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Este fin de semana, la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza, fuerza policiaca personal de Trump, empezará a ocupar nuestra ciudad y secuestrar a nuestros vecinos para terrorizar a la comunidad inmigrante e intimidarnos a quienes nos oponemos. Charlotte Metro DSA condena esta invasión. Nos mantenemos en solidaridad con la clase trabajadora de todas las naciones . Lucharemos contra esta invasión con toda la gente de consciencia.

Estos ataques son parte de una historia larga del estado fomentando la división entre personas de la clase trabajadora para debilitar y amenazar a nuestras comunidades con agentes armados cuando parecemos demasiado fuertes.

Previamente en este año, iniciamos nuestra campaña para boicotear a Avelo. La aerolínea Avelo es una aerolínea de bajo costo que está bajo contrato con ICE para llevar a cabo vuelos de deportaciones. Estamos pidiendo a la gente que participe en el boicot para generar presión a la empresa y la Ciudad de Concord, ciudad de donde despegan los vuelos, para que cesen el contrato. Con este fin llevaremos a cabo una protesta el día 29 alrededor del aeropuerto Concord-Padgett, les invitamos a que se nos unan.

Otros grupos de la comunidad están trabajando activamente para luchar contra este fenómeno.

Por favor revisen y utilicen la red de migrantes de las Carolinas y su línea directa para reportar secuestros (704) 740-7737

Y también visiten Siembra NC para obtener detalles sobre el entrenamiento en vigilancia de ICE el 17 de noviembre.

Nuestro objetivo es organizar y unir a la ciudad para resistir estos secuestros. Por favor acérquese a nosotros para colaborar o involucrarse.

En Solidaridad,

El Comité Directivo de Charlotte Metro DSA

English

Today, Customs & Border Patrol, Trump’s personal police force, will begin occupying our city and abducting our neighbors to terrorize the immigrant community and cow domestic opposition. Charlotte Metro DSA condemns this invasion. We stand in solidarity with the working class of all nations. We will fight this invasion with all people of conscience.

These attacks are a part of the long history of capital & its state fomenting divisions among the working class to keep us weak and siccing armed agents on us and our communities when we appear too strong.

Earlier this year we began our Boycott Avelo campaign. Avelo airlines is a budget airline that has a contract with ICE for deportation flights. We are asking people to boycott the company and help us put pressure on the company and the City of Concord where they fly out of to get them to drop the contract. To that end, we’ll be having a protest on the 29th by the Concord-Padgett airport. We invite you to join us.

Other groups in the community have also been actively fighting back. Please check out the Carolina Migrant Network and use their hotline to report abductions: (704) 740-7737. 

See Siembra NC for details about their upcoming ICE Watch trainings.

We aim to organize and unite the city to resist these abductions. Please reach out to collaborate or get involved. 

In Solidarity,

The Charlotte Metro DSA Steering Committee

DSA-LA Statement on Historic Los Angeles City Council Vote to Update the Rent Stabilization Ordinance

After historic wins around the country for an affordability agenda, Los Angeles just won a massive victory for renters.

Let’s start with what was approved by city council on Wednesday:

4% RENT CAP FOR RSO UNITS
A reduction in maximum yearly rent increases in rent-stabilized (RSO) units from 8% to 4%. Capping rent increases at 90% of general consumer inflation, as long as that means that rent will only go up between 1% and 4%.

END TO LANDLORD UTILITY PRICE GOUGING
The elimination of a 1-2% rent increase loophole for utility costs.

RENT BANKING DEFEATED
– “rent-banking” proposals failed at city council. Rent banking would allow landlords to compensate for a low-inflation year by increasing the rent cap based on high-inflation years.

LA tenants will save billions of dollars over the next decade because of this transformative reform. Money that would’ve gone to large corporations and financial elites will now stay in our families and communities.

DSA-LA, with the Keep LA Housed Coalition, organized for an even bolder rent cap of 3% instead of 4%, capped at 60% of inflation instead of 90%. This was supported by the Democratic Socialist bloc—Councilmembers Soto-Martinez, Hernandez, Raman, and Jurado— and other progressive councilmembers, but not approved by a majority of council. While final compromises to our initial demands made city council passage possible, they also mean that hundreds of millions of dollars could’ve been saved by renters and more families kept out of houselessness if the original version were approved. A bloc of councilmembers in Yaroslavsky, McOsker, Blumenfield, Rodriguez, Lee, and Harris-Dawson, would rather concede to the status quo that favors a billionaire-first agenda. This is why electing more Democratic Socialists to office, and supporting them with more socialists doing work on the ground, is so important.

After the last week, three things are now clear:

Affordability is a national crisis whose effects are deeply felt in Los Angeles.

There is a growing movement for an unapologetic affordability agenda and it is changing the political reality in the country and in our city. When we organize, we win.

We need more of our elected leaders to take up the most ambitious demands of this movement, and to be bolder in their support for obviously popular goals like making housing affordable for everyday Angelenos.

It is time to make it absolutely clear what we are fighting for, so that no politician misses the message: Affordability is the mass movement of our time, and it is about more than just money. It is a movement for human dignity.

The coalition that achieved Wednesday’s unbelievable win for renters has transformed what we thought of as politically possible, forcing this reconsideration of the RSO formula for the first time in 40 years. DSA-LA is proud to be a part of that.

But there is more work to be done! The bigger our movement, the bigger our wins. Join DSA and help build a better Los Angeles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On November 4th, a 1% sales tax was passed (52% to 48%) in Mecklenburg County to fund the P.A.V.E. Act.

We remain opposed to the sales tax increase. The working class had no say in the P.A.V.E. act, yet we are those with the most to lose. With the current $20 billion transit plan, we will also gain the least. We will not be able sit on the new governing Transit Authority Board of Trustees, but we're free to be harassed and kicked off transit by the new transit police force. There are no guarantees that these transit expansions will be completed, and that this tax money will actually go towards transit or bike infrastructure.

We support transit when it serves the working class. This Bill does not. It serves to support corporations.

Bills like the P.A.V.E. act get passed because these politicians don’t care about workers, only their corporate donors.

We're building an organization by and for the working class that can stand up to the capitalist class and fight for reforms like fast, free, reliable, and comprehensive public transit. We hope you will join us!

In Solidarity,

Charlotte Metro DSA

by Yarrow

“Ten Days that Shook the World” is an account of the Russian Revolution in October and November of 1917. It follows the complex and rapidly changing events, people, and factions of the struggle in detail. The author, John Reed, was a U.S. American journalist and socialist who traveled to Russia along with some fellow journalists and witnessed these events first hand. It’s mostly made up of his first-hand accounts with some second-hand reports from his colleagues and from contemporary written sources.

The book includes a map of Petrograd and a map of western Russia; a forward by Lenin; Notes & Explanations; and background information. These were essential for understanding the main text. I referenced the Notes & Explanations a lot to keep all the parties, factions, and people straight. The end of the book has appendices with extra explanations and source texts; a chronology; and an index. It also includes lots of astounding photographs.

Before I read this book I didn’t know much about the Russian revolution. I knew when it happened, that there were Bolsheviki and Mensheviki, and I knew something about the constituent assembly (which this book stops just short of). This book helped me understand the failure of the constituent assembly because it showed the split of the Right Socialist Revolutionaries and Left Socialist Revolutionaries.

The events of 1917 were so complex, changed so dramatically, and there were so many lies and rumors flying around (spread by the reactionaries to smear the Bolsheviki), that it was easy for things to get twisted, taken out of context, and misreported. This book gave me a really solid understanding of what actually happened and why, and why the actions of the Bolsheviki were necessary.

Before explaining the events of October, Reed summarizes the earlier stages of the uprising which began in February. This uprising, lead by the Menshevik & Social Revolutionary parties and driven by the Soviets—autonomous workers’ and soldiers’ councils—deposed the Czar and put a provisional government in power, with the promise of a Constituent Assembly that would later be elected by the citizens (this was endlessly postponed). This provisional government issued at once ineffective reforms and harsh repression.

The Menshevik & Social Revolutionary parties were the moderates: they believed that this was a bourgeois revolution which should put the capitalist class in power, and that Russia should continue fighting the Great War.
The Bolsheviks were the principled socialists, whose line was summarized by the slogan “Peace, Land, and Workers’ Control of Industry”. After the uprising of February, many Bolsheviks were imprisoned or exiled.

After the uprising came the July Days, a massive demonstration lead by women and the Bolshevik party, which was quickly gaining members and votes in the Soviets and Unions because they refused to compromise with the bourgeoisie and based their platform on the immediate desires of the workers, soldiers, and peasants.
This set the stage for the final uprising that would finish the revolution and place the Soviets in power.

I was surprised to learn just how much the revolutionary consciousness was fueled by the horror of the Great War. The soldiers were desperate for the fighting to end, and the Bolsheviki were the only ones who were willing to demand it.
I was also surprised to discover the dizzying proliferation of organizations and parties. Factory-shop committees, soldiers’ and workers’ soviets and peasants’ land committees, consumer cooperatives, army committees, Mensheviki, Bolsheviki, right and left Socialist Revolutionaries, Cadets… they split and merged and formed alliances here and there as they were tested in struggle.

One surprising thing that I appreciated about this book was how funny it is. Many parts of it read like a novel. John Reed included many anecdotes that give refreshing insight into the real situation on the ground, and I found many of them amusing. Mr. Reed showed the actions of everyday people who came together and organized themselves, not just the bigwigs in the CIK (executive congressional committee), the provisional government, and the dumas. I felt that there were real people getting swept up in these events, that circumstance brought unlikely personalities together, that normal everyday life was continuing somehow in spite of everything. I recommend this book just for the funny bits.

Much of the book consists of accounts of meetings. There were so many of them. I particularly enjoyed the movements when, during one of these meetings, tensions would run high, people would shout over each other and get agitated and confused, and then some noble person would stand up and give a rousing speech that stilled the commotion and united the crowd. Reed definitely had a flair for the dramatic.

A lesson that I took from this book was that any revolutionary party must have its base in the people. The Bolsheviki did this by speaking to the material demands of the peasants, soldiers, & workers, and actually delivering on promises. It was only the principled refusal of the Bolsheviks to collude with the bourgeoisie which brought the revolution to victory, instead seeking alliances with the peasantry. (The German Revolution of 1918-1919 showed the failure and backsliding that happens when moderate socialists are allowed to take charge.) The revolution definitely wouldn’t have been possible without all the autonomous civil organizations that were lead by the workers, soldiers, and peasants, and defended by the Red Guard.

This was how the Bolsheviki won the propaganda war that raged in the newspapers and on the streets, as well as the contest of arms and the stubborn resistance of the bureaucracy and logistical workers. The Bolsheviki cemented their legitimacy by delivering on the demand of peace, land, and power to the workers, by daring to struggle and be bold. They pushed forward as soon as the opportunity came, and met every new challenge without wavering. It’s so inspiring, and I think it is owed in large part to the leadership of Comrade Lenin.

One thing I want to know more about is the origin of the soviets and how they actually worked. I also want to know more about the earlier stage of the revolution which this book summarizes but does not detail, and the failed 1905 revolution.

I’ll end this review with a quotation that I found extremely moving:

“I went back to Petrograd riding on the front seat of an auto truck, driven by a workman and filled with Red Guards. We had no kerosene so our lights were not burning. Across the horizon spread the glittering lights of the city, immeasurably more splendid by night than by day, like a dike of jewels heaped on the barren plain. The old workman who drove held the wheel in one hand, while with the other he swept the far-gleaming capital in an exultant gesture.
‘Mine!’ he cried, his face all alight. ‘All mine now! My Petrograd!’”

All in all, I think this book is absolutely essential reading for anyone who is interested in socialism. And it’s a proper page turner. 10/10!

The post Book Review – Ten Days that Shook the World first appeared on Red Fault.

In mid-August 2025, on a sweltering Chicago weekend, ringing with camaraderie, over 1200 socialists descended for the Democratic Socialists of America’s biennial National Convention. The Democratic Socialists of America or DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States, boasting 80,000 members nationwide. DSA, democratically run by this membership, organized in different chapters, is on the front lines of building a better tomorrow through: labor organizing, international solidarity, standing up to America’s fascist administration, and many more actions. 

The National Convention is DSA’s highest decision-making body, where the next two years of direction is decided by delegates, elected by the membership of each chapter, and the National Political Committee is elected to shepherd DSA until the next Convention. From Silicon Valley DSA (SV DSA), there were 12 delegates, from veteran attendee Chapter Officers to DSA newcommers.

DSA has several diverse tendencies, many of them disagreeing on specific issues, often vehemently. However, there is still unity in this diversity, as all DSA members share a vision for a better tomorrow under socialism, no matter what form that takes. One visiting officer commented regarding this unity at the Convention, “Being surrounded by so many like minded comrades was an energizing experience”, demonstrating that DSA’s membership has more in common than it has differences.

At the Convention, DSA delegates deliberated and debated many resolutions, putting its democratic values into practice. One item that took more than a day to debate was Resolution 22: For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA, which would reaffirm a previous resolution to “Make DSA an Anti-Zionist Organization in Principle and Praxis.” Our Chapter’s delegates, by the democratic will of the Chapter, swore to vote “yes” on this Resolution and “no” on a controversial amendment, which some (including much of our Chapter) argued would dilute the intent of the original resolution. The resolution passed with a majority of 675-524 votes. This would earn DSA the praise of groups like Palestinian Youth Movement and outlets like Middle East Eye, who noted DSA’s evolution into a truly Anti-Zionist group devoted to Palestinian Solidarity.

Additionally, on Saturday afternoon, DSA hosted its first Cross-Organizational Political Exchange from 3 PM-6 PM, where groups were invited from all over to observe the convention and how DSA’s socialists conduct themselves within the Convention. Groups represented an entire section of the left, from activists like the Palestinian Youth Movement and Sunrise to American labor unions.

However, organizations were not only restricted to the US, as comrades from around the world came to the Convention. Some, like the Democratic Socialists of Canada, were smaller and sought to emulate DSA’s internal democracy in their own country. Others, though, were much larger, including well-known parties like Mexico’s MORENA, the current ruling party of the country, and La France Insoumise, most famously represented by Jean Luc Melencheon. Other guests included members of Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL) from Brazil and comrades from Japan, Belgium, and many more. 

In this diversity of groups though, was a unified message for comrades in DSA. Of their message, our officer said: “our comrades are looking to us and relying on us to do some major organizing. We are in the heart of the Empire, and the decisions of the United States impact the organizing terrain of everyone. It was humbling and inspiring to hear that people were counting on us to have an impact and shape the trajectory of the country and the world”. Additionally, he regarded the support of American organizations as proof that DSA and its members are not alone in seeking to build a better world.

The events at the Convention show that DSA has an important role to play in building a better tomorrow not only for America, but for the whole world. As Silicon Valley DSA’s delegates returned home, they brought many lessons with them. Some like Tyler N and Fred, nicknamed “The Red”, gained a newfound appreciation for Robert’s Rules, a code of conduct that DSA uses to run meetings. “The rigidity of Robert’s Rules is worth it for large meetings where some set of parliamentary rules is required for having any reasonable debate and when the motions considered feel consequential and conducive to debate,” Tyler said regarding the rules, with Fred adding, “in the right hands, Roberts Rules can be used to ensure everyone equal access to be heard, and to weed out disruptors, ego-trippers, and saboteurs”. Such were lessons taken by our delegates to the Convention.

Times may seem tough. The government is increasing its targeting and repression of dissenters and the marginalized with each and every day, stripping away our rights. Working people seem to have less and less power every day. However, a better world is possible. And based on the lessons our comrades brought home from convention, there is only one way: working together as comrades, side-by-side. For what is weaker than the feebler strength of one? And what is mightier than the power of the masses united?

The post Thoughts on our National Chapter Convention appeared first on Silicon Valley DSA.

The High Peaks Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (HPDSA) mourns the lives of the more than 334 transgender and gender non-conforming people (TGNC) lost in 2025, including the more than 57 people who lived in the U.S. Many of those lost were trans people of color, a pattern that continues year after year, and a tragic reminder that we are failing the most vulnerable people in our communities. We are heartbroken by the loss of our comrades. 

We believe that trans people deserve to live free and full lives of peace, joy, and happiness without fear of being discriminated against, harmed, or even killed for how they choose to express their gender. We know that any lives lost–whether to direct or stochastic violence–represent a failure by all of us to address pressing issues within society. We ask everyone to stand up and defend our TGNC community at every opportunity, and push back against harmful anti-trans ideologies wherever they may appear.

We have seen an alarming increase in hateful rhetoric directed at TGNC people in 2025, along with tens of millions of dollars spent by political campaigns in recent elections to sour public opinion against them, with little political defense from the mainstream Democratic Party and its allies. Combined with influencers masquerading as experts and discredited or misrepresented studies being used as proof of harm, all backed by conservative think tanks and politicians funded with dark money, TGNC people have never been at greater risk. This damaging propaganda has led to trans people losing their jobs, new and vindictive restrictions on their ability to travel abroad safely, bans from participating in sports, and hundreds of thousands of TGNC youth losing access to life-saving medical care. Further potential injustices are a constant threat on the horizon.

“As a trans person myself, I feel the incredible pressure we’re under every day,” says Cayenne Wren, member of HPDSA. “We wake up, turn on the news, and we’re instantly confronted with unhinged social posts about us. Our very right to exist is endlessly debated about, even though we’re never included in those discussions. All too often we’re underemployed and unemployed, and when we do get a job, we are frequently harassed. Our greatest risk of harm is often from intimate partner violence and even our own family members. My heart breaks continuously for not only those we’ve lost, but also for my trans siblings who must continue to live with injustice every day of our lives. I love each and every one of you, and please know that you are never alone.”

For gay and bisexual individuals who fail to see the fight for trans liberation as central to the broader queer struggle, and for feminists who reject trans women as part of their coalition. Like Jewish liberal Zionists over the last two years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, they will continue to find themselves ostracized further from the broader social justice movement, and forced into the untenable position of having to align politically with reactionary right-wing forces that subjugate them as well to uphold the white supremacist heteropatriarchal order.

HPDSA asks you to join us today in pledging to end all forms of violence against TGNC people. You can make a difference by directly donating to TGNC people in need, uplifting trans voices, showing up to public meetings to advocate for trans rights and inclusivity, being vocal against anti-trans propaganda, participating in local and state elections, and advocating for our elected officials to do more to protect TGNC in our state and provide a sanctuary for those individuals who face greater threats elsewhere. 

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable community members and work towards a future where trans people can live openly and authentically without fear. 

Resources

• New York Name Change Guide

The post High Peaks DSA Honors Transgender Day of Remembrance appeared first on High Peaks DSA.

The Los Angeles Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America Issues Statement on Zohran Mamdani and Other Socialist Wins Across the Country

LOS ANGELES (Tuesday, Nov 4)—The Democratic Socialists of Los Angeles congratulates Zohran Mamdani on his victory in the New York City mayoral election, as well as all DSA candidates around the country, and takes pride in our own efforts to pass Proposition 50 here in California. Zohran’s win is a victory for workers in New York and around the country, proving that organized labor can take on and defeat the billionaires. 

Zohran is a candidate who is from DSA, joined DSA in 2017 and learned to organize through DSA and alongside our members. He ran for mayor and won with the support of DSA and our members, even as many in the progressive world were skeptical of him. His campaign—which recruited an unprecedented number of working people into political action, doubled the size of NYC DSA and doubled the turnout in an off-year election designed to be inaccessible to working people—shows the importance of working class organization. In an era of declining civil society and union membership, having an organization like DSA—democratic, accessible, and funded by member dues, not big donors—is a radical act. We can rebuild the bonds of community between workers, we can bring hundreds of thousands of working class people into the political process, we can win, and we can govern for the many who work and not just the few who own. 

Zohran’s success shows that the sky is the limit. Here in Los Angeles, we have built an organization and a movement, with DSA members winning four seats on the city council: Nithya Raman, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Eunisses Hernandez, and Ysabel Jurado. Momentum around the country is growing. In 2026, we aim to win two more seats on the city council for working class leaders Faizah Malik and Estuardo Mazariegos. Just like in New York, workers in Los Angeles need and deserve a city that’s affordable. DSA-LA is proud to have a Democratic Socialist Program to deliver an affordable LA, with dignity and security for all. 

DSA chapters across California also mobilized in defense of our democratic rights, to stop residents of our state from being disenfranchised by the authoritarian tactics of the Republican Party in Texas and other states. We are proud of our work on Prop 50, and we will fight not only the out-of-state Republicans but also the out-of-touch Democratic establishment to win representation for workers in Congress.

Democratic socialists not only won in New York and California, but across the country. We congratulate DSA winners like Robin Wonsley and Soren Sorensen in Minneapolis; Denzel McCampbell in Detroit; and Kelsea Bond in Atlanta. DSA is gaining momentum across the country, and we are here to stay. A better world is possible.