On January 3rd, 2021, Charlotte Metro DSA held its monthly meeting in the midst of the #ForcetheVote on Medicare for All debate that was raging online amongst the American Left.  While the weeks since that meeting have diverted our attention, it is important for the chapter leadership to revisit what was discussed at the meeting and report on the debates and decisions that the chapter made as a democratic organization in regard to #ForcetheVote. 

Members displayed their passion and commitment to socialism and building working class power in one the longest debates in chapter history. Many fantastic questions were raised about how we build power, the nature of organizing work, and how we can effectively reach our friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors in the working class. Ultimately it was decided to not endorse the #ForcetheVote effort, but instead to use this as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment as a chapter to Medicare for All organizing.   

Through the debate we were able to reach a consensus as a chapter that healthcare is at the top of everyone’s mind, especially in the midst of a pandemic and economic crisis.  Since healthcare intersects with every aspect of our lives - labor, housing, education, race, and gender, to name a few - it is also one of the easiest ways for us to start talking to and organizing with the people in our lives.  So, instead of simply voting “no” on endorsing the #ForcetheVote effort, we want to use this as an opportunity. An opportunity to recommit to supporting Medicare for All organizing within Charlotte Metro DSA and in the Carolinas, as a way to reach and recruit new members, as a vehicle to building an effective organizing body in the region, and as a way to positively impact the lives of workers in our community and state.

As we launch this renewed effort in Medicare for All organizing, please join us for our Medicare for All Campaign Kickoff on Saturday, February 20th at 1:00 PM.

RSVP here. Campaign news, updates, and actions will be posted on our M4A Campaign launch page.

Medicare for All now. Solidarity forever.

The Charlotte Metro DSA Steering Committee

“I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight.” -Malcolm X

In a report from TapInto from Camden’s February 9th city council meeting, homeless activists spoke out about the lack of action taken by the city to assist the many unhoused individuals living in Camden, especially in the cold winter months. Camden County Commissioner Carmen Rodriguez had this to say in response (emphasis added):

“The intent of Code Blue [is to be a] life-saving measure, not a comfort measure. It’s a life-saving measure. When we do warm warming sites, we’re not here to invite the homeless in to feel comfortable, to give all kinds of haircuts and baths and feed them lasagna and things of that nature. We just want to make sure that they stay alive and encourage them to go in for services, encourage them to seek the services that they want.”

South Jersey DSA is appalled and disgusted by Commissioner Rodriguez’s inhumane response. The unhoused are not a burden, they are our neighbors, friends, and family. One in two hundred people will become homeless in a given year. For those below the poverty line, that number can fall to as low as 1 in 25. Camden’s poverty rate was about 30% in 2017. Homelessness is an artificial problem, created by governments and capitalists eager to exploit their communities. There are more vacant homes available than there are people without homes. Beginning with the Reagan administration, cuts to public housing and the social safety net have decimated impoverished communities and left millions of people without affordable housing. Rather than actually solve these problems, governments typically use victim-blaming and neoliberal reform. Public spaces are over-policed, hostile architecture is installed, and County Commissioners claim that they only need to provide a warm room in order to fulfill their moral duty to the public.

Indeed, in recent memory no community in New Jersey has been exploited as much as Camden. The Democratic Party in South Jersey that includes Commissioner Rodriguez famously wrote a tax break law to funnel over $1 billion directly to party boss George Norcross and his associates. The Victor apartment complex received millions in tax abatements to rent units for upwards of $2100 in a city once called the poorest in America. While some in the city suffer to even have clean water or adequate heat, let alone a place to sleep at night, a billion dollar waterfront “revitalization” that claims to bring jobs to Camden has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to taxpayers per new job created. Not only could Camden County provide haircuts, baths, and even lasagna to everyone who requested them in warming sites, they could very easily provide homes for all of them just with the Norcross cartel’s ill-gotten riches. To do anything else with that money is condemning countless lives to death.

We stand in solidarity and action with the community organizers who are taking care of their community and speaking up about the inadequacies of our systems. You can support these efforts by following Compassion for Camden and responding to the needs of the community, donating at one of South Jersey Mutual Aid’s dropoff sites, or volunteering your time with a code blue shelter.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/18/the-columbia-university-student-strike-is-about-far-more-than-tuition

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Our society is in economic and social crisis, and as socialists, we know that the roots of this crisis spread far beyond the immediate cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. Deliberate policy decisions by our leadership at all levels have led to a widening gap between the wealthy and the poor, crumbling social and physical infrastructure, an education system designed to reinforce the dominance of the capitalist class, a healthcare system designed to extract profit from human suffering, and a mass incarceration system that imprisons and brutalizes tens of thousands. In this episode, RPM's own Jack Devine interviews State Senator and NYC-DSA member Julia Salazar about the state budget process and how New York State can lead the charge against 50 years of harmful neoliberal austerity. We also speak to Emmaline Bennet of Columbia YDSA about the current tuition strike at Columbia and the fight for democratized universities dedicated to the pursuit of human knowledge over private profits. Finally, because it's COVID winter, Desiree Frias will walk us all through how to help eligible people, especially elders, sign up for a vaccine appointment through the city's fiendishly difficult online portals. Times are tough, but we have a world to win.

https://taxtherichnys.com/

https://bit.ly/tuition-strike-fund

https://bit.ly/tuition-strike-letter

https://nycvaccinelist.com

To give to the station, please call (516) 620-3602 or go to wbai.org. Thank you!

February  9,  2021

PRESS RELEASE: BERKSHIRES DSA DISTRIBUTES MUTUAL AID REQUEST FORM

Pittsfield, MA — The Berkshires chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is distributing a Mutual Aid Request Form.

Anyone living in Berkshire County who needs support in surviving this season may request a care package of personal care  items and home cleaning supplies by completing this confidential request form. Fifty packages are available first-come, first-served starting today, February 9th; this form will close automatically when the limit is reached.

Members of the Berkshires Democratic Socialists of America will make contactless deliveries on the afternoon of Saturday, February 20th.

“For many, the costs of personal care, paper products, and cleaning supplies are prohibitively expensive,” said Chapter Co-Chair Abigail Childs. “Despite being essential these items cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits. Life under capitalism is relentless and we must take responsibility for each other’s needs now more than ever.”

This mutual aid effort comes on the heels of a “Bread and Roses” food distribution where 130 grocery bags of fresh and shelf-stable food were distributed with a handmade paper rose—at Pittsfield Common back in December 2020. The Bread and Roses project addresses some immediate needs while the Chapter continues organizing long-term social and economic change.

A historic rallying call of the American labor movement inspired the project’s theme. In 1912, “Bread for all, and roses too!” united the Lawrence, Massachusetts textile workers who striked for humane working and living conditions. Led by immigrants, most of whom were women, the mass demonstrations sparked poetry and song. 

The DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States. DSA’s members are building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American communities and politics. We believe that working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few. DSA members use a variety of tactics, from legislation to direct action, in the fight to empower working people.

For media Inquiries, please contact Amillie Coster (413) 854-5611, amilliedelphina@gmail.com

For Immediate Release

February  2,  2021

PRESS RELEASE: BERKSHIRES DSA TO OFFER ADDITIONAL MUTUAL AID TO LOCAL COMMUNITY

Pittsfield, MA — The Berkshires chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has launched a drive– raising money  to purchase personal and home care items for those in need. The chapter’s Bread and Roses Working Group will accept donations through February 7, and will then accept requests for the items from the public through a Google form online and individuals may call 413-429-7088. Care items will be delivered to recipients directly. 

“For many, the costs of personal care, paper products, and cleaning supplies are prohibitively expensive,” said Chapter Co-Chair Abigail Childs. “Despite being essential these items cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits. Life under capitalism is relentless and we must take responsibility for each other’s needs now more than ever.”

This mutual aid effort comes on the heels of a “Bread and Roses” food distribution where 130 grocery bags of fresh and shelf-stable food were distributed with a handmade paper rose—at Pittsfield Common back in December 2020. The Bread and Roses project addresses some immediate needs while the Chapter continues organizing long-term social and economic change.

We accept donations via Venmo @Berkshires_DSA, GoFundMe bit.ly/BerksDSA or email BerkshireBreadandroses@gmail.com to donate items.

A historic rallying call of the American labor movement inspired the project’s theme. In 1912, “Bread for all, and roses too!” united the Lawrence, Massachusetts textile workers who striked for humane working and living conditions. Led by immigrants, most of whom were women, the mass demonstrations sparked poetry and song. 

The DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States. DSA’s members are building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American communities and politics. We believe that working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few. DSA members use a variety of tactics, from legislation to direct action, in the fight to empower working people. For media Inquiries, please contact Amillie Coster (413) 854-5611, amilliedelphina@gmail.com

On January 27, 2021, Florida Senate Republicans approved a resolution in committee denouncing democratic socialism 4–2 on a party line vote. In response, the undersigned Florida chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America denounce Florida’s political establishment and its failure to respond to the COVID–19 crisis, and invite all Floridians who believe a better world is possible to join our vibrant, nationwide movement.

The Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee’s tired Cold War rhetoric would be good for a laugh if Floridians weren’t currently experiencing the greatest health and economic crisis of our lifetimes. Presided over by some of the most craven politicians in the United States, the COVID crisis has now killed more than 26,000 Floridians, with another 1.7 million others infected before we know the long-term effects of a still-mysterious disease. Many more job and housing-insecure are left reeling, not knowing when or if relief will ever come. The response by elected officials has been inept at best and malevolent at worst, as they have ignored or obstructed the most basic public health measures, and manipulated critically-important public health data. Meanwhile, the dysfunctional-by-design Florida Unemployment system leaves the poor and underpaid working class stranded as they are forced to make the choice between paying rent, utilities, or buying food. What an ironic time to revisit Joseph McCarthy’s greatest hits in the form of an empty partisan stunt crafted on the taxpayer’s dime. How else can we understand this official denunciation on behalf of Florida Senate Republicans but an embarrassing attempt to distract the people from their own criminal negligence in the face of an unmitigated crisis? You may be hungry, at risk of eviction, unable to access unemployment benefits, isolated from your loved ones for nearly a year in the name of an economy inaccessible to you, but hey: the emperor who has no clothes would like you to know that democratic socialism is very bad!

What do everyday Floridians imagine and hope their elected officials are doing right now to ensure their safety and economic survival during this crisis? Spinning around in high-backed desk chairs in plush offices, incoherently babbling about an ahistorical “democratic socialism?” As in one county, making it harder for people to get vaccines as Publix became the sole distributor following its $100,000 gift to our benevolent leader Ron DeSantis? Scheming how to counter the will of Floridians who recently voted for and passed a $15 minimum wage with nearly 61% approval by lowering it again for those deemed “hard-to-hire employees?”

Floridians are tired of the status quo. This kind of blatantly corrupt, inhumane agenda is not a surprise. The distracting denunciation of democratic socialism during one of capitalism’s worst crises is not a surprise. Their cold indifference to mass death is shocking, but not a surprise. That all of these issues disproportionately impact communities of color, while Republican legislators introduce bills meant to undermine a new civil rights movement and prevent Floridians from protesting the material conditions foisted onto them is despicable, but, again, not a surprise. However, cynical resignation is not the answer to wiping away the stain of many years of corrupt political rule in Florida. 

That wealthy and lying politicians want to distract us by demonizing democratic socialism only demonstrates their fear that we will notice how they undermine their constituents’ wellbeing in favor of their own financial interests. The politicians using socialism as a scare tactic or partisan smear gamble that the rest of us won’t see beyond fear-mongering and eventually act upon our own interests, as we did in November when Florida voters overwhelmingly approved an increase in the state minimum wage. They’re hoping we won’t act democratically as the people of Florida did in 2018 when we voted overwhelmingly to restore the voting rights of former felons. What will happen when their constituents realize that the false dichotomy of “red” and “blue” United States does not exist? As the prescient Sarah Kendzior has observed, “America is purple – purple like a bruise,” and we’re tired of the incessant beatings. 

So who are these democratic socialists? They are us. A multi-racial coalition calling for a political revolution. We understand, as President Harry Truman stated in 1952, that for over a hundred years “Socialism is [the Republicans’] name for almost anything that helps all the people.”  When Republicans denounce democratic socialism, and when liberal Democrats make efforts to distance themselves from it, what is it that they are against? Access to healthcare and a living wage in a time of the greatest health crisis in a century, now and into the future; strong labor unions to protect and advocate for workers whose employers act to minimize wages while making record profits for themselves; student loan forgiveness after more than four decades of market deregulation, several economic recessions, corporate bailouts and stagnant wages in a neoliberal gig economy; free education and trade skill programs for all; a Federal jobs guarantee; racial equity and restitution; sanctuary and resources for anyone who wishes to call America home without fear of deportation, imprisonment, or separation from their families; swift action against climate change with an emphasis on environmental justice; that the monied elite cannot pay off the elected officials who are meant to represent us; and so much more. If you support any of these things, you might be a democratic socialist. 

Capitalism isn’t working for the American people, for Floridians. We know the system is rigged against the poor and underpaid working class of our state, black and white, red and blue, and we have a platform to combat the corruption, ignite collective power, and create a truly democratic society. This is what the Democratic Socialists of America are fighting for every day, and what U.S. socialists have advocated for over a century. We welcome all Floridians who want to fight for these things, for all people, to join us today. https://www.dsausa.org/join

“Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all of God’s children.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

[In alphabetical order]

Florida International University YDSA

Jacksonville DSA

Miami DSA

Orlando DSA

Palm Beach County DSA

Polk County DSA

Space Coast DSA

Tampa DSA

Madison DSA’s Labor Working Group will be hosting a viewing of the film, Divided We Fall, by Katherine Acosta.

The first film to take a critical look at the 2011 Wisconsin Uprising, Divided We Fall traces the genesis of the historic capitol occupation and weeks-long protests from the perspective of graduate teaching assistants at the center of the action and exposes tensions that challenged the movement’s solidarity.

Join us for a viewing of the film and discussion on the 10th anniversary of the Wisconsin Uprising: Sunday, February 14th at 6:30pm central. Register here. Link to Facebook Event.