Enjoy your November National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected 27-person body (including both YDSA Co-Chairs) which functions as the board of directors of DSA. This month, hear about recent wins, support striking Starbucks workers, sign up for trainings, and more!

And to make sure you get our newsletters in your inbox, sign up here! Each one features action alerts, upcoming events, political education, and more. 

• From the National Political Committee — Take on the Moment
• Help Socialists in Competitive Runoff Elections!
• Be a Part of Our Fall Drive! Next Call Saturday 11/15 with Labor Guest
• Sign Up for Trump Admin Response Committee (TARC)
• Join DSA’s Queer Socialist Working Group
• National Political Education Committee Trainings Thursday 11/20, Thursday 12/04

From the National Political Committee — Take on the Moment

Dear Comrades,

It’s hard to believe that it has only been 9 days since proud DSA member Zohran Mamdani became New York City Mayor-Elect — we’ve been celebrating, and we hope you have been too! This is the biggest socialist electoral victory in the US in a century. Despite the millions spent to stop us, working people across New York chose a movement to bring down the cost of living, expand public services, and hold war criminals to account. 

And socialism isn’t just winning in NYC — Zohran won office alongside a slate of democratic socialists who won municipal races in Atlanta (Kelsea Bond), Detroit (Denzel McCampbell), Minneapolis (Robin Wonsley and Soren Stevenson), Boston (Ayah Al-Zubi), and across the country, and DSA chapters all over the place fought hard in races that built a stronger local base for future fights.

Join us to analyze these wins and find new ways to grow DSA by taking on the political moment at our Our Time to Win call tonight at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT!  On this call, you’ll hear organizers from some of the teams that brought you these wins (and at least one of the winners themselves!) as well as folks from the labor movement, organizers for immigrant rights and Palestine solidarity, and more. 

Tonight’s call is a perfect opportunity for new and potential DSA members to learn how we work in DSA to tie together different areas of working class organizing, both inside and outside the electoral arena. Our connections with labor and tenant unions, social justice movements, anti-war organizations, and mutual aid networks are crucial for building the working class power that can and will defeat capitalism, and we need all hands on deck! 

And have you signed up for your unique referral link for our Fall Recruitment Drive yet? Zohran’s election is inspiring people around the world, and this is a crucial political period for us to grow DSA and keep building momentum together. We just passed 85,000 members nationwide, and are aiming for 100,000 by the end of 2025! It’s a great time to ask friends, coworkers, or family members to join DSA — and as you recruit people (perhaps by inviting them to tonight’s call or to participate in one of the actions below), have them use your unique join link. If you recruit three new people to DSA using your referral link, you’ll win a prize, as well as the satisfaction of helping to grow and sustain our mass movement for socialism!

Speaking of mass movements, over 1000 Starbucks baristas in 40+ cities across the country just walked off the job and launched an open-ended Unfair Labor Practice strike. This is likely to be one of the highest-profile labor actions in recent memory, given the combined popularity of the pumpkin spice latte and the tireless coast-to-coast organizational efforts of our comrades at Starbucks Workers United. 

Starbucks organizers have some simple organizing asks for us, and because Starbucks really is everywhere, it’s likely that the vast majority of folks reading this newsletter can show up for at least one of these. So let’s make it happen! 

1. Find a picket line near you! They’re in cities across the country. Connect with your DSA chapter if you can, or just show up and make new friends once you get there!
2. Don’t buy Starbucks, and tell your friends: “No contract? No coffee!” This is a great way to practice having some organizing conversations in your network. (If they go really well, use that unique join link and ask them to join DSA!)
3. Join SBWU for a mass call on Monday 11/17 at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT/6:30 MT/5:30pm PT! Hear from baristas on strike and find new ways to get plugged in.

These are just a few of the organizing asks we’ve got for you this week. Just because this round of elections is mostly over (we’ve still got some runoffs — see below for how you can help!) doesn’t mean the work is done. In many areas, it’s just beginning! Scroll down for more opportunities to plug into DSA work nationally. And if you’re not yet connected with your DSA chapter locally, find it here and reach out. We’ve got a world to win and it’ll take all of us. We’ll see you out there!

Solidarity,

Ashik Siddique and Megan Romer
DSA National Co-Chairs

Help Socialists in Competitive Runoff Elections!

BREAKING: Our comrades Jake Ephros and Joel Brooks of North NJ DSA are heading to a runoff for Jersey City Council!

Corporate money will be flooding into this high stakes run off in North New Jersey, and Jake and Joel are going to need YOUR help to get over the finish line. It’s time to take out the capitalist trash in Jersey City and send 2 more socialists to office. 

We’ve already raised $100,000 for DSA candidates around the country, who won over 11 races this year! Help us cap off a historic election cycle for socialists in the US with a donation to Jake and Joel TODAY.

Be a Part of Our Fall Drive! Next Call Saturday 11/15 with Labor Guest

The Growth and Development Commission has been hard at work with the Fall Drive. We now have over 5,000 new members, and the goal is to keep that growing while helping chapters engage members new and old in recruitment and development work.

We have a team of coaches working with chapters across the country for the Fall Drive. If you would like to participate in the Fall Drive with your own coach from our national team, please email the GDC at gdc@dsacommittees.org.

If you want to help us build DSA, join us for an upcoming phonebank with special guests:

• Sat 11/15 at 5pm ET with the NLC and a special guest from the labor movement
• Wed 11/19 at 7pm ET with special guest author Adam Hochschild
• Sat 11/22 at 2pm ET with special guest, author and Danish MP Pelle Dragsted
• Tue 12/02 at 7pm ET Giving Tuesday phonebank

Sign Up for Trump Admin Response Committee (TARC)

As the second Trump administration continues to wreak havoc, we know this onslaught is meant to overwhelm working class people and make us feel powerless. The Trump administration has within the first year committed mass terror campaigns against the people who live in this country, from threats against trans lives to the brutal horror of ICE raids across the country. But at the same time, we’ve seen the power of solidarity in this moment, as working class people in LA, Chicago, and cities across the country have taken a stand to defend their friends, families, and neighbors from this administration’s brutality. Multiple times this year, millions have taken to the streets to show their opposition to the Trump administration. What we are seeing across our society is something we as socialists already know: we are not powerless when we’re organized, and we’re still fighting for someone we don’t know.

It is crucial for socialists to be part of this fight to defeat fascism and win a socialist world. To that end, DSA’s Trump Admin Response Committee (TARC) is organizing with DSA members across the country to fight to defend and expand the rights of trans and migrant communities, stand up against Musk’s billionaire coup and stand with workers, elect socialist champions to office all over the country, and show how DSA is fighting against fascism and authoritarianism and for a world where we all have dignity and liberation. 

DSA can be a leader in the fight against fascism, but we need you to make it happen. Join our fight against fascism, and sign up here to get involved in TARC today!

Join DSA’s Queer Socialist Working Group

Join the DSA Queer Socialists Working Group (QSWG)! With recent anti-trans judiciary decisions, joining QSWG is more important than ever. The Supreme Court just decided that Trump can invalidate trans people’s passports, and a Federal court in Ohio just allowed people to bully trans students.

But right now, you can take action on anti-trans legislation! The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), described by sponsor Marsha Blackburn as intended to “protect children from the transgender in our society,” is back in Congress. This is especially concerning given the passage of explicitly transphobic anti-“obscenity” and digital surveillance bills in state legislatures all over the country. Our coalition partner Fight For the Future has a dialing tool and information about KOSA here.

The QSWG also has major internal changes going on. The Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy campaign commission is merging into the Queer Socialists Working Group (QSWG). We’ll also change our name, make structural reforms to comply with the Democracy Commission’s proposal, and have elections for new leadership in January. To vote or run in that election, you must join the QSWG.

National Political Education Committee Trainings Thursday 11/20, Thursday 12/04

With our big wins and fightback against the right, DSA has momentum and we are growing! The National Political Education Committee (NPEC) offers trainings to help chapters prepare for new members and build the strength of their local. Join us to learn how to start and run your own poli ed committee on Thursday 11/20 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT. Or learn how to set up a childwatch program on Thursday 12/4 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT.

And that’s not all! We want to broaden DSA’s horizons and encourage the spread of this kind of knowledge. If you have reflections and experiences with socialist political education in or out of DSA, we want to help you share them. Pitch your writing to our monthly newsletter, Red Letter.

The post Take on the Moment — Your National Political Committee Newsletter appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

People inspired by the Mamdani's success should consider changes to the electoral system that would make similar wins possible across the country.

The post Making Mamdani a Model appeared first on Democratic Left.

Discussions of internal structure are often maligned as being the least of an organization’s concerns. As the crises of capitalism evolve and accelerate, what use is it to discuss the role of a branch, the difference between a working group and a priority campaign, or the need for this or that committee?

The reality is that well-organized internal structures are crucial. Rational and accessible chapter structures help new members find and participate in chapter work, and clearly defined roles for chapter bodies provide leadership with clear expectations. It is important that we have a common understanding of the roles of our various bodies to make sure they work effectively and that their purposes are clear to new members. When a chapter’s bodies are logically and consistently organized, the chapter is more effective at growing itself and its capacity to deploy its membership to the task of building a revolutionary socialist party to confront capitalism and fascism. 

This article discusses a vision for the function of the lowest body in Chicago DSA, the branch. 

The Structure of Chicago DSA

Branches 

At its lowest level, Chicago DSA is divided into five branches – four territorial and one based on “a common interest”. The territorial branches divide the city into four parts: the North Side Blue Line, the North Side Red Line, the South Side, and West Cook County. A person is a member of a geographic branch by virtue of residing in its assigned territory. The interest group branch is called the Labor Branch, and all members of Chicago DSA are eligible to apply for membership. The Labor Branch works to “help socialists build unions, push labor leadership left, make the labor movement accountable to the rank and file” (Labor Branch Manifesto).

The chapter’s bylaws describe branches as being “responsible for promoting and implementing CDSA policies and programs.” They further state that the branches are “not autonomous entities and must seek full chapter approval for outward facing political work” (Article VII, Section 5, emphasis added). The Labor Branch has been granted higher autonomy by the chapter’s Executive Committee and General Chapter Meetings. As a result, it functions far more like a working group or campaign than the other branches. For that reason this article excludes the Labor Branch when referring to “branches” and the term should be read to mean “geographic branches”.

Working Groups & Campaign Committees 

Above these branches are Chicago DSA’s working groups and campaign committees (often called priority campaigns). These bodies are officially created at the sole discretion of the Executive Committee, but in practice they are frequently chartered at the chapter’s quarterly General Chapter Meetings through resolutions drafted and voted on by the chapter’s membership. Working groups and campaign committees, once chartered, are relatively autonomous bodies capable of engaging in outward facing political work on behalf of the chapter within the scope of their charters. They can generally host town halls, create flyers and petitions, contact electeds, and otherwise interact with the public without approval from the EC.

Executive Committee & the General Chapter Meeting 

At the top of Chicago DSA is the quarterly General Chapter Meeting. According to the bylaws, the GCM is the “highest policy-making body” in the chapter (Article IV, Section 2). Between GCM meetings, the Executive Committee is empowered to make decisions that are ratified by the membership at the next GCM (Article VI). These two bodies are the most powerful in the chapter. They share the authority to establish and dissolve all lower bodies and are responsible for guiding Chicago DSA’s activity and direction.

Other Committees

The chapter also currently has three standing committees which help facilitate certain areas of its work: political education, membership engagement, and communications. These committees help do the basic administrative work of the chapter.

A Vision for Chicago’s Branches 

Our vision for the branches is rooted in part in the text of the chapter’s bylaws and in practicality. First and foremost, the branches are meant to serve as non-autonomous bodies responsible for “promoting and implementing CDSA policies and programs” (Article VII, Section 5). In other words, the branches are responsible for doing the work of the chapter as determined by our General Chapter Meetings, the Executive Committee, and the chartered working groups and priority campaigns. In our view, a branch should not be deciding on its own work and political vision, but rather should strive to serve the needs of the higher bodies. 

The North Side Blue Line (NSBL) branch’s newest steering committee has worked over the past several months to organize its branch under this principle. Prior to recent elections, most of Chicago DSA’s branches were relatively aimless. The NSBL, for example, had a single member on its steering committee prior to the July 2025 election. Prior to this summer, none of the branches did more than host a single monthly meeting (usually used for general political discussion rather than substantive organizing) and sporadic phonebanking events. Meanwhile, chapter projects like our Fix the CTA and Unite + Fight campaign committees were responsible for hosting their own canvassing events of which there were only a small handful between January and June of 2025.

Most of the members of NSBL’s current steering committee were identified by the previous term’s one-person steering committee to stand up an ad hoc organizing committee in early 2025. This committee quickly began implementing reforms. First, it was noted that most people attending branch meetings were new members without a home inside DSA, so time at NSBL meetings was given over to reports and requests for volunteers from the campaign committees. This facilitated a pipeline from joining DSA to doing work for DSA. Second, the branch’s future leaders realized that campaigns struggled to put on widespread flyering efforts for the same reason the branches’ own events were so sporadic: running such events is a lot of effort for already busy campaign organizers. To combat this, the organizing committee and later steering committee began recurring “outreach” events (tabling, flyering, and phone-banking).

NSBL has found that branch leaders are much better situated than campaign organizers to research local targets for outreach events. They have more time and a deeper understanding of their home territory and easier access to members looking for work to do through the branch meetings. Furthermore, because the branch can draw work from any campaign or working group, there is never a shortage of things to do. As a result, tabling and flyering does not have to be propped up sporadically by particular campaigns as needed but can become standing infrastructure which can be planned once and set to recur regularly (NSBL currently runs three such events, with plans for more next year). This infrastructure can be used as needed by one or more campaigns and is easily retooled for new campaigns. 

The benefits of organizing the branch as infrastructure for doing the work of the chapter are two-fold. First, consistent branch infrastructure attracts regular volunteers, who naturally develop as leaders in their area of work. As those budding leaders become more confident and connected in their branch, they can either take over a project (freeing up the original organizer

to do other work) or  organize around their own ideas such as other tabling events, socials, book clubs, or fundraisers rooted in the branch. The infrastructure approach effectively develops leaders who can reinforce existing events and facilitate bigger and better projects. 

The second benefit is to the campaigns. As a result of the massive growth in outreach events, the campaigns have been able to greatly expand their reach without a significant increase in their labor. Without branch support, Chicago DSA’s Trans Liberation Campaign was able to host three canvassing events in June (centered around major Pride events) to collect signatures to restore gender affirming care at Lurie Children’s hospital. The NSBL was able to supplement their work with a full six outreach events dedicated to distributing the petition in the same time period. As the summer progressed, NSBL outreach events incorporated literature from the Immigrants Rights campaign’s (now International Solidary working group) Boycott Avelo project and Fix the CTA’s call for the state to fund transit to avoid disastrous cuts.

Effectiveness of the Organizing Principle 

Organizing the NSBL branch under the principle of “doing the work of the chapter” has had immediate, noticeable effects. More and more new members have shown up to branch meetings. These meetings grew from 10 to 20 people to over 40 monthly attendees, spread out over two locations. Many were new members or longtime members who were becoming more engaged. The new members frequently told us they joined because of our tabling, while longtime members said that they felt lost trying to engage in DSA prior to recent branch meetings guiding them to chapter work.

More concretely, the number of calendar events labeled as “outreach” skyrocketed from less than 10 chapterwide between January 1st and April 30th to more than 44 between May 1st and August 31st. The NSBL accounted for 55% of all of these outreach events, with another 20% held by the campaigns themselves. During the same time period in 2024, 0 such events appeared on the calendar.

The uptick in activity has had measurable effects on recruitment and engagement in the branch. In the month leading up to our last GCM, members of the NSBL branch were more likely to have engaged in at least one Chicago DSA event than any other branch. In that month, the NSBL achieved 19% member engagement, compared to just 13% on the similarly large North Side Red Line branch. Additionally in August, the NSBL recruited twice as many new members as any other branch.

Conclusion 

Chicago DSA is lagging behind other large DSA chapters in terms of membership growth. This is in part because we have an undeveloped structure for our chapter, which makes it difficult to recruit and retain new members. The NSBL has shown a path forward for other branches to build the structures necessary to foster new leadership within the chapter at the branch level. New leadership increases capacity and allows the chapter to grow its activities, membership, and ambition. 

We envision a future Chicago DSA which rivals (and eventually surpasses) other parties in Chicago for political power in the city–we encourage other branches to follow our lead towards a model which helps build the organization of this future.

The post On the Role of Branches appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

By: Audrey E.

On November 5 Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) voted by 92% for an unfair labor practice strike. Their open-ended strike is set to kick off on Starbucks’ notorious Red Cup Day, November 13, where customers line up to receive a free reusable cup with the purchase of a holiday drink.

This limited edition plastic cup draws one of the company’s biggest annual sale days, which makes this day incredibly strategic for SBWU baristas who are demanding a fair contract to begin their open-ended strike.

No Detroit-area stores are among the unionized stores chosen to strike in the first wave, but keep an eye on DSA’s Slack for stores that may strike in the near future — and see below for the solidarity actions we are taking this weekend and beyond.

The strike announcement comes because of a stand-still at the bargaining table in December 2024. While there was some progress in the months prior, Starbucks denied SBWU’s demand for baristas’ pay to increase to $20/hour with a 1.5% increase yearly. Due to the union’s dismissal of Starbucks’ proposal, and the company’s lack of putting forth a serious negotiation, SBWU is preparing its biggest action yet.

Although SBWU didn’t disclose which stores are going on strike first, it did state that stores in at least 25 cities will be going out, with future locations potentially added in second and third waves. This isn’t SBWU’s first trip around the block either, with work-stoppage actions dating back to 2022. In the past, SBWU has mostly stuck to shorter strikes with a clear timeline of a few days or a couple of weeks. This year’s strike may be the longest in the union’s history.

POVERTY PAY AND UNDERSTAFFING

The top demands for unionized Starbucks baristas are better hours, higher pay, and a resolution to the hundreds of unfair labor practice charges the union has brought against Starbucks for union busting.

Topanga Hass, a barista in Ypsilanti said, “Our store has been planning for this strike since April…We’re so excited.” Topanga shed light on ongoing support from the community and how her store is well equipped for the long haul. From planning to grill on the picket line for striking workers and community members, to hosting trivia games and cornhole matches, they’re preparing to keep up the energy throughout the strike.

Topanga’s shop unionized in 2023, and she has been working there for around 1.5 years. She serves as a strike captain and her store’s bargaining delegate.

Two of the main concerns Topanga shared were rampant understaffing and being underpaid.

“Every single day for the next three weeks, we are understaffed for all of our peak times … and we just don’t have enough people to help with the demand,” said Topanga.

On November 6, Starbucks’ holiday drink launch, Topanga said, “I was getting messages from every store in the district that there were over 100 mobile orders in queue.” Due to short-staffing, baristas have to work multiple positions during their shift, while only being paid “$10/hour by the time taxes and everything else is taken out of [their] paycheck.”

Between hopping from station to station, and restocking whenever there is a (rare) opportunity, Topanga’s fitness app tracked 10 miles in a seven-hour shift. While her sneakers are wearing down from the constant pressure, she not only has to worry about getting costly new supportive shoes, but also ones that fit into the new CEO’s uniform mandate.

At the time of Brian Niccol’s appointment as CEO of Starbucks in September 2024, he released a “Back to Starbucks” campaign that listed everything from dress codes to requiring baristas to write a message on every single cup. This has been part of his mission to boost Starbucks’ sales and regular customers from the decline it had been experiencing for years. That decline resulted in part from an organic boycott that emerged when the company sued the union for its stance on the genocide in Palestine.

But Niccol can’t understand that the real divide between barista and customer has nothing to do with ink on cups. It’s a result of understaffing and chasing the bottom line.

“And that’s why I’ve been telling my coworkers that we need this contract so bad,” said Topanga.

DSA IS SBWU’S PARTNER

Over the past few months, DSA nationally has been organizing in partnership with SBWU to support the contract campaign. This collaboration came about not from a top-to-top relationship but as a reflection of the years of work DSA members across the country have done to support organizing Starbucks.

One major role DSA has played nationally is cohering support for workers among the public. Chapters across the country have undertaken crowd canvassing and actions outside nonunion stores, collecting thousands of pledge signatures to support a boycott, and raising awareness of the contract fight. Chapters have organized movie screenings to fundraise for the SBWU hardship fund and taken initiative on strike kitchens and pantries to feed striking workers.

To support Starbucks workers, sign their No Contract, No Coffee pledge to commit to boycotting Starbucks for the duration of the strike! You can donate to the strike fund here.

On Saturday morning, November 15, DSAers will be leafleting and talking with customers at several nonunion stores, as requested by SBWU. We’ll be informing them of the strike and boycott and convincing them to go elsewhere to get their joe. To get hooked up with one of these actions, see the Labor Working Group Slack.

Starbucks Baristas to Strike on Red Cup Day was originally published in The Detroit Socialist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

On November 4th, a 1% sales tax was passed (52% to 48%) in Mecklenburg County to fund the P.A.V.E. Act.

We remain opposed to the sales tax increase. The working class had no say in the P.A.V.E. act, yet we are those with the most to lose. With the current $20 billion transit plan, we will also gain the least. We will not be able sit on the new governing Transit Authority Board of Trustees, but we're free to be harassed and kicked off transit by the new transit police force. There are no guarantees that these transit expansions will be completed, and that this tax money will actually go towards transit or bike infrastructure.

We support transit when it serves the working class. This Bill does not. It serves to support corporations.

Bills like the P.A.V.E. act get passed because these politicians don’t care about workers, only their corporate donors.

We're building an organization by and for the working class that can stand up to the capitalist class and fight for reforms like fast, free, reliable, and comprehensive public transit. We hope you will join us!

In Solidarity,

Charlotte Metro DSA

by Yarrow

“Ten Days that Shook the World” is an account of the Russian Revolution in October and November of 1917. It follows the complex and rapidly changing events, people, and factions of the struggle in detail. The author, John Reed, was a U.S. American journalist and socialist who traveled to Russia along with some fellow journalists and witnessed these events first hand. It’s mostly made up of his first-hand accounts with some second-hand reports from his colleagues and from contemporary written sources.

The book includes a map of Petrograd and a map of western Russia; a forward by Lenin; Notes & Explanations; and background information. These were essential for understanding the main text. I referenced the Notes & Explanations a lot to keep all the parties, factions, and people straight. The end of the book has appendices with extra explanations and source texts; a chronology; and an index. It also includes lots of astounding photographs.

Before I read this book I didn’t know much about the Russian revolution. I knew when it happened, that there were Bolsheviki and Mensheviki, and I knew something about the constituent assembly (which this book stops just short of). This book helped me understand the failure of the constituent assembly because it showed the split of the Right Socialist Revolutionaries and Left Socialist Revolutionaries.

The events of 1917 were so complex, changed so dramatically, and there were so many lies and rumors flying around (spread by the reactionaries to smear the Bolsheviki), that it was easy for things to get twisted, taken out of context, and misreported. This book gave me a really solid understanding of what actually happened and why, and why the actions of the Bolsheviki were necessary.

Before explaining the events of October, Reed summarizes the earlier stages of the uprising which began in February. This uprising, lead by the Menshevik & Social Revolutionary parties and driven by the Soviets—autonomous workers’ and soldiers’ councils—deposed the Czar and put a provisional government in power, with the promise of a Constituent Assembly that would later be elected by the citizens (this was endlessly postponed). This provisional government issued at once ineffective reforms and harsh repression.

The Menshevik & Social Revolutionary parties were the moderates: they believed that this was a bourgeois revolution which should put the capitalist class in power, and that Russia should continue fighting the Great War.
The Bolsheviks were the principled socialists, whose line was summarized by the slogan “Peace, Land, and Workers’ Control of Industry”. After the uprising of February, many Bolsheviks were imprisoned or exiled.

After the uprising came the July Days, a massive demonstration lead by women and the Bolshevik party, which was quickly gaining members and votes in the Soviets and Unions because they refused to compromise with the bourgeoisie and based their platform on the immediate desires of the workers, soldiers, and peasants.
This set the stage for the final uprising that would finish the revolution and place the Soviets in power.

I was surprised to learn just how much the revolutionary consciousness was fueled by the horror of the Great War. The soldiers were desperate for the fighting to end, and the Bolsheviki were the only ones who were willing to demand it.
I was also surprised to discover the dizzying proliferation of organizations and parties. Factory-shop committees, soldiers’ and workers’ soviets and peasants’ land committees, consumer cooperatives, army committees, Mensheviki, Bolsheviki, right and left Socialist Revolutionaries, Cadets… they split and merged and formed alliances here and there as they were tested in struggle.

One surprising thing that I appreciated about this book was how funny it is. Many parts of it read like a novel. John Reed included many anecdotes that give refreshing insight into the real situation on the ground, and I found many of them amusing. Mr. Reed showed the actions of everyday people who came together and organized themselves, not just the bigwigs in the CIK (executive congressional committee), the provisional government, and the dumas. I felt that there were real people getting swept up in these events, that circumstance brought unlikely personalities together, that normal everyday life was continuing somehow in spite of everything. I recommend this book just for the funny bits.

Much of the book consists of accounts of meetings. There were so many of them. I particularly enjoyed the movements when, during one of these meetings, tensions would run high, people would shout over each other and get agitated and confused, and then some noble person would stand up and give a rousing speech that stilled the commotion and united the crowd. Reed definitely had a flair for the dramatic.

A lesson that I took from this book was that any revolutionary party must have its base in the people. The Bolsheviki did this by speaking to the material demands of the peasants, soldiers, & workers, and actually delivering on promises. It was only the principled refusal of the Bolsheviks to collude with the bourgeoisie which brought the revolution to victory, instead seeking alliances with the peasantry. (The German Revolution of 1918-1919 showed the failure and backsliding that happens when moderate socialists are allowed to take charge.) The revolution definitely wouldn’t have been possible without all the autonomous civil organizations that were lead by the workers, soldiers, and peasants, and defended by the Red Guard.

This was how the Bolsheviki won the propaganda war that raged in the newspapers and on the streets, as well as the contest of arms and the stubborn resistance of the bureaucracy and logistical workers. The Bolsheviki cemented their legitimacy by delivering on the demand of peace, land, and power to the workers, by daring to struggle and be bold. They pushed forward as soon as the opportunity came, and met every new challenge without wavering. It’s so inspiring, and I think it is owed in large part to the leadership of Comrade Lenin.

One thing I want to know more about is the origin of the soviets and how they actually worked. I also want to know more about the earlier stage of the revolution which this book summarizes but does not detail, and the failed 1905 revolution.

I’ll end this review with a quotation that I found extremely moving:

“I went back to Petrograd riding on the front seat of an auto truck, driven by a workman and filled with Red Guards. We had no kerosene so our lights were not burning. Across the horizon spread the glittering lights of the city, immeasurably more splendid by night than by day, like a dike of jewels heaped on the barren plain. The old workman who drove held the wheel in one hand, while with the other he swept the far-gleaming capital in an exultant gesture.
‘Mine!’ he cried, his face all alight. ‘All mine now! My Petrograd!’”

All in all, I think this book is absolutely essential reading for anyone who is interested in socialism. And it’s a proper page turner. 10/10!

The post Book Review – Ten Days that Shook the World first appeared on Red Fault.

Sunday Nov. 9^th, eight Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to end the shutdown. 

Despite the outrageous cruelty Trump wielded during the shutdown, including stopping food assistance to millions of Americans, Democrats had been both justified and moral in standing their ground. They were fighting to keep healthcare costs from doubling, tripling and even quadrupling for 24 million Americans. 

Last Tuesday, voters made it crystal clear that the fight for healthcare was resonating. Across the country, voters turned out for Democrats, and even Trump acknowledged that the shutdown negatively affected Republicans. It seemed like Democrats finally had leverage.

But instead of wielding this leverage and forcing Republicans to support healthcare, Senate Democrats folded. They caved to Republicans’ cruelty, with nothing but a promise that the Senate will vote on extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies—which we all know the Republican majority will reject, if they keep their promise at all. (Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has already stated that he won’t allow this vote in the House.)

We don’t know why Democrats caved. Maybe they truly are naive enough to believe that ending the shutdown would end Republicans’ assault on the most vulnerable. Or maybe they capitulated to elite pressure from a coalition of hotel chains, casinos, and convention bureaus, who urged them to end the shutdown before the most “economically important” travel week of the year. Or maybe they just utterly lack conviction. 

What we do know is that establishment Democrats won’t save us. They have consistently failed to protect us from anything, because they stand for nothing. They are too comfortable collecting their checks from donors and corporations, while ignoring the people they claim to represent. It is time, instead, for working class power—a party for the working class that believes our government can and should care for its citizens. 

The Seattle Democratic Socialists of America believe that food, housing, and healthcare are human rights. We believe in putting people over profits. And we know that we, the people, are worth fighting for. 

Stand for something. Join DSA today.

1. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-johnson-says-he-wont-promise-aca-vote-in-the-house-as-part-of-a-shutdown-deal
2. https://www.ustravel.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/UST25_Letter_ThanksgivingTravelShutdown_v6.pdf

The post Democratic Socialists Have Spines appeared first on Seattle Democratic Socialists of America.

In mid-August 2025, on a sweltering Chicago weekend, ringing with camaraderie, over 1200 socialists descended for the Democratic Socialists of America’s biennial National Convention. The Democratic Socialists of America or DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States, boasting 80,000 members nationwide. DSA, democratically run by this membership, organized in different chapters, is on the front lines of building a better tomorrow through: labor organizing, international solidarity, standing up to America’s fascist administration, and many more actions. 

The National Convention is DSA’s highest decision-making body, where the next two years of direction is decided by delegates, elected by the membership of each chapter, and the National Political Committee is elected to shepherd DSA until the next Convention. From Silicon Valley DSA (SV DSA), there were 12 delegates, from veteran attendee Chapter Officers to DSA newcommers.

DSA has several diverse tendencies, many of them disagreeing on specific issues, often vehemently. However, there is still unity in this diversity, as all DSA members share a vision for a better tomorrow under socialism, no matter what form that takes. One visiting officer commented regarding this unity at the Convention, “Being surrounded by so many like minded comrades was an energizing experience”, demonstrating that DSA’s membership has more in common than it has differences.

At the Convention, DSA delegates deliberated and debated many resolutions, putting its democratic values into practice. One item that took more than a day to debate was Resolution 22: For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA, which would reaffirm a previous resolution to “Make DSA an Anti-Zionist Organization in Principle and Praxis.” Our Chapter’s delegates, by the democratic will of the Chapter, swore to vote “yes” on this Resolution and “no” on a controversial amendment, which some (including much of our Chapter) argued would dilute the intent of the original resolution. The resolution passed with a majority of 675-524 votes. This would earn DSA the praise of groups like Palestinian Youth Movement and outlets like Middle East Eye, who noted DSA’s evolution into a truly Anti-Zionist group devoted to Palestinian Solidarity.

Additionally, on Saturday afternoon, DSA hosted its first Cross-Organizational Political Exchange from 3 PM-6 PM, where groups were invited from all over to observe the convention and how DSA’s socialists conduct themselves within the Convention. Groups represented an entire section of the left, from activists like the Palestinian Youth Movement and Sunrise to American labor unions.

However, organizations were not only restricted to the US, as comrades from around the world came to the Convention. Some, like the Democratic Socialists of Canada, were smaller and sought to emulate DSA’s internal democracy in their own country. Others, though, were much larger, including well-known parties like Mexico’s MORENA, the current ruling party of the country, and La France Insoumise, most famously represented by Jean Luc Melencheon. Other guests included members of Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL) from Brazil and comrades from Japan, Belgium, and many more. 

In this diversity of groups though, was a unified message for comrades in DSA. Of their message, our officer said: “our comrades are looking to us and relying on us to do some major organizing. We are in the heart of the Empire, and the decisions of the United States impact the organizing terrain of everyone. It was humbling and inspiring to hear that people were counting on us to have an impact and shape the trajectory of the country and the world”. Additionally, he regarded the support of American organizations as proof that DSA and its members are not alone in seeking to build a better world.

The events at the Convention show that DSA has an important role to play in building a better tomorrow not only for America, but for the whole world. As Silicon Valley DSA’s delegates returned home, they brought many lessons with them. Some like Tyler N and Fred, nicknamed “The Red”, gained a newfound appreciation for Robert’s Rules, a code of conduct that DSA uses to run meetings. “The rigidity of Robert’s Rules is worth it for large meetings where some set of parliamentary rules is required for having any reasonable debate and when the motions considered feel consequential and conducive to debate,” Tyler said regarding the rules, with Fred adding, “in the right hands, Roberts Rules can be used to ensure everyone equal access to be heard, and to weed out disruptors, ego-trippers, and saboteurs”. Such were lessons taken by our delegates to the Convention.

Times may seem tough. The government is increasing its targeting and repression of dissenters and the marginalized with each and every day, stripping away our rights. Working people seem to have less and less power every day. However, a better world is possible. And based on the lessons our comrades brought home from convention, there is only one way: working together as comrades, side-by-side. For what is weaker than the feebler strength of one? And what is mightier than the power of the masses united?

The post Thoughts on our National Chapter Convention appeared first on Silicon Valley DSA.

The High Peaks Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (HPDSA) mourns the lives of the more than 334 transgender and gender non-conforming people (TGNC) lost in 2025, including the more than 57 people who lived in the U.S. Many of those lost were trans people of color, a pattern that continues year after year, and a tragic reminder that we are failing the most vulnerable people in our communities. We are heartbroken by the loss of our comrades. 

We believe that trans people deserve to live free and full lives of peace, joy, and happiness without fear of being discriminated against, harmed, or even killed for how they choose to express their gender. We know that any lives lost–whether to direct or stochastic violence–represent a failure by all of us to address pressing issues within society. We ask everyone to stand up and defend our TGNC community at every opportunity, and push back against harmful anti-trans ideologies wherever they may appear.

We have seen an alarming increase in hateful rhetoric directed at TGNC people in 2025, along with tens of millions of dollars spent by political campaigns in recent elections to sour public opinion against them, with little political defense from the mainstream Democratic Party and its allies. Combined with influencers masquerading as experts and discredited or misrepresented studies being used as proof of harm, all backed by conservative think tanks and politicians funded with dark money, TGNC people have never been at greater risk. This damaging propaganda has led to trans people losing their jobs, new and vindictive restrictions on their ability to travel abroad safely, bans from participating in sports, and hundreds of thousands of TGNC youth losing access to life-saving medical care. Further potential injustices are a constant threat on the horizon.

“As a trans person myself, I feel the incredible pressure we’re under every day,” says Cayenne Wren, member of HPDSA. “We wake up, turn on the news, and we’re instantly confronted with unhinged social posts about us. Our very right to exist is endlessly debated about, even though we’re never included in those discussions. All too often we’re underemployed and unemployed, and when we do get a job, we are frequently harassed. Our greatest risk of harm is often from intimate partner violence and even our own family members. My heart breaks continuously for not only those we’ve lost, but also for my trans siblings who must continue to live with injustice every day of our lives. I love each and every one of you, and please know that you are never alone.”

For gay and bisexual individuals who fail to see the fight for trans liberation as central to the broader queer struggle, and for feminists who reject trans women as part of their coalition. Like Jewish liberal Zionists over the last two years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, they will continue to find themselves ostracized further from the broader social justice movement, and forced into the untenable position of having to align politically with reactionary right-wing forces that subjugate them as well to uphold the white supremacist heteropatriarchal order.

HPDSA asks you to join us today in pledging to end all forms of violence against TGNC people. You can make a difference by directly donating to TGNC people in need, uplifting trans voices, showing up to public meetings to advocate for trans rights and inclusivity, being vocal against anti-trans propaganda, participating in local and state elections, and advocating for our elected officials to do more to protect TGNC in our state and provide a sanctuary for those individuals who face greater threats elsewhere. 

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable community members and work towards a future where trans people can live openly and authentically without fear. 

Resources

• New York Name Change Guide

The post High Peaks DSA Honors Transgender Day of Remembrance appeared first on High Peaks DSA.