace.”

Prior to 5am on August 4th, the memorial site was calm. There were no altercations reported to the Madison Area DSA. Individuals de-escalated potential conflicts through their own efforts, demonstrating that  the MPD is incompetent in their role of maintaining order. For a short time, the houseless people of Madison had somewhere safe to sleep, demonstrating that the city government is incompetent in their role of providing for the people. The community stepped up where our government failed. That evening demonstrated what the organizers on the ground already knew– we keep us safe. Mayor Satya’s vision of public safety is hiding behind a line of riot police marching down Willy street, while never meeting face-to-face with the protesters demanding that she and the MPD take accountability for a state-sanctioned murderer.

The true threat to the public safety of Madison is Mayor Satya’s incompetent governance and the MPD. It’s the structural violence of homelessness that imminently threatens every wage-worker who is one missed rent payment, one traumatic injury, or one catastrophe away from a fate of complete dehumanization. It’s the racial violence of the carceral state where the police may kill Black and brown people with impunity–where a murderer can walk free as long as that murder is funded by tax-payer money. The biggest threat to our public safety is allowing this system to continue.

The Madison Area DSA condemns Mayor Satya in mishandling the Corey Ruiz Vigil and sanctioning the MPD’s brutal treatment of the protesters. We join other community organizations, such as Freedom Inc., the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and local individual Black organizers, in demanding the immediate arrest of the murderer cop Kiel Baitinger-Peterson. We demand the funding and empowerment of an independent Office of the Independent Police Monitor and Police Civilian Oversight Board, and to provide all information requested by them immediately. We demand justice for Corey Ruiz, and others murdered by racist state violence.

We stand with the rest of Madison. We demand community control of the police.

Executive Committee
Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America

Fights over “cancel culture,” “political correctness,” and “call-out culture” reveal a deeper problem: the difficulty of distinguishing socialist discipline from moral punishment, comradely correction from public shaming, and class struggle from subcultural boundary maintenance.

The post Against the Tribunal Left: DSA, Moralism, and Socialist Discipline appeared first on Democratic Left.

Read more at Memphis-Midsouth

Update: DSA candidates win Michigan legislative races, Ann Arbor mayoral primary.

The post Election Live Blog: Scenes from McKinney Victory Party appeared first on Democratic Left.

Hey, comrade! The latest edition of the Pinellas DSA newsletter is here!

As I write, it’s hard not to be inspired by the momentum our chapter is building. We welcomed our 350th dues-paying member of the chapter this month, and we’re already rapidly closing in on number 400. More and more people are looking for an organized, collective response to the profound crises of our time, and they’re hearing the call of a resurgent and dynamic Left that is making greater gains than at any time in living memory. “DSA” is on the lips of pundits in cable news studios, as well as those of workers organizing on shop floors across the country.

We’ve grown into a force too large and too well-organized to be ignored. It’s exciting, to be sure. It’s also harrowing.

DSA’s incredible growth comes at a critical moment. The reactionary forces we’re up against are becoming increasingly desperate. As working people organize and movements for justice gain strength, the capitalist class is responding with repression, division, and attacks on our democratic rights. The road ahead will not be easy, and we should be clear-eyed about the challenges we face. But, we should also be clear-eyed about our immense strength.

Every new member, every campaign, every conversation with a neighbor… it all expands our collective capacity to fight and win. The ruling class may possess immense wealth and political influence, but they remain a tiny minority. We are the working class, and without our muscle, the engine of capitalism grinds to a halt.

We are many, and they are few.

Our greatest advantage has always been one another. Through comradeship, disciplined organizing, and a sober understanding of the conditions in our communities, we’ll continue building the movement for socialism in our time. Thank you for everything you’ve done to make this chapter what it is today. Let’s keep growing, keep organizing, and keep winning — together.

July Highlights

Coming off an incredibly successful weekend of outreach during St. Pete Pride, we saw fantastic attendance at our Organizing 101 training, our new member orientation, and our July general body meeting. It was great to see so many new faces eager to jump into the work of our chapter!

Members of Pinellas DSA also had a chance to meet with Angie Nixon, a candidate running a grassroots progressive campaign for Senate in Florida. While our chapter has not formally endorsed Angie’s campaign, there are many points on which our political program overlaps with Angie’s vision for a more just, better Florida. We’re excited to see candidates advance a progressive agenda to counter the corporate Democrats currently resting in seats that belong to the people!

Members of PDSA also joined with members of Tampa DSA and other chapters from from around the state to travel south to help canvass for Broward County DSA member Oliver Larkin. Oliver is endorsed by our chapter, and is running to unseat the self-proclaimed “DeSantis Democrat” Jared Moskowitz and end his corrupt, pro-Zionist occupation of a seat in the US congress!

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Dump Duke

Clearwater officials reviewed a feasibility study about launching a public utility in the city, but ultimately rejected the plan and voted to move forward with a 30-year Duke Energy franchise agreement. The fight in Clearwater is far from over though; a second vote is required before the contract with the utility company is officially finalized.

Meanwhile in St. Pete, members of PDSA continue to organize and build the movement for public power in Pinellas County. St. Pete Mayor (and former Duke Energy employee) Ken Welch made an official proclamation in 2024 to name July 19 as “Duke Energy Day” in the city. This year, our members gathered at Bayboro Brewing on July 19 to celebrate “Dump Duke Day,” providing a counter program to the pro-corporate programming adopted by the mayor, and to highlight the growing fight for public power!

To see what’s next for the campaign, go to dumpdukefl.com.

Upcoming Events

We have more than a dozen political events, working group meetings, and social outings scheduled in May. You can always view our full calendar of upcoming events, along with the most up-to-date times and locations, on our website: https://www.pinellasdsa.org/home.

Oliver Larkin Phone Bank

Tuesday, August 4 from 6:00–7:30pm. A virtual phone bank for DSA congressional candidate Oliver Larkin. Register here.

Ecosocialist Working Group Meeting

Wednesday, August 5 from 6:30–8:00pm. Allendale United Methodist Church (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete). Meeting in the Wesley room or via Zoom.

2026 Midterm Ballot Party

Friday, August 7 from 7:00–9:30pm. Bayboro Brewing Co. (2390 5th Ave S. in St. Pete).

PDSA August General Body Meeting

Sunday, August 9 from 2:00–4:30pm. Barack Obama Main Library (3745 9th Ave N. in St. Pete) or on Zoom. RSVP here for updates or to attend via Zoom. We will vote on new bylaws, officer elections, endorsing events and campaigns. We’ll also hear back from comrades who attended National’s Socialist Summit in Chicago!

Canvass The Morgan Apartments

Monday, August 10 from 6:00–7:30pm. The Morgan Apartments (2822 54th Ave S. in St. Pete). Canvassing at The Morgan to keep tenants informed on the campaign to prevent another slumlord by pressuring the city of St. Pete to purchase The Morgan and turn it into city-owned public housing.

International Solidarity Working Group Meeting

Tuesday, August 11 from 6:30–8:00pm. Zoom only; here is the link.

Dump Duke Pollathon (Day 1)

Wednesday, August 12 from 8:00am — 6:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details. Please provide your availability using the form linked here.

Dump Duke Pollathon (Day 2)

Thursday, August 13 from 8:00am — 6:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details. Please provide your availability using the form linked here.

Flyering at The Portland

Thursday, August 13 from 6:00–7:30pm. The Portland Apartments(300 8th St N. in St. Pete). Flyer the Portland apartments to inform tenants of the power of collective action and to encourage them to attend a tenants meeting where they can tackle issues facing the property together.

Understanding Flock Cameras in St Pete

Saturday, August 15 from 11:30am — 1:00pm. Barack Obama Main Library (3745 9th Ave N. in St. Pete). RSVP and find more info on the campaign here.

Dump Duke Pollathon (Day 3)

Sunday, August 16 from 8:00am — 5:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details. Please provide your availability using the form linked here.

Dump Duke Pollathon (Day 4)

Tuesday, August 18 from 7:00am — 7:00pm. Location TBD; check Discord for more details. Please provide your availability using the form linked here.

Primary Election Watch Party

Tuesday, August 18 from 6:30–10:00pm. Allendale United Methodist Church (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete). Join us in the Community center to watch primary election results; bring a snack to share! RSVP here.

Electoral Committee Meeting

Friday, August 21 from 6:30–8:00pm. Allendale United Methodist Church (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete). Meeting in the Wesley room or on Zoom; check Discord for the link.

PDSA Steering Committee Meeting

Sunday, August 23 from 7:00–8:30pm. Location TBD.

International Solidarity Working Group Meeting

Monday, August 24 from 6:30–8:00pm. Zoom only; check Discord for the link.

Socialist in Office Working Group Meeting

Wednesday, August 26 from 6:30–8:00pm. Check Discord for the meeting location.

Interest Meeting & New Member Orientation

Saturday, August 29 from 2:30–4:00pm. Barbara S. Ponce Library (7770 52nd St N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781). Meeting in Meeting Room 2, look for signs. RSVP here for updates and in case of location changes!

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NOTE: All dates and times are subject to change, so check the website regularly for updates!

Chapters in Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin have cued up crucial primaries in early August. This and more chapter news in the July edition of “Chapter and Verse.”

The post Midwest Momentum appeared first on Democratic Left.