On November 7th Tacoma voters passed the strongest tenant protections in Washington State, despite the landlord opposition shattering all previous spending records to defeat us. Tacoma DSA launched the campaign and built Tacoma for All into a broad labor-community coalition to win Initiative #1. We overcame efforts by the Mayor and City Council to derail our campaign, first by attempting to co-opt the movement with a watered down alternative, and then with a competing initiative.

Backed by the 8,000 grocery workers in UFCW 367 and the wider Pierce County Central Labor Council, Tacoma for All built a 100-strong volunteer army to knock over 20,000 doors. The victory of Initiative #1, and DSA-endorsed city council candidate Jamika Scott, has transformed DSA into a center of gravity for working-class politics in Tacoma.

Meanwhile, Whatcom DSA helped win two major ballot initiatives: one to raise the minimum wage in Bellingham, and a second to compel landlords pay tenants relocation assistance when rent hikes over 8% force renters to move. DSA plays a central role in Community First Whatcom, the coalition behind both initiatives. After winning two ballot initiatives in 2021, this is the second round of victories for Whatcom DSA and the coalition, cementing the organized left as major force in Bellingham politics.

My first interview is with four fellow leaders of Tacoma DSA, who co-led the initiative campaign with me. My second interview is with Cleveland Harris, a leader in Whatcom DSA and the chair of Community First Whatcom.

Thanks to Jason Corey and Max van Ginneken for mixing and editing the audio for this episode, and to Val Ross for the cover art.

Earlier this month, voters nationwide went to the polls. In Ohio, The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety, listed on the ballot as Issue 1, passed with 57% of Ohioians voting to codify a right to an abortion, contraception, and other reproductive rights into the state Constitution, in a clear rebuke to the near total-ban on abortion pushed through by the far-right Republican Ohio Legislature in the wake of the Supreme Court Dobbs Decision. While here in New York, voters elected their City Council members, and DSA-endorsed incumbents, Tiffany Caban of District 22 in Queens and Alexa Aviles of District 38 in Sunset Park, won resounding bids for reelection in their districts. Tonight, we will hear from Julie from Cleveland DSA, about the statewide effort across several Ohio DSA chapters to mobilize voters to the polls in support of reproductive rights. We will also be joined in-studio with Stef from NYC-DSA Electoral Working Group and Anna from the Aviles campaign to discuss the City Council races and what’s in store for DSA electoral politics in 2024. 

You can become a DSA member at https://act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/ 

To get more involved in the NYC DSA Electoral Working Group go to https://socialists.nyc/ or email at [email protected]

To join a phonebank to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, visit https://www.dsausa.org/no-money-for-massacres-phonebanks/

Summary

Chapters need a way to share files, meeting minutes, agendas, graphics and often end-up using web storage like Google or Microsoft. They also need a way to restrict who has access and easily remove and add access for members without it becoming cumbersome. This guide has a solution using Google Groups and a dedicated Google email account that is completely free, and implements Role Based Access Control, a key information security principle which dictates access based on someone’s role in their local DSA chapter or National Committee.

Outcomes

DSA Chapter will have a free and easy to use and setup role based access via a simple and familiar platform. A group e-mail and google drive structure to manage information.

1. Setup
2. Pre-Planning
   1. Decide on what the name of your group e-mail will be.
      • Ex: [email protected]
   2. Consider what roles exist in your group/organization. For instance your steering/organizing/leadership committee and general membership. This will determine how many google groups you make. It is recommended you start small even with just the two groups above and only make groups as needed. Name these similar to your group e-mail with the name of the role(or sub-group) first.
      • Ex: [email protected]
      • Ex: [email protected] 
   3. Google Groups can also be used as group e-mail addresses and e-mail listservs that can be used for group communication. Consider if you want to use this feature or not it can be turned on and off at any time! 
3. Making the Setup (total time ~30 minutes)
   1. Make a Gmail account and give members who will be checking it or making the drive folders access. Make sure you set up account recovery information once made. Write down your password or store it in an offline document or password manager if you have one.*
   2. Logged into the Gmail account you just made. Go to groups.google.com and hit create group. Feel free to follow this guide through ‘Create A Group’. We will start with your leadership/steering committee group.
   3. There will be another section/guide on using Google Groups as shared e-mail inboxes for now this will focus on making use of it to grant and revoke access to Google Drive folders. 
   4. On the left side of your screen you will see People click this tab.
      1. 
   5. At the top of your screen you will see ‘Add Members’ click this
      1. 
   6. In the pop up window hit directly add members
      1. 
   7. The Gmail that made the group will automatically be made an owner. You can copy and paste an e-mail list into any of the three fields (Members, Owners, Managers). These groups determine how much someone can manage the google group!
      1.  For Steering Committees and non-general membership groups/committees consider making all members group managers to ease the ability to add or remove members without having to log into the group Gmail account. Determine what security works best for your situation but don’t forget ease of use!
      2. Feel free to type a message letting people know they have been added.
      3. NOTE: Google places a limit of 200 new email addresses in a 24 hour period day to get added to a Google Group. For larger chapters, you will need to split your membership lists up to several days.
   8. Click Add members 
   9. Now repeat this process (Steps 2 – 8) for the general membership group but only put members in as Group Members. Consider the same again for Group Managers to ease the ability to add members to the Google Groups. Make sure everyone including the people from the leadership/steering group is added to this group!
      • Note for small or flat groups you can get away with just one group and skip this part.
   10. After making the general membership group there is one setting we need to change specific to the general membership group before we go into setting up a google drive folder.
       1. Click Membership Privacy
          1. 
       2. For larger groups or spaces where privacy is important please make sure you select group managers only for the following two options as Group Managers or Owner.
          1. 
   11. Now this is where we can decide if we want to allow people to send e-mails to the group like a listserv. You may want to turn this off for general groups and use your regular newsletter or listserv system.
       1. Click “General” under Settings
          1. 
       2. If you want to let members e-mail each other and let people not in the group e-mail the group use these settings
          1. 
          2. If you don’t want to allow non-group members to e-mail select ‘Group Members’ under who can post.
       3. If you want to not allow e-mails to the group change this setting to Group Managers or Group Owners.
          1. 
4. Setting up the Google Drive
   1. Note that whether or not you use paid Google Workspace Shared Drives or regular Google Drives this is still useful to easily manage permissions. As you will still have individual users who can have varying access to specific files.
   2. Go to Google Drive with the organization gmail account.
   3. Make a folder(s) as needed in the google drive and name them appropriately.
      1. Ex: DSA Steering Committee Files
      2. Ex: DSA General Files
   4. Right click the folder(s) and hit share
      1. 
   5. On the share popup type in the name of the google group you made before.
      1. 
   6. Grant the access needed and hit done!
   7. Now just make files inside of these folders where your main Gmail account is the owner and the appropriate google group has the access you want them to have. You add and remove people from one place groups.google.com instead of trying to manage a bunch of files and different ownership.  
5. If you already have Google files
   1. If you already have Google Drive folders or files on this same screen have the person who owns the file ‘transfer ownership’ to the organization’s Gmail account.
      1. After giving the organization’s Gmail access. Click the down arrow next to the editor label.
         1. 
6. Other Uses for Google Groups
   1. As mentioned they can be used for e-mailing a group together or allowing someone to e-mail a group of people as one. 
   2. You can also use them to easily invite people to a calendar just type in the group name and it will send the invite to all of the people you want just like the files.

Enjoy your November National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected 18-person body (including two YDSA members who share a vote) which functions as the board of directors of DSA. This month, speak out for a ceasefire, hear more on Green New Deal organizing, join our labor solidarity debrief, 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 — United in Commitment
• Tell Your Representative: Sign on to the Ceasefire NOW Resolution!
• Wednesday 11/29 — RSVP for our Green New Deal Campaign Commission’s November Campaign Huddle
• Join our 2023 Strike Ready Debrief Call Thursday 11/30!
• Apply to DSA’s National Electoral Commission Steering Committee! Deadline is Friday 12/1
• DSA Archives Workshop Sunday 12/3 — Learn how to Preserve our History
• Tuesday 12/5 — DSA 2023 Budget Report to Members
• DSA Store Launches New Merch!

From the National Political Committee — United in Commitment

Comrades,

The past months have been a test for all of us. Israel’s relentless bombing and ground invasion of Gaza has now massacred more than 13,000 people, almost half of them children, all supported and directly funded by the United States. Amid such a blatant exhibition of atrocities sponsored by the ruling class, the machines manufacturing consent for war may be sputtering. Congressional opposition to these war crimes has slowly grown, only thanks to the constant demands of everyday people, on the streets, through millions of calls and letters, and a refusal to accept anything less than a ceasefire.

In a moment where the ruling class is counting on overwhelming us, we are united in our commitment to a free Palestine. 

The moral case for ending Israeli apartheid has never been clearer. Our political commitment against the Israeli occupation is part of a broader generational and cultural shift in the way the public understands the conflict. Our strong stance is the result of years of dedicated organizing by anti-occupation activists across the globe — and robust internal democratic processes within DSA. Against an onslaught of media criticism and obsessive efforts to divide us, we continue to push the focus back on what matters: our organizing to stop a genocide.

Check out our Palestine Solidarity toolkit here. 

We are so inspired by the many ways that DSA members are stepping up in this moment. On November 4th, DSA comrades across chapters were proud to participate in the largest Palestine mobilization ever in Washington, D.C., and have continued to show up to organize rallies, direct actions, and tabling across our communities. Last week, DSA members gathered at the Democratic National headquarters for a vigil to honor the Palestinians murdered with our tax dollars and to represent the majority of Americans who want a ceasefire — and were met not only with violent police attacks but with Democrats and Republicans lying about the brutality inflicted on protesters.

As of this week, more than 1,000 DSA members have made over 275,000 calls to Congress in our No Money for Massacres phonebanks, resulting in over 40 representatives having now signed onto the Ceasefire Now resolution. The growing support across the US to end the devastation in Gaza is only possible thanks to the unrelenting pressure from people of conscience against the elected officials who have been failing to represent us.

Join a DSA phonebank to keep building pressure for No Money for Massacres!

DSA labor organizers are stepping up to organize workers for Palestine, along with a growing number of unions. In recent weeks, the American Postal Workers Union has called for a ceasefire, as has the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union. Members of River Valley DSA have pushed the Western Mass Area Labor Federation to unanimously adopt a ceasefire resolution.

Amidst the worst attacks we’ve ever faced, this month DSA just had one of our most successful election nights yet — a win rate of 69% from 23 nationally endorsed races. That includes landslide reelections amid defamatory attacks from the Twin Cities to Boston, major contributions to ballot wins against a second Cop City in Colorado and for abortion rights in Ohio, protecting landmark rent control measures from the landlord lobby in Maine, legislating a tenants’ bill of rights in Tacoma, and expanding further with wins like the first-ever DSA elected official in New Mexico.

But this progress doesn’t come without retaliation.

Last month, in a shameful bipartisan attack, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 234-188 to censure Congresswoman and DSA member Rashida Tlaib of Detroit. Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of the House, has shown immense bravery in exposing the truth about Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians while she endures vicious and racist attacks, which now extend to the halls of government. She stands strong alongside fellow DSA member and Rep. Cori Bush of St. Louis as an original co-author of the Ceasefire NOW resolution, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in urging President Biden to a ceasefire. And like Rashida, we will not back down.

We will not back down in the face of vitriol toward our comrades. We will not allow groups like AIPAC to use their hundreds of millions of dollars to interfere against democracy, nor weaken our resolve to fight for a free Palestine. To defeat the powerful forces that wage war on working people both here and abroad, we need to build an alternative to the empty politics of the Democratic Party.

Rashida says: “Millions of ordinary people like you must take to the streets, organize your neighbors and coworkers, lead your unions in massive strikes, and unite across faiths and nationalities to wield our power as the working class. But don’t do it alone; join DSA.”

And if you’re already a member of DSA, recommit to the long fight ahead by switching to solidarity dues — and join us in calling members through the holiday season about all the work our collective resources will keep supporting!

Till victory,

Your National Political Committee

Tell Your Representative: Sign on to the Ceasefire NOW Resolution!

Join DSA, Adalah Justice Project, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, and MPower Change to show mass support for Cori Bush’s “Ceasefire NOW” resolution! The Israeli government has cut off 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza from food, water, fuel, and electricity, while bombing one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. That’s why DSA member and Missouri Representative Cori Bush introduced the “Ceasefire NOW” resolution, which demands that the Biden administration call for an immediate ceasefire and for humanitarian assistance to be allowed to enter Gaza.

People around the country are calling and writing their reps, staging sit-ins, and protesting to demand their representatives join Cori Bush’s resolution. It’s critical that they hear us. Write your Congress member to demand a ceasefire now!

Wednesday 11/29 — RSVP for our Green New Deal Campaign Commission’s November Campaign Huddle

Join the Green New Deal Campaign Commission on our last Strategic Campaign Huddle of the year. We’ll be going over “strategic goal setting” in a collaborative format with campaign leaders across the organization. The call will be Wednesday 11/29 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT. Huddles will be back in January 2024!

Join our 2023 Strike Ready Debrief Call Thursday 11/30!

Can you believe it’s been over seven months since the Strike Ready Campaign launched? From the UPS contract campaign and practice pickets, to UAW’s historic Stand Up Strike, DSA has stood with workers fighting back against the boss. We’ve seen renewed militancy, rejuvenated democracy, and now a turn to new organizing to expand the labor movement!

As this chapter of the labor movement draws to its conclusion, join us at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT on Thursday Nov 30th for a debrief call, where we will discuss DSA’s role in these struggles: what we accomplished, what we need to do differently next time, and how we fit into the the new landscape of the labor movement.

Apply to DSA’s National Electoral Commission Steering Committee! Deadline is Friday 12/1

Passionate about strengthening DSA’s national electoral program? Consider applying to the National Electoral Commission’s Steering Committee! The deadline is Friday 12/1. For this one-year term, candidates will be elected by representatives of chapters that have run nationally endorsed campaigns in the last three years. Applicants should be prepared to participate in a Zoom candidate forum on Sunday 12/10 at 4pm ET/3pm CT/2pm MT/1pm PT to share their vision for the commission and DSA’s electoral efforts generally.

DSA Archives Workshop Sunday 12/3 — Learn how to Preserve our History

Join the National Political Education Committee and DSA Fund Sunday 12/3 at 4pm ET/3pm CT/2pm MT/1pm PT for the Winter 2023 DSA Archives Project Workshop! This is a workshop for DSA members as part of the DSA Archives Project: a multifaceted, ongoing endeavor to preserve our material and digital culture and learn how to use our institutional histories to strengthen our organization and support the growth of socialist politics. This workshop is offered in happy collaboration with the Tamiment Archives at NYU, where DSA’s national archives are housed, and is co-sponsored by the DSA Fund and the DSA National Political Education Committee (NPEC).

The workshop is designed to help current chapter leaders and political educators organize their digital materials, learn how to preserve physical materials and educate their membership about how to do that, and begin thinking of projects to use archives for the benefit of DSA and the wider public. It is framed by several baseline questions for instruction, and large and small-group discussion and visioning.

1. What are archives, and what are they for?
2. Why are archives important to socialists/socialism?
3. What should we save, and how do we save it?
4. What should we (DSA) do with our archives?  

If you’re a rank-and-file member interested in starting archive work in your chapter as a new working group, or have a lot of socialist and DSA materials you’d like to learn how to handle, we welcome you too!

We will use closed-captioning on Zoom, and it will be recorded for internal assessment purposes, not for public distribution.

Tuesday 12/5 — DSA 2023 Budget Report to Members

Join members of DSA’s Budget and Finance Committee and national staff for a report on DSA’s 2023 budget and projected financial position at the end of the calendar year. The call will be held on Tuesday 12/5 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT. Understanding our financial health as the National Political Committee prepares to decide the 2024 budget will aid in building sustainable funding models that can support our collective work for the long haul.

DSA Store Launches New Merch!

Check out the new items on the DSA store! You can get new baseball caps, member-designed t-shirts, and re-issued favorites.

The post From the National Political Committee — United in Commitment appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, 11/21 (7:00 p.m.): Labor and Tenant Organizing Discussion: Spadework – On Political Organizing (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Wednesday, 11/22 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): What is DSA? (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Friday, 11/24 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Wednesday, 11/29 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): HWG Reading Group: Mean Streets (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Thursday, 11/30 (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.): HWG Presents: JenBo! “How to Get Housed in SF.” (In person at 1916 McAllister)

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

Events & Actions

Labor and Tenant Organizing Discussion Tonight: Spadework – On Political Organizing

Hey comrades!

Labor and Tenant Organizing comrades will be hosting a discussion of the article “Spadework: On Political Organzing” by Allyssa Battistoni this evening (November 21st) at 7:00 p.m. at 1916 McAllister.

Eat pizza, sip beverages, and talk about doing and sustaining “spadework:” the critical and meaningful, often difficult, generally unsexy, sometimes frustrating, day-to-day work of organizing!

How Do People Get Housed?

Is San Francisco set up to actually help people exit homelessness and get into housing? What resources exist, and are they accessible? And how long does this whole process take? Join DSA SF member and City Hall worker, Jenbo, as she attempts to untangle the arcane bureaucracy of different city departments, nonprofits, outreach teams, shelter and housing systems that make up the City’s response to the homelessness crisis.

Join this Homelessness Working Group-hosted event on Thursday, November 30th at 6:30 p.m. at 1916 McAllister. Dinner will be provided! 

Register below!

Submit Your Nominations for Chapter Leadership!

Hello, comrades! We are now opening nominations for chapter leadership! Please fill out this form if you would like to nominate yourself or a comrade for a leadership position!

Leadership positions for the following chapter bodies are up for chapter-wide elections:

• Labor Board (5 seats)
• Electoral Board (5 seats)
• Mutual Aid Priority Leadership (3 seats total, 1 vacant)
• Chapter Coordination Committee Co-Chairs (2 seats)
• Education Board (3 seats)
• Ecosocialists Committee Co-Chairs (2 seats)
• Tenant Organizing Working Group Co-Chairs (2 seats)

The following chapter bodies will be holding internal elections, which will be ratified by the chapter:

• Homelessness Working Group Co-Chairs
• AfroSocialists & Socialists of Color Committee Co-Chairs

Elections and ratification votes will be held at our December chapter meeting!

Reports

From Team Dean

It’s been a minute, but here is the latest:

• We helped shut down shady “COVID-testing” sites around town. These testing sites preyed on vulnerable people, with operators not wearing gloves or masks and often not sending people their test results. We want our constituents and all people to get testing from a safe and trustworthy source and we are pleased that this scam is being shut down.
• Supervisor Ahsha Safai’s Charter Amendment, which would have put the Mayor on the hook directly for increasing transit fares and parking meter rates/hours, has been withdrawn. Our office has been in dialogue with various comrades on this measure, and we wanted to make sure people were aware that this item will not appear on the March 2024 ballot.
• On November 29th, the Board of Supervisors will be voting on the Police Staffing Charter Amendment. Initially introduced by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, it is now sponsored by Supervisor Ahsha Safai. The measure will create a fund to be used to give new police officers $75k sign-on bonuses, amended such that it requires a new tax or source of funding to be implemented. However, as worded, if we create a new progressive, radical tax on the wealthiest people in our city, money raised could be required to go to this police bonus fund instead of things like affordable housing, rent subsidies, education, or other crucial things our city needs. We encourage comrades to reach out to the Board of Supervisors via email ([email protected]) or phone and let them know how you feel about this proposal.

Finally: this week, our office will be off from Wednesday through Friday, which means we will need to cancel in person office hours. However, please reach out to Melissa H. or Will S. on Slack (or email [email protected] and [email protected]) if you want to check in on City Hall matters this week and we will try to schedule an appointment!

Behind the Scenes

The Chapter Coordination Committee (CCC) regularly rotates duties among chapter members. This allows us to train new members in key duties that help keep the chapter running like organizing chapter meetings, keeping records updated, office cleanup, updating the DSA SF website and newsletter, etc. Members can view current CCC rotations.

To help with the day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running, fill out the CCC help form.

Feedback? Questions? Something to add?

We’re always looking for feedback. If you have comments or suggestions, feel free to send a message to the #newsletter channel on Slack.

For information on how to add content, check out the Newsletter Q&A thread on the forum.

Join us this Sunday for Comradesgiving, November 26 from 3:00 to 5:30pm at the Gallatin Labor Temple. We will be sharing food and continuing the conversation around Social Housing and why a Public Housing Authority is needed. We will also be practicing how to write and submit public comment in preparation for the upcoming Gallatin County Commission hearing (Tues 11/28) to determine whether a Public Housing Authority should be established at the county level. Join us for a potluck with comrades. Multiple dietary restrictions are being considered, including vegan and vegetarian options. RSVP here.

Can’t make it, but want to show your support for establishing a PHA? See here for directions for submitting public comment to the Gallatin County Commissioners. Public comment for the County is due by November 27.

Trader Joe’s is not your friendly neighborhood market. It is a billion-dollar national chain owned by one of Europe's richest families.

The post Ingredients of Alienation: The Emergence of Trader Joe’s United appeared first on EWOC.

Menendez Jr. Rejects Calls for a Ceasefire from 4 NJ Groups

For Immediate Release: November 21st 2023

Contact: [email protected]

Last night, representatives from North NJ DSA, Jewish Voice for Peace Northern NJ, American Muslims for Palestine NJ, and Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) NJ, met with Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. (NJ-08). In the meeting NNJ DSA reiterated our calls for the Congressman’s immediate co-sponsorship of the Bush-Tlaib Ceasefire resolution, H.Res 786. 

After mounting pressure from our organizations it’s clear Menendez Jr. has not moved an inch on the matter. Despite 66% of Americans, and over 80% of Democrats agreeing with calls for a ceasefire, the freshman Congressman appears uninterested in “meeting the moment” like he often says he is.

Even more disappointing was the Congressman’s claim in the meeting that he’s subject to an “internal struggle on this issue” and that “he wants to be better.” To be clear: This moment is more than just a struggle for the Congressman. This is a genocide happening in real time and Menendez Jr. has power through his position in Congress that he is not utilizing. The Congressman will also not be joining us tonight at 5:30pm outside Jersey City Hall for a teach-in on why and how the humanitarian crisis in Gaza are part of a decades long struggle to displace Palestinians, and how Palestine resists genocide. 

We urge constituents of New Jersey’s eighth congressional district to continue to make calls and send emails to Menendez Jr. and to turn out to events like tonight’s, to demand a ceasefire co-sponsorship from the Congressman.  

The post Menendez Jr. Rejects Calls for a Ceasefire from 4 NJ Groups first appeared on North NJ DSA.

The post Menendez Jr. Rejects Calls for a Ceasefire from 4 NJ Groups appeared first on North NJ DSA.