Interview By: Francesca Maria

Translated from Italian to English. This interview was originally published in Springs of Revolution.

José Nivoi is a spokesperson for CALP (Collettivo Autonomo Lavoratori Portuali – Autonomous Dockworkers Collective) in Genoa and a member of USB (Unione Sindacale di Base – Grassroot Trade Union). He’s aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza and has been instrumental in organizing port blockades against arms shipments to Israel across Italian ports.

Tell us who you are and how you ended up on the Flotilla?

I’m José Nivoi, I’m part of USB, which is the Grassroot Trade Union [Unione Sindacale di Base], and of CALP. I’m the spokesperson for CALP in Genoa, which is the Autonomous Dockworkers Collective [Collettivo Autonomo Lavoratori Portuali].

For several years, we’ve been carrying out blockades against arms trafficking directed at various war theaters, starting with Yemen, which has somewhat defined us, the Kurdistan issue, Libya, and obviously the weapons that are destined for Israel and then used against Palestine.

I ended up here [on the Flotilla] because at the national level, we’ve become a kind of linchpin in the fight against arms trafficking, which has also given rise to other mobilizations in other ports and other sectors. So, we’re very representative of this type of struggle because one of our slogans is precisely to say: we don’t want to work for war.

One of our principles is not to water ourselves down in an attempt to have the highest number of people in our demonstrations, but to have clear words, clear and shareable slogans, and so this element has meant that we, little by little, managed to develop this character that we have today: when we launch a general strike, as seen today, almost a million people, even more, all across Italy are mobilizing in various cities.

Of course, we’ve had a thousand challenges because at the beginning we were born as a militant element within the confederal union, CGIL [Italian General Confederation of Labour], precisely because it was taking a turn, let’s say, too government-aligned in a way, starting with the Job Act, the Minniti decree, which then became the security decree.

From there we split completely by breaking with the CGIL, joining the Unione Sindacale di Base which is no longer a small union because today we see what it can mobilize, but smaller, but nonetheless maintains a fighting spirit, its peculiarity is to represent what workers say and not vice versa like CGIL which today represents more what the government says or what the bosses say rather than what workers want. Just look at the thousands of agreements they’ve written to fire thousands of workers.

So we were born there, by joining USB we found our home, and therefore our very street-oriented way of doing things, breaking out from theory to move on to concrete practice, while having a union that supports you in your strike declarations, in the most bureaucratic aspects, which is necessary, unfortunately I must add, given the laws that exist in Italy, has meant that we have gradually gained authority in the Italian political world, and beyond, because today we can also say we have created the international coordination of ports, within which there’s the Piraeus, there are the Slovenians, the French of Fos-sur-Mer, which is the port of Marseille, the dockworkers of Tangier, the Swedes, Hamburg, that is, we have slowly and patiently built every single piece that today CALP represents, with a lot of determination, a lot of practice, talking to everyone from the dorkiest collective in Italy all the way to even the Pope, we have never shied away from having a discussion, because that’s the point…

I’ll give you an example, the make-up of CALP today is a politically heterogeneous make-up, within it we have everything from the anarchist to the communist— I’m a communist—to the one who comes from the stadium stands of the ultras of Genoa, Sampdoria who however has a strong anti-fascist, internationalist sentiment to those who come from the most diverse backgrounds, but who have a clear understanding of what anti-fascism is, in facts and not just in words, as it is sometimes represented by a certain institutional left.

So let’s say there’s been a whole series of factors, even random ones, that led us to be the collective we are.

How did the decision to call this strike today come about? What’s been the path to building it?

Well, the first blockades in support of Palestine we did in 2021 already. Together with the National Port Coordination, which includes Livorno, Trieste, Naples, a few Italian ports, we blocked a shipment of Italian missiles destined for the IDF, in that case it was going to the port of Ashdod, and that’s where our journey started from.

It began officially with two specific moments, one is when we received a letter from the Palestinian unions where they asked us, immediately after October 7th, to essentially mobilize in support of the Palestinian population given the attacks that Israel was carrying out in the Gaza Strip, and second, with the meeting of a Palestinian trade unionist from the WFTU in Athens, —she is from Jerusalem— where we started trying to create trade union relations, essentially, and so from there we started a whole series of blockades against Israel’s weapons, demonstrations in the port area, which is one of the most important economic centers in Italy, the port of Genoa, in an attempt to block trade going towards Israel.

So I couldn’t even tell you how many blockades and demonstrations we did, but we come from a very long wave of demonstrations and strikes, and now here is also a very personal element that right now I represent, that is, that organizer who has put himself publicly out there, today embarked on the Global [Sumud Flotilla] who wants to bring, or rather break the siege that Palestine has been experiencing for too long, that creates that real emotional connection, between Palestine and Italy. The mobilizations we have been carrying out until recently were totally in support of Palestine and we never backed down; today, the element of the organizer on board who goes into a danger zone creates, so to speak, even greater closeness to that population. I know it doesn’t sound good, but there’s also this element, which honestly should be said…

Well, in some ways, that’s the Flotilla’s strategy, to bring representatives and activists from a whole range of countries to then encourage actions in solidarity, but also in a way to put governments in front of a situation in which there’s a push from below. So, speaking a bit about the Flotilla, what is its composition, what organizations are involved? Who’s on board? Based on what you’ve seen, of course, I know you’re spread all over different boats, but from what you know, from meetings in ports, etc.

Let’s see, in my opinion, the most interesting factor that I’m noticing, and also on my ship, are the Malaysian participants, the Malaysians are really gung-ho about supporting Palestine, I think due to connections to the Muslim and Arab world. They really are, I’m seeing in first person how they express themselves, I ask for a bit of translation because I’m curious, and so the Malaysian side, in my opinion, is the most fundamental aspect of this mission, because they are here in an official role, there are quite a few of them, I can’t tell you how many, but there are really a lot of them spread across all the boats. And they’re doing a good job, for example, I have a Malaysian journalist on board who has I don’t know how many millions of followers in Malaysia, and also this Malaysian influencer called Mohamed, very funny, who is also glued to his cell phone 24/7 talking about Palestine, and every now and then I ask him if I can take a peak at his cell phone, he has something like one million people connected to the livestream every time.

As far as the international composition, I’d say that apart from the Malaysians it’s diverse, we’re talking about Australians, English, Americans, Spanish, Germans, French, there really is representation from almost the entire world, I haven’t seen representation from the Far East parts of Asia, like Chinese or Japanese, I haven’t seen any. At the Italian level- or rather, at the European level as far as trade unions officially here I’ve seen the CGT [Confédération Générale du Travail], us from USB, some members of CGIL who however didn’t come as representatives of CGIL but because they belong to collectives, for example, in Rome, so they came as card-carrying members of CGIL. I’ve seen a representative of OVS for example, and then a whole varied political world, more or less people who knew each other, like the spokesperson who knew the activist from the social center X, so these kinds of connections.

After the flotilla, what are the prospects both for the participants, in particular, participants from some of the Arab countries who not only risk arrest by Israel but potentially also arrest by their own governments once repatriated; what are the prospects for the participating organizations, for the coordinating body of the Flotilla, for CALP – in short, how do you see, the next phase after the end of this journey?

Speaking from my point of view, we are already organizing in Genoa on September 25th and 26th, so this weekend, an assembly of the international coordination where we will try to launch an international strike and more and more ports are joining; today we are around ten at the European and Mediterranean level, but they are contacting us from Australia and from other places too to join, which could be the tool for the defense of those activists who will be arrested, for example, on a boat there is this guy called Jimmy, Irish, who apparently the moment he sets foot again, with two or three kids waiting for him at home, the moment he returns to Ireland he will be arrested, and I didn’t quite understand why because my English isn’t exactly great but he was telling me that he will most likely have legal repercussions, on top of precisely those from other parts of the Arab world, so I think that the 25th and 26th could become a decisive date also for the post-Global [Sumud Flotilla] moment and on what will happen to us to, indeed I will participate online if they don’t arrest me first, so I will try to bring this element into that assembly, where that assembly will launch this international strike as a mobilization in support of Palestine, therefore the day that we are experiencing and seeing in Italy today we would like to see as one unified day at the international level, so I hope we succeed in this enormous undertaking, but I am very hopeful.

Is there participation from some US unions or is there a lack of connection with organizations here, and what we can do to help create some connections?

Certainly we have been in touch with organizations of various kinds…

Community-based rather than trade unions?

Yes exactly. The difference in this type of mobilizations is made by workers, because when they materially stop the economy, they don’t go to work, as happened in America with regards to wage increases when they decided to block the ports to get a raise, the gap caused by inflation, after not even 3 days of strike they told them okay, have it, so that’s the element…

It’s necessary to get out of the dynamic of economic disputes and to enter into a dynamic of political unionism, because the repercussions that we see today as workers due to the war are precisely due to the war, that is, the fact that governments shift a portion of GDP away from welfare, healthcare, pensions, everything that defines society today, to the military sector and therefore sucks resources, it is indirectly impoverishing you. The increase in inflation didn’t happen randomly, it increased because public spending in the military sector has increased, because there are companies that profit from wars, because governments are pushed by these companies that have lobbyists on the inside, and it’s a fucking- excuse my French, but it’s a vicious cycle, so the worker who today lives in a condition of impoverishment it’s because there is all this previous context that drives your impoverishment.

When do we begin to understand that this element in the use of the strike, that it’s useless to focus on the €100 I have to earn this month, but to look at the long term, and that therefore stopping the war today means stopping this sick system, because the impoverishment that you’re experiencing can be stopped by you refusing to work, and that’s when you can reach a turning point.

What we’re demonstrating today in Italy is exactly this, namely the fact that until three years ago I personally paid €320 on a mortgage for my house and today I pay €560 due to inflation — that is my direct impoverishment, not even indirect, directly out of my paycheck. So there’s no point in me asking for a €100 raise when inflation due to the war increased my mortgage by €300. When we start putting things together, from the highest level, the international one, that international policies have repercussions even on the individual workplace, that’s where we can truly make a change.

Today we’ve started holding some solidarity demonstrations in ports and also at consulates, embassies, and so on, in some cities in the United States, we are trying to increase the mobilizations here, which in the last few months have been on a downturn, so can leave us with a messages for the comrades who are organizing here in solidarity with the Flotilla, with Gaza, with the strikes in the Mediterranean?

What can I say, that fighting is beautiful, I have a tattoo here which I’m not going to show because it’s tacky, but fighting means being in love, it’s beautiful to fight, it’s beautiful to win battles for a people who are oppressed or even to improve one’s personal life, so do it seriously, with perseverance, with determination, but always with a smile on your face.

Awesome, thanks a lot, I’ll let you go because you are certainly busy, thank you and let’s stay in touch because here too we’re trying to do some union work which here is very very slow because of the widespread depoliticization, but we have comrades in various unions who for a few years now have been trying to shift some ground on Palestine internally, so it would be good to continue, even after the mission and this phase of mobilizations are over, to try to establish a few more contacts with the unions here in the United States which I feel are a bit absent on global issues.

Francesca Maria, who conducted the interview, sits on the National Political Committee and formerly served as co-chair of Connecticut DSA.

The post From Italian Ports to Gaza: An Interview with José Nivoi on the Global Sumud Flotilla appeared first on Working Mass.

By: Reid Jackson

SHEFFIELD, MA – Adnaan and Torleif Stumo are two brothers from a town in the westernmost corner of Massachusetts. On October 8th, 2025, they were in the epicenter of Israel’s violation of international and maritime law. Today, they are back in America. In the heart of the nation that allowed for them to be kidnapped from the open ocean, held in a foreign nation’s prison with no due process, and physically and psychologically tortured for the crime of attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to the victims of Israel’s genocide on the Palestinians. 

Who are the heroes of Adnaan and Tor’s story?

Those who have been watching the Stumo brothers’ story closely have lauded them as champions of the movement for Palestinian liberation for their sacrifice. The comparison is easy to make when the brothers are put on the pedestal of other high-profile flotilla members like Greta Thunberg and Mandla Mandela, whose mistreatment by the Israeli military broke through into mainstream coverage. They would argue, however, that they are no more exceptional than the hundreds of others who supported their mission at home and abroad. 

Adnaan said, upon hearing praise for him and his brother’s mission:

“…I think it’s important to emphasize the normalcy, and that this should be a normal act… Our governments and institutions aren’t doing it, and the citizens… normal people should step up.”

Then who are the heroes in Adnaan and Tor’s story? Their answer: the workers who went on strike all over the world in support of their mission.

The brothers had a lot of praise for the efforts of the flotilla support team, and their success in helping coordinate simultaneous widespread strikes in Europe in support of their voyage. On October 3rd in France alone, the Ministry of the Interior reported almost 200,000 protestors in all sectors of public life, with trade unions claiming that the number was closer to half a million. Adnaan said:

We were four hundred and eighty six people captured and thrown in prison. But there were over two thousand people who were working on land. Forty-two boats sailing into Gaza… without that network… we would’ve probably been in prison for a very long time.

In Italy, the response to the Flotilla’s unlawful interception was even more severe, culminating in a full general strike where almost every aspect of life was disrupted because of the numbers gathered in the streets all across the country. Numbers reach up to two million participants in response to the Italian government’s complicity in Israel’s actions. The main difference between unions in Europe and America is their significant political power given the proportion of workers they have influence over, as when organizations like the Italian General Confederation of Labour call for a general strike, causes not just Italy, but the world to feel the effects of their government not listening to their demands.

These intense, large-scale disruptions motivated by the Flotilla’s public journey to travel to Gaza are one of the most promising outcomes that the Flotilla organizers were hoping for. According to an organizer who was in close contact with the Stumo brothers, a port shutdown that took place in New Jersey cost an arms manufacturer $3 million USD in just one day of work disruption.

Adnaan summarized:

We’re not heroes. We’re normal people.

History for Solidarity

This sentiment that worldwide worker power is the most important force for change is true not just for the Stumo brothers’ mission, but many campaigns for liberation in history before them. 

In 1936, the advent of the Spanish Civil War was marked by numerous massive labor and rent strikes throughout the country, months before active combat began. The organizations of the labor networks easily translated to become resistance networks after the fascist coup in July of that year. Their robust and focused leadership allowed the Spanish rebels to amass an opposition force that initially completely outnumbered the Nationalists in 1936, before the establishment swiftly moved to consolidate outside assistance from Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.

This goes to answer what many are asking about the aftermath of the situation– if the Flotilla’s mission was a success by the organizers’ and participants’ definitions. Objectively the Flotilla did not succeed in its goal to penetrate Israel’s unlawful blockade of Gaza. But there were additional levels to the organization’s goal than just delivering the aid. The Israeli colonial project would much prefer if the world forgot that they are now entering the third year of their genocide against the Palestinians since October 7th. The Flotilla forced Israel into a crisis point with the international community of states, especially in the West, in an advance never seen before in history. 

The data reflects this shift, as noted by the Pew Research Center: “39% now say Israel is going too far in its military operation against Hamas. This is up from 31% a year ago and 27% in late 2023.” This kind of a shift on what used to be a political given among the American voter base is monumental to say the least, and a trend that will continue to shift in the favor of the Flotilla’s goals as Israel becomes more and more desperate to maintain their apartheid apparatus. 

What’s the Result of the Mission for the Movement?

What was most heartwarming to see was a viral video out of Gaza itself. While Adnaan and Tor were fending off IDF warships at sea, the full focus of the world and the Israeli military was upon them. This allowed for fishermen in the occupied strip to actually go out and fish in their own waters for the first time in years; a moment of hope and a tangible effect of the Flotilla’s mission to Gaza.

This moment coming from some of the most oppressed people in the world should remind us all of what the stakes are, where these are people who are deprived of the right to fish in their very own territorial water. The brothers echo this idea themselves, that for everything that they were subjected to in the Israeli prison, they have the perspective that their time in the hands of the IDF was a brief nightmare compared to what the people of Gaza have been subjected to, and will continue to be subjected to as long as the Israeli colonial project exists.

For Adnaan and Tor, they got to go home. Shaken, and dealing with the consequences of the IDF’s abuse, but their mission to end the occupation will not be the last one. There may be more flotillas, or marches, and there will continue to be endless resistance against Israel’s genocide all over the world, until Palestine is finally free.

Reid Jackson is a conributor to Working Mass and a former member of the YDSA at the University of Rhode Island. 

The post The Stumo Brothers of Western Mass: On Mission Sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla appeared first on Working Mass.

By rejecting Thrive!, voters are saying that they want their money to go to the things they care about: the library, infrastructure, social support systems.

Author: Shane M., former Co-Chair of the Street Corps Working Group and a member of the Mass Work Caucus Contradictions and A Movement Out Of Touch When I started Street Corps back in 2021, I had the goal of doing my part to address our organization’s lack of presence among the working class community of […]

Every year is an Election year. Every vote matters because there is no United States of America without free and fair democratic elections. This foundation remains the bedrock of our government, enshrined in The Constitution, despite the violent efforts of the current administration’s illicit actions to reduce it to a dictatorial oligarchy.

Electoral politics is the process by which citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf. It is a crucial aspect of democratic governance. By grounding our electoral work in the needs of people DSA Ventura County fights to ensure that politics serves the many, not the few.

Recently, across the county we’ve seen elections flip districts, overhaul city councils, oust mayors, and usher in reform at an unprecedented level prioritizing the core pillars of democratic socialism. The old parties may be dying, but the machine lives on. Electoral politics, indifferent to the dying of the light, continues to bring about material change for all in the form of a new, equitable future. 

Putting Electoral Politics into Action

Working Groups are committees made of DSA chapter members that form around central topics, efforts, or objectives. The mission of the DSA-VC Electoral Working Group is to build working class county, state, and Federal power through local socialist electoral efforts in order to win socialism. 

The Electoral Working Group is Ventura DSA’s vehicle for engaging in local politics with a clear socialist perspective. We understand that working people can also use the ballot box as one tool to advance justice and build class consciousness. 

Within the Electoral Working Group are responsibilities and strategies that ladder up to goals.  First, it evaluates candidates seeking public office in Ventura County, making recommendations to the chapter for possible endorsements. Every candidate is carefully assessed on their record, values, and willingness to stand with working-class communities, with the understanding that elected officials must be accountable to the movement, not the other way around. 

Second, the group reviews and analyzes ballot measures and propositions, studying their potential impacts and making recommendations for support or opposition. A central output of this work is Ventura DSA’s Voters’ Guide, which helps neighbors cut through political spin and understand how each measure affects working people, immigrants, and marginalized communities. Developing a Voter’s Guide is a massive undertaking, so we encourage any members-in-good standing who are interested in this work to join. 

Beyond, the Electoral Working Group sees elections as an opportunity to grow organizing power. Campaigns bring members into neighborhoods, onto phones, and into direct conversations with Ventura residents about the county we want to live in. Whether canvassing for a candidate, writing about a ballot measure, or creating voter guides, the group builds skills, relationships, and capacity that strengthen every part of the chapter. 

Democratic Socialism Electoral Work in Action

A landmark moment in electoral democratic socialism in action was Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont’s 2016 presidential campaign. While not an active member of DSA, Sanders (a registered independent), has described himself as a democratic socialist for decades, and championed DSA ideology in his campaign; from universal basic income, to Medicare for all and higher education reform. Sanders received DSA National endorsement, and with it hundreds of DSA members coordinating campaigning efforts across the county. This work resulted in Sen. Bernie Sanders receiving national media coverage, becoming a household name, and securing nine national Democratic party debates opposite Hilary Clinton. 

Recent years have seen the elections of DSA members including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez — as well as the NYC-DSA — endorsed NYC Mayor elected Zohran Mamdani before the primary in June 2025.

The Future

Momentum is building around Democratic Socialism because its tenants prioritize people, welfare, and progress by means of fair, democratic elections. To date DSA achieved its highest-ever membership in September and broke 80,000 members in October. With Democratic Socialists elected to various offices throughout the country, change is more than possible – it’s happening right now. 

Join today, change tomorrow. 

How many times have you been told that real change is impractical? That America isn’t ready for something new? That we need to make compromises with an ever more ruthless fascist regime? However, the proof that we can dream bigger is here! Because Zohran Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter, has won the popular support of his city’s people once more and he is now the Mayor-Elect of the city, the largest in the United States!

With all the attention on Mamdani and his organization, the Democratic Socialists of America or DSA, people may be wondering: what is DSA? What is socialism for that matter? What can socialism do for the average American? And what can people do to build the better future that socialism promises?

DSA is the largest socialist organization in America, with over 85,000 members, organizing and fighting for a better tomorrow in scores of local chapters. But what do socialists believe? For us at DSA, we believe socialism is when working people democratically and collectively control our lives and all aspects of our society, whether it be the government, the economy, or the workplace. 

There are many ways in which such an approach under socialism can benefit the average American. Socialists are on the forefront of the struggle for affordable housing, healthcare, access to food, transit, and other necessities of life. Locally, DSA’s Silicon Valley Chapter has been a major contributor in the Measure A campaign to save Santa Clara County’s hospitals from shutdown amidst Trump’s budget cuts, Palestine solidarity work such as No Appetite for Apartheid, mutual aid work with groups like Food Not Bombs and Apoyate, and many more organizing efforts locally. 

In an increasingly inequitable America, where billionaire oligarchs control most of the wealth in the richest country in world history, we believe that all people deserve a share of this hoarded wealth. We don’t want freedom to be reserved for the wealthiest in society; we want freedom for all! That is a dream we believe can become a reality!

Speaking to you from Silicon Valley DSA, Mamdani’s victory has meant many things for us. First, his win has shown working Americans everywhere that the policies we support, from healthcare to affordable housing, are popular among voters. But more importantly, it gives us organizers a window of opportunity to help our community. That includes you. We dream of a better world and believe you can help us.

While Mamdani criticized power and the problems in society, he, more importantly, gave tangible solutions as well, along with a plan to achieve these aims. He met with New Yorkers to hear about the issues that mattered to them, working to find tangible and imaginative solutions to address these issues. We at Silicon Valley DSA are cut of the same red cloth organizing in our local community in the South Bay for years. With their victory, we seek to emulate the impact NYC-DSA and Mamdani have left on their communities to deliver for our own. Be sure to join us and keep an eye on the calendar for future organizing. Just imagine what all of us will bring to Silicon Valley in the years to come. 

Dare to dream big! A better world is possible. And when we fight, we win!

The post The Dream of Tomorrow: What Mamdani’s Win Means for Silicon Valley DSA appeared first on Silicon Valley DSA.

Metro Justice and the Rochester for Energy Democracy coalition delivered this statement to City Council leaders who have opposed rate hikes but haven’t yet acted on a City-led study at the Speak to Council session on Thur Nov 13 at City Hall at 6pm. The statement was given by Pastor Wanda Wilson of RocACTS on behalf of the Rochester for Energy Democracy campaign coalition, in advance of an Action at RG&E on Dec 6 at Noon calling for No Rate Hikes, No Shut Offs, Public Power Now. City Council members were invited to the action – if they commit to City leadership on a public utility study. 

Pastor Wanda Wilson expressed it clearly: “Today Rochester for Energy Democracy is saying to City Council: you spoke out against the rate hikes – will you also take action with the power you have to get us out of this mess? We’re inviting City Council members to an action at RG&E on Dec 6 at noon for No Rate Hikes, No Shut Offs, Public Power Now –  if they commit to City leadership on a public utility study. With RG&E’s proposal to increase our rates by over $600 a year, lacking and delayed HEAP energy assistance, and regulators still not implementing the recommendations of their own audit, we can’t afford not to Replace RG&E. The City needs to act now.”

A video of the statement will be available at Metro Justice socials, and through the Youtube Livestream of Speak to Council sessions. 

The post Rochester for Energy Democracy Welcomes City Council Opposition to Rate Hikes, Hopes it means Action on a Public Utility Study  first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

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.