Thorn West: Issue No. 176

State Politics

• Governor Gavin Newsom continues to progress through the flood of legislation that was passed at the close of this year’s legislative season. This week Newsom vetoed a bill that would have taken into account parental acceptance of trans children’s gender during custody hearings. And he signed a bill that raises the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour. CalMatters tracks more of the legislation on Newsom’s desk.

• California Senator Dianne Feinstein has died after 31 years in office. After being filmed scolding a group of children who confronted her with concerns about climate change, Feinstein came to potently symbolize a class of politicians who were holding on to power past the loss of their ability to empathize. Her replacement will be appointed by Governor Newsom. He had earlier pledged to nominate a Black woman the next time he was in the position of appointing a senator.

• Another two months, another issue of California Red, the newsletter of California DSA!

City Politics

• Wednesday, Alex Johnson’s appointment to the Ethics Commission was confirmed 10–2. Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Tim McOsker voted no, citing conflict-of-interest concerns over Johnson’s status as vice president for a consulting firm that does campaign work.

• On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Unified School Board passed a resolution to create a district policy on charter school “co-locations.” The motion was supported by United Teachers Los Angeles, DSA-LA, LAANE, and LA Students Deserve. LAUSD Board Member Dr. Rocío Rivas elaborates.

Housing Rights

• A 100% affordable housing project in Sherman Oaks will move forward despite objections from nearby homeowners after the LA City Council voted 8–5 against revoking its permits. The project had previously been approved by-right under Mayor Bass’ executive order to streamline affordable housing and shelter, but her order was then amended to exclude single-family-zoned neighborhoods. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield brought forward the motion to revoke permission, despite the project being in his district.

• Meanwhile, an advocacy group for wealthy homeowners has sued the city to overturn some of Mayor Bass’ housing initiatives, as these new rules have made it more difficult for fringe groups to block the development of affordable housing.

• A peaceful protest led by Alliance for Californians for Community Empowerment was disrupted when a California Highway Patrol officer assaulted a protester and pulled his gun on the crowd.

• Monday, October 2, is the final day for renters to apply for the Measure ULA–funded “Emergency Renters Assistance Program,” which transfers state funds to landlords to pay off rent debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Labor

• After 148 days on strike, the WGA has won a tentative agreement with the AMPTP that the WGA negotiating committee called “exceptional” in an email to members. Guild members will vote on the contract, and in the meantime, will stop picketing. SAG-AFTRA members remain on the picket line, and AMPTP leaders will meet with their negotiating team beginning next week. More details about what’s in the proposed agreement here!

• Another victory for workers! The Millennium Biltmore Hotel has become the second hotel to reach a tentative agreement with hotel workers represented by Unite Here Local 11, since the union has been holding a series of rolling strikes.

The post WGA Strike Ends With Tentative Agreement +Senator Diane Feinstein Dies at 90 appeared first on The Thorn West.

The City University of New York improves the lives of millions. Founded in 1847 with the purpose of providing higher education to working class New Yorkers, CUNY today has 25 colleges spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving 243,000 degree-seeking students of all ages and awarding 55,000 degrees each year. Like many other institutions built to serve the public good, CUNY faces multiple intersecting crises. The university system could not function without its 30,000 strong unionized labor force. Many professors, graduate student workers, and staffers are underpaid and overworked. The Professional Staff Congress, of which I am a member, is currently in negotiations to improve the material conditions of workers across the board. CUNY has also suffered from decades of underfunding by New York state and city elected officials. This has not only forced thousands of educators into precarious employment, but led to decaying infrastructure. As funding has gone down, tuition has been increased at the once free public university system. We’ll discuss how PSC union organizers and their allies are fighting back to build the People’s University that this city deserves. Later in the show we’ll hear from Amy Wilson and her interview with Wren, a healthcare worker struggling to materialize reproductive rights in a capitalist society.

The post North NJ DSA Calls for Senator Bob Menendez’s Resignation first appeared on North NJ DSA.

The historic strike of the United Auto Workers against the Big Three US automakers is inspiring new hope for the labor movement. I sat down with Jane Slaughter, a founder and long-time editor of Labor Notes, to discuss the ongoing strike, what it will take to win, and how the strike was made possible by a small opposition caucus defeating the entrenched UAW bureaucracy to take leadership of the union earlier this year. I then speak with Manya Janowitz, a Seattle DSA member and organizer with UNITE-HERE Local 8, about the strike and contract battle at Homegrown, the Seattle-based sandwich chain. The discussion with Jane Slaughter references her recent article, “No Reform Caucus, No UAW Strike,” published in The Call on September 20th. This podcast is only possible due to the generous monthly contributions of Seattle DSA members and supporters who fund my part-time salary as the chapter’s Communications Organizer alongside vital organizing work. To sustain this podcast, and our wider communications work, please become a monthly contributor at seattledsa.org/podcast.

Thorn West: Issue No. 175

City Politics

• The results are in for DSA-LA’s Phase 1 endorsement cycle! Membership has voted to endorse Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is running for re-election in CD4, and Ysabel Jurado, who is running in CD14. Members in good standing can read more about the election results here.

• Weeks after the Los Angeles City Council drew criticism for its unanimous rejection of the city controller’s nominee to the Ethics Commission, the city council will consider Alex Johnson, the nominee put forth by Council President Pro Tem Marqueece Harris-Dawson. The LA Times considers Johnson’s status as a longtime political insider.

• Kevin de León, who has ignored widespread calls to resign since being caught making a variety of racist remarks on the LA Fed tapes, has announced a re-election bid for his city council seat in CD14.

Housing Rights

• Residents of Los Angeles who owe back rent can now apply to an emergency renters assistance program paid for with funds collected by Measure ULA. Applicants must live in Los Angeles and make less than 80% of area median income. The program will cover up to six months of back rent owed to your current landlord. Applications close on October 2. See here for more on eligibility, as well as how to apply.

• Martin v. Boise is a district court ruling that moderately restricts the ability of municipalities to displace unhoused people where there is less than adequate shelter capacity. CalMatters covers the semantic games local government plays with the term “offer of shelter” in order to talk its way past this ruling. The League of California Cities has joined with other entities in petitioning the Supreme Court to narrow the scope of Boise, while, in a mask-off moment, Governor Gavin Newsom expressed his hope that the Supreme Court would act to strip legal protections from unhoused citizens. “And that’s a hell of a statement for a progressive Democrat,” said the governor, unironically.

• LA Public Press gives voice to the frustrations of tenants at Hillside Villa Apartments. Over a year after the city approved a plan to initiate the purchase of their building in order to maintain affordable rents, a series of delays have kept them in limbo, while the building’s current private owner continues to file eviction notices. More from the Tenants’ Association, which held an action at the Mayor’s office today.

Labor

• The WGA and AMPTP issued a joint statement this week that they had begun negotiating again after several weeks apart. Union leaders and advocates have cautioned the public against interpreting this as a sign that a deal is imminent and called for an increased show of attendance at picket lines.
  
• Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Nithya Raman, seconded by Hugo Soto-Martinez, introduced a motion to draft legislation requiring Los Angeles area hotels to inform and offer full refunds to guests whose reservations might be affected by construction or a picket line. This motion comes as UNITE HERE Local 11 nears the end of its third month on strike against dozens of LA-area hotels.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• In the aftermath of a federal investigation being launched into alleged rampant criminal behavior of the LAPD’s Mission District Gang Unit, LAPD Chief Michel Moore insisted that the practice of officers improperly switching off body cams is not widespread, but this is demonstrably false.

Environmental Justice

• Governor Newsom has until October 12 to veto any of the legislation currently before him, but he has already indicated that he will sign two bills that force large corporations to disclose their carbon footprints.

• As climate change increases the frequency of wildfires, insurers have declined to provide insurance to homeowners in California wildfire zones. This week, Governor Newsom issued an executive order that attempts to address that.

The post Rental Assistance Fund Opens in LA + California Cities Petition Supreme Court To “Clarify” Lower Court Ruling Protecting Unhoused appeared first on The Thorn West.

After Friday’s midnight deadline, the United Auto Workers went on strike against the Big 3 automakers of Ford, GM, and Stellantis, marking the first time in history the UAW has gone on strike against all three auto companies. As of this recording, 12,700 auto workers have walked off the job at three plants: a Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan, a GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri, and a Stellantis plant in Toledo, Ohio, and there are potentially many more plants to follow. While here in New York City, postdoctoral workers with the UAW at Columbia University and Mt. Sinai Hospital are fighting to transform the working conditions for postdocs in Higher Ed. Tonight, we are joined in-studio with Brandon Mancilla, Director of UAW Region 9A, and Chris Voila, an auto worker and UAW member, to hear the latest about this historic auto strike. We will also hear from PJ and Andrea, postdocs with the Columbia Postdoctoral Workers Union and Sinai Postdoctoral Organizing Committee, on their respective contract fights and how postdoc workers are ready, if necessary, to strike. 

 

Follow SPOC-UAW at @spocuaw (Twitter) and https://sinaipostdocunion.org/

And CPW-UAW at @CPWUAW (Twitter), cpw_uaw (IG), and https://columbiapostdocunion.org/

Palm Beach DSA Weekly Newsletter   Upcoming Events   Monday, September 11  Housing For All Meeting  8:00-9:00pm Zoom Join us this Monday for our Housing Justice Working Group Meeting! Come join us this week as we watch part 2 of “How to Build a Tenant Union,” organized by East Bay DSA and the Socialist Housing Organizer Project! In this training we’ll learn tenant organizing skills, how to structure a tenant union around democratic processes, ways to escalate against an unresponsive landlord, how to build for the long term and what to do when people move out. You can watch part 1 and/or register for the meeting using the links found here. Our mission is to create a countywide movement comprising renters and housing justice advocates fighting for and winning demands, including basic legal rights and protections for tenants and truly affordable and safe housing for all residents.   Tuesday, September 12  Reproductive Justice Working Group: Meeting with Milo  6:30-7:30pm Zoom This Tuesday the Reproductive Justice Working Group will meet with Milo, an Electoral Campaign Organizer from DSA National on Zoom.  Their goal is to connect with every DSA chapter in Florida to talk shop about the abortion access ballot measure fight. “I want to help support every Florida chapter in building campaigns that develop lots of new leaders and organizers, grow your chapters, and make some history!” You can join the meeting using the link found here.   Saturday, September 16  General Membership Meeting  12:30-1:45pm Friends Quaker Meeting House  823 North A StLake Worth, FL 33460 & Zoom(Hybrid Meeting) Join us this Saturday for our General Membership Meeting! At this meeting we’ll hear report-backs from working groups, updates from members, discuss chapter priorities, general business and upcoming events! If you plan on attending the meeting through Zoom, please register using the link found here.  We hope to see you there!   Saturday, September 16  Environmental Working Group Meeting  2:00-3:00pm Common Grounds Brew & Roastery 12 S J StLake Worth, FL 33460 Join us this Saturday for our Environmental Working Group Meeting where we’ll be discussing ideas for projects and our new reading group! If you’re interested in ecosocialism, we hope you’ll join us!   Saturday, September 16  Food Not Bombs: West Palm Beach  4:30pm 150 N Clematis St West Palm Beach, FL 33401(near the fountain) Food Not Bombs meets every Saturday at Nancy M. Graham Centennial Square.  Come join us as we share food and other resources with the community! If you’d like to bring a dish to share, the organizers kindly ask that the dish be vegetarian or vegan. Clothing donations are accepted. If you’d like to share something but you’re unsure of what to bring, things like fruit, bottled water, juice, and soft drinks are great! If you have any questions, please email admin[at]fnbpbc[dot]org. Parking: Banyan Garage is a convenient and relatively inexpensive parking option. It’s within short walking distance of Nancy M. Graham Centennial Square and costs $5 to park all day. Banyan Garage address: 200 Banyan Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401   Sunday, September 17  Stuart Meet and Greet  4:00-6:00pm Ocean Republic Brewing 1630 SE Federal HwyStuart, FL 34994 To celebrate the expansion of Palm Beach DSA to now include Martin and St. Lucie counties, and as a way to welcome our northerly comrades, we’ll be holding a social this Sunday at Ocean Republic Brewing in Stuart! Stop by, say hi and come hang out with your fellow swamprades! If you have any questions or need more information, please email us at info[at]palmbeachdsa[dot]org. We can’t wait to see you there!   News & Announcements Mexico decriminalizes abortion, extending Latin American trend of widening access to procedure:Last Wednesday, Mexico’s Supreme Court threw out all federal criminal penalties for abortion, ruling that national laws prohibiting the procedure are unconstitutional and violate women’s rights in a sweeping decision that extended Latin American’s trend of widening abortion access.The high court ordered that abortion be removed from the federal penal code. The ruling will require the federal public health service and all federal health institutions to offer abortion to anyone who requests it.Some 20 Mexican states, however, still criminalize abortion. While judges in those states will have to abide by the court’s decision, further legal work will be required to remove all penalties.The court said on X that “the legal system that criminalized abortion” in Mexican federal law was unconstitutional because it “violates the human rights of women and people with the ability to gestate.”The decision came two years after the court ruled that abortion was not a crime in Coahuila, a northern state on the Texas border. That ruling set off a slow state-by-state process of decriminalizing it.The week before, the central state of Aguascalientes became the 12th state to drop criminal penalties.Abortion-rights activists will have to continue seeking legalization state by state, though Wednesday’s decision should make that easier. State legislatures can also act on their own to erase abortion penalties.For now, the ruling does not mean that everyone will be able to access the procedure immediately, explained Fernanda Díaz de León, sub-director and legal expert for women’s rights group IPAS.What it does do — in theory — is obligate federal agencies to provide the care to patients. That’s likely to have a cascade of effects.Díaz de León said removing the federal ban takes away another excuse used by care providers to deny abortions in states where the procedure is no longer a crime.It also allows those with formal employment who are part of the social security system and government employees to seek the procedure in federal institutions in states where the abortion is still criminalized, she said.Díaz de León and officials at other feminist organizations worry that some, particularly in more conservative areas, may still be denied abortions.“It’s a very important step,” Díaz de León said. But “we need to wait to see how this is going to be applied and how far it reaches.”Across Latin America, countries have made moves to lift abortion restrictions in recent years, a trend often referred to as a “green wave,” in reference to the green bandanas carried by activists in the region.The changes in Latin America stand in sharp contrast to increasing restrictions on abortion in parts of the United States.The decision may have ripple effects in Texas, where abortion is almost entirely banned. Some Texans have already turned south to access abortion.Even before the ruling, cheap regulated and unregulated medication have been available over the counter at Mexican pharmacies, including abortion-inducing drugs that are strictly regulated in the U.S.Before abortion was legalized in parts of Mexico, volunteer organizers helped safely terminate pregnancies independently as part of an extensive “accompaniment” system.Some organizers have since started moving abortion-inducing medication across the border and helping replicate the system in the United States.Mexico City was the first Mexican jurisdiction to decriminalize abortion 15 years ago.After decades of work by activists across the region, the trend picked up speed in Argentina, which in 2020 legalized the procedure. In 2022, Colombia, a highly conservative country, did the same. 2023 DSA Convention Results: Official results from the 2023 convention, including all resolutions and amendments that passed, failed, and were referred to the newly elected National Political Committee (including the full text of those resolutions). View the full document using the link found here. Stand in solidarity with United Auto Workers (UAW) at the Big 3 auto companies! Sign the Big 3 Strike Ready Pledge today!   After years of concessions to the bosses and skyrocketing executive compensation, autoworkers are standing firm and saying enough is enough. They’re organizing in their shops and communities ahead of the contracts at Ford, Stellantis, and GM expiring on September 14, 2023, and are preparing for the possibility of a strike if the companies don’t give them what they deserve. Stand with UAW at the Big 3 auto companies fighting for:     – An end to two-tier wages and benefits     – Cost of living raises     – Secure union jobs in a just transition to electric vehicles!  This fight is important not only to the 150,000 UAW members who work at the Big 3. Their fight is the fight of the whole working class. Workers need to support each other as we fight for a better world. Pledge to support UAW workers in their fight and join them on the picket line if the bosses force them to strike! Sign the Big 3 Strike Ready Pledge today by clicking the link found here! Support Reproductive Rights! Call for Volunteers: Abortion (up to 15 weeks) is still legal in Florida until the state’s current ban on abortions after 15 weeks is upheld by the Florida Supreme Court, which would allow the state’s six-week ban to take effect after 30 days of the ruling. In Palm Beach County and throughout the South, more and more people are in need of support to access abortion services. DSA members everywhere are stepping up, since rights to one’s own body are central to social justice. In addition to canvassing for abortion ballot initiative petition signatures and supporting those seeking abortions with Emergency Medical Assistance (West Palm Beach), you can volunteer as an escort at the Presidential Women’s Center in West Palm Beach. If interested, please write Mike at mbudd44[at]gmail[dot]com. Donate to the Labor Solidarity Fund!  The National Labor Solidarity Fund provides support to any DSA chapter involved with local labor struggle, and we need you to help build a war chest that can be used for any solidarity effort, from a union drive at your local Starbucks or Trader Joe’s to a national strike at John Deere or UPS! If you’d like to donate, please use the link found here. Thank you! Want to stay even more connected? Join our Slack channel! You can join by clicking the link found here. (Note: due to security concerns, in order to join you must be a dues-paying member of DSA.)

UPDATE: It’s on! Stand with United Auto Workers (UAW) at the Big 3 auto companies fighting for:

• An end to two-tier wages and benefits
• Cost of living raises
• Secure union jobs in a just transition to electric vehicles!

After years of concessions to the bosses and skyrocketing executive compensation, autoworkers are standing firm and saying enough is enough. They’ve organized in their shops and communities ahead of the contracts at Ford, Stellantis, and GM expiring. But the companies refused to give them what they deserve. Now that the bosses have refused their demands, they’re doing stand-up strikes at worksites around the country to keep the companies guessing where they’ll be next!This fight is important not only to the 150,000 UAW members who work at the Big 3. Their fight is the fight of the whole working class. Workers need to support each other as we fight for a better world. Pledge to support UAW workers in their fight and join them on the picket line!

Are you a DSA Member and want to stand with UAW? Sign the Strike-Ready pledge!

The strike has begun, DSA is in full solidarity mode, and even members in smaller chapters with no picketing nearby should take the Strike Ready Pledge. Duluth has no UAW plants, but we have heard that many of the auto mechanics at the dealers are members of the UAW. Stay tuned for actions, and meanwhile, take the pledge.

We at The Pika Press are very happy to bring you comprehensive coverage of the 2023 DSA National Convention! Our coverage includes articles, report-backs, and statistics features!

Articles

The Struggle for an Anti-Zionist DSA Continues by Omar — a pointed critique of DSA’s zionist history and the votes of the convention.

Convention from the Staffer’s View by Hayley Banyai-Becker — a reflection on what post-convention DSA looks like from the unique position of a DSA staff organizer.

What is the NPC? by Joe Mayall — a straight-forward explanation of what DSA’s National Political Committee is and what it does.

DSA Doesn’t Know What It Wants by Caoimhín Perkins — a polemic on certain comrade’s aversion to a party-like strategy.

Delegate Report-Backs

Brief summaries of Denver DSA delegates’ experiences and thoughts on convention. Contributing comrades: Alejandra Beatty, Ahmed, Colleen Johnston, Andrew Thompson, Jennifer Dillon, Matthew Rambles, Max Soo, Mitch, Skye O’Toole, and Stephanie Caulk.

Statistical features

Pika’s Index — a list of statistics about convention with plenty of lines to be read in-between.

Colorado DSA Votes @ DSACon2023 — a spreadsheet showing all the votes (resolutions and NPC) taken by delegates from all four of Colorado’s DSA chapters at the 2023 National Convention.

Ads and notes

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