Monthly Working Session Meeting

The Political Education Working Group is the place to bring your ideas for workshops, educational material, agitprop, and more. Our goal is to bring socialist ideas, DSA messaging and campaigns, and class consciousness to the people of Ventura County. All levels of organizing experience welcome.

Date: Saturday, September 19 from 10 AM until 2 PM

Location: Kellogg Park• 33 Kellog st, Ventura, CA 93001 US

The Mutual Aid Working Group of DSA Ventura County is engaged in base-building and community organizing by exchanging goods and services with those who want to see a world beyond capitalist profiteering.

A free meal is served to attendees. Come get a free meal, or even bring your favorite potluck item or beverages, or non-perishable food to donate.

If you would like to help our mutual aid efforts but are not able to attend, DONATE HERE:

Many hands make light work.

Please reference our Slack’s events channel, or general, for the Agenda.

Zoom Meeting link will appear upon RSVP.

Sunday – September 13 at 12 pm PDT

Location:  The Open Book – The Oaks Mall

556 W Hillcrest Dr, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

Join the DSA Ventura County book club for discussions about selected readings. If you love history, the written word, or the world around you, then you belong here!

This will be a friendly, inclusive event open to all, regardless of prior experiences or familiarity with the topic.

Monday, September 14 at 7 pm

Join DSA Ventura County’s Mutual Aid Working Group for a planning meeting focused on addressing unmet needs in Ventura County. Bring your big ideas, suggestions for coalition partners, and a desire to stand in solidarity with others. We are cookin’ up some ideas, and will post an agenda on our slack.

Sponsored by

Wednesday, September 9 at 6 pm

Events & Actions

Tuesday September 8 (6:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Ecosocialism Working Group Bi-weekly Meeting (in person at 1916 McAllister St and on zoom)

Wednesday September 9 (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM) DSA SF General Meeting (in person at Kelly Cullen Community 220 Golden Gate Ave and on zoom)

Sunday September 13 (1:00 PM – 2:30 PM) What Is DSA?(in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Sunday September 13 (5:00 PM – 6:00 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle Working Group (on zoom)

Sunday September 13 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Working Class Gender Liberation (Provisional) Working Group (in person at 1916 McAllister St, front room)

Monday September 14 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle (in-person at Kelly Cullen Community 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Monday September 14 (6:00 PM – 8:30 PM) Homelessness Working Group (in person at 1916 McAllister St and on zoom)

Monday September 14 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Labor Education Committee Meeting (zoom)

Tuesday September 15 (5:30 PM – 7:00 PM) Social Housing Working Group (in person at 1916 McAllister St and on zoom)

Wednesday September 16 (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM) Tenant Organizing Working Group Meeting (in person at 1916 McAllister St and on zoom)

Thursday September 17 (5:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Phonebank for Prop I (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Thursday September 17 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Education Board Open Meeting (in person at 1916 McAllister St and on zoom)

Thursday September 17 (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM) Organizing Mindset Training Series (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Friday September 18 (5:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Movie night: The Battle of Chile Part One (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Saturday September 19 (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM) Prop B x Prop I Lit Drop (in person at Rochambeau Playground Park, 238 25th Ave)

Saturday September 19 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) HWG Food Service [New Location!] (in person at Patricia’s Green Picnic Area, 499 1/2 Hayes St)

Sunday September 20 (3:00 PM – 5:00 PM) Canvass Workers with SF EWOC! (in person at William McKinley Monument, the Panhandle)

Monday September 21 (5:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Yes On I – Social Housing Working Group Lit Drop (in person, location TBD)

Monday September 21 (7:00 PM – 8:30 PM) SF EWOC Local Meeting (in person at 1916 McAllister St and on zoom)

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Yes on B Lit Drops!

Prop B has TWO lit drops this weekend, including a joint event with Prop I. We’ll be in:

• Cole Valley (Grattan Playground) on Saturday the 12th at 11AM
• The Castro (Eureka Valley Rec Center) on Sunday the 13th at 11AM.

We need your help to get the word out about what a public bank can do for SF before ballots drop! RSVP here

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Organizing Mindset Training: Basebuilding 101, How to Have an Effective Organizing Conversation

Every Thursday at 7PM from Sep 17 through Oct 8
DSA SF Office – 1916 McAllister St

Talking to people is central to effective organizing, but how do you embark on an organizing conversation? Organizing Mindset Training is a four-part event series that goes in depth into every aspect of the organizing conversation so that it’s a sharpened and ready-to-use tool for any campaign. After this training, participants will:

• Learn about the differences between organizing, advocacy, and direct services/mutual aid
• Understand of the role of an Organizing Committee and carrying out an organizing strategy
• Overview the Organizing Conversation and get in-depth practice for each step
• Develop the ability to have multiple successive organizing conversations with a person, with the goal of getting them more involved in your organizing

Attendance of all four sessions isn’t required, but it is encouraged! RSVP HERE

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Organizing Mindset Training: Basebuilding 101, How to Have an Effective Organizing Conversation

DSA SF movie nights are back with The Battle of Chile! We will bring to life the heroic struggles of the working people of Chile and Salvador Allende’s presidency in the lead up to the US-backed fascist coup of Sept 11, 1973. These films will give us a glimpse into a powerful class-wide grassroots movement which won the country’s highest elected office and controlled vast sectors of industry and community networks on the ground.

Join us on Fridays Sept 18, Sept 25, and Oct 2 in the DSA SF office at 1916 McAllister St. Snacks and soft drinks will be provided. Bring a friend! RSVP Here

Are you interested in becoming the best organizer you can be? Do you want to expand socialism here in Milwaukee, but are unsure of where and how to start? Have you been involved but feel like the project did not go anywhere? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the Milwaukee Socialist Organizer Class is for you! 

This eight week program will focus on holistically teaching you to be an unstoppable organizer who builds socialism, changes hearts and minds, and impacts our city.  You will learn direct action organizing, as defined by Organizing for Social Change: Midwest Academy Manual for Activists, in which we organize actions, campaigns, and tactics to “1) win real, immediate, concrete improvement in people’s lives . . . 2) Give people a sense of their own power . . . 3) Alter the relations of power.” 

Interested individuals will register (Click here, which is due by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, October 4th, 2026), be contacted, and begin attending classes.  DSA membership is not required to participate, but is encouraged. 

This education program will be a combination of in-person events with virtual events if necessary. Each unit will be roughly a week, with a week break in the middle of the program. Each unit will consist of classroom-style instruction in the unit topic (no more than 2 hours, which will be in-person on Monday nights from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.), field work in organizing (which will be at least 3 hours and consist of having conversations, moving people to action, and building infrastructure for a strong socialist movement involving several types of campaigns), and time for personal reflection. Each participant must commit to the entire program and, unless excused, attend every unit instruction, and field work session.  Missing more than three classes and field work sessions may result in removal from the program.  

This is the tenth time this program has been offered, and it is back by popular demand! The instructors have updated and revised the course to make you even more prepared to lead in socialism.  

Due to the nature of this program, we are only offering class in-person.

Time commitment per week: 

Time commitment per week:
Unit instruction: + 2 hours
Organizing work: + 3 hours
Miscellaneous tasks: + 1 hour
Total time per week = 6 hour

Weekly Schedule 

Class will be conducted on Monday evenings from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. and held at Central United Methodist Church (639 N 25th St, Milwaukee, WI 53233). Class will be in-person.   

Field work will be held at regular intervals over the week, with options to organize at several points during the week: 

(tentative schedule, subject to change . . .) 

Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

Sundays 12:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. 

Mondays 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. 

Program Timeline: 

Sunday, October 4th, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.:

Application deadline – Apply Here!

Monday, October 5th, 2026:

Start of eight week program ( class held, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.), held at Central United Methodist Church (639 N 25th St, Milwaukee, WI 53233)

Monday, October 12th:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Monday, October 19th:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Monday, October 26th:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Monday, November 2nd:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Monday, November 9th:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Monday, November 16th:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Monday, November 23rd:

Class will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Units

Each unit helps to answer the question: what is organizing? 

Welcome: what is organizing?

• Get to know participants and instructor
• Define scope of class and intentions 
• Determine goals and desired outcomes 

Organizing is one-on-one Conversations

• Learn the 7 point organizing conversation 
• Practice the conversation and its elements 

Organizing is building the committee and the campaign 

• The importance (or not) of the committee
• Power Mapping the campaign 
• Strategy Chart 

Organizing is holistic productivity 

• Traction versus distraction 
• Time management and its importance
• The Reverse Calendar 
• Overcoming blocks to action

Organizing is a mindset 

• Acknowledging hurdles and setbacks 
• Failure is a great option
• Develop a practice to keep you going

Organizing is raising money and managing it

• Why money is OK 
• How to bring energy and money to your campaign 
• The basics of campaign budgeting and finance 

Organizing is communications

• What does “messaging” mean? 
• The power of media 
• Writing workshop

Organizing is bringing it all together

• You’ve got momentum – now what? 
• Recap of unit themes

Reviews

Here is what previous students have to say about the Milwaukee Socialist Organizer Class: 

“[Before the class] I had no idea about the actual work of organizing.  Now I feel confident that I would be able to become a leader in a campaign setting . . .” 

“I loved the practical application of socialism . . . [and] I loved the far-reaching application of some of the class content.” 

“This is a great way to move into the world of socialism. . . thank you so much for offering this course” 

“This [class] is a great first step for anyone looking to start organizing . . .” 

“I radically grew in my comfort around being upfront and simply being able to approach a complete stranger with a potentially controversial topic.” 

“New organizers and experienced organizers can benefit from this class.” 

“Generally speaking my confidence level just interacting with people about socialism has gone through the roof.  I have been given a phenomenal overview of how to organize and I feel confident that I can find out what works best for me in the future.”  

“It was great to grow as an organizer within the confines of a welcoming community/instructor.” 

“I feel more confident organizing outside of an electoral context.”  

Meet your instructors: 

Alex Brower

Alex Brower is a labor leader, socialist organizer, and Milwaukee’s 3rd district Alderman as a DSA endorsed elected official, serving on the City of Milwaukee Common Council. Professionally, Alex has been the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, which organizes union retirees, in addition to other organizing roles with UFCW, SEIU, WisDems, and Wisconsin Jobs Now. In his organizing work, Alex has saved jobs from privatization, helped workers win a union voice on the job, defeated a temp agency, organized against a proposed iron-ore mine, helped bring comprehensive sex education to Beloit Public Schools, and won workplace healthcare for many uninsured MPS Substitute Teachers. As an MPS substitute teacher and former Milwaukee Rec. Department instructor, Alex brings a host of experience teaching others. Alex has also been a candidate for Milwaukee City Comptroller and School Board, running both times as a socialist. 

Andy Barbour

Andy currently serves as a chapter co-chair of Milwaukee DSA. His DSA involvement began  in the spring of 2023 as a regular volunteer for the Power to the People campaign, Milwaukee DSA’s now three-year-old campaign to replace We Energies with a publicly owned utility. After sharpening his organizing skills through regular canvassing and phone banking, he became a leader in the organization and has been closely involved in many DSA campaigns and projects. He’s been a consistent organizing force throughout his entire involvement in DSA. Andy currently also serves as chair of the Power to the People Working Group, though he’s previously held half a dozen other leadership roles in the chapter. Notably, he previously acted as deputy campaign manager of Alex Brower’s successful campaign for Common Council, where he oversaw the entire field operation.

Any questions? 

Contact Alex Brower at milwaukeedsa@gmail.com 

Apply now!

Apply here, or copy and paste this URL into your web browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHWjPHXDlq2lhQVDsFLGZPW26-pqCh0KY7j-KHdA930zHgTA/viewform?usp=dialog

Two new books document how U.S. media enable the Gaza genocide.

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HAPPY LABOR DAY: A FESTIVAL OF RESISTANCE WITH VERMONT MAY DAY STRONG

This Labor Day, join Vermont May Day Strong and your friends, neighbors, and fellow workers for a Festival of Resistance. We'll have free food, music, activities, tabling, and a few brief speeches from Vermont workers standing up against the Trump regime and the billionaire class. Whether it's healthcare workers fighting for safe staffing at UVM Medical Center, Healthy Living workers resisting anti-democratic union busting, or migrant workers organizing for their right to dignified work free from attacks by ICE and Border Patrol, Vermont's workers are standing up, pushing back, and doing so together. The Festival of Resistance is an opportunity for us to celebrate the organizing we have done, the power we continue to build, and our past and future victories.

All are welcome at this family-friendly event TODAY — Monday September 7 at 3:00pm at Battery Park in Burlington

Learn more

TAX THE RICH: MONTPELIER AND WINOOSKI CANVASSES IN SEPTEMBER: LOOKING AHEAD TO TOWN MEETING DAY 2027 BALLOT QUESTIONS

Working Vermonters are being squeezed while the richest continue to benefit from tax cuts paid for by cuts to healthcare. Medicaid and ACA subsidies are on the chopping block, putting tens of thousands at risk. This is a choice. We can let working people carry the burden, or we can demand that the wealthiest pay their fair share.

We are calling on the Vermont Legislature to pass legislation that raises taxes on the richest 5 percent, taxes wealth proceeds, and invests that revenue into affordable and accessible healthcare for all. Half measures are not enough. Policies that only target the top 1 percent or shift taxes around without raising new revenue will not meet this moment.

Sign up to help us collect signatures on our Tax the Rich ballot petitions (advisory questions for the Town Meeting Day Ballot in Montpelier and Winooski)! 

We’ll be hitting the streets in Montpelier from 10-12 on Saturday September 12 and then in Winooski on Saturday September 19, from 1-3pm launching from 53 Lafountain St.

Sign up

GMDSA-ENDORSED CANDIDATES WIN BIG IN VERMONT THIS SUMMER: HELP GET THEM OVER THE FINISH LINE NOVEMBER THIRD!!!

Congratulations to all of our endorsed candidates!

The Electoral Committee is working on organizing to support our socialists seeking office to grow DSA and give working people a true voice in Montpelier. Stay connected with GMDSA to learn about future opportunities to canvass and phonebank with us before November!

Volunteer for Alexander Bobella’s campaign here. (Franklin County State Senate). Saturday canvass/lit drops starting the 12th — Stay tuned for more details!

Volunteer for Matt Gile’s campaign here. (Winooski)

Volunteer for Adam Franz’s campaign here. (Burlington)

Volunteer for Jeffrey Peterson's campaign events here. (Burlington)

Volunteer for Tanya Vyhovsky's campaign events here. (Chittenden Central State Senate)

GREEN MOUNTAIN DSA MONTH IN REVIEW

August this year we celebrated victories at the ballot box as all of our Socialists in Office won their Democratic primaries, then celebrated another milestone together at our 3rd annual summer cookout celebrating 300 Member Party!

We marched with workers on the picket line, joined our neighbors in advocating for the release of Pastor Steven Tendo, and kept doing what socialists do every month: organizing our workplaces and communities, building solidarity, and fighting for a Vermont that works for working people.

Another month down. More organizing ahead. Solidarity forever.

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. This month we were approved to receive a chapter Growth and Development grant from DSA national to help with this effort, among other priorities. 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

GREEN MOUNTAIN DSA MEETINGS AND EVENTS

 Join Green Mountain DSA and the Vermont May Day Strong Coalition for their Labor Day Picnic: A Festival of Resistance on Monday Sept 7 at 3:00pm at Battery Park in Burlington.

 Our Steering Committee meets on the first Monday of every month at 7:30pm on Zoom, including Monday Sept 7. All members are welcome to participate in the meeting discussion, only members of the steering committee can vote.

 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 Sept 9 at 6:00pm at Migrant Justice (179 S. Winooski Av in Burlington).

Saturday Sept 12 at 10:00am in Montpelier, join the Tax the Rich Working Group for the official launch of the TTR advisory question campaign in the City of Montpelier. Canvass will run TBD, with an orientation for new canvassers at the start.

 Our Labor Committee meets on the second Monday of every month at 6:00pmon Zoom, including Monday Sept 14.

 Our Electoral Committee will meet on Wednesday Sept 16. The electoral committee meets at 6:00pm on Zoom. The Electoral Committee will meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month until November.

Saturday Sept 19 in Winooski, join the Tax the Rich Working Group for the official launch of the TTR advisory question campaign in the City of Winooski. Canvass will run TBD, with an orientation for new canvassers at the start.

Our Tax the Rich Working Group will meet on the first and third Sundays monthly, starting Sunday Sept 19 at 6:00pm on Zoom. Join to learn about our next stage of organizing as we enter the upcoming legislative biennium and plan for upcoming canvasses across the state.

 Find out how you can help our Membership Committee improve recruitment and involvement in our chapter on Monday Sept 21. The Membership Committee meets on the 3rd Monday of every month at6:00pm on Zoom.

 GMDSA's branches will come together for our monthly general meeting on Saturday Sept 26 at 11:30 a.m. at Fletcher Free Library (235 College St in Burlington). Newcomers are encouraged to show up at 10:30am for an optional “DSA 101” orientation. Everyone is welcome to join for coffee hour with snacks and discussion at 11:00amprior to the start of the general meeting.

 Our Palestine Solidarity Committee will meet on Monday Sept 28. The Palestine solidarity committee meets on the 4th Monday of every month at 6:00pm on Zoom.

Our Communications Committee will meet on Monday Sept 28. The communications committee meets on the last Monday of every month at 7:00pmon Zoom.

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IMPORTANT DATES THIS YEAR

• Labor Day: Monday September 7

• GMDSA September General Meeting: Saturday September 26 in Burlington

• GMDSA October General Meeting: Saturday October 17 in Montpelier

• General Election: Tuesday November 3

• Next GMDSA Convention: Saturday November 14 in Barre (Tentative)

• Next DSA National Convention: August 2027 (Date TBD)