DSA members and endorsed candidates racked up wins all over the country from local school boards to the U.S. Congress amid a historic rejection of reactionary politics and aggressive wars. This and more in “Red All Over,” Democratic Left’s occasional news roundup.

The post Hakeem Jeffries Wants the Speaker’s Gavel. DSA’s Bloc Quadruples appeared first on Democratic Left.

Dolores Huerta, who died on October 28 at the age of 96, was an honorary chair of DSA from 2012-2016. But her involvement with our organization went back as far as being a speaker at a 1975 convention of one of DSA’s predecessor organizations. My wife, Dolores Delgado-Campbell, and I met her even earlier,when we were co-chairs of the United Farm Workers (UFW) lettuce boycott committee in Sacramento.

We entered the fray in 1972 when the  corrupt leadership of the Teamsters  Union signed sweetheart contracts with grape growers, committing one of the worst examples of union betrayal in U.S. history.  These contracts effectively ended the grape strike of mostly Mexican American and Filipino workers that many churches and synagogues had supported. Working with Dolores  and the UFW for the next decade shaped our own political and career  paths and broadened our political perspectives. We paid a political cost, too.

In 1973, because of her involvement in the lettuce boycott, Dolores Campbell was not rehired (i.e., de facto fired)  from her position teaching Women’s History and Mexican American History at American River College in Sacramento. After a seven-year struggle and assistance from her union, she regained the position and became a sought after professor. 

In a satisfying footnote to history, more than 50 years after her association with Huerta and la causa made her persona non grata, she brought Huerta to a celebration of women’s history at the college in 2012. The auditorium was filled with students, faculty and staff trying to get into the room. 

Dolores Huerta was a relentless bundle of spirit and energy, and it was almost impossible to say “No” to her, in large part because she always worked longer and harder than anyone else. Dolores was also a persistent supporter of DSA’s own Latino Commission (1983- 2004).  She is best known for her co-founding of the United Farm Workers union with  Cesar Chavez and many others  including former DSA honorary chair Eliseo Medina, Philip Vera Cruz,  and Larry Itleong.

Her influence has been profound. The creation of the UFW changed the nature of labor organizing in the Southwest and contributed significantly to the growth of Latino politics in the United States.Her frequent public engagements at colleges, universities, and high schools, where she brought a Latina feminist perspective to labor, civil rights, and immigration issues highlights her long history and personal commitment to movement building.

That commitment to community mobilization against corporate power produced a backlash against her. Texas even banned textbooks on U.S. history because they included her story. On the other hand, when I contributed to a popular history book for middle-school students, The Americans: A History of the United States (1970 & 1979), we included a recording Dolores made in 1968. 

After leaving UFW leadership in 1994, Dolores traveled the country organizing and encouraging women to step up and take leadership roles in unions, politics, and more.  She grew to become one of the leading feminist leaders in the nation focusing particularly on empowering young women and Latinas. 

Dolores was raised in the Catholic faith, and her lifetime of work demonstrated  her commitment to the ideals of the struggle for social justice.Her thinking evolved constantly. Earlier in her life, she was against abortion; later she was a champion of reproductive justice. Her intensive work, recognized when President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, illustrated how the fight for union rights and wages also included the fight for  women’s leadership in unions, immigrant justice, and reproductive freedom. 

In the last year of her life she broke a decades-long silence about being assaulted as a young woman by Cesar Chavez and spoke of the misogyny within the farmworker movement, the labor movement, and society in general.

We consider ourselves blessed to have had many opportunities to  learn from Dolores and to have worked alongside her in campaigns. For more information about her lifetime of union and social justice work, read her story at In Memory of Dolores Huerta.

Author Duane Campbell, Dolores Delgado-Campbell, and Dolores Huerta in 2014.

The post Remembering Dolores Huerta (1930-2026) appeared first on DSA Religious Socialism.

DSA’s Housing Justice Commission hopes to learn from Spanish tenant organizers as their struggle escalates following the eviction and death of Maricarmen Abascal. The commission is backing vigils in solidarity with the general strike called in Spain for Nov. 11.

The post Spanish Tenants Have Had Enough appeared first on Democratic Left.

Hello again, comrade! It’s the November edition of the Pinellas DSA Chapter Notes!

We know that you’re probably still processing the results from the election on Tuesday. A lot of the votes in which we were most invested, like Angie’s campaign for US Senate and Amendment 3 to the state constitution, didn’t go our way. And, Florida is in for another four years of the reactionary Republican leadership in Tallahassee.

But it’s not all bad news. In fact…far from it.

Pinellas DSA member Lindsey Grove won her bid for St. Pete City Council District 6, meaning a quarter of the council is now in DSA hands for the next four years! Our Tampa DSA comrade Ashley Herrmann won her race for Florida House District 69, flipping the seat from Republican Danny Alvarez. Republicans lost 15 seats, as well as their supermajority, in the Florida State House. And, DSA-endorsed candidates won key races across the country, including Melat Kiros in Colorado, Rashida Tlaib and Donavan Mckinney in Michigan, Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania, and more.

Even in defeat, we can point to the fact that Angie shocked all the pollsters and pundits coming within striking distance of Ashley Moody. Tuesday’s results show that millions of Floridians can be inspired to come out when candidates embrace true working-class politics, in a way that they simply won’t respond to milquetoast liberals.

The 2026 midterms are over. Politics doesn’t happen only once every two or four years, though. Our path to victory lies in doing the day-to-day, grassroots work of building the socialist movement in Pinellas County and across the planet, 365 days a year!

Read on to learn more about what our chapter was up to over the last month, and what we have coming up next.

October Highlights

Our members spoke to thousands of Pinellas residents in October — on doorsteps, on sidewalks, in the streets, and in front of polling locations — in support of multiple initiatives.

First, there was the #NoOn3 campaign, which our Electoral Committee initiated in August to get the word out about the cuts coming to municipal governments if Amendment 3 passed. Our Ecosocialist Working Group also circulated a petition as part of the Public Power St. Pete campaign, with the goal of getting a public electrical utility on the ballot for 2028.

Local elected official and Pinellas DSA member Richie Floyd hosted a town hall to discuss property taxes, the services funded by them, and the potential impacts of Amendment 3, which yielded a lot of insightful questions and discussion. We also hosted a ballot party for folks to get together, discuss what is on their ballot, and have conversations around less straightforward items like local and state amendments or judges.

Stepping outside of the electoral realm, we also hosted the Second-Annual Tri-Chapter Social in Palm Harbor, allowing us to meet up and share food, drinks, and fun with members of Tampa DSA and Pasco-Hernando DSA. And, we tabled at Halloween on Central in St. Pete, where we were able to meet dozens of local progressives that expressed interest in joining our movement!

It’s no wonder that Creative Loafing named the DSA ‘Best Inevitability’ this month as part of the 2026 Best of the Bay awards!

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Dump Duke

As mentioned above, organizers with our Dump Duke campaign have been hard at work circulating an official petition to get public power on the ballot in St. Pete.

Organizers hosted Poll-a-Thons, occupying spots in front of strategically-selected polling locations across the city, hoping to engage voters on the way to cast their ballots. Organizers also circulated the petition at Halloween on Central, helping bring this exciting campaign to even more of our neighbors.

Learn more about the petition drive here

CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: Apartheid Free Pinellas

We’re excited to announce the upcoming launch of a new initiative for our chapter: Apartheid Free Pinellas, which is being managed by our International Solidarity Working Group.

Apartheid Free Pinellas is aimed at local businesses in Pinellas County. Campaigners will conduct outreach, helping to raise awareness of common products that have been included on the Boycott, Divestments & Sanctions list, and sharing information about how to replace these products with BDS-compliant alternatives. Participating businesses can display Apartheid Free Pinellas collateral in their stores, letting the community know that it’s safe to shop without concern that you might be inadvertently supporting Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.

More information will be forthcoming. If you’re interested in getting involved, the first Apartheid Free Pinellas campaign meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday (November 11) at 6:30pm. The meeting will be Zoom only; you can RSVP at the link below.

RSVP for the meeting

COMMITTEE LAUNCH: Growth & Development

The socialist movement has seen immense growth across the US in 2026. But, if we want to build an organization that can deliver on our ambitious goals, we need to put in place the protocols and procedures that can ensure that we have a healthy, sustainable chapter. To that end, your PDSA comrades are exploring the idea of launching a new committee, focused on growing and developing our chapter into 2027 and beyond.

Initiatives that could be overseen by the new Growth & Development Committee may include political education, outreach, text and phonebanking, and planning events aimed at increasing engagement and retaining members.

If you’re interested, we’ll be hosting a Growth & Development Committee interest meeting on Thursday, November 12. Check the Discord as the meeting date gets closer for more info!

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Canvassing with the St. Pete Tenants Union

Our Housing Working Group has been steadfastly plugging away over the last few months, working with the St. Pete Tenants Union to identify troubled apartment complexes throughout the city and canvassing to try and organize renters to fight back against the slumlords that own these properties.

The Housing Working Group and SPTU have several canvasses scheduled in the next couple of weeks, including at the Osprey Pointe Apartments, the Reserve at Lake Pointe, and the Enclave at Sabal Pointe, among others. With consistent effort, we will secure the right for renters to collectively bargain with landlords to demand better conditions, fair rents, and an end to evictions!

Check the Housing channel in Discord for information about upcoming canvasses, and to see how you can get involved in the fight for tenants’ rights!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Pinellas DSA Chapter Convention

We are holding the first-ever PDSA Chapter Convention next month!

A chapter convention is an exciting opportunity for the local membership to reflect on the past twelve months, and also participate in democratic discussion and debate about what our organizing work should look like for the next year. This means electing a new Steering Committee in addition to voting on working group reauthorizations, campaign proposals, bylaws amendments, and other member resolutions.

2027 Steering Committee nominations will open at the November General Body Meeting this Sunday. The deadline for both nominations and resolution submissions will be Saturday, November 21st.

The convention itself will take place on Saturday, December 5th from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The location will be announced soon, but it will be held here in Pinellas County.

Please RSVP at the link below if you plan to attend. We will be ordering catering for lunch, so it’s important that we get a general headcount and make note of any dietary restrictions (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.).

RSVP here for the PDSA Convention!

Upcoming Events

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

Reserve at Lake Pointe Canvass

Saturday, November 7 from 12:00–2:00pm. Meet at Family Pak and Ship (2822 54th Ave S.).

Manatee-Sarasota DSA Interest Meeting

Saturday, November 7 from 3:30–5:00pm. Braden River Branch Library (4915 53rd Ave E. in Bradenton).

November General Body Meeting & Social

Sunday, November 8 from 2:00–4:00pm. Barack Obama Main Library (3745 9th Ave N. in St. Pete). RSVP here for updates.

Comms Committee Meeting

Monday, November 9⋅7:00–8:30pm. Zoom only; check the Discord for details.

North County Meeting

Tuesday, November 10 from 6:30–8:00pm. Check Discord for details.

Apartheid Free Pinellas Campaign Meeting

Wednesday, November 11⋅6:30–7:30pm. Zoom only; here is the Zoom link.

Growth & Development Committee Interest Meeting

Thursday, November 12 from 6:30–8:00pm. Check Discord for details.

Interest Meeting & New Member Orientation

Saturday, November 14 from 2:30–4:00pm. Check Discord for more details.

Osprey Pointe Canvass

Sunday, November 15 from 12:00–2:00pm. Meet at Family Pak and Ship (2822 54th Ave S.).

PDSA Steering Committee Meeting

Sunday, November 15 from 7:00–8:30pm. Check Discord for more details.

Housing Working Group Meeting

Tuesday, November 17 from 7:00–8:30pm. Allendale United Methodist Church (3803 Haines Rd N. in St. Pete) or on Zoom. Zoom only; here is the Zoom link.

Enclave at Sabal Pointe Canvass

Saturday, November 21 from 12:00–2:00pm. Meet at Family Pak and Ship (2822 54th Ave S.).

Socialists in Office Working Group Meeting

Wednesday, November 25 from 6:30–8:00pm. Check Discord for more details.

PDSA Steering Committee Meeting

Sunday, November 29 from 7:00–8:30pm. Check Discord for more details.

International Solidarity Working Group Meeting

Monday, November 30⋅6:30–7:30pm. Zoom only; here is the Zoom link.

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

By: Kieran N, Maritza S

CAMBRIDGE – On October 21, Cambridge Education Association (CEA) faced off with the CPSD School Committee (SC) in a tense meeting, the latest in nearly twenty that have defined negotiations between the union and school district leadership. 

The Cambridge Education Association (CEA) represents a wide array of education professionals in the Cambridge Public School District (CPSD) in what is proving to be a long negotiation for a better contract centered on pay for paraprofessionals, affordable healthcare, and just cause termination.

A key area of negotiation between CEA and the CPSD is pay for paraprofessionals. A 2021 working paper from Brown University and the University of Washington (Bisht, LeClair, Loeb, and Sun) describes the wide range of work paraprofessionals do: supporting students with disabilities, working with students one-on-one and in small groups, managing behavior, and connecting with families. The paper cites research from North Carolina finding that when the state cut funding for teaching assistants, student achievements dropped. The effects were clearest in reading and strongest for students of color and those in high-poverty schools. 

The same paper found that paraprofessionals are more likely than teachers to come from the communities they serve, and that they are a proven pipeline into teaching. “Paraprofessionals help provide consistent adult connection for our most vulnerable learners,” said one school worker. They shared that students rely on paraprofessionals for academic and behavioral help, with paraprofessionals helping students regulate themselves and get ready to learn.

The district seemed reluctant to invest in this area, with starting annual salaries being as low as $32,000, less than half of the estimated living wage in Cambridge ($67,513) according to the MIT’s living wage calculator. That’s a fraction of the $50,000 available for many paraprofessionals who work just across the street, in neighboring Somerville. This means many foundational educators are subject to constant displacement from a city that is already among the planet’s wealthiest.

CEA’s proposal includes raising that minimum to $45,000 next school year and to $55,000 the year after, which would bring CPSD paraprofessional compensation in line with Somerville paraprofessionals.

The 2026/2027 School Year

With all six bargaining units starting the school year under expired contracts, the Cambridge Education Association (CEA) showed their intent to fight a different battle than waged previously with CPSD.

In late September, CEA rallied with community supporters before public comment at City Hall, calling for a policy order to express support for living wages for paraprofessionals, subtitute teachers, and clerks, and to have the city manager report back to the city council on the status of negotiations in one month. Among those assembled to speak to councilmembers were community members and labor leaders like Matt Bach, elected president of the largest union in Massachusetts: the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA).

Not only does Matt Bach’s leadership represent that of continued leadership of the MTA by militant rank-and-file leaders that has contributed to a strike wave throughout educators’ ranks in municipalities across Eastern Massachusetts in the past ten years; it shows the MTA, a powerful statewide union, has its eyes on the Cambridge Public School District.

Perhaps more significantly, though, was the approach taken by the CEA. While traditionally, the six bargaining units independently bargained with the school district, that approach has not been taken during this round of negotiations. Workers, fed up, have been driven to the same table. Now, all six bargaining units are bargaining together with CPSD, as one unified union.

Healthcare As Arena

Healthcare has been another area of staunch disagreement at the bargaining table. The district has rejected the union’s healthcare proposal, which calls for the district to cover 85% of the healthcare premium for all employees, instead reinforcing its current three-tiered system. 

For educators, that has real consequences. One member of the CEA bargaining team said during the meeting that they could not afford the district’s plan. When they needed treatment for a minor injury, they ended up paying ~$300 out of pocket. For an educator, such bills can mean skipping care or going into debt. Another educator reported:

The lowest cost plan that I was on was raised by 20% and I was horrified to hear one of our teachers on the bargaining team can’t afford the health insurance. We had a change in (health insurance) companies and the cost went up a significant amount.

The SC asserted that they hired an outside firm to negotiate the cost of effective health insurance during the city council meeting on October 21: “That kind of thing is frustrating to hear because who knows how much they’re paying an outside firm?” asked another educator.

Access to healthcare impacts the quality of education, as well. Educators who can’t afford to see a doctor, or who go to work sick or injured, are not able to do their best work. Inadequate healthcare limits productivity and impacts student outcomes, highlighting the lasting effects of cuts to benefits.

Just cause protection is also significant in CEA priorities. Just cause ensures that educators can’t be fired without a fair reason and fair process. While some educators have such protections, many – including substitute teachers – do not. This is why the battle for substitute teachers’ compensation has joined with that of paraprofessionals in CEA priorities at the bargaining table. It also underscores the fact that the labor conditions of all educators, regardless of rank or title, are interconnected.

Kieran N. is a member of Boston DSA and a contributing writer to Working Mass.
Maritza S is an associate editor for Working Mass.

The post Bargaining Without Moving: How CPSD’s Approach at the Table is Failing Students and Staff appeared first on Working Mass.

Panel on the general strike in the Spanish state

WATCH THE FULL RECORDING HERE!

The DSA HJC recently hosted a panel discussion on the upcoming general strike in Spain, with representatives from the Madrid Tenants Union, the Barcelona Tenants Union, and the kindergarten teachers’ labor union.

After Mari Carmen, an 87 year old woman, was murdered by a vulture fund that evicted her from her apartment of more than 70 years, the working class in the Spanish state decided enough is enough. The Madrid Tenants Union setup an encampment at Puerta del Sol demanding solutions to the housing crisis and Mari Carmen’s return to her apartment. They were able to win her return but the housing legislation failed and the Spanish government called for new elections on November 29. She died in the hospital before she could return to her home. In response, the encampment called for a general strike on November 11 and several labor unions (both radical ones and establishment ones) have signed on to participate. Encampments have spread across the territory and within Madrid itself. You can get a thorough overview of the situation here.

WATCH THE FULL RECORDING HERE!

The multi-pronged effort aims to stop the U.S. arms shipments to Israel that fuel the genocide in Gaza.

The post DSA Launches Arms Embargo Campaign appeared first on Democratic Left.

By Dave C., a Portland DSA Member

Portland DSA just swept our city council re-election campaigns. For two years, we were staunchly opposed by the Portland Metro Chamber (PMC), corporate media (like The Oregonian), and the so-called “moderates,” representing monied corporate interests. They all teamed up to try to knock out the socialists standing up for the working class and against billionaire giveaways. Doubling down for socialism is how we kept our seats and beat back the cynical attacks from our opponents.

This article details the tactics our opposition attempted, and how we prevailed despite all their money and entrenched political power. When we fight, we win.

DSA is Declared Enemy #1

After Portland DSA’s city council victories in 2024, the Portland Metro Chamber (the mouthpiece of big business) stated its number one goal many times and publicly: Remove DSA from Power. The PMC worked long and hard to try to pit the public against socialists, but our electeds aren’t just individuals, they are part of a working class movement that empowers them to stand strong for socialist principles. That’s why they won re-election.

The PMC Plan

In the run up to election season, the PMC and its conservative allies attempted to create faux scandals (with the help of conservative media) around frivolous ethics complaints and repeatedly presented DSA electeds as lacking in decorum as a way of distracting from DSA’s substantive politics. The PMC’s old guard allies like the Portland Police Association and notoriously conservative Northwest Oregon Labor Council worked in concert to (mostly unsuccessfully) try and prevent DSA priorities from being realized.

Once election season kicked in, the Portland Metro Chamber’s plan to knock out the socialists was simple, relying on three major pieces:

• Part One: Highlight the socialist opposition to a several hundred million dollar giveaway of public dollars to billionaire Blazers owner Tom Dundon for Moda Center renovations. They planned to separate the construction trade unions from Portland DSA to attack what had been part of their base.
• Part Two: Focus on DSA’s abolitionist demands as a way to attack councilors as anti-police.
• Part Three: Infantilize DSA Councilors as children who can’t get along in the press, and paint themselves as “normies” and “adults.”

PMC Plan Part 1: Use the Blazers and Stadium Giveaways

While the PMC has lots of money and influence on papers and editorial boards, it often has little sense. It planned to attack our councilors and any politician who dared defy their giveaway, but didn’t attempt to get public buy-in at all, even going so far as to use a code name to hide their plans. So when Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane went public with her opposition, joined by Mitch Green and Angelita Morillo, they beat PMC to the punch. Portland DSA supported our councilors in bringing this backroom deal into the public with a simple message: No Bailouts for Billionaires.

Despite their attempts to fearmonger our basketball-loving public that the team would simply leave the city without this significant expenditure of public money to a private owner, people just didn’t buy it. Many voters looked to our three councilors up for re-election as leaders on the issue. A few weeks after, a poll was released showing a favorability rating of 7% for Tom Dundon, and a supermajority positive rating for DSA.

Doing the right thing and fighting to have public dollars do public good, ending up rewarding the DSA councilors rather than punishing them. A few trade unions did give and then rescind their endorsements of our councilors but this seemed to have little effect and drew little attention because the working class voters of Portland are deeply polarized against the Moda Center, so endorsements based on it proved to have minimal impact on the election.

PMC Plan Part 2: Highlight DSA’s Abolition Demands as Unfair to Police

Next the PMC tried using DSA’s abolitionist demands to attack our councilors. The Oregonian, The Portland Police, and the PMC all rallied around a “revelation” of Councilor Green’s 2020 tweets involving the police. To further corner him as anti-police they highlighted the goal of abolition in the Workers Deserve More platform. They called on him to resign and did everything they could to whip up a storm against him. Councilor Green, a true DSA candidate from the socialist movement, didn’t back down and held to his convictions. He highlighted the enormous protests of 2020, the wrongdoings of the police during that time, and lasting public sentiment that the police are a public adversary, not a public good. The result of their blitz: small donor donations to Mitch Green surged, his public profile grew, and the police ended up taking down their press release against him.

PMC Plan Part 3: Try to Punish DSA with Respectability Politics

Lastly, the PMC turned to raising issues of decorum and “getting along.” Angelita Morillo, city councilor for District 3 and perhaps our most electric and talented social media user, drew ire from many outlets for “acting childishly.” Her big sin? Saying out loud what was happening in real time and having a following. Far from being a downside, her public platform, clear messaging, and simple language that doesn’t hide the power dynamics at play is what many people love about her.

Angelita’s class struggle content drives the PMC insane, but it resonates with ordinary people and demystifies the goings-on of City Hall. The PMC tried to generalize this to all the DSA incumbents and spin a narrative about our inability to get things done. This attack missed as many people saw right through it. Angelita Morillo and Tiffany Koyama Lane are actually the councilors who have passed the most legislation this term. The public knew what their critics actually wanted done were more shady backroom deals. 

Bonus: Muddy the waters with empty suit faux-gressives

Not content with this line of attack, the Portland Metro Chamber also tried to prop up a fake progressive funded by Trump/Drazan donors: Kellie Torres. What’s telling is that they needed to cloak her in progressive language. This move to muddy the waters instead of running directly on their values is a sign of the strength of our candidates and message. The PMC decided they couldn’t attack our values, just try to persuade voters that someone else would be more effective and “normal.” These attacks don’t work when we are rooted in the working class and part of a movement. We outworked their downpour of cash because we are not just a pile of money, we are real people with friends and connections instead of PMC stooges inside an empty suit.

Now more than ever is the time to double down on socialism forward campaigns. Attacks on us rely on confusing our candidates with progressives. Adopting the Democratic Socialist label and heavily associating with DSA can avoid this confusion.

We Win by Being a Movement

It wasn’t just badly placed attacks from the Metro Chamber at play. It was also our councilors’ proactive policy and presence that won voters. We pursued housing with a first-of-its-kind Social Housing program, Renter Rip-Off hearings, and an AI-Price Fixing Ban. We responded to ICE with a detention center impact fee, boosting the ICE tracking network run by Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, and passing an un-masking ordinance requiring officials to identify themselves as law enforcement. When federal agents shot a local, our councilors joined 400 people in a rally outside City Hall protesting ICE, and ditching the press conference the Mayor held alongside the police. Our councilors are now in the midst of pursuing a fair share ordinance to tax large corporations and reduce costs for small businesses. They are working on a human rights screen for city investments as part of the BDS movement. They’ve provided leadership in trying to stop the Zenith oil pipeline. What our councilors do is exciting to both Portland DSA members and the general public.

Our Electeds Organize

Our councilors also didn’t confine themselves to the traditional role of city councilors. Many city officials and others said that it really “wasn’t their problem” and “it’s complicated” when the Portland Public Schools superintendent announced a plan to close 14 schools in mid-October. Teachers, parents, and the community were up in arms. Hundreds rallied at the next school board meeting. Tiffany Koyama Lane, a PAT teacher, alongside Mitch Green and Angelita Morillo, showed solidarity and not only posted videos calling on the school board to seek other solutions, but also brought a resolution to council to have the city aid in getting more funding from the state. Our councilors, alongside our newly elected socialist in the suburbs Tammy Carpenter, also worked to expose how these closures were connected to the privatization movement through an organization called Chiefs for Change that advocates for taking money away from public schools and replacing them with charter schools.

Double Down For Socialism

The lesson from this election should be clear: never back down from socialist principles. Organize with the working class and stand for what is right and you can have an army behind you! Many critics inside and outside of DSA want to say that the path to DSA’s growth in political power and relevance is to eschew our more radical demands in exchange for more seats or friendlier relations with some power brokers. We just proved that wrong.

Portland DSA knows our strength is in our democracy and our people, not in the help that some insiders can give. Our electoral program isn’t the result of a single tendency or group, we work together to ensure that when Portland DSA is on the ballot, we win. Our democracy and buy-in is felt widely and deeply across the chapter. It’s what enables us to kick off our campaign season with over 170 canvassers in a single day. It’s how we build a program that knocks over 50,000 doors for our endorsed candidates.

Portland DSA knows we can’t purge our way out of disagreements. Only by embracing our comrades can we get hundreds of members to give up their time and energy to fight for a better world. Portland DSA members see our organization, our vision, and our socialists in office as something worth fighting for.

Everybody wanted to know what Portland DSA would do if we didn’t win.

I guess we’ll never know.

By: Central Mass & Worcester DSA

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not represent the official position of Working Mass.

Our goal in putting out this explainer is not mainly to convince you to vote one way or another. In fact, this explainer is not targeted only at voters. We want all working-class people to understand what a circus so much of this is and also where our real power lies.

You’ll notice not all nine of this year’s ballot questions are here. Again, we don’t aim to offer a comprehensive set of voting instructions to guide you through voting for each question. This is not a voter guide. Instead, we hope this explainer will illuminate causes, solutions, and forces at play, and we see the ballot questions that we’ve selected as being well-suited to that purpose.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t questions where we have a clear stance — for example, on Question 2 to extend union rights to public defenders, we support worker organizing, regardless of any law. Our support, however, does not extend to police, an arm of the state that represses workers, and we challenge the legitimacy of the capitalist criminal-legal system.

Our socialist perspective, on these questions and so much more, is distinct from that of liberals, and we want to expose misdirection and deception by capitalist parties and the ways that laws and the state serve particular economic interests. With this explainer, we seek to go beyond the narrow framing of these questions and raise far bigger ones about our capitalist society. Join us!

How we think about elections

We’re socialists, and our aim is socialism, which means, in the plainest terms, a seizure of political power by the working class, a democratic socialization of ownership of our economy, and an economic system in which our labor power is no longer a commodity.

As said in our Principles for Socialist Electoral Work, we see U.S. elections, and those in any capitalist democracy, as largely a sham. They mislead people into thinking our hand is on the wheel when really they decide which faction of the ruling class will take it for the next few years.

Even without the Electoral College, Senate, gerrymandering, and judicial review, the system is thoroughly undemocratic. The equality of participants is superficial and purely legal because the intense concentration of wealth and economic power inherent to capitalism inevitably translates into a tremendous concentration and inequality of political power, incompatible with democracy.

And we refer not only to campaign spending, lobbying, and the media, but to private ownership of the means of production by the capitalist class and their devastating power — no matter who is elected — to withdraw investment as they please, throttling the economy and all of us with it.

So, we’re clear-eyed about the nature of elections, and yet, still we participate. Socialists must champion struggles for reforms, not because reforms offer a way out of capitalism — they don’t — but to raise class consciousness and build a socialist party, which do. Electoral work offers opportunities not for fleeting policy or election wins but subordinate to higher, political aims: reaching and organizing the masses, dispelling illusions, and broadcasting our socialist politics.

What are these questions on my ballot?

Ballot questions in Massachusetts can seek to pass or repeal a law and are also required for constitutional amendments. Interest groups use them when they want to change the state constitution or cannot get the state legislature to fund, act on, or stay away from their priorities.

For example, Question 6 seeks to reserve some existing sales tax revenue for conservation and is driven by conservation groups that want to force the legislature to redirect state funding to their priority. Question 8 was initiated by a Virginia-based anti-marijuana group now spending millions to try to end Massachusetts’s multibillion-dollar recreational marijuana industry. Similarly, Question 9 is driven by gun owners wanting to roll back state regulations on gun ownership to what they were before October 2024, when the governor signed a new gun law.

Because state laws typically require tens of thousands of signatures to put questions on the statewide ballot and because these campaigns can sometimes necessitate millions in spending to win, statewide ballot question campaigns typically need to be well-funded. Naturally, that means many ballot questions end up being initiated by capital against the interests of labor.

It should be noted too that the state legislature can stop constitutional amendments from even making it to the ballot and has the power to change or undo laws passed by ballot question. Likewise, the courts can throw out questions as well.

You might know, for example, that the state legislature has battled against implementing a ballot question passed in 2024 authorizing the state auditor to audit the legislature, and that the state Supreme Court stopped rent control from appearing on your ballot this year. They have constitutional objections — our critiques are on the actual merits — but our stance is not one of demanding binding legislation by ballot question. That’s because the root cause of this crisis of democracy is the structure of the legislature itself and the classes that it represents.

In a socialist world, with the working class exercising truly democratic control in their workplaces and over all of society, we could have a proportionally elected body recallable by workers, and ballot questions to circumvent a legislature wouldn’t be necessary at all. In fact, the supremacy of a legislature could be an asset to and an instrument of a working class that wielded it.

But in the meantime, we know that power is not expressed by passing ballot questions. No, the power of our class comes from its indispensable role in production. “Without our brain and muscle” — without our labor — “not a single wheel can turn.” There are many things the state legislature will never willingly allow, but organized mass action can compel it. If the choice is between radical changes and the economy grinding to a halt, radical changes will indeed come.

A major task for the socialist movement is to build up to that moment and then to go further still and dispense with the capitalist state and its state legislatures altogether, instituting a workers republic and putting the working class in charge of its destiny. In Central Mass & Worcester DSA, all of our efforts in the electoral arena are toward this end and for that day.

The Central Mass & Worcester DSA membership democratically approved this ballot question explainer in lieu of a traditional voter guide.

The post OPINION: Understanding 2026 State Ballot Questions in Massachusetts appeared first on Working Mass.

Tuesday, November 3 (8:00 AM – 8:00 PM) Election Day GOTV (1916 McAllister and 558 Capp Street)

Tuesday, November 3 (8:00 PM – 11:00 PM) Election Night Party (in person at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia)

Wednesday, November 4 (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM) Tenant Organizing Working Group Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Thursday, November 5 (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM) Immigrant Justice Regular Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Friday, November 6 (9:30 AM – 11:00 AM) D1 Coffee with Comrades (in person at Breck’s, 2 Clement St)

Friday, November 6 (9:30 AM – 11:00 AM) D9 Coffee with Comrades (in person at Finjan Qahwa, 3188 Mission St)

Friday, November 6 (6:30 PM – 9:00 PM) Maker Friday: Pal Sol Social Prep (in person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, November 7 (2:00 PM – 4:00 PM) TOWG Film Screening: Home is a Hotel (in person at 1975 Post st)

Sunday, November 8 (12:30 PM – 2:00 PM) What is DSA? (in person at Western Addition Branch Library, 1550 Scott St)

Sunday, November 8 (2:00 PM – 4:00 PM) Canvass Workers with SF EWOC! (in person at Western Addition Branch Library, 1550 Scott St)

Sunday, November 8 (3:00 PM – 4:45 PM) EWOC Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing (in person at 1916 McAllister)

Sunday, November 8 (3:00 PM – 4:45 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle Working Group Meeting (zoom)

Sunday, November 8 (6:15 PM – 7:30 PM) Working Class Gender Liberation (in person at 1916 McAllister)

Monday, November 9 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle (in person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Monday, November 9 (6:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Homelessness Working Group – Working Session (in person at 1916 McAllister)

Tuesday, November 10 (5:30 PM – 7:00 PM) Social Housing Working Group (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Wednesday, November 11 (6:45 PM – 9:00 PM) DSA SF General Meeting (zoom and in person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Thursday, November 12 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Education Board Open Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, November 14 (2:00 PM – 4:00 PM) HWG Flyering Event – What to Do Instead of Calling the Cops on Unhoused People (in person at 1916 McAllister)

Sunday, November 15 (12:00 PM – 1:30 PM) Understanding Socialism (in person at 1916 McAllister)

Monday, November 16 (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM) SF EWOC Local Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Tuesday, November 17 (6:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Get out the Vote for Our Endorsed Campaigns

TODAY is election day, and we need all hands on deck for our endorsed campaigns. We need YOUR help in this final stretch to make sure San Franciscans don’t fall for the lies being spun by the oligarchs and tech elites. Fill out this form and join us!

Bay Get Ready Pledge

With election day here, we need to be vigilant and make sure that elections across the country go smoothly without interruption and chaos. But we all know that the Trump administration has already tried to stop the vote through various tactics both here in California, Alaska and other states.

As part of the Bay Resistance Coalition, DSA SF is  joining in with organizations throughout the Bay Area, including East Bay DSA, to demand that every vote is counted, that all election results are certified without interruption, and that all congressional members are seated on January 3rd, 2027. 

To that end, we are prepared to join in with our Bay Resistance Coalition partners to stage non-violent, non-cooperation protests throughout the Bay Area if the election is stolen or tampered with. We may have to be on alert all the way through early January.  

Please sign the attached Bay Resistance voter pledge and receive updates about any actions that will be taking place during this period.  The chapter will also send out updates about these actions as well. 

Sign the Bay Get Ready Pledge

Let’s make sure our voices are heard all the way to DC and let the Trump administration know that we will not stand for an authoritarian take over of our elections and country.

Home is a Hotel Screening

 Join us on Saturday, November 7 at 2:00 PM for a film screening of “Home is a Hotel” and a Q&A with Kar Yin Tham, one of the co-directors of the film. Home is a Hotel documents the lives of five single-room occupancy (SRO) residents in San Francisco, the most expensive city in the US, as they fight to keep a roof over their heads and avoid homelessness. SRO residents are often underrepresented when it comes to understanding the material reality of staying housed and homelessness.

This event is free, and all are welcome!

RSVP here

Canvass Workers with SF EWOC

The SF local of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) wants more workers to be aware of their power and potential for collective organizing! On November 8th at 2:00 PM we’ll be talking to workers on Valencia Street about their hours, pay, and working conditions and encouraging them to unionize with EWOC. The meetup point is 15th and Valencia.

No experience necessary! We’ll start with a brief training for everyone.

RSVP here

EWOC Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing — November Session

Do you have problems at your workplace or generally have frustrations with the systems governing your communities? Would you like to learn how to talk to people in order to build collective power? Are you interested in discussing organizing strategies with comrades of various organizing levels?

If you said “yes” to any of those questions (or are just a radical person), attend our sessions each Sunday of November 3:00 – 4:30 PM for the EWOC Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing course! Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) is a collaboration between national DSA and the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) to organize unorganized workplaces and build a distributed, grassroots organizing program to support workers organizing at the workplace.

This training course is meant to help you build your union from the ground up alongside workers in your industry. It doesn’t require an organizing background to understand the material, which covers topics including mapping and charting, building an organizing committee, uniting over common concerns, and how to take action. If you’re interested in becoming any level of organizer for EWOC, this course is mandatory.

This course will be in-person, with the group watching the EWOC lectures and the discussion activities occurring at the DSA office (1916 McAllister). If you can’t make all of the sessions, reach out to san-francisco@workerorganizing.org for accommodations.

RSVP here