[[{“value”:”

By: Chris Townsend

This article was originally published in Marxism-Leninism Today on February 21, 2026. These positions are the authors’ own and do not represent the official position of Working Mass.

Much of organized labor in the United States seems to go merrily on its way as we enter the second year of Trump’s second term. Many unions are dutifully hiding in the weeds and still hoping to go unnoticed. New union organizing remains at negligible levels, a dire situation by any measure. Organizing continues to trail off in both the number of union elections conducted as well as the number of workers who participate. Fewer and fewer unions run serious organizing programs, with many having been mothballed during the 2020-2022 pandemic years – and have yet to be revived.

Yes, there are sometimes small year-over-year improvements. Yes, there are unions and parts of unions who continue to try to organize the unorganized. But over recent decades the trend has been consistently disastrous. Those diligent union organizers out there in the new organizing trenches deserve our fullest thanks and support. They represent the hope for organized labor.

During the pandemic, new union organizing elections at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) fell to an astonishing low level of just 862 elections nationwide in 2021, with 663 won by unions. Last year, 2025, matters improved; there were 1,406 elections held, with unions winning 1,152. A total of 75,000 workers were won in these elections. But to appreciate the long trail of employer destruction let’s look back several decades. I joined the labor movement in 1979, and that year alone the NLRB conducted 8043 elections to determine if the workers wanted to be represented by a union. While only 45% of the units voted “yes” for the union, this totaled just more than 212,000 workers in winning contests. So, by any current measure, the labor movement is organizing successfully today via NLRB elections at a rate of about 35% as well as what was being accomplished 47 years ago.

SITUATION EVEN WORSE

We would be remiss if we ignored additional ghastly facts. Of the 75,000 workers who managed last year to run through the employer minefield and win in their union elections, the number who will manage to bargain an all-important first contract with their employer will likely be about 50% of the 1,152 units. The math will be uneven because of the differences in the sizes of units, but this roughly means that of the 75,000 workers, maybe 30,000, or perhaps in an exceptional year 40,000, will end up with a first union contract.

Given that a huge number of these elections were held in open-shop “right-to-work” states, the actual number of eventual union members will be considerably less. Workers in these states can share in the benefits of their first union contract but are not required to pay dues. Now brace yourselves for one more shock; data shows that of those workers in units somehow able to win first union contracts, as many as half will never reach a second contract. Workplace closings, layoffs, decertification, and other causes take a horrible toll.

Are the catastrophic facts of this situation becoming clear? Facts are, as they say, stubborn things. There are of course different union elections that are held in the public sector, but only in the two dozen states which allow it for their state and local workforces. These numbers have also dramatically slowed in many states. And be reminded that all public sector units in the U.S. are open shops, owing that distinction to the disastrous Janus decision of the Supreme Court in 2018. There are also elections in the rail and airline industries, but in recent decades they have tended to at best replace the losses suffered as employers shrink and restructure. Unions do sometimes manage to win recognition from employers voluntarily, such as through “card check” arrangements. But these numbers remain tiny in the overall picture.

A LIFE-OR-DEATH SITUATION FOR THE UNIONS

What is the sum total of all this? We face an enormous crisis. Yes, a crisis. Think about these stark realities the next time some left wing or labor leader, journalist or writer offers their latest “good news only” report on the organizing upsurges and progress somewhere. While they might mean well, these efforts frequently act to justify and cover-up for the persistent refusal of many labor leaders to tackle this critical task. The crisis of new union organizing is most often swept under the rug. Out of sight, out of mind.

This catastrophic crisis cannot be glossed-over or concealed. But that will not stop our AFL-CIO from trying. In a recent editorial carefully crafted by its diligent public relations staff the labor federation representing about 60% of U.S. union membership gave it its best shot to spin this situation as something other than a disaster. Titled, Despite Relentless Attacks, Nearly Half a Million Workers Unionized in 2025, the federation did its best to try to gloss over and avoid the reality of the new organizing crisis. The journalistic gymnastics exhibited in this mysterious release surely exceed the boundaries of the imagination for anyone even remotely familiar with the current new onion organizing environment.

Citing a trove of suspect and unrelated data, and ignoring reality selectively on several levels, the federation credited “years of sustained organizing” in “new industries” and in “the south” as the primary source of this miraculous turnabout. The journalistic sleight-of-hand expands quickly in the first paragraph when the new measuring metric is inserted as writers claim that 11.2% of workers are now “covered” by union contracts. Gone apparently is any measure of actual dues-paying members, with the non-profit forces having apparently won out over the traditional trade union thinkers at the Fed. Any real membership claim has been shelved apparently, as that the AFL-CIO’s own recent reports explain that, of the more than 14.8 million claimed union members belonging in one way or the other to the Federation, an admitted 4.8 million are not members at all. These phantom “associate members” once subtracted would bring federation membership to around 10 million members.

DECEPTION IN PLACE OF GENUINE UNION LEADERSHIP

The lengths to which the AFL-CIO “leadership” will go to ignore facts, invent new metrics to conceal the destruction, and engage in outright deceptive manipulation are nothing new. All is justified in the task of propping-up the failing regime of AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. In equal disrepute are also the members of the Executive Council of affiliate union leaders, those presumably elected to guide the Federation in some better direction than this. Rounding out the questions posed by the recent fantastic press release are more claims of unverified public sector, southern, and young worker growth, when in fact the available data on these questions are scant or even nonexistent. Few unions maintain anything like systematic statistics on the ages of their members, or the numbers of non-members in their open shops. These sorts of claims permeate the release, leading this author to wonder what it was that triggered the creation of this document in the first place? What purpose is being served here?

Trump’s smashing of the several federal government unions one year ago is offered as some sort of explanation for the growth in federal government union membership. In fact, the largest federal employee union – AFGE — was forced to lay off half of its national staff in 2025 on account of its gigantic membership losses. And the whopper omission of all is the lack of any mention that the entire private sector labor movement may be forced during the Trump regime to grapple with the loss of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) as several employer cases move steadily towards our right-wing Supreme Court. The legal nullification of the NLRA would be an overnight catastrophe, with collective bargaining contracts immediately invalidated and union dues checkoff effectively shut down for millions of union members. Millions more union members may be lost as the Trump attack proceeds, with the oddly celebratory AFL-CIO press release only serving to reveal the irresponsible state of the Federation leadership today.

FOSTER’S ROADMAP FORWARD

Similar crises in labor’s long history have occurred and been dealt with by genuine labor leaders in a manner that has allowed labor to correct course. Legendary U.S. labor leader and communist William Z. Foster was one such leader, and his collected works American Trade Unionism is required for all playing any serious role in today’s labor movement. Many of the defects and corruptions afflicting the labor leaders of today were well known to Foster, and in all cases his remedy was to confront them, oppose them if necessary, and mobilize the membership to push for serious initiatives to move the unions forward. And most of all, to organize the many millions of unorganized workers in the industries, workshops, and offices. If our labor movement cannot be somehow moved to undertake this urgent task, to replace our losses and ultimately grow exponentially, our perpetual marginal status is ensured.

One clear and honest point made in the otherwise surreal, even dishonest AFL-CIO release is the mention of the wide popularity enjoyed by the unions in the minds and opinions of a large majority of the unorganized toilers. This is nothing new and only grows as the condition of the unorganized in the unrestricted grip of the employers worsens. Evidence abounds that many millions of workers would join the unions but for any opportunity to do so. Without unions organizing actively on any significant scale, there exist few avenues for the unorganized to connect with the unions, let alone join them. The assorted labor leadership in the unions for the most part consider new organizing to be too difficult, too expensive, too controversial, or too exhausting to seriously pursue. This justifies their inaction and profiteering from the unions, with lavish lifestyles and pursuits taking the place of the hard slogging work to reach out and mobilize the unorganized masses.

What exactly explains the release of this information at this time from some leaders of this labor movement, will remain a mystery. Stranger things have happened, and regardless of the slicing-and-dicing of the current plight of organized labor the fact remains that no solution is possible unless the existing union leadership is pushed hard to tackle the task of organizing the unorganized. Or perhaps they are removed and replaced by new blood who are up to this daunting task.

Chris Townsend spent two entire careers in the U.S. labor movement, in both Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and UE. He has organized many thousands in several hundred campaigns.

The post Is the Labor Movement Growing or Shrinking? The Incredible Views of the AFL-CIO appeared first on Working Mass.

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Enjoy your March 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, find out how chapters are melting ICE and improving their communities, stand against war, get involved with DSA labor work, 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 — Melt ICE, Stop War, Build Labor
• Tonight, Thursday 3/12 — Join Our International Migrant Rights Working Group ICE OUT Training Call
• Union Members: Organize Against the War on Iran! Here’s How
• RSVP for National Electoral Commission: Standing Up to ICE Call Tonight Thursday 3/12
• Save the Date — DSA National Organizing Conference This Summer!
• Help Support DSA! Sign Up for Development Phonebanks Sunday 3/15 or Sunday 3/29
• Learn Fundraising Skills for Your Chapter — Join Our Sunday 3/22 Training
• Join Our Workers Organizing Workers Salt Training Series this April! Sessions Begin Monday 4/13
• DSA National Labor Commission May Day Organizing — Get Involved!
• Religious Socialism News and Events — Calls Starting Friday 3/20
• Join Our National Labor Commission Today
• Welcome New DSA Organizing Committees and YDSA Chapters!

From the National Political Committee — Melt ICE, Stop War, Build Labor

“They tell us that we live in a great free republic; that our institutions are democratic; that we are a free and self-governing people. That is too much, even for a joke. Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder. And that is war in a nutshell. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.” — Eugene V. Debs, Speech at Canton, OH, 1918

These words, pulled from the speech which famously got Comrade Eugene Debs thrown in jail (where he carried on his 1920 campaign for President on the Socialist Party ticket), are a universal truth. This truth could not be more evident as Trump and the Republicans, with the complicity of far too many Democrats, march us into yet another deadly forever war, this time with Iran, while continuing to starve and saber-rattle in their siege against Cuba. sell weapons to Israel, and use sanctions and violence to destabilize countless other people. Who suffers? The working class, always. Who benefits? The ultra-wealthy. 

But we aren’t backing off from the fight for working class power here or abroad, and we know that all of our fights are connected. For every new union contract we win, every tenant we organize to protect, every wealth tax we pass, every privatized good we make public, every socialist we put in office, we chip away at the power that the ruling class holds over us and consolidate it for the working class. It’s easy to feel hopeless when things seem so bleak, but we draw our strength from these wins, knowing that each one builds toward true working class power and total liberation.

Here are just a few of the blows against the capitalist class that are bringing us strength this month:

• Twin Cities DSA co-hosted an incredible Melt the ICE Week of Action, which included rallies, marches, trainings, and more, to share lessons learned from standing with immigrant neighbors on the frontlines of occupation by ICE. That included much discussion of the massive strike against ICE that recently took place on January 23, when many workers withheld their labor and almost 100,000 people took to the streets despite subzero temperatures. People in Minnesota are letting the ruling class know that a moderate step-down of ICE forces is still unacceptable — they want ICE gone, and they’ll keep organizing to kick them out from every part of civil society until that happens. 
  • For more reportbacks and reflections about the 1/23 mass actions against the ICE incursion in Minneapolis, join organizers from Twin Cities DSA and our National Labor Commission for a mass call on Tuesday 3/31 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT!
• Chapters across the country, from New Orleans to Philly to Seattle and beyond, hit the streets the day after the bombing began. Our National No War With Iran Rapid Response Committee mobilized members to send over 30,000 letters to Congress saying NO to war with Iran and YES to the War Powers Resolution, and held a mass call for over 1200 people to talk about the context and next steps for this mobilization. Watch the recording here if you missed it!
• NYC-DSA and chapters from around the state met up in Albany for a day of action demanding that Governor Kathy Hochul TAX THE RICH and spend that money on public goods — protecting New Yorkers from devastating SNAP and Medicaid cuts, instead of co-signing President Trump’s $12 billion giveaway to millionaires and billionaires. Meanwhile in the city, our socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani has set out to seize buildings from bad NYC landlords in order to improve life for tenants — and City Council is exploring a legal pathway to do it. 
• Symbolically, we love to see Zohran as NYC’s first Muslim mayor observing Ramadan side by side with workers — sharing a pre-dawn suhoor meal with sanitation workers about to take on a citywide blizzard, breaking fast with delivery workers — and hosting Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil for an iftar dinner at Gracie Mansion, a public show of solidarity after the ordeal of his prolonged detention by ICE under Trump’s crackdown on campus protests one year ago.
• Seattle DSA threw down to support socialist-in-office Assembly Member Shaun Scott in passing an amendment that successfully axed a massive tax break for corporations as part of a new state tax bill — more money out of the hands of the ruling class and into the goods and services the working class demands.
• New Orleans DSA, along with coalition partners at the BDS National Movement and elsewhere, successfully pressured the world-famous French Quarter Festival to drop Chevron as their title sponsor, connecting our national Stop Fueling Genocide campaign with their vibrant local arts scene and snatching away a primeaux reputation-laundering opportunity for one of the world’s worst (and wealthiest) companies.
• Atlanta DSA member Kelsea Bond motivated the Atlanta City Council to vote unanimously to support their first resolution in office as a socialist city councilmember, to prioritize pre-arrest diversion and examine the arrest procedures of the Atlanta Police Department as the FIFA World Cup nears, playing a critical role in preventing further jail overcrowding and punishing low-level offenses, and shifting toward community-based care.

This is just a taste of the work that our members are taking on. We are organizing from coast to coast and we’re not stopping! 

Later this month, DSA chapters across the country will be joining the No Kings mobilizations on Saturday 3/28 to say No Kings, No Cuts, No Billionaires! Over the past year, millions of Americans have turned out to these massive rallies against the Trump administration’s authoritarianism and horrific, cruel policies. We’re showing up in solidarity with everyone getting politicized right now, when we must show mass opposition to Trump’s power grabs and the rise of fascism. We need an opposition that isn’t funded by billionaires and special interests, who often stand against meaningful reforms like universal healthcare and working-class institutions of power like unions. Powerful opposition requires organization that keeps building through moments of mass mobilizations — and DSA is ready to keep building powerfully and democratically, as our organization of over 100,000 is funded by member-dues, and accountable to the working-class, not the billionaire class.

On the same timeline, we’re looking ahead to May Day this year, where we’re joining with the May Day Strong coalition and workers across the country to plan for May 1, 2026 as a day of action to rally, march, and plan for a day of no school, no work, and no shopping! When the billionaires break every rule, it’s going to take more than rallies to stop them. An upsurge of working class resistance is happening across the country against the violent repression by the Trump administration, most clearly on display in Minneapolis. We have to keep flexing our collective muscles and show our power to hit them where it hurts economically — it’s workers over billionaires!

If you’re not engaged with your local chapter’s work, we challenge you to connect with them today. Join your comrades for a rally, a canvass, or even just a fun social event, and get involved. Nothing helps combat despair like being an active part of this movement for the better world we know is possible. 

In Solidarity,

Megan Romer and Ashik Siddique
DSA National Co-Chairs

Tonight, Thursday 3/12 — Join Our International Migrant Rights Working Group ICE OUT Training Call

287(g) agreements allow ICE to deputize local law enforcement and embed ICE into jails, police departments, and even university campuses. ICE relies on local collaboration to create the neighborhood-to-prison pipelines for mass deportation, and we can and must organize to stop our local government and resources from being hijacked by Trump’s anti-worker and anti-immigrant agenda.

Join DSA’s International Migrants Rights Working group tonight, Thursday 3/12 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT to learn how to map and expose local collaborations with ICE and build coalitions to end them.

Union Members: Organize Against the War on Iran! Here’s How

If you are a union member, DSA’s National Labor Commission calls on you to talk to five of your union siblings about the war and begin organizing your union to take anti-war action!

• Contact Congress and demand they pass a War Powers Resolution on Iran to require congressional approval for any continued intervention in Iran.
• Take direct action with your union siblings by attending or organizing a mobilization against the war. DSA has endorsed the following ANSWER Coalition actions.
• Ahead of May Day 2026, talk to your coworkers about what labor actions they’d be willing to take in the face of prolonged war or election interference.
• Consider organizing a solidarity school or joining your local May Day coalition as a socialist unionist.

Stand with the people of Iran and take action today as a proud union member!

RSVP for National Electoral Commission: Standing Up to ICE Call Tonight Thursday 3/12

Tonight, Thursday 3/12 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT, hear from DSA Socialists in Office Robin Wonsley (Twin Cities) and Alex Brower (Milwaukee), as well as chapter electoral leaders in New York and Los Angeles as we discuss the role our electoral efforts have played in the response to ICE’s siege of our cities across the country. This is a members-only event!

Save the Date — DSA National Organizing Conference This Summer!

DSA is hosting a National Organizing Conference in Chicago, July 31–August 2. Save the date if you’re interested in attending — application details will be shared in the coming weeks.

Help Support DSA! Sign Up for Development Phonebanks Sunday 3/15 or Sunday 3/29

Join the Growth and Development Committee for an upcoming phonebank!

• Solidarity Dues Phonebank on Sunday 3/15 at 5pm ET/4pm CT/3pm MT/2pm PT
• Recommitment Phonebank on Sunday 3/29 at 5pm ET/4pm CT/3pm MT/2pm PT

Training will be provided at the beginning of each call. We’ll see you there!

Learn Fundraising Skills for Your Chapter — Join Our Sunday 3/22 Training

Join the Fundraising Committee for a training on chapter fundraising on Sunday 3/22 at 5pm ET/4pm CT/3pm MT/2pm ET. RSVP today!

Join Our Workers Organizing Workers Salt Training Series this April! Sessions Begin Monday 4/13

Are you looking for a new job? Want to join the labor movement and build power on the shop floor with your co-workers? Join our Workers Organizing Workers (WOW) Salt Training Series! This three-session series will be held Mondays in April beginning 4/13. All sessions will be held at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT.

Salting, or getting a non-union job and organizing your workplace, is a key tactic that organizers have used for decades to build the labor movement. Join a historic tradition today! We’ll cover organizing basics, share information about our priority industries, and help you get a job you can organize. No organizing experience required.

DSA National Labor Commission May Day Organizing — Get Involved!

This year it’s more important than ever for DSA members to take the lead in bringing socialist politics to May Day by organizing May Day actions with their local unions and labor bodies. Whether your chapter is organizing a march, a solidarity school, a political education event, a movie night, or something else entirely, you can help organize successfully for  May Day 2026, International Workers Day! Contact your chapter for details. If you have any questions, please contact the National Labor Commission at nlc@dsacommittees.org.

Religious Socialism News and Events — Calls Starting Friday 3/20

If you are a person of faith, check out the DSA Religion and Socialism Working Group (RSWG). We are unique on the Left as a multifaith socialist group. This month, we have three calls and a new sub-group starting. Get involved today!

• The Black Liberation Socialist Circle is organizing Black Christians who are interested in the Black Radical Tradition and liberation struggles. Join our Discord here for more information. This space brings together political education, fellowship, and strategy rooted in the long tradition of Black freedom movements.
• On Friday 3/20 at 9pm ET/8pm CT/7pm MT/6pm PT, join the Democratic Socialist Episcopal Association (DSEA) for “A Socialist Way of the Cross Service: Who is the Empire Crucifying Today?”. This solemn service places the passion of Christ in direct conversation with the suffering of our own time. At each station, we will reflect on Christ’s journey to Golgotha, and on the systems of political domination, economic exploitation, racialized violence, and carceral control that continue to crucify the poor and marginalized today. This service asks where Christ is being condemned, beaten, and executed in our communities. Through prayer and reflection, we will confront the powers of death while proclaiming a hope rooted in collective liberation. Come prepared to meditate, lament, and recommit yourself to the work of justice. You can sign up for the call through the DSEA’s Discord.
• And help build the Buddhist Circle. What might it look like? How can Buddhist precepts and practices (e.g., meditation, 4 noble truths) deepen socialist ethics and be of benefit to organizers, activists, everyone? Join us Thursday 3/26 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT. Meetings are held the last Thursday of every month. You can find notes here.

For more about the Religious Socialism Working Group, please sign up for our email list to join our monthly online meetup on Tuesday 3/24 at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT/6:30pm MT.

Join Our National Labor Commission Today

Are you:

• A union member?
• Trying to organize your workplace?
• An aspiring labor writer?
• Active in your chapter’s labor working group?

Join DSA’s National Labor Commission (NLC) and get involved in socialist labor work at the national level! Whether it’s salting your workplace, organizing towards May Day 2028, sharing strike support strategies with solidarity captains in chapters across the country, writing reports about national labor issues, or building up our national listwork, there’s an NLC campaign for you to plug into. Apply to join today!

Welcome New DSA Organizing Committees and YDSA Chapters!

And a warm welcome to our newest DSA Organizing Committees and YDSA chapters!

DSA Organizing Committees

• DSA Maui, Hawaii
• Cadillac DSA, Michigan
• DSA Wooster, Ohio

YDSA Chapters

• Indiana University Bloomington
• Santa Monica High School
• Millersville University
• University of Missouri Kansas City
• Western New England University
• Lehman College
• University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
• St. Mary’s College of Maryland

The post Melt ICE, Stop War, Build Labor — Your National Political Committee Newsletter appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Bosses and workers take on average 400 days to negotiate new contracts. The organizing challenge is significant, so how do you win?

The post How do I win a first contact? appeared first on EWOC.

by Mackenzie F

Throughout this harsh winter, we have watched the rising tide of fascism surge across our country, with trans communities squarely in its crosshairs. Kansas has revoked gender-affirming IDs with no grace period, clinics nationwide are shuttering their doors, and a myriad of anti-trans executive orders are being challenged in court. In Ohio, Republicans are working to dismantle bodily autonomy despite Issue 1 passing in 2023, and they continue to attack transgender people for simply existing in public life. Undeterred by these threats, Cleveland DSA holds the line on trans rights, maintaining our commitment to protecting the trans community.

Over the last year, we turned commitment into action.

By canvassing the city of Lakewood for weeks, building relationships with Lakewood City Council, and collaborating closely with community allies, we secured the passage of our Gender Freedom Policy. Cleveland DSA dedicated significant time and effort to developing this legislation, ensuring that it provides robust protections from law enforcement overreach for transgender and gender-nonconforming people within Lakewood, all without costing taxpayers a dime. 

Cleveland Heights and Lakewood have shown what is possible for the rest of Northeast Ohio, and other cities are taking notice. But the rest of this story is yet to be written. To win real safety for our trans neighbors, we must continue to build a strong, organized socialist movement in Cleveland. It is critical that Cleveland adopts our Gender Freedom Policy, not only to protect its own residents, but to send a powerful message: Ohio stands with the trans community.

Learn more about the Cleveland
Gender Freedom Policy here!

Cleveland DSA recognizes the power of collective action, which is why we are calling on all of our local allies to join the fight alongside us. From the AIDS crisis to every subsequent wave of government overreach, history has shown that our community survives only when we act together. This moment is no different. Pillars of our community like the LGBT Center, TransOhio, and Equality Ohio must stand in solidarity now more than ever.

The safety and dignity of our transgender neighbors rests on our shoulders. If you share our commitment to protecting this community, we urge you to take action. The legislation is written, and relationship-building with Cleveland City Council is already underway. But in order to move forward, we must gather at least 5,000 signatures from registered voters in Cleveland. While this may be no small task, we acknowledge that justice does not arrive by chance. It is built, block by block, by those who refuse to stay silent.

The state targets trans people not by mistake, but to divide us, to remind us that some lives matter more than others. We reject that logic. Trans liberation is not secondary to our movement; it is central to it. Because a world worth building is one where no one is left to struggle alone. So as the sun returns, warming both the land and our spirits, we invite you to join us in this crucial fight.

Here’s what you can do:

• Meet with one of our organizers to help collect signatures
• Attend one of our project meetings
• Contact your Cleveland City Council representative
• Talk to your loved ones
• If you haven’t already, join DSA. Join the fight.

We will not rest until we have shattered the chains that bind every one of us. Solidarity forever!

The post Trans Rights: We Will Not Rest! Sign the Gender Freedom Policy in Cleveland! appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

Previous entries — Part One, Introduction; Part Two, Electoral Politics; Part Three, Labor

As we learn from the successful organizing of the SPA, we must also acknowledge the SPA’s greatest failure. At the same time reactionary tendencies dominated the AFL, bigotry also had a far too common place in the socialist movement. Many prominent SPA members held racist and misogynistic viewpoints, and the membership of the organization (predominantly white and male) reflected this. While it is accurate that socialist politicians and the party’s position tended to be more emancipatory than other political organizations of the time, the lack of a strong anti-racist and feminist culture significantly weakened it.

While many women did join the party and played crucial roles as socialist organizers, the organization never reached anywhere near gender parity, with few women in leadership positions. This occurred despite an effort by the party to take a role in the movement for women’s rights. In 1908, the SPA endorsed the women’s suffrage movement and hired a full-time staffer dedicated to the cause.  Ruthenberg himself once argued that there was “no more important cause” than bringing women into the party.  But the demographic imbalance persisted. This situation was described by Cleveland local member Nellie Zell in her article “The Lone Woman in the Local”:

“The first thing that greets her is that same capitalist mind of these Socialist men who have invited her to come. . . . Indeed, it is a very embarrassing position for both men and women. They want her there, yet now that she is there, they don’t know what to do with her. To make the matter worse, they talk about things of which she has no knowledge, and to smoke or not to smoke is the burden on their minds, while she is wondering whether she had better talk or preserve that lady-like silence so much admired by members of the old parties… I wonder if you men fully realize what that word ‘Comrade’ means to us women?”

Put simply, the party was failing to present a comradely attitude towards women who were interested in socialism. Within a broader US social culture that discouraged women from being active and vocal politically, this resulted in a failure to recruit significant numbers of women into the SPA.

The SPA did not embrace anti-racism in the 1910s in the same way it did the suffrage movement. Many locals in the South operated under segregation, and several prominent socialist leaders were open white supremacists. The Ohio Socialist Party adopted a position in 1911 of encouraging the recruitment of Black members, but there was a failure to explicitly condemn racial oppression, rather than just class oppression of Black workers. This changed over time, as discussed in Eric Blanc’s article which focuses primarily on SPA congressman Victor Berger’s shift from holding openly racist views to being praised by the NAACP.  However, this tolerance of racism was an incredibly significant failure of the organization for the duration of the 1910s, when it was most politically relevant.

On the other hand, we can take some positive examples from the SPA’s national and linguistic diversity. Cleveland was a cosmopolitan city,  and the Cleveland local represented this well, including German, Bohemian, Polish, Jewish, Finnish, Hungarian, Lettish, Lithuanian, Slovak and Italian branches.. Nationally, there were similar language-based federations, with both posing an interesting question of internal governance. These groups represented a significant portion of party membership on paper, but in practice operated very autonomously. Some SPA members, like Ruthenberg, advocated for more centralization of the language federations, bringing them closer in line with the organizing of the party as a whole. Others advocated for the autonomous model as an effective way to organize immigrant communities. Ultimately, it is clear that the party’s diversity among European immigrant groups was a strength enabled through providing spaces for socialists of the same identity to coordinate. With the language federation’s tendency to effectively act as internal factions, Ruthenberg’s push towards centralization is understandable, although such practices should be accompanied with a clear understanding that solidarity, not assimilation, is the answer to xenophobic attitudes.

In many regards, DSA has come a long way from the open displays of bigotry and predominantly white male membership of the SPA. However, there is still much to be learned from their failure to stand with the oppressed – which is both a moral disgrace and a political weakness. With a membership and mass reach beyond DSA’s today, one can imagine how much stronger the SPA would have been had it built a membership that represented the broader working class. To avoid replicating this, DSA members should heed comrade Zell’s words. Even with the SPA supporting women’s suffrage, it did not create an environment conducive for women to organize. It is easy for a chapter’s demographics to self-perpetuate, as new members do not feel welcome in a space that does not look like them or their communities. In order to change this, we need consistent and proactive effort throughout all organizing projects, and structured ways for marginalized comrades to coordinate. To do otherwise will only serve to cement Cleveland DSA’s current place – as a predominantly white organization in a multiracial city.

Please return tomorrow for Part Five: Conclusion: The SPA’s Rise and Fall

The post History of Cleveland SPA Part Four: Diversity in the SPA appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

By Casey G

If you’re in the mood for pizza, there’s no better place to go than Sicily’s Pizza in Southwest Detroit. This is where MDDSA comrades met on December 8th for a Red Square co-presented with the Political Education and International Solidarity working groups. Peter B. of Brazil’s Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (Socialism and Liberty Party, abbreviated to PSOL) was visiting Detroit and met with us over cheese and pepperoni pizzas to discuss his experiences living and working in Brazil, and answer questions from comrades at MDDSA.

Peter has been an organizer since 2009, starting in Brazil’s student and youth movement. He then moved into electoral, where he was chief of staff for PSOL Congresswoman Sâmia de Souza Bomfim. He is currently living in the United States while reasearching with an American university.

Peter discussed the difference in American and Brazilian party systems. As opposed to our American reality of two parties struggling to hold power on one side of the binary or the other, Brazil has 30 recognized political parties with more than 20 parties holding seats in Congress. New parties are more common in Brazil than in the US, with PSOL forming in 2004 after a split from the Workers Party after President Lula’s proposed pension reform raised the retirement age. PSOL currently holds 12 of the 513 seats in Brazil’s Congress.

Peter gave us a personal anecdote of his experience witnessing the power of the general strike. While he was a student in Sao Paolo in 2017, he witnessed the ripple effects of a general strike through the city. While it affected plenty of sectors, his example was the subway union: the mode of transportation that millions of residents rely on (this year’s strike affected an estimated 3.3 million residents) was unavailable and attention drawn to the needs of those whose undervalued work maintains the system underlying the movement of thousands of citizens daily.

Peter laid out his three guiding principles for a socialist elected. As seen with Lula of the Worker’s Party and then as PSOL gained seats in Congress, the election of a socialist does not miraculously transform the system they operate within. Peter offers foundations to take into these new circumstances.

First, to mobilize society. Success is not achieved in the act of taking office — success is improvements in the material conditions of the working class. These include goals such as Mamdani’s freezing rents, free buses, and universal childcare. [CG1] An elected is not just a representative with a megaphone; true embodiment of the position is organizing and mobilizing constituents to fight for themselves.

Second, to speak the truth of and for the working class. Honesty is its own labyrinth in politics, but as an elected navigates the system, they must be guided by honesty towards their constituents as they face obstacles and compromise.

And last, expanding the horizons. Once we reach goals that have been set, we expand the field and stretch to farther goals. Particularly given DSA’s recent bout of electoral wins (Detroit’s own Denzel McCampbell, and of course, Zohran Mamdami in New York City), it’s time to start thinking about what happens when the North star we’ve been following turns from a spot on the horizon to the ground under our feet. What does socialist governance look like in practice?

We are still operating within a capitalist system and there’s an important balance to strike for American socialists. These electoral wins are indeed achievements to be celebrated; we have not achieved a miraculous change to existing systems and our electeds are going to have rough waters to steer in.

It’s also perpetually invigorating to see people talk about, as material reality, the things we fight for now in the United States. When we’re constantly told how providing medical care to every person is unrealistic, it’s helpful to be reminded that is simply not true. Brazil has a Healthcare for All system. They also removed private money from elections ten years ago. These are not unreasonable pipe dreams; they’re concrete reality elsewhere and worth fighting for here, too. A huge thanks to Peter B. for taking time to discuss with us his experiences in Brazil.

Red Square Recap: An Evening with a PSOL Organizer was originally published in The Detroit Socialist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

DSA can make it happen.

The post Every City Needs a Pro-billionaire March appeared first on Democratic Left.

Previous entries — Part One: Introduction; Part Two: Electoral Politics

There were two different approaches to “the labor question” in the 1910s SPA. The first approach was to work within the existing unions. In the early 20th century, the dominant AFL was composed of trade unions representing workers with specific skills, did not stand up for broader working class interests, and was bigoted and exclusionary towards racial minorities and women. Many socialists sought to confront the AFL leadership and push unions in a different direction. This included Clevelander Max Hayes, who would at one point win close to a third of the vote in the AFL leadership race, and is now commemorated in a namesake West Side high school. 

Others sought to follow the path of dual unionism, which was advocated by the SLP, and organized on a mass scale following the founding of the International Workers of the World (IWW) in 1905. Wobblies, as IWW members were at times known, favored industrial unions, which represented sectors or workplaces, rather than workers with specific skills. This advocacy for industrial unionism was shared by others in the SPA (including some in the AFL), but was not reflected within the party’s platform for most of the 1910s.

Labor organizing was another topic where Ruthenberg demonstrated a commitment to unity, despite the bitter divides among SPA members. As his biographer stated, “his primary interest was in labor’s struggle, whether led by a craft union or industrial union.” This principle of solidarity came to the forefront as worker organizing escalated. In 1911, Cleveland saw the historic International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union strike, with thousands of workers participating. In his mayoral campaign of that year, Ruthenberg argued that the power of the state should be wielded in favor of the workers through the swearing in “a hundred of the coolest heads among the strikers” as special police. Three years later, Cleveland teachers organized a union, working in solidarity with a group of mothers from the school districts. Ruthenberg again supported this organizing, which was ultimately derailed by the administration’s firing of pro-union teachers. This repression of worker organizing was upheld by a frequent enemy of workers – District Judge David Westenhaver, who effectively delayed the unionization of Cleveland teachers until 1934. The same year, Ohio miners were locked out of their workplace following the passage of a new labor law, which the mine owners hoped to appeal as unconstitutional. In response, Ruthenberg called on the Ohio Socialist Party to push for immediate state ownership and worker operation of the coal mines. Later on, Ruthenberg would unionize his own white-collar workplace, and lead mass rallies of workers including IWW and AFL members.

The unity practiced by Ruthenberg and the Cleveland local is admirable, and carried on within DSA’s labor organizing approach today. While there are still contentious debates to be had within DSA regarding our approach to labor organizing, the disagreement is over narrower territory.  This is largely a reaction to the changes in the labor movement within the past century, shifting predominantly towards industrial unions which are much more willing to embrace the entire working class. This has eliminated a considerable portion of the impetus for dual unionism. Instead, DSA labor work now focuses on organizing new workplaces into unions, and bringing existing unions towards a more militant posture and political unity with our aims. As we undertake this work, as I am honored to do as Cleveland DSA’s elected Union Liaison, we should strive for the same levels of mass organizing as the SPA, bringing thousands of workers towards a socialist vision.

Please return tomorrow for Part Four: Diversity in the SPA

The post History of the Cleveland SPA, Part Three: Labor appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

Previous entries — Part One: Introduction

It was in this context that the SPA emerged in 1901, with union leader Eugene Debs serving as a unifying figurehead and recurring presidential candidate. The party united socialists who believed in working within existing union formations and dual unionists, many of whom initially split from the SLP. As the party grew, it attracted many who felt the Progressives of the time did not do enough to meet the political moment. This included Charles Emil Ruthenberg, who is arguably the most important figure of the Cleveland SPA.

Ruthenberg  was originally a strong supporter of Progressive Cleveland mayor Tom Johnson, viewing his advocacy for municipal ownership as a step towards socialism. When Johnson opposed the demands of workers who ran those municipal enterprises, Ruthenberg defended him, and was critiqued by socialist Robert Bandlow. Through these debates with socialists and his own intellectual curiosity, Ruthenberg would move to the left, joining the SPA in January of 1909. Within months, he would be elected as recording secretary of the local, and soon thereafter he would become their English-language spokesperson and a perennial candidate for office. 

Ruthenberg’s electoral campaigns would succeed in growing party membership. During his run for mayor of Cleveland in 1911, the local grew its membership by 50%, totaling around 1,600 members in that year. The following year, Ruthenberg would launch a campaign for Governor of Ohio, visiting every county and more than 100 cities in the state. Many SPA statewide campaigns failed to match presidential candidate Eugene Debs, as the Progressives (running on a platform with many policies taken from the SPA) absorbed many of their votes. In Ohio, however, Ruthenberg received a similar margin to Debs, a little over 8% of the vote. This was the highest of any socialist party gubernatorial candidate throughout the country. At this time, Cleveland had become by far the largest Socialist Party local in Ohio, growing to 2,950 members. While Ruthenberg and other Cleveland socialists were successful at building membership, they would not win any office prior to 1917. However, the same was not true for other parts of the so-called “Red State”.  As put by Richard Judd in Socialist Cities, Ohio socialists were able to “elect more mayors to office in small and medium-sized cities than any other state.” In bigger cities, including Columbus, Akron, Dayton and Toledo, one or more city councilors were also elected. 

Unlike most successful socialist candidates today, the SPA would run its candidates on their own independent ballot line, competing directly with Democrats, Republicans and third parties (primarily the Progressive Party). This historical practice was borne out of the conditions surrounding the Civil War, which brought the Republican Party into prominence. In the following decades, the party system began to consolidate towards the modern system, with Democrats and Republicans being the sole presidential contenders ever since. Today, socialists have adapted to this system by focusing on Democratic primaries or non-partisan local races with primarily Democratic voter bases. However, In the 1910s, many Progressives and Socialists pursued the development of an independent third party, in part because of the newer and less developed nature of the two party regime, and, even more so than today, the lack of a distinction between Republican and Democratic policies towards workers.

While many of the fundamental challenges remain the same, the different socialist ballot line provided certain strengths and weaknesses for the SPA. Across Ohio, Democratic and Republican establishments would work together as fusion candidates to run against socialists. 

Today, we do see similar consolidation from conservative and liberal opposition, such as Andrew Cuomo’s general election campaign against Zohran Mamdani. However, these efforts are less likely to succeed when socialists win the Democratic Party’s official nomination. This typically splits the existing Democratic establishment, with some willing to embrace more left wing figures, and others refusing to do so. On the other hand, in the heyday of the socialist party, there was no such split, and the Republican and Democratic establishments were both firmly in opposition to socialist candidates. An independent socialist ballot line would also not prevent socialist electeds from betraying their party. The mayors of Ohio cities Lima and Lorain, for instance, while elected under the SPA, later switched to a mainstream party. Additionally, party officials nationwide would regularly be expelled for disagreement with the party platform.

As Emerson Bodde argues in Until Victory is Achieved, the distinction between socialist success in big cities and smaller ones was largely due to the differing political environments. Smaller cities often had competing Republican and Democratic candidates, which made it possible for socialist candidates focusing on affordability and municipal reform to take power. On the other hand, major cities were more likely to have developed political machines, capable of absorbing Progressive policies and presenting themselves as the logical option for municipal change.  Bodde argues that being forced to the sidelines in mainstream electoral politics led to the radicalization and diversification of socialist organizing in Cleveland. 

Meanwhile, socialists in Milwaukee (or in smaller Ohio cities with SPA mayors), focused primarily on good municipal governance, attracting the “middle-class Progressive milieu”. Ruthenberg himself would also emphasize immediate municipal reforms and critique the corruption of the existing machine, while always keeping in mind the end goal of societal transformation. As SPA members in different cities charted different paths, Ruthenberg showed his principled commitment to party unity in approaching their political differences. As Oakley Johnson’s biography of Ruthenberg articulates:

“While reformist in character, the Socialist Milwaukee administration performed many valuable social services and benefited the people. But the Milwaukee Administration received vicious attacks from old-party politicians, and Ruthenberg, who carefully watched the situation, defended it.” 

Today, DSA members should take note from Ruthenberg, understanding the different political contexts of our comrades throughout the country, and standing in solidarity with them as they strive to fight for something new. We should seek to analyze and understand the conditions of the two-party system as they exist today, and identify how we can run electoral campaigns that truly engage the masses and build party membership, as organizers did in “Red Ohio” over a century ago. This assessment can learn from the Milwaukee approach – that genuine commitments to improving the lives of working class people can be an effective mechanism for building a socialist electoral constituency. But it should also learn from the Cleveland experience outlined in this piece, which demonstrates that organizing workers while maintaining clear socialist and anti-war principles prepares an organization to reach the masses in times of crisis.

Please return tomorrow for Part Three: Labor

The post History of the Cleveland SPA, Part Two: Electoral Politics appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

Before we start, we’re asking everyone to write to your elected officials to support H.794 and S.282. Tell them that you want to tax the rich for healthcare and schools!

GREEN MOUNTAIN DSA MONTH IN REVIEW

February was a month of incredible momentum for Green Mountain DSA, bookended by electoral victory and direct action. We are thrilled to open this newsletter by congratulating our endorsed Burlington City Council candidate, Marek Broderick, on their decisive Town Meeting Day win! Marek defeated a Democratic opponent with a strong tally of 301 to 187, securing a second term representing Ward 8. In the weeks leading up to the vote, our members made phone calls and knocked doors (again and again) across the entire ward to ensure voters had a plan. We are proud to stand behind a proven champion for renters, UVM students, and working-class Burlingtonians. Marek's leadership in passing a resolution to address deteriorating student housing is just one example of the socialist leadership we are building in Chittenden County.

At our February General Membership Meeting in Montpelier, members discussed our growing chapter-wide priority campaign, "Tax the Rich," supporting H.794 and S.282—legislation championed by our own State Senator Tanya Vyhovsky and Rep. Kate Logan that would generate hundreds of millions in revenue by making the wealthiest Vermonters pay their fair share. Green Mountain DSA organized a press conference at the State House in February and coverage by WCAX features Rep. Kate Logan detailing just how much working Vermonters stand to win by taxing the rich. The February General Membership Meeting also featured updates on our Palestine solidarity work (“No Appetite for Apartheid” campaign), and local ballot initiatives (“Proposition Zero” in Burlington). Alongside these campaigns, our chapter is deepening its foundation by launching weekly Saturday-Sunday socials to build comradeship and expanding our reach to southern counties through our “Statewide Expansion Working Group”. From electoral wins to anti-war action in coalition, your Green Mountain DSA is proving that another Vermont—one centered on working-class power and solidarity—is not only possible, but already being built. In solidarity, and see you at a meeting, social, or on the streets some time soon!

WE’RE BUILDING A FAMILY-FRIENDLY GMDSA

Green Mountain Democratic Socialists of America is working towards making our organization more accessible to parents and guardians. You can help us by letting us know if you would benefit from childcare being offered at our general meetings.

Please fill out our Childcare Needs Survey: https://forms.gle/6Mq1KHWGrc3QgLGv8 

GREEN MOUNTAIN DSA MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Our Labor Committee meets on the second Monday of every month at 6:00pm on Zoom, including Monday March 9th. 

  Our Electoral Committee will meet on Tuesday March 10. The electoral committee meets at 6:00pm on Zoom. 

🌹The next May Day Coalition meeting is Tuesday March 10 at 6:00pm at Migrant Justice (179 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington) and on Zoom. 

Talk about your job and learn about shop-floor organizing from peers at Workers' Circle (co-hosted with the Green Mountain IWW) on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, including Wednesday March 11 at 6:00pm at Migrant Justice (179 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington).

💰Our Tax the Rich Working Group will meet on every Sunday, including March 15 at 6:00pm on Zoom..

Find out how you can help our Membership Committee improve recruitment and involvement in our chapter on Monday, March 16. The Membership Committee meets on the 3rd Monday of every month at 6:00pm on Zoom. 

GMDSA's East and West branches will come together for another general meeting on Saturday March 21 at 11:30 a.m. at TBD (Most likely the Public Library in South Burlington). Newcomers are encouraged to show up at 10:30 a.m. for an optional “DSA 101” orientation. Everyone is welcome to join for coffee hour with snacks and discussion at 11:00 a.m. prior to the start of the general meeting.

🇵🇸 Our Palestine Solidarity Committee will meet on Monday March 23. The Palestine solidarity committee meets on the 4th Monday of every month at 6:00pm on Zoom. 

📱Our Communications Committee will meet on Monday March 23. The communications committee meets on the 4th Monday of every month at 7:00pm on Zoom. 

📑 Our Steering Committee meets on the first Monday of every month at 7:30pm on Zoom, including Monday April 6. All members are welcome to participate in the meeting discussion, only members of the steering committee can vote. We will have a hybrid meeting this month. We will be meeting at the Queen City Lodge Oddfellows Hall. The address is 1416 North Ave in Burlington. Email hello@greenmountaindsa.org for the Zoom link if you would prefer to join online

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IMPORTANT DATES THIS YEAR

• International Workers’ Day: May 1, 2026

• 2026 Labor Notes Conference: June 12-14

• Vermont Primary Election: August 11, 2026

• Labor Day: September 7, 2026

• General Election: November 3, 2026

• Next GMDSA Convention: November 2026

• Next DSA National Convention: August 2027