Download print version DSA San Diego offers the following guide for select local, regional and statewide races in California’s June 2026 primary. Recommendations are not comprehensive, as a substantial share of contests are effectively uncontested; in California’s top-two primary system, most offices will see a Democrat and Republican advance to the general election. While moderate [...]

Read More... from DSA San Diego’s June 2026 Primary Voter Guide

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The Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America Condemn Florida Redistricting & Recent SCOTUS Decision as Attack on Democracy

The membership of the Pinellas County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America strongly condemns the recent congressional redistricting imposed by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Republican Party, alongside the ongoing erosion of the Voting Rights Act by the US Supreme Court. These actions represent a coordinated assault on democratic representation in Florida and across the United States.

Over the past several days, we’ve witnessed some of the most severe attacks on voting rights in recent memory, both in Florida and the United States more broadly. First, the redrawing of Florida’s congressional districts by Governor DeSantis and the Florida Republican Party, which we condemn as explicit gerrymandering and which is in direct opposition to the Fair Districts Amendments to the state constitution. Second, the US Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act, which threatens to disenfranchise minority communities across the nation. These measures are part of a broader effort to consolidate political power and silence anyone opposed to the Trump regime’s agenda.

SCOTUS’ gutting of the Voting Rights Act will allow Republicans to strip representation from non-white people in their latest efforts to reassert the rule of white oligarchs over the dispossessed millions across the US. Meanwhile, DeSantis’ gerrymandering of Florida seeks to subvert democracy by ensuring that Florida is represented at the federal level by legislators that do not represent the interests of the vast majority of Florida’s population, and who are dedicated to preserving rule by the capitalist class.

While these measures most explicitly target Black political power, they will have consequences for the entirety of the working class, including restrictions on reproductive freedom for women, attacks on the right to organize and collectively bargain, and the veritable elimination of freedom of speech and assembly. These developments are not isolated incidents, but part of a long-standing pattern. For decades, the far right has used state and federal institutions to curtail democratic participation and undermine collective political power. Now, as the capitalist class perceives the power of the working class growing, and feels their grip on power loosening, these measures further accelerate the stripping away of our freedoms; a desperate gambit to preserve class rule, and the logical outcome of a political system that prioritizes elite control over genuine democracy.

The state government of Florida, which has seized for itself the privilege to determine how votes are apportioned in opposition to our own state constitution, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States, both represent undemocratic arms of class rule. We must confront these institutions head-on if we wish to truly accomplish the aims of Reconstruction, which remain unfinished more than 150 years after the end of the Civil War.

In response, the members of the Pinellas County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America call for the new Florida congressional map to be rescinded, and for the reinstatement of the guidelines outlined in the Voting Rights Act prior to SCOTUS’s narrowing of the definition of discriminatory intent for the drawing of legislative lines.

Events & Actions

Tuesday May 5 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting and Charter Planning! (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Thursday May 7 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM)  Social Committee (zoom)

Thursday May 7 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM)  Education Board Open Meeting (zoom)

Thursday May 7 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Public Bank Project Meeting (zoom)

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

Friday May 8 (9:30 AM – 10:30 AM)  District 1 Coffee with Comrades (2 Clement St)

Saturday May 9 (12:00 PM – 1:00 PM)  Yoga with DSA SF at Dolores Park (Mission Dolores Park)

Saturday May 9 (1:00 PM – 3:00 PM) Know Your Rights canvass with Immigrant Justice Working Group (Rossi Park)

Saturday May 9 (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM) No Appetite for Apartheid Consumer Canvass (Dolores Park)

Sunday May 10 (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM)  Physical Education + Self Defense Training (William McKinley Monument)

Sunday May 10 (5:00 PM – 6:00 PM)  Tenderloin Healing Circle Working Group (zoom)

Monday May 11 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)  Tenderloin Healing Circle (zoom and in person at 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Monday May 11 (6:00 PM – 7:30 PM) Labor Board Meeting – Office Hours (zoom)

Monday May 11 (6:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Homelessness Working Group Regular Meeting (1916 McAllister)

Monday May 11 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM)  DSA Run Club (McLaren Lodge)

Tuesday May 12 (5:30 PM – 7:00 PM) Social Housing Working Group (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Tuesday May 12 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM)  Public Transit Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Wednesday May 13 (6:45 PM – 9:00 PM)  DSA SF General Meeting (zoom and in person at 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Thursday May 14 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Public Bank Project Meeting (zoom)

Friday May 15 (9:30 AM – 10:30 AM)  District 1 Coffee with Comrades (2 Clement St)

Saturday May 16 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) HWG Food Service (Castro St & Market St)

Monday May 18 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM)  DSA Run Club (McLaren Lodge)

Monday May 18 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Labor Board Meeting – Existing Union Support (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

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

Join us next Saturday, May 9, for our No Appetite for Apartheid Consumer Canvass. We will be talking to our consumers about our BDS campaign and gathering signatures.

We will be meeting in Dolores Park by the Miguel Hidalgo Statue at 11am, and canvassing until 1pm. Look for the keffiyehs and/or DSA shirts.

RSVP here

Join the DSA SF Immigrant Justice Working Group at Rossi Park this Saturday May 9 at 1 PM as we talk to workers and small business owners about their rights in case of an immigration raid.

May Day Reportback

May Day activities were well attended by our chapter members. They showed up to two of San Francisco’s big May Day marches. During the first march, Comrade Anya gave an impassioned speech about the dire state of the city budget and the need to fight against local officials who cater to the wealthy of this city and forget about the working class and the most vulnerable.

The big action this past May Day though happened at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in which around at least 500 people from organizations and unions around the Bay Area showed up to shut the airport down for airport workers struggling for a fair wage and to demand that ICE stay out of SFO. DSA SF chapter members, especially those from the immigrant justice working group, showed up to help the with the protest that brought airport traffic to a halt for up to two hours.

USWW – SEIU union airport workers have been fighting United airlines for a fair living wage. Many of the workers are immigrants. At the same time, United airlines has been supportive of the Trump agenda, which  uses ICE to detain and deport immigrants. SFO recently was the place where a Guatemalan mother and her daughter were captured by ICE and deported. 

Thanks to the comrades that showed up to help workers and immigrants on this most important day!

EWOC Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing Week #1

Last Sunday we held our first session of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) course Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing, a four week course that goes into the basics of organizing: from organizing committees to inoculation against the boss. We met in person at 1916 McAllister to watch the course plenary before diving into a discussion about the material we covered. This week’s topic was “Developing Leadership” and we heard from a federal worker organizer at Glacier National Park. They showed the group their workplace chart, which is a tool used to keep track of not only who works somewhere but also relevant information: what their issues are, who they know in the workplace, what their job is, where to find them, etc. For the Glacier National Park organizers, having this workplace chart was key in being able to identify leaders in each spread out department. After the plenary, we discussed how to start talking to coworkers with the goal of eventually bringing them into the Organizing Committee. Important takeaways from that conversation were that talking outside of the workplace can make people feel more comfortable and getting to know your coworkers will better inform what matters to them both inside and outside of work.

The next session will take place on Sunday, May 10th at 12PM, hosted at 1916 McAllister. It’ll cover the steps of the the arc of the campaign, including how campaigns decide their next step.

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

Join DSA SF on May 1st – May Day!

Join the DSA SF Action Network and pledge NO WORK, NO SCHOOL, NO SHOPPING on MAY DAY 2026!! Fight for workers over billionaires, say NO to ICE, NO to War!!

Join one of the following May Day events. Sign up pledges and RSVP available in the Action Network here!

There will be DSA SF Signal groups set up for each one of the May Day events:

• May 1st – 11am – SFO – Protest to demand better working conditions for USWW union airport workers, many of them immigrants.  Also demand ICE out of SFO and for the airport not to be used to detain immigrants!! Say no to greedy airlines profiting off the working class!!
• May 1st – 2pm – Rally and march starting at Civic Center – organizations participating include those fighting for immigrant rights, housing for the under privileged, a fair SF city budget, SFUSD students, and many others.
• May 1st – 4pm – Starting at Embarcadero – San Francisco Labor Council program and march for unions and workers across the city.

Kind words from chapter foes, Piker rallies with endorsees, and more in the April edition of Chapter and Verse.

The post More Than 170 Chapters Take May Day Action appeared first on Democratic Left.

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By: Travis Wayne

SOMERVILLE – Somerville and its new mayor face a test from organized labor as the city’s executive sits across from a burgeoning municipal workers’ union: Somerville Workers United (SWU) – AFSCME 93, whose members are joining a union representing 45,000 state, county, and municipal workers across New England.

The new city workers’ union, which seeks to represent around 220 non-union workers in the city including both the bulk of the city’s administrative staff and positions of lowest compensation, hovers near the 50% threshold of cards needed to formally request voluntary recognition from the mayor. 

The union crosses the threshold after taking the unusual organizing decision to announce their intent to unionize to the public before reaching a 50% majority — which led only to more support, both externally and internally. Compensation and rising austerity in the city government were common themes in conversations between city workers and Working Mass. 

Rising Anxiety and Opaque Compensation 

Multiple non-union employees that Working Mass spoke with shared that feelings of destabilization in their jobs began in late 2024, but were exacerbated in 2025. Non-unionized city workers have felt increasingly unstable as Greater Boston continues to lose tens of thousands of jobs – a trend that has only worsened. 

ICE’s early descent on Somerville did not help in making workers feel safe. 

As workers’ vulnerability increased, the need to protect their employment collectively did, too. Individuals’ requests and questions regarding stability and compensation were often punted under former Mayor Ballantyne’s administration. Workers were asked to wait for a Compensation Plan to be released in 2025, the summer before the city elections. But upon its release, the Plan did little except unlock deep dissatisfaction in much of the non-union workforce. According to Josh, one city worker and SWU organizer: 

While the base rate was increased for the the lowest-paid employees, the top line pay for directors also increased – and the way they paid for this was a giant step and grade system in the middle for the vast majority of non-union employees.

The sheer complexity of the Plan makes its meaning entirely opaque to many employees looking for critical information on their own employment terms. Many employees have no idea what step and grade to expect at any given time. In effect, the policies are obscured by a wall of legalese that increase barriers to entry for workers just trying to put food on their tables.

Luis, a strategic planner with the city, also added that the Compensation Plan didn’t include any mention of gender parity or Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increases – even as gas soars and rent rises. Layoffs also remained firmly on the table. 

There was another layer, too, which fundamentally impacted the nature of the labor done in the workplace. Non-union city workers had seen their job descriptions slowly divorced from requested responsibilities and compensation. “All non-union employees were doing other duties, one-off pet projects of the mayor or whoever the city manager was at the time,” said Josh. Directors can press rank-and-file workers for assignments entirely outside their job realm and hold them accountable for that work and workers shared between departments. As Luis indicated:

It’s very difficult to figure out what to do when no one can come to agreement on what my job actually is… and we do what they need us to do at any given time.

New Austerity Suffocates City Workers Further

Mayor Jake Wilson has stated values that are aligned with many of the same priorities as Somerville workers. He supports the development of social housing and calls for the city to be a “guinea pig” in the fight against displacement. And when Mayor Wilson reported in the Cambridge Day that administrative restructuring has occupied much of his effort since taking office, he said “we’re building a team” as his biggest accomplishment of his first one hundred days in office. 

Many workers have been made to feel they are decidedly not inside that team.

First, city workers already anxious about their employment since 2025 heard silence from the mayor. According to multiple sources, Mayor Wilson did not contact or introduce himself in any way to the workforce, not even an email. “To this day, we haven’t been properly introduced to the Cabinet of the new Mayor’s Office,” said Luis, shaking his head. Other workers that spoke to Working Mass confirmed that they also had not seen the mayor once.

Then, the mayor fired Arts Council Director Greg Jenkins. The same “departmental reorganization” that created the Cabinet never introduced to workers was enough to end someone’s career after 25 years. In that case, multiple sources speculated to Working Mass that the mayor showed up in-person to introduce himself to workers (one of the only times reported) to assuage their anxieties after their direct manager’s abrupt firing.

But larger concerns than just the remoteness of the mayor were top of workers’ minds: namely, cuts. One SWU organizer shared with Working Mass that every department is expected by the administration to cut a position from their department, as of the end of April 2026. This is after they fired a staff person working in housing, an “active and essential organizer,” in late April 2026. Workers expressed the broader feeling the cuts underscored: that their labor was not valued, with dire consequences to residents. Josh said:

 The nature of our job is policy implementing for the public good. It’s a real problem we have no voice in crafting the policies we are charged with implementing.

For example, the city’s portfolio of complex permits is overseen by just three staff members charged with the enforcement of all zone ordinances and inspection in Somerville. In just one department, then, an austerity pattern towards staff from the Mayor’s Office can decrease access to direly-need services for tenants and protection from abusive landlords. Luis summarized the effect of the cuts on the already-squeezed staff:

You start to think of yourself as a number. The perception of how the administration treats us is just as a number in this work: a producer of outputs. People are still passionate about the work.

In lieu of investing in the workers who actually hold relationships with residents and can serve their needs most effectively, the Wilson administration has been characterized so far by what two workers called “a tech bro approach.”

In the Cambridge Day, the mayor underscored a “performance measurement tool” that turns many of the key calculations workers make in policy implementation into an automated dashboard for metric tracking. The mayor is also forcing workers back to work in person, following the same pattern as corporations after the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, the labor movement in Somerville beyond City Hall also signaled dissent to the austerity of the new administration impacting non-union city workers. According to the Somerville Educators’ Union (SEU), the mayor aims to take funds from Somerville schools: 

Mayor Jake Wilson has asked the district to prepare for up to $1 million in reduced funding, which is well below level-service. This is to account for the projected $5.3 million deficit in the City’s budget.

The mayor has asked for these cuts despite, as the teachers’ union pointed out, the fact that the City of Somerville holds 23.8 million in “Free Cash” and $15 million in a Stabilization Fund. Those funds not only can be utilized to float education, but also support city workers.

Organizing the Union of the Formerly Non-Union

Within the city government, around 220 non-union employees make up the workforce that SWU seeks recognition to represent. The organizing drive took off across multiple non-union departments after the Compensation Plan’s release, but especially revved up as workers felt the need to ensure their own jobs’ stability as the city administration changed. 

The Office of Sustainability and Environment was among the first centers of agitation. According to SWU organizers, department workers’ direct feedback was met with coldness by their director, leading to further dissatisfaction exacerbated by micromanagement that followed. Any projects that needed directorial approval were stonewalled and access limited. 

The Office of Sustainability workers were the first to sign union cards, with three members of the original Organizing Committee (OC) from that department, because of both that stonewalling and another key factor: the employees’ own deep experiences. Workers in the office included a federal employee purged from the Environmental Protection Agency and a former member of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), equipped with union experience, while another employee was a community organizer hired to work in community development for the city due to their organizing background.

Other departments proved more challenging to reach and build solidarity with, because they were more remote, more autonomous, and better-managed by their director than others. 

Non-union workers share a workplace – tasks, relations, ideas – with unionized colleagues. Thus, even in departments without workers with labor or organizing experience, workers had exposure to the major differences between their contracts and those of union workers. The Somerville Municipal Employees Union (SMEU) was unaffected by the Compensation Plan and, when union employees saw benefits won, non-union workers also observed increases due to the city’s requirement for parity. The difference became stark.

City workers first sought to organize into one of the city government’s existing unions that inspired so many of their ranks. Ultimately, that choice seemed less possible over time for workers’ needs, according to Josh. Despite SMEU President Ed Halloran’s support, the reception of SMEU membership to their coworkers’ unionization was frostier than they hoped. Controversy between other parts of the Somerville labor movement and SMEU around the reinstatement of one union member that led to the 2024 resignation of library workers was also not encouraging.

We started having these amorphous conversations… those of us who were former municipal workers began reaching out to SMEU, the Steelworkers, UAW, and eventually AFSCME 93… their expertise with the public union process was on display in a way the others in a technical space weren’t… and many felt SMEU would not yield in their challenges, and the time it would take to activate leadership would be too long for workers.

In the end, 75% of the nascent union chose to affiliate with AFSCME 93. 

Going Public 

Somerville Workers United (SWU)’s demands are, in the end, simple.

“We need a seat at the table,” Josh told Working Mass. “We need clear policies and procedures in the handbook, like overtime, flexibility, offboarding, steps and grades made transparent, position reclassification.”

The union chose to go public on March 10, before reaching the 50% threshold, largely because one obstacle they encountered was hesitancy from their coworkers to join in any clandestine effort. In a city where so many unions bargain with the city, some non-union city workers felt uncomfortable organizing with Somerville Workers United till the union was open about its work. 

According to SWU organizers, the strategy of going public early was successful. Going public allowed the union to speak to more and more of their non-union coworkers openly. Questions of dignity, compensation, and stability unfolded in conversations from City Hall to the most remote corner, with organizers conducting one-on-ones department by department. 

The mayor’s office did not interfere or in any way communicate its notice of the new union. On April 10, 2026, SWU had reached 70 union cards signed out of around 220. The union held a series of socials for workers and their allies in labor and beyond: a St. Patrick’s Day social at the Burren, building-level tabling at the Annex and City Hall, a potluck picnic in Winter Hill, an art build at Aeronaut Brewery. Workers signing on steadily grew, till by the end of the month, the union hovered near the 50% threshold needed for climactic action. 

On May Day, as workers rallied in socials and events across Greater Boston, SWU coordinated with the Somerville Educators Union on their rally to “demonstrate solidarity across public sector workers in the face of looming budget cuts” in their final stretch push for recognition from the city government. The action signals an important shift from seeking recognition as a union to acting as one, as part of and connected to the fight for recognition – in this case, representing workers’ interests in unity with Somerville’s teachers’ union facing the city to reject the notion of a zero-sum game between schools and services.

“To some extent, to be the union is the point,” Josh said. SWU has certainly become the union. It’s up to the mayor whether he will recognize the workers as the union they already have become, or not. 

Travis Wayne is a union organizer in Somerville and the managing editor of Working Mass.

The post Somerville City Workers, Facing Opaque Pay and Austerity, Unionize with AFSCME 93 appeared first on Working Mass.

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May 2026 Newsletter

This is the monthly newsletter by the Montgomery County Branch of the Metro DC Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (MoCo DSA).

• Interested in building a socialist future? Join DSA.
• Want up-to-the-minute updates? Follow us on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Facebook. 
• Sign up for weekly updates (and see the archives) from Metro DC DSA.

Take Action

Our Electoral team has raised thousands of dollars and reached at least 3,000 voters on behalf of our endorsed candidates, Gabe Acevero, Josie Caballero, and Izola Shaw. But we need more boots on the ground! We’re requesting volunteers to (1) knock on doors, (2) host candidates in their homes or apartment common areas for meet and greets, and (3) coordinate and launch a canvass. Join the Electoral team by filling out the interest form and selecting the Electoral team.

MoCo DSA and the wider MDC-DSA Labor Working Group are interested in doing more labor work at the branch level. Please fill out this survey to learn which unions and industries DSA members are part of, so we can determine which campaigns to prioritize and learn what kinds of labor work members want.

Join us in demanding that Maryland’s State Retirement and Pension System (MSRPS) divest from Israeli bonds. As of December 2025, MSRPS holds $65.49 million in these bonds, which directly subsidize genocide and ethnic cleansing. Sign this letter to Treasurer Dereck Davis, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and MSPRS leadership so they know that Marylanders do not want to foot the bill for brutality and oppression. You can also virtually sign a postcard supporting the redirection of MSRPS funds away from oppression and towards Maryland communities.

Preserve Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians. The Trump Administration is trying to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. Haiti is overwhelmed by multi-factional violence from the national government, local gangs, and other paramilitary forces. It would be unconscionable to prioritize deporting Haitians, considering the conditions they’d be returning to. Ask your representative to force a vote in the House to preserve TPS status for Haiti. 

The Montgomery County Council is considering a bill sponsored by Council Members Kristin Mink and Will Jawando to levy a tax on demolitions and housing expansions to fund social housing. This legislation applies when a property owner tears down an existing single-family house and replaces it with a larger house on the same lot. This bill is gaining momentum! Use this action alert to ask your county council members to support the bill.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, May 9th – MoCo DSA Monthly General Body Meeting. Join us in person at the Silver Spring Library or via Zoom for our monthly meeting to get plugged into the latest with MoCo DSA. If you’re brand new to DSA, this meeting is open to the public.

Thursday, May 21st – MoCo DSA May Social. Come craft, hang, and enjoy the sun on Thursday May 21st at 6:30pm in Downtown Rockville! We’ll be making pipe cleaner flowers and enjoying some spring weather. Whether you’re a crafter or not, come by to enjoy some snacks and chit chat. We’ll be learning on the fly, so no experience required!

MoCo Briefs

Electoral

Our Electoral team continues to pound the pavement and encourage registered voters to support our endorsed candidates, Gabe Acevero, Izola Shaw, and Josie Caballero. MoCo DSA also held a successful fundraiser to support Gabe at the Germantown Library at the end of April.

Palestine Solidarity

We supported JVP’s Break the Bonds campaign to get Maryland’s State Retirement and Pension System (MSRPS) divested from Israel’s genocide by coordinating testimony at the Maryland State House in support of HB1455. Stay tuned for more information about a teach-in planned for May.

ICE Watch

Three important DSA-supported bills passed the Montgomery County Council in April! The Unmask ICE bill prohibits federal, state, and local law enforcement officers from wearing masks or facial coverings, with limited exceptions, requires identification while on duty, and requires the creation of an online portal to report alleged violations. The Vehicle Recovery Act reduces barriers for families whose loved ones have been abducted by ICE to recover impounded vehicles. And the ICE Out Act prohibits all privately owned ICE detention centers in the county.

Interested in building a socialist future? Join DSA

The post Moco DSA May Newsletter appeared first on Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America.

A statement from our Creating Democracy in Columbus Campaign

Today Columbus City Council is hosting a “community conversation” on the current voting system for City Council Districts. Since last spring, Columbus DSA has led the actual community conversation in Columbus on the issue of City Council Districts. Residents are sick and tired of their elected officials ignoring their neighborhood concerns while turning around and giving billionaires anything they want without question. The recent McCoy Park debacle exposes just this: the interests of the billionaire class are served over those of the residents of this city. And we saw City Council respond in their usual way: deflecting blame and performative response while maintaining the status quo. Today is no different.

Columbus’ current City Council voting system is a farce, the so-called “Districts” in this model are an illusion having no actual impact. Because we maintain at-large voting, requiring a candidate to win votes across the entire city and not just their “District”, these “Districts” could simply not exist and the outcome of the elections would be the same, as we saw in November.

At-large voting favors the well-funded and those in power at the expense of real community representation. It is why most cities have abandoned at-large elections for city council seats. Columbus is one of the very few cities of its size in this country still using this archaic system.

Our proposal is simple: eliminate at-large voting and make the Districts real. In order to represent a District, you must win the election in just that District. This gives neighborhoods a real say in who represents them in city government and makes candidates answerable to their neighbors.

We are happy to see the issue has captured Council’s attention, but we should set the record straight as to what is actually going on today: an attempt to co-opt a citizen-led initiative to build our own power. Council is not holding this hearing for the working people of this city but for their own benefit.

If Council truly cares about the District issue, they should drop the pretenses and just let us get on with our good work. We don’t want to see Council attempt to redirect this energy into any proposal retaining at-large seats. We don’t want to see any competing proposals that would confuse voters. The Our City Our Say coalition is working towards a simple true-districts amendment for this November’s election. We look forward to winning real representation for the people of Columbus!

Read more at Memphis-Midsouth

This article is written by a DSA member and does not formally represent the views of MADSA as a whole or its subgroups. 

Welcome to Vol. 9 of the monthly round-up! The content in this publication overlaps with our DSA newsletter and monthly General Membership Meetings. To sign up for the newsletter or check out an upcoming General Membership Meeting, visit: https://madison-dsa.org/events/

Members Work Towards A May Day Success

Throughout the start of 2026, and especially in April, MADSA worked towards supporting a major economic blackout on May Day, with the goal of “No Work, No School, No Shopping!”. MADSA members planned a community pancake breakfast, wrote rally speeches, created signage, liaised with unions, attended coalition events and worker assemblies, and held many conversations with coworkers and loved ones around shutting down their workplaces in support of the historic day.

The day saw roughly 3,000 attendees in Madison, with participation from MADSA, UW-Madison’s YDSA, a variety of socialist and communist organizations, and many unions in the area. Milwaukee also had a huge day of action, and gubernatorial candidate Fran Hong made stops to both cities.

May Day 2026 reflected a sense of shared struggle and power among working class people, explicitly connecting with the long history of labor battles in the U.S. and around the world. As MADSA and other organizations continue to grow, workers will hopefully build towards a larger economic shutdown on May Day 2027, and eventually develop the solidarity and power required for a general strike.

For more May Day coverage, Voces de La Frontera’s Facebook page and Instagram have many photos and videos of actions all over Wisconsin. 

MADSA Approves a New Office Space

On April 26th, MADSA called a meeting to discuss the chapter’s need for a larger office to accommodate our growth in members and resources. Members held a small potluck, and formally approved a proposal to rent a larger office space, which also grants consistent access to a meeting space for our large monthly general membership meetings. More details will be shared once this is finalized!

Members also reflected on the chapter’s relationship with the Social Justice Center, where MADSA currently rents a small amount of space. Members voted to continue renting the space, as part of our desire to maintain a positive and supportive relationship with the SJC. 

Canvassing & Tabling for Endorsed Candidates

Members and other volunteers have begun canvassing for Fran Hong and Juliana Bennett’s campaigns. There are opportunities to canvass in several Madison neighborhoods, as well as tabling at the Farmer’s Market each week. Juliana’s campaign will be having a weekend of canvass action on May 23 and 24. Sign up here!

ICE Out Work Continues

MADSA continues to coordinate information about trainings and events, and neighborhood group chats, via the Strike Out ICE hub, here. 

Additional Organizing

Other important efforts this month included the following:

• MADSA had its first AfroSocialists/Socialists of Color Coffee Hangout at Qamaria Yemeni Coffee.
• In the lead-up to May 1st, MADSA members showed up to the May Day Strong Solidarity School focusing on organizing tactics, as well as two Madison Worker Assemblies and a coalition meeting for event planning.
• NoAppetiteForApartheid (NA4A) had a planning meeting for a summer film event.
• The Comms Committee put on its first skills training, with the goal of building comms skills among chapter members. A comrade taught some key principles of graphic design. 
• MADSA had a Powerpoint to the People event where members could share socialist education through short presentations.
• MADSA continues to prepare for the Queer Liberation March, scheduled for June 13th. 
• Southern Dane County Branch had their monthly meeting on 4/29.

Social Events

We continue hosting recurring social events. Currently, we have DSA 101, MADSA Run Club, and the Rosebuddies program on the calendar. May also features a board game night planned for 5/4, and a new reading club for Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed starting Sunday 5/30.

Protest Song of the Month

In honor of the Day Without Immigrants and Voces’ organizing role in our community, I’ll be featuring two songs this month.

First, a lament – ICE, El Hielo by La Santa Cecilia, heard here. The music video features several actors who are living in the US as undocumented workers. The song tells of three workers contributing to the economy while living under the oppressive fear and restrictions that come with being undocumented.

Next, for something higher energy – La Cumbia De La Migra by Los Jornaleros del Norte, a protest band proudly consisting of day-laborers. This song is ICE Out in purest form!

And that concludes our monthly round-up!