Sixty candidates and some sitting U.S. Congress members signed a pledge saying “we are capitalist, not socialist.”

The post Democrats Run From The Word ‘Socialism,’ Voters Warm  To It appeared first on Democratic Left.

Let’s ETOC: HJC on the Class podcast!

HJC Steering Committee members, Sebastian of Triangle DSA and Triangle Tenants Union, and Kelly of Boston DSA join the crew of the National Political Education Committee’s own Class podcast. They discuss the Emergency Tenant Organizing Committee (ETOC) and the exciting rise of tenant unionization on the socialist left.

How does it fit into the broader scope of working class organizing for the crucial fight for decent housing? Listen here and find out!

Apple podcast link

NPEC Class Podcast link

Contemporary authoritarianism and exploitation of the country’s working class are rooted in its past as a U.S. colony.

The post U.S. Imperialism Resulted in a Forgotten Genocide in the Philippines appeared first on Democratic Left.

Monthly Newsletter of the Rochester Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America

Welcome to the October issue of Rochester Red Star, ROC DSA’s monthly newsletter. This month, find essays on DSA’s internal democracy, a voter guide, remarks on Marx, and more. You’ll also find upcoming events and coverage of chapter activities.

Interested in contributing? Send submissions to bit.ly/SubmitRedStar, or get involved with our Communications Committee. Reach out to steering@rocdsa.org and join DSA today!

The post Rochester Red Star | October 2026 | (Issue 30) first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

A member of Brazil’s Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) discusses their alliance with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party (PT) to beat the far right — and the stakes riding on the defeat of Trumpism for Brazil and the rest of the world.

The post Brazil Faces a Crucial Choice on Oct. 4 appeared first on Democratic Left.

Thousands of New Yorkers protest Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations.

The post “You Are Wanted for Genocide!” appeared first on Democratic Left.

Portland DSA resolutely denounces the political coercion by Texas State police of DSA member and Austin City Council candidate Misael Ramos, who was wrongfully arrested the morning of September 26. Ramos had recently attended a protest decrying ICE brutality, particularly the violence against Venezuelan immigrant Wilber Rafael Garces Perez who still remains critically injured after being shot by immigration police.

Misael is one of many people in Texas being targeted for exercising their free speech in rightfully condemning state violence against the immigrant community. What we’re seeing is a racheting up of state repression, now targeting citizens and socialist political candidates.

We will stand by our people, immigrants and poor alike, against this violence. Portland DSA demands the charges be dropped against Misael and that Wilber be released to his family. We also echo calls by DSA to the following:

No one is free until everyone is free.

In solidarity,
Portland DSA

By: Andrew S

BOSTON COMMON – On September 14, sex workers and their allies gathered at Brewer Fountain under a canopy of red umbrellas for Boston’s historic first March for Sex Worker Pride. Led by organizers Rita Romero from Red Light Disco, Amanda Rodriguez from FemMenThem, and Jessica Van Meir from Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective (BSWAC), the march both centered the public celebration of sex worker pride and the ongoing fight for full decriminalization.

Several sex workers, community organizers, and local political leaders spoke to a crowd about the importance of the event before participants marched from the Common to Jacques’ Cabaret, the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the city.

Speakers at the rally spoke on decriminalization, the importance of protecting bodily autonomy, and the contributions sex workers have made to the feminist and queer rights movements. The march was the first in Boston history, creating an opportunity to publicly recognize sex workers and their allies. Save Our Selves (SOS) and Protect Trans Futures were both crucial supporters of the event.

For some participants like Savannah Sly, the march marked a huge milestone:

I have been a sex worker since 2003, and I am so ecstatic to see sex workers and allies visibly marching through Boston and demanding our rights be respected. I wish something like this existed when I was eighteen and was first getting started.

Members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA) in attendance supported the same. Rat, chair of New Hampshire CPUSA said:

This is another step toward destigmatization, decriminalization, and collective liberation, and to be recognized for who we are in public.

Full Decriminalization vs. Nordic Model

The question of decriminalization has long been a battleground of policy for sex workers. One side favors the Nordic Model (also known as “end-demand”), where prostitution is a phenomenon manufactured from societal gender inequality, understanding buyers in the sex trade as the main culprit. Nordic Model organizations seek to illegalize commercial sex trade from the consumer side by targeting “Johns,” or customers of sex workers who are customarily presumed to be men. Nordic Model supporters believe that if the consumption of the commercial sex trade is made illegal, trafficking in the trade and the exploitation within the industry will effectively diminish.

But advocates for full sex work decriminalization actively see the Nordic Model as a dangerous misstep that is more likely to harm the livelihood of sex workers. Sex workers experience higher levels of violence within the Nordic Model because clients are less likely to provide their personal information for screening purposes and more likely to want to meet in hidden, discreet locations. Dr. Niina Vuolajärvi’s research from the London School of Economics reports that a resounding majority of sex workers she interviewed – 96%, to be exact – felt that Nordic Model legislation put them in more harm both from clients and the police. The resulting difficulty to find clients also causes greater impoverishment for sex workers. According to the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), the Nordic Model has failed to achieve its intended goal of decreasing incidences of sex work. The burden of the Nordic Model therefore falls heavily on the sex workers it claims to protect, not just the buyers legislation targets.

Organizations such as the ACLU and Human Rights Watch have advocated for full decriminalization of sex work.

Protection of sex workers’ right to bodily autonomy was a center pillar for many in attendance at Boston’s first Sex Worker Pride March. Beyond keeping them safe from wrongful discrimination, autonomy plays an inevitable role in sex worker earnings, too. Zachary Flynn, a sex worker in the area, spoke on his own experience:

In late-stage capitalism, autonomy is important. If you would rather judge someone for sex work than pay them a livable wage, then what else do you expect us to do? I work three to four jobs on top of sex work, and that is barely keeping me afloat.

Zachary continued, speaking on how sex work builds wealth through labor: 

I think the fact that even with sex work being one of three to four jobs someone can have and even then not being able to support themselves financially says a lot on its own, but not everyone’s story with sex work is strictly about survival. It’s a chosen (and needed) profession for a fair amount of society. The point of the march is autonomy. All forms of work are selling your mind or body through means of labor, so why is it different in this context? If you have ever watched or rented porn, visited a strip club or advocated for women/queer rights, that means you support sex work, whether you realize it or not.

From Origins to Pride

Carol Leigh was the first to coin the term “sex work” in the 1980s to provide a term alternative to the stigmatized “prositution.” According to Mary Carol of the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective (BSWAC), an important part of that was the emphasis on work and labor.

BSWAC organized events in the community around this foundational concept in the run-up to the Pride March. On September 7, BSWAC hosted a screening and panel on Working Girls (1986), independent filmmaker Lizzie Borden’s movie about a day in the life of a woman working in a brothel in New York City. An overbearing manager forces her to stay beyond her hours, while displaying glimpses of interaction between workers and clients throughout the entire day. Working Girls is a representation of sex workers and their connection to labor in the view of Mary Carol.

The Pride March also took the time to remember what sex workers have contributed to and suffered historically. The red umbrellas ubiquitous across the march were not coincidence, but rather the universal symbol of solidarity that has called attention to poor working conditions faced by sex workers since 2001. Further, sex workers’ contributions far outdate the symbol. Sly stated:

Sex workers helped start Pride. Sex workers are the canaries in the coal mine for how people are treated. They are at the forefront at the advancement of human rights and bringing home the bacon for their communities at the same time. Pride is sex workers claiming their own unique space and being the focus for collective liberation.

Many steps remain to make in order for sex worker pride to be fully enjoyed.

Rat claimed that more needs to be done legislatively and culturally: “we need to challenge elected officials on their decriminalization stance, and we need people to speak up for sex workers even when they’re not in the room.” BSWAC’s Legislative Priorities include legislation for full decriminalization, safe reporting, and mechanisms to protect workers from sexual assault by cops.

Andrew S is a member of Boston DSA and associate editor of Working Mass.

EDIT: A previous version of this article misstated the origin of sex work, which has been corrected in this version. A previous version also listed CPUSA’s affiliate as a chapter in Southern New Hampshire, rather than New Hampshire CPUSA, which has also been corrected.

The post Red Umbrellas: First Sex Worker Pride March Organized in Boston History appeared first on Working Mass.

The cost of the long-term care of our child is a constant source of anxiety. A just society would not punish its vulnerable members for their inability to compete on the capitalist market.

The post The Social Safety Net Fails Special-Needs Families appeared first on Democratic Left.