Starting With Gramsci

MAGA has put together a fascist coalition of white supremacist, reactionary nationalists, Christian fundamentalists, libertarians, and techno authoritarians; and they are on an offensive against the progress of the 20^th century. All the gains of labor, civil rights, women’s rights, and the LBGQTI+ community are under assault in a blitzkrieg of attacks. The fascists intend to fundamentally restructure institutional democracy, and impose a strait jacket on civil society. Nevertheless, among the people there is an anti-fascist majority and deep splits within the ruling class. How can socialists organize to block, resist, and build an effective opposition? 

In the struggle for power, the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci defined two different periods which have relevancy for our current political moment. He terms these the war of position and the war of maneuver. The fascists are now on a war of maneuver, a rapid offensive to gain ground and consolidate power. For the left, the massive labor movement in the 1930s was our war of maneuver. Other key periods were Reconstruction after the Civil War, and the second reconstruction of the civil rights movement that defeated Jim Crow apartheid and brought radical changes to civil society. 

When not on the offensive, the left needs to be building positions of institutional and organizational strength in civil society, Gramsci’s war of position. In these moments, socialists should root themselves in the working class by building the power of unions, Independent Political Organizations (IPOs), social and community organizations, mutual aid groups, immigration defense, progressive churches, on school boards and so on. In other words, “socialists everywhere.” This builds our organizing capacity and mass influence; increases our ability to mobilize, whether for protests, contract fights or elections; and offers opportunities to train and recruit activists, build relationships, and project power.

How can socialists work to build power in civil society? Mass organizations don’t need to have socialist politics, but socialists can win leadership through fighting for organizational goals, gaining respect, and uniting rather than dividing. Through such work we can attract and recruit the best organizers, educate people about socialism, and connect the immediate struggle to strategic goals. Avoiding working with people because they don’t say or do things as we would, or simply preaching socialism without defending people in their daily struggle, ends in political isolation. We don’t need to impose our ideas, but learn from folks; find out what their worries and demands are. Only once we fully understand their reality, can we hope to clarify the exploitative nature of capitalism and bring them to socialism. Chinese revolutionaries called this “from the masses to the masses,” and the great Brazilian educator Paolo Freire articulated it as “pedagogy of the oppressed” and developing “critical consciousness.” Through such organizing we can help create a broad united front that can resist and block the fascists and build the opposition. By the elections of 2026 we may be in the position to start a counteroffensive, and more so in 2028. 

Coalitions are also a crucial element to building organizational power. We must answer the question: How should we deal with centrists in a united front? There is widespread anger and growing disillusionment over centrist leadership.  It’s evident in the mass crowds rallying to Sanders and AOC, and the huge protests organized by Indivisible, Working Families Party, Move On and 505051. Some members of DSA are uncomfortable working with such organizations. They are too close to the Democrats, they’re not socialists, they fail to say this or that. Yet standing on the sidelines just won’t do and converts are not won through disdain and neglect.

This is the time to unite with all friends and allies to push the centrists to the sidelines. Something we can’t do by ourselves. During the civil rights movement and Vietnam war, under mass pressure, some centrists moved to the left. Others did not. The same will happen today. Senator Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador should be applauded, much more effective than Senator Booker’s 25-hour soliloquy of performance politics. When centrists vacillate, compromise, and collaborate they weaken the united front from within and must be criticized and called to step aside. But our anger needs to be directed at the fascists. In that battle, when centrists show they can’t lead, it opens the door for more militant leadership.  Schumer and Jeffries act like deer caught in the headlights of an onrushing car. They yearn for a return to “normalcy.” But we must push beyond the old normal that proved too weak to prevent the fascist onslaught. We can build towards an expanded democracy, what we might call a third reconstruction, and win the united front to such a vision. 

This must be done through fighting the war of position. But how do we do it? What practices can we adopt to build the capacity of DSA and the left to generate real political change? What actual examples are there of on-the-ground tactics and techniques to use in today’s war of position? We’d like to explore three projects: one old, one new, and one not yet implemented. These illustrate possible approaches to engaging with organizations and individuals outside the left to build our positional power.

The New Lynn Coalition 

The New Lynn Coalition—a group of faith, community, labor, and political organizations—is a prime example for how coalitions can serve both immediate needs and move forward in the war of position. In Give Light and the People Will Fight, Jeff Crosby, the former Executive Director of the organization, describes the coalition’s successful reactions to Trump’s victory and attack on immigrants, quickly gaining support with an array of community institutions and elected officials. The power to catalyze such a broad range of participants is not due solely to the cruelty of the Oval Office, but a decade’s long campaign to build coalitional power and sharpen organizing abilities.

Their actions should be seen as a set of habits built over decades of organizing and coalition work. These habits within the war of position are what have enabled the New Lynn Coalition to be so formidable in 2025.

Coalitions are not easy. As Crosby outlines, they take patience and, sometimes, a pragmatic perspective. Because of their extensive experience, the New Lynn Coalition was able to effectively employ several techniques to leverage the dissatisfaction with the Trump administration to maintain and build their coalition. In return, Crosby claims that residents have begun successfully building institutions to resist and increase the power of the left.

What can New Lynn teach us? According to Crosby, the coalition sought out organizational allies with different political orientations, encouraged democratic participation outside of the coalition’s leadership, and compromised to maintain positive relationships between organizations and honor the results of the democratic process.

Building Alliances

The New Lynn coalition actively courts organizations that have overlapping interests during a given campaign. Crosby describes two examples. In the first, the coalition worked with a Guatemalan Evangelical Church to support undocumented immigrants and then, after Trump’s 2024 victory, a rally protesting ICE. This very same church discouraged parishioners from attending a Ceasefire for Palestine march. Similarly, seeing how Trump’s attack on immigrants was harming small businesses, the coalition recruited them to join the anti-ICE march, despite their past opposition to labor rights. By building these tactical alliances, the fight to defend immigrants was strengthened. 

By necessity, coalitions must be built between organizations that do not share all the same values. The New Lynn Coalition’s view on temporary alliances increased their public power during marches against the Trump administration and created relationships embedded within the community that can be mobilized for future actions. The core of the Lynn Coalition has strategic and deep organizational relationships, but other relationships are tactical, uniting all those who can work together on a specific issue. 

Democratic Participation

The New Lynn Coalition depended on open meetings to organize one of their actions. This meant that unaffiliated individuals could come off the street and join in. This structure has some risks, but Crosby explains the tactic brought new insights into the current moment and their course of action. Democratic processes that allow people to feel ownership over a movement, have potentially profound effects on organizational depth.

Certainly, this tactic should not always be employed. But there is reason to believe that, if done carefully and selectively, open meetings can help organizations build power within a community, not only increasing a membership roster but ensuring that new members (or affiliated individuals and organizations) are fully engaged and empowered.

Compromise

Crosby details how several decisions were borne out of democratic negotiations. One which Crosby himself did not agree with: the day of the protest was set for a weekday, better for media but inconvenient for workers and seniors. But negotiating in good faith is absolutely necessary to the maintenance of coalitional relationships. It’s crucial that in our partnerships we accept even ideas we disagree with (sometimes) to hold coalitions together, and ensure that partners will continue to collaborate in the future. 

Of course, compromises must be made purposefully: we need to be clear about the principals on which we won’t compromise and, even if socialism is not a prerequisite for coalition unity, maintain our independence to speak about socialism and recruit for DSA. 

Crosby’s account follows the structural decisions of the coalition rather than individual behavior, so we’d like to point to one more potential to build organizational capacity within coalitions: recruitment. Coalitions bring membership into contact with people from different backgrounds and orientations. This is an opportunity. Any interactions with non-socialists are a chance to recruit, however nominally. These recruits do not need to become red-dyed left militants (although that would be great!). Shifting their political orientation leftwards opens opportunities for future mobilization. This boils down to basic organizing tactics: seek out interaction; listen and try to understand their primary political concerns; and ‘recruit’ using their rhetoric and values, not yours. This perspective becomes even more relevant when looking at our next example, Socialists Everywhere.

Socialists Everywhere

Socialists Everywhere, a new project started in the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America (CDSA) Blue Line Branch, asks members to attend meetings for civic and quasi-civic institutions, such as the city councils, school boards, and neighborhood associations and…well…mainly, listen. After the event finishes up, members file reports that break down important information from the meeting. That’s it! No protests or leaflets required. Many descriptions of the program’s goals and structure come from an interview with Ramsin Canon from CDSA Blue Line Branch.

This simple program is an exciting innovation in building positional power. Internally, the ease of access and freedom from the campaign boom and bust cycle give members and potential leaders a simple, unintimidating project to build skills and confidence.

For the project to reach its full potential, we think members should meet people, offer ideas during civic forums, and even take on leadership positions within these civic and quasi-civic institutions. As the project and its participants mature, we expect that these more ambitious goals will materialize, allowing CDSA to build organic ties to the community. Building organic ties to the community sounds more like an over-scripted commercial sound-bite than a central political goal, but these communal ties are crucial political tools, allowing our organization to extend its reach outside of our membership and mobilize a much broader group.

Socialists Everywhere can build these communal ties by increasing visibility, building individual relationships, and constructing the foundations for bottom-up coalitions.

Visibility and Individual Relationships

Socialists Everywhere promotes CDSA as an interested and active organization. If members wearing CDSA swag sit in on group meetings, listening to the concerns of the community and volunteering to help, they’ve effectively proven our organization to be reliable, open, and invested in the problems of concerned workers. Appearance at these events also repositions CDSA as a coalition partner. If our members are attending the same events and listening to the same communal concerns, we no longer need to treat other groups as exclusive representatives. Instead, we’ve been there too. We’ve heard and shared the same problems. This increases our attractiveness as a coalition partner, home for new members, or simply a more powerful endorser of candidates or political goals. This is no small positional change, but promises to make CDSA an equal rather than junior partner in future alliances. 

Individual relationships are also crucial for increasing organizational capacity. With Socialists Everywhere, members can interface with people from different backgrounds and political orientations. More than that, these events are often at least nominally political and have to do with decisions about shared responsibilities and priorities. This is a great opportunity for our members to build networks outside of CDSA that can amplify political goals well past a typical member’s bubble of friends, family, and comrades.

Bottom-Up Coalitions

Socialists Everywhere may also improve the quality of the foundation of our coalitions. Now, it has only been around for a few months, so the effectiveness of coalition building through Socialists Everywhere remains to be seen, but the glimpses are promising. One example: a member attended a ward meeting where a tenant union announced their project and a related event. After the meeting, the member talked to some of the union folks and exchanged contact information. The member discussed their interaction with branch leadership and the union presented at a branch meeting and even took the opportunity to ask for volunteers and donations. This isn’t a full-scale coalition by any means, but the door is now open to future coordination.

This is what Canon would call the beginning of a bottom-up coalition, where a rank-and-file member first connects with members from another group. Leadership consent is still required (otherwise there would be no democratic accountability), but on-the-ground relationships constitute the first step. This is quite different from a leadership-based coalition, which depends on relationships between an organization’s leaders. Leadership-based coalitions are more fragile. Such a coalition is vulnerable to personality differences and leadership changes, dangers that are far less concerning when relationships also exist within the broader respective memberships. Last, when leader-based coalitions do take place, if there are organic ties to other organizations through rank-and-file members, membership is already, at least indirectly, involved and more likely to respond positively

Building a Base through Electoral Campaigns

Both the New Lynn Coalition and Socialists Everywhere seek to continually build networks within their cities and communities by working with people outside of their organization and respectfully listening to the needs and wants of partners and residents. This project format could be applied to other organizational action, particularly electoral campaigns. Typically, we regard them as win or lose, but these actions can be harnessed to build relationships and establish institutional strength in civil society. In addition to winning seats on councils and school boards, we should focus on expanding the ward IPO. 

Let’s say a DSA candidate gets 2,200 votes in a losing effort for city council. In doing our mass outreach and door-to-door work perhaps we have identified 500 home addresses that had positive responses to our issues and candidate. If we used a petition during the campaign, asking people to support one of our issues, we may also have a few hundred emails or phone numbers. So post-election, we have an immediate popular base of 2,200 with more than 500 already identified with contact information.

The election should not be the end, but the beginning. From programs such as Socialists Everywhere and canvasses, we will have learned the major concerns of our supporters. Now we can create a campaign to take to the ward, showing we are serious about issues and not just getting votes. First, we can contact the 200 or so people whose phone or email we have, asking them to come to a planning meeting at our IPO office. Perhaps we get 10 to 20 new people to show up who want to be activists. Now we’re in a position to go back to the 500 addresses of supporters with an enlarged activist core. And we build from there: turning supporters into activists, turning activists into DSA members. The result is an institutional structure led by socialists based in the ward’s working class. 

Positionally, such an approach would have an incredible impact. But, it must be pursued with the ideas of the New Lynn Coalition and Socialists Everywhere in mind. We must listen and learn from the people. What are their issues, not just the issues we think are important. Moreover, to pursue true long-term organizational strength, we need to create working relations with other progressive ward organizations and institutions, built on respect and common concerns.  

By rooting ourselves deeply in working class communities and integrating into local institutions, socialists can build positions of power in civil society. It’s not about one campaign or one election, but a strategy that can defend workers when the enemy is on the offensive, and turn our defense into mobilizations to expand democracy and contest for power. We can build socialist influence and leadership by working with all our friends and allies, using tactical alliances as well as building long-term relationships and recruiting members and building DSA as an organic expression of the multi-racial working class. That necessitates a long-term commitment for socialist to be everywhere, in our community, in our workplace, and in elections. There are no shortcuts. Preaching socialism in a “field of dreams” scenario in which “they will come” to our side won’t do. But being shoulder to shoulder in the daily battles for dignity, building those battles into institutional structures, and making those institutions a base for working class power is our road-map forward. 

The post Building Working Class Power in Civil Society appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

By Triangle DSA Socialist Feminist Working Group

The NC Triangle Democratic Socialists of America’s two-year-long effort to shut down anti-abortion center Gateway Women's Care on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh has ended in victory! Gateway's landlord is no longer leasing to this unlicensed, unregulated, and unethical “crisis pregnancy center.”

Local activists with Triangle DSA’s Socialist Feminist (“SocFem”) Working Group began picketing Gateway in the spring of 2023. We aimed to bring attention to the harm that anti-abortion or “crisis pregnancy centers” pose to working-class communities. These centers are known to target low-income folks and women of color, who experience disproportionate risk for poor maternal health outcomes. Like other “crisis pregnancy centers,” Gateway poses as a source of legitimate healthcare, even though it is not a licensed medical facility. Misinformation abounds on their website, from alleging abortion causes breast cancer and depression to offering dubious “abortion pill reversal” services. Crucially, anti-abortion centers like Gateway obstruct reproductive justice by endangering people regardless of whether or not they want to stay pregnant. Free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds peddled by centers may deceive clients into thinking that they are receiving quality prenatal care, a calculated diversion that can delay OBGYN visits. “Crisis pregnancy center” staff have also been known to fail to diagnose pregnancy complications that might require urgent medical attention or abortion care. 

Gateway opened with the stated intent of targeting college students seeking reproductive healthcare. Their location stood within two miles of seven local universities serving over 50,000 students. In the end, the very college students Gateway hoped to “slow down in the rush to the abortion clinic” were instrumental to the center’s demise. The NC State Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) turned out dozens of students for regular pickets on the sidewalk in front of Gateway. At our pickets, we warned community members about the presence of an anti-abortion center in their neighborhood and shared legitimate resources for reproductive healthcare. We also informed passersby that Gateway’s landlord was a registered Democrat who worked in the building just next door and seemed all too comfortable profiting from his lease with the anti-abortion operation.

Ultimately, our campaign was successful because we threatened the reputation of Gateway’s landlord. In May 2024, we received no response when we contacted the landlord to inform him of Gateway's harm to the community. In August of 2024, we contacted him again to no avail to share that over 200 petition signers shared our vision of a Hillsborough St without Gateway. Later that month, we had the first opportunity to speak to him when he arrived at his workplace next to Gateway during a picket. He memorably suggested that we should hold Kamala Harris signs since she could “take care” of anti-abortion centers. Inspired by his comment, at our next picket in November 2024, we decided to hold a sign bearing the name of the only person who could fix the situation. Within an hour of hearing that picketers were outside holding signs demanding he stop leasing to Gateway, the landlord emailed us claiming our tactics would not work. But on March 27th, 2025, we learned through public records that Gateway would no longer be a tenant at 1306 Hillsborough St. 

We want to credit the borrowed and learned techniques that helped shape our successful campaign. We learned how to de-escalate anti-abortion agitators from clinic defenders in our community. Triangle DSA’s No Appetite for Apartheid campaign shared tips for canvassing local businesses. Siembra and Triangle Tenant Union encouraged us to identify Gateway’s points of vulnerability, helping shape our unique strategy of escalating pressure on their landlord. We are also deeply appreciative of chapter partner and member of the Raleigh Planning Commission, Reeves Peeler. His guidance supported us in confirming the lease's termination and identifying areas where Gateway may have failed to comply with municipal building code. 

Most importantly, we want to thank the more than 100 community members who showed up to picket Gateway. The “sexually broken and abortion minded” community that Gateway sought to deceive and control came together to fight back, and we won. In the continued pursuit of bodily autonomy, Triangle DSA SocFem plans to activate other DSA chapters and politically aligned organizations across the nation to take action against anti-abortion centers. There are six remaining “crisis pregnancy centers” in the tri-city area of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill– and we are prepared to dismantle the thinly veiled propaganda operation that they are, one by one. 

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, May 20 (7:15 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.): Socialist Night School: Salting (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Wednesday, May 21 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): What is DSA? (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Wednesday, May 21 (6:45 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Tenant Organizing Working Group Meeting (In person at 438 Haight)

Thursday, May 22 (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.): Education Board Open Meeting (Zoom)

Thursday, May 22 (7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.): Comrade Karaoke (In person at The Roar Shack, 34 7th St)

Saturday, May 24 (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Outreach and Training (Meet at 1916 McAllister St)

Saturday, May 24 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Food Service (Meet at Castro St. and Market St.)

Sunday, May 25 (1:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.): Excursion to Angel Island to see Border Surveillance: From Gaza to the Rio Grande (Meet at the Ferry Building)

Monday, May 26 (5:50 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Socialist in Office + Electoral Board Meeting (Zoom)

Monday, May 26 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Tenderloin Healing Circle (In person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate)

Monday, May 26 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Regular Meeting (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Monday, May 26 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (Zoom)

Tuesday, May 27 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Tech Reading Group (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Tuesday, May 27 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Da Vinci Code Reading Group – Day 2 (In person at 1916 McAllister and Zoom)

Wednesday, May 28 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): Maker Wednesday (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Thursday, May 29 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Ecosoc Vision and Strategy (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Thursday, May 29 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Immigrant Justice Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, May 31 (6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.): Chapter Movie Night: A Screening of Soy Cuba (I Am Cuba) (In person at Carr Auditorium, 22nd St, Building 3)

Sunday, June 1 (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Capital Reading Group (In person at 1916 McAllister and Zoom)

Monday, June 2 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Ecosocialist Biweekly Meeting (Zoom)

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

Events & Actions

Socialist Night School: Salting

Curious about salting? Heard the term but not sure what it means? Interested in learning about salting opportunities in the Bay Area? Join the Labor Board for a Socialist Night School on salting on Tuesday, May 20 from 7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. at 1916 McAllister. We’ll learn about salting strategies, examine past SF wins, and hear about current opportunities to salt a workplace.

Masks are encouraged but not required. Food and drink will be provided!

RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/socialist-night-school-salting/

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DSA Karaoke

Come hang out and do some karaoke with your fellow DSA SF comrades or cool people you want to impress with your incredible singing voice! Thursday, May 22 from 7:30 – 10:00 p.m. at The Roar Shack (34 7th Street at Market). Suggested donation of $10, no one turned away for lack of funds. No songs refused, no entry denied! Cheap drinks available to purchase or feel free to bring your own!

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Good Vibrations & Urban Ore Celebration & Fundraiser

Party with East Bay DSA to celebrate two union victories and rai$e money to continue the fight! After more than two years of organizing and struggle, workers from Good Vibrations and Urban Ore, with support from the East Bay Workplace Organizing Committee (EBWOC), BEAT their bosses, reaching major milestones at the bargaining table!

Come to Berkeley’s Hottest Backyard at 2923 Newbury St on Friday, May 23rd from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for food, rousing speeches, DJs, dancing and karaoke! There’s a sliding scale entry fee to raise funds!

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No Appetite for Apartheid Training & Canvassing

We’ll be holding our next training and canvassing for No Appetite for Apartheid this Saturday, May 24! We’ll be meeting at 10:00 a.m. at 1916 McAllister to do training. After the training, we will divide up into groups to visit stores, and maybe some restaurants and cafes!

If you’ve already trained and you just want to canvass, feel free to show up at 11:30 a.m. at 1916 McAllister to get a turf. If you are able to provide transportation for people from the training site to the canvassing location, please indicate that in the RSVP form.

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Border Surveillance: From Gaza to the Rio Grande

The logic of empire extends all the way from Gaza to the Rio Grande. Join DSA for a thoughtful excursion, as we discuss the past and present of border surveillance, and how it relates to the methods and policies of colonization and empire.

On May 25th, the Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialism Working Group will lead a group to San Francisco’s historic immigration detention center on Angel Island where the Electronic Frontier Foundation is currently holding its exhibition Border Surveillance: Places, People and Technology.

We will meet at the Ferry Building at 1:30 p.m. to catch the 1:55 p.m. shuttle to Angel Island. We will then view the exhibition at the Angel Island Immigration Museum and discuss the connections between border surveillance practices and technology in the United States and decades of occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing in Palestine. Our event will conclude at the Ferry Building at 5:30 p.m.. Note: The cost of a roundtrip on the ferry is $15 per person.

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Maker Wednesday

Join us for Maker Wednesday on May 28 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.! Come make some art and connect with comrades. All are welcome, see you there!

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Office Hours

Co-work with your comrades! Come to the DSA SF office and get your DSA work or work-work done, or just hang out. We’ll  be at 1916 McAllister from 12:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m. on Fridays.

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May Chapter Meeting Recap

Our May Chapter Meeting was full of energy and lots of business! We heard report backs from Emilye on our May Day labor actions, and from Christina and Nayef from our Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group on what it means to divest here in San Francisco. Members debated and passed three important resolutions: to nominate Andrew and Hazel to DSA’s National Political Committee, and to increase our travel budget while launching a fundraising push to make sure everyone can take part in the work, regardless of finances. We also heard from over 30 candidates running to be delegates to the 2025 DSA National Convention!

We won’t have a regular chapter meeting in June, because we’ll be having our annual June Chapter Convention June 14 and 15, from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. each day at the Kelly Cullen Auditorium (220 Golden Gate). All are welcome!

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Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee Reportback

After breaking the ice by sharing our first concert experiences, the 12 of us dove into the second EWOC Fundamentals Training Series session focused on organizing conversations. We started with learning about the steps of an organizing conversation, had a group discussion about factors that could make those conversations more or less difficult, then we partnered up and practiced among ourselves before wrapping up for the day.

Coming out of those practice conversations, one comrade acting as an organizer was praised for how they organically applied the 3D framework when they got to the issue identification and agitation step. They detected an issue, asked their partners to further define the nature of the problem, and dug deeper by inquiring about the emotional impact of the issue. Inquiry tools were also a major part of our group conversations about conditions that make organizing challenging. More specifically, we discussed how asking questions that make people imagine life outside of their current state can make it easier to organize someone who either thinks their situation is fine or rationalizes it as being okay. While asking questions, listening, and making people feel heard are critical, they were just a few of the traits we learned to look for in workers who should be brought into an organizing committee. The others were: not being abrasive, having the trust of coworkers, and demonstrating the ability to lead coworkers into action.

Next week we’re going to learn about the arc of a campaign!

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Hygiene Kit Assembly and Distribution Reportback

Mutual aid is a tactic that models a socialist world where community members take up the responsibility of caring for each other through material solidarity. It exposes participants to revolutionary possibilities in the face of state neglect and violence. On Sunday May 11, the Labor Board and the Homeless Working Group hosted a Hygiene Kit Assembly and Distribution event at the DSA Office at 1916 McAllister Street. This was done not as an act of charity, but rather solidarity — an opportunity to share a resource, commune, and learn with working-class people who are in struggle against capitalism. The morning event attracted over 25 eager and early-risen volunteers, including some community members from outside of DSA, who stepped up by bringing requested kit supplies and delivered by building over 100 hygiene kits to distribute to our unhoused neighbors. The Homeless Working Group also provided information and guidance on how to best distribute the kits that all volunteers were provided at the end of the event. It can be tempting to view this as a one-time, “feel good” activity. Instead, we asked participants to see it as the first step in a project of regular support for, and community-building with, our unhoused neighbors. Hygiene kits are just a starting point  — please reach out to DSA SF’s Homelessness Working Group for further training and collaboration!

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.

The 2024 Convention of Metro DC Democratic Socialists produced a unified plan for 2025, although divisions remain.

DSA San Diego, as part of TRUST Coalition, is demanding the end of Automatic License Plate Readers used by the San Diego Police Department. Read statement. [...]

Read More... from DSA San Diego Calls on the San Diego City Council to End the use of Automatic License Plate Readers

The post DSA San Diego Calls on the San Diego City Council to End the use of Automatic License Plate Readers appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America | San Diego Chapter.

by Rochester for Energy Democracy

While Rochesterians continue to struggle with out of control bills and shut offs, Metro Justice and allies delivered a Replace RG&E Organizational Sign On Letter for City Leadership at the Speak to Council session Thursday evening. In this letter, 41 Organizations, Labor Unions, Congregations and Businesses called on the City Council and the Mayor to lead in the face of the RG&E crisis: to commission a Phase 1 Feasibility study that still covers scenarios for a public transition at the City and County levels during this budget cycle with the money they’ve already set aside for this purpose.

Community members called out the fact that while the progressive caucus of Council and almost all challengers in the City Primary have committed to using funds already reserved to move forward with a City-led public utility study to investigate replacing RG&E, Mayor Evans, Council President Melendez, Mitch Gruber, Bridget Monroe, Michael Patterson, and Lashay Harris have refused to commit. 

“Don’t you feel the urgency of having the 3rd highest energy burden in the country? Of 13,000 shut offs last year? Why are Mayor Evans, Miguel Melendez and a slim majority of City Reps using inaction at the County as an excuse for the City not to lead, especially when they’ve already reserved the funds needed to move forward? When the head of the chamber of commerce is on RGE’s parent company’s board, it makes you wonder – who are these representatives standing up for?” asked Dr. Michi Wenderlich, Metro Justice Campaign and Policy Coordinator. 

Metro Justice also joined community calls for action on an enforceable Sanctuary City ordinance at this Speak to Council, asking for it to be released from committee and voted on. 

The organizational sign on letter can be found and also signed here. The petition for individuals can be found at ReplaceRGE.com.  

The post Metro Justice delivered Organizational Sign on Letter at Speak to Council, calling on City Reps to Fund a Phase 1 study with reserved funds, responding to Public Power Report Cards  first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

As the current administration bemoans the lack of a baby boom in the U.S., many public commenters have staked out their own “natalism” positions. Pro-natalists believe there need to be more births, while anti-natalists believe there need to be fewer births. Motivations on various sides come from fears of race replacement, overpopulation, underpopulation, environmental catastrophe, a desire for stronger community, religion, misogyny, and more¹.

The modern debate on natalism in the U.S. is irrelevant to the experience of working people in this country. People are going to have children whether or not a stranger takes a pro- or anti-natalist stance. The question we should be asking isn’t whether people should or shouldn’t have children. We should instead ask how our society should provide for the physical, emotional, and psychological needs of children who are learning about the world around them and how to be a person, the parents who need support to survive, and the health of society as a whole. To support the needs of those children, leftists must fight for paid parental leave and universal childcare among other policies such as Medicare for All, abortion protections, and more to advocate for what is best for humans not corporations.

The Status Quo

Currently, the only form of guaranteed leave for new parents in the U.S. is offered under the Family Medical Leave Act. This provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave for employees working for employers with more than 50 employees. Only 56% of employees in the U.S. are eligible for FMLA, and the current program could easily be scaled back or eliminated by the Trump administration. In a country without universal healthcare, many new parents are expected to go without pay after likely incurring an exorbitant hospital bill. The resulting financial strain often leaves working-class families without the means to support their young children. The current system exacerbates systemic problems of child poverty, homelessness, and the extreme cost of childcare serving as a barrier to reenter the workforce, creating a cyclical crisis.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022 because abortion rights were not codified into law, abortion rights have come under attack across the country. States that still have expansive abortion protections, such as Illinois, are seeing an uptick in people traveling to them for abortion care. In 2024, the Chicago Abortion Fund received requests from over 16,000 people in 41 states for assistance receiving abortion care in Chicago. Chicago DSA members are currently fundraising for the organization as part of the National Network of Abortions annual Fund-a-thon. In states with abortion bans, maternal deaths are on the rise, although those states refuse to investigate. 

Looking at just Illinois, in 2025 average rent is $1,592 while average childcare for 1 child was $1,364. The state’s $15 minimum wage puts a single full-time earner at $2,400 monthly pre tax. This already puts a single parent earning minimum wage at -$556 per month (pre-tax) after rent and childcare. A two-adult household on minimum wage would have just $1,844 (pre-tax) after rent and childcare, which quickly disappears considering utilities, transportation, clothing, additional medical costs, groceries, and more. In Illinois, a two-person household can’t qualify for SNAP benefits if family members earn more than $2,811 a month, and those benefits amount to $536 for a two-person household. This is unsustainable for our society. 

Despite no efforts to advance the policy during Biden’s term, the 2024 DNC platform included support for 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave. The platform also supports investments in child care to make it affordable. It references the American Rescue Plan’s subsidy of childcare centers, but crucially it does not propose universal childcare. Even in Illinois, where Democrats have fully controlled the state government since 2019, the state still has no paid parental leave or universal childcare. It is clear that Democrats either don’t believe in those rights, they don’t see them as a priority, or they don’t want to fight for them. The socialist left must be making these demands. 

There are currently 13 states (plus DC) that have mandatory paid family leave systems. These are either a social insurance policy funded through a payroll tax or a private insurance system. Ten states have a scheme endorsed by the National Council of Insurance Legislators (a lobbying organization for the insurance industry) that has pushed for states to adopt private family leave insurance. The most generous paid parental leave, provided by 12 states, is just 12 weeks².

Most states that are working towards universal childcare plan to offer universal preschool for three- and four-year-olds. This reinforces the need for paid parental leave that can cover families until a child ages into universal childcare. Six states have universal preschool for four year olds. Vermont also has universal preschool for three year olds. Four states are implementing universal preschool, while four other states have recently passed laws to implement universal preschool. In Illinois, JB Pritzker’s 2025 budget proposal included money for the early childhood education block grants and child care assistance program, though the block grants are only for preschool aged children and the child care assistance program is means-tested. 

Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) chapters have fought for reforms across the country, with varying degrees of success. Information on local chapter endorsements without national DSA endorsement of the campaign is only available to the national organization starting in 2024, so some data is incomplete without reading every single chapter’s website or social media, or knowing who to ask in every chapter. Looking at the DSA National Electoral Committee’s available endorsements information, which includes endorsements for candidates and ballot referenda but not endorsement of legislative efforts in city councils or state houses, we see a picture of strong fights for abortion rights, with some movement to universal preschool. Oregon chapters won a statewide campaign to protect abortions there in November 2018. Portland DSA won a preschool for all campaign for Oregon in November 2020. Lawrence Kansas DSA won their campaign to protect statewide abortion rights in August 2022. Kentucky chapters won their campaign for abortion protections statewide in November 2022. Western Montana DSA won a campaign for abortion protections in November 2022. Chapters across Florida endorsed and unfortunately lost a referendum to protect abortion rights in November 2024. 

The Right Ratchet

The right wing, in their pushes to repeal abortion rights and more, clearly wants to have birth for birth’s sake. They want a steady stream of new workers who have no expectations. They are punishing people for having abortions, including imposing the death penalty. Project 2025 is attempting to exert patriarchal control over society, which requires strict gender norms, leading to their attacks on bodily autonomy of LGBTQI+ people and women. They want to force women out of the workplace and trap them in the domestic sphere. By weakening workplace protection enforcement through firing and cutting staff at the NLRB, EEOC, OFCCP, and dismantling DEI programs, the Trump administration is setting the field for a mass push of women out of the workplace. They are enacting voting restrictions to discourage participation in democracy. Trump has effectively tasked Elon Musk’s “DOGE” with gutting all public social safety nets that do currently exist, including removing funding for the Head Start early education program.

The Left Horizon

As socialists, we should always fight for universal programs. There are basic policy objectives the Left needs to fight for, if not at the federal level at this moment, then at state levels. This ensures equal access to benefits and reduces administrative burden and costs³. These include establishing a Medicare-for-All program covering all reproductive healthcare, expanding and protecting abortion rights, federal laws guaranteeing comprehensive paid parental leave,  universal childcare, and prenatal paid time off, to name a few. If we are going to have shorter paid parental leaves, we need to have universal childcare start sooner than three or four years old. 

Paid Parental Leave and Universal Childcare must be won in tandem with abortion rights. We need to create a world that works for people, not an economy that wants to extract maximum profits out of people. If someone chooses to have children, we must give time for parents to recover from birth and the adjustment to a new child, and for that child and their parents to bond and have their needs met. We must also provide a place for children to be safe to grow when parents choose to return to work before the child reaches school age. This includes accessible childcare after school and during school breaks. 

This will require us to tax the rich to provide the world we want and deserve. We must fight for a vibrant public life to ensure we do not isolate new parents. We must invest in places with programming for child development and socialization with their families, including robust public libraries, public parks, public transportation, investment in public arts and cultural events, and public community centers. We need democratic socialist cadre candidates and elected officials who will publicly fight for these policies. We need democratic unions that will fight alongside us for these reforms and who will organize the public workers who will make up this infrastructure and services. We need DSA chapters putting on public political education and talking to people on the doors about who we are and why we support these initiatives, and we need to be clear to the public about who is preventing us from creating a better world when capitalists seek to stop us.

1. For a fuller accounting on the natalism debate from the Left in date publication order, see Dustin Guastella in Damage Magazine, Elizabeth Bruenig in The Atlantic, Nathan J. Robinson in Current Affairs, and Robin Peterson in Spectre Journal.  ︎
2. For a comprehensive list of what states have what levels of coverage, consult this Bipartisan Policy Explainer. ︎
3. For more about the benefits of universal programs, see Abdallah Fayyad’s “What if everyone qualified for welfare benefits?” ︎

The post A Socialist Future for Families: Paid Leave, Childcare & Reproductive Freedom appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

By Liz Henderson

So far this spring has been cold and rainy. When the soil is wet and cold, seeds that are not treated with chemical fungicides can rot, so organic gardeners hold off until the soil warms up (or, as Petra Page-Mann of Fruition Seeds suggests, when the phenological signs are right, as in the old-timey wisdom that the time to plant corn is when the oak leaves are the size of squirrel ears.) Also, you do more harm than good if you walk on wet soil, packing it down with your weight so that shoots have trouble emerging. If you think of garden soil as a living community, you will treat it with appropriate care.

“Memorial Day is the traditional Rochester planting date for frost tender plants.”

Memorial Day is the traditional Rochester planting date for frost tender plants. But to assuage your spring impatience, you can set out seedlings of hardy crops (kale, collards, other greens, onions) as soon as the soil is workable.

While storm clouds darken around us, the gardening scene in Rochester is getting brighter! The Urban Agriculture Working Group (UAWG) (Editor’s Note: Not ROC DSA affiliated) started over a decade ago as an all-volunteer effort of folks who met during Occupy Rochester. We were supposed to be a working group of a Rochester Food Policy Council, but when the council did not get off the ground for lack of funding, we persisted and started organizing an annual gardening conference, workshops on how-to and open-garden days. The 2025 conference was the ninth and by far the best attended.

When Rochester finally got a Food Policy Council (FPC), the UAWG voted to become a project of the council. These days, the FPC, the city Recreation Department, the Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District, FoodLink, the Taproot Collective and an assortment of enthusiastic city gardeners work together harmoniously in the UAWG. Starting in June, meetings move from zoom to in-person gatherings at gardens and there will be a series of work sessions at community gardens that need help.

Besides supporting gardening know-how, the UAWG works to make city policy and regulations more garden-friendly. After some negotiating, the City agreed to change its garden permits from 9-months to year-round, ensuring that if gardeners plant garlic in the fall, they get to harvest it the following July and can enjoy overwintering greens. The UAWG is still waiting to see if the Zoning Adjustment Process ends up with garden-friendly zoning.

Gardeners are welcome to become UAWG members by emailing Mallory (mdh286@cornell.edu) and requesting to join the Google group to get messages of meetings and events and opportunities to volunteer.

490 Farmers (www.490farmers.org) started when Chloe Smith learned at an UAWG meeting that the Department of Transportation had available land. Gardeners can get a plot (or join the waiting list) at the garden site (corner of Broadway and Meigs St), or come to the Wednesday 5 – 7 pm work sessions and workshops.

City support for community gardens is blossoming with a Plant Swap at the Public Market, Friday May 16. Community gardens and other gardens that are on city-owned land can come from 4:30 – 5:30 to receive free vegetable and flower seedlings. Everyone is welcome from 6 – 7:30 to get free plants and to give away extra plants you want to share.

The post Getting Grounded: Join UAWG first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

Seattle Children’s Hospital has once again blindsided staff and community members by halting the provision of gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19 years of age. This news comes only a couple of months after the turmoil that erupted in February when news first broke that Seattle Children’s had decided to cancel gender-affirming surgeries, folding almost immediately under the Trump administration‘s threat to withhold federal funding from hospitals providing the surgeries and other gender-affirming care. An estimated 1,000 hospital staff and community members rallied to protest this decision.

This massive overreach by the Trump administration was one of many to be challenged in Washington state courts. On February 14, Western Washington District Court Judge Lauren King blocked Trump’s executive order. The court ruling was a momentous win for staff and community members. As reported in The Stranger, Seattle Children’s responded to this win by stating that it had the “clarity it needed at this time to deliver on our mission while ensuring we operate within all applicable laws.” With these pretty words and reassurances that Seattle Children’s would indeed continue its mission, staff returned to work breathing a sigh of relief.

However, on April 16th news broke that Seattle Children’s had decided once again to stop providing gender-affirming surgeries to patients under 19. Sources inside the hospital say that rather than cancel existing surgeries, the hospital has quietly decided not to schedule them. This refusal to schedule surgeries is a clever roundabout way to avoid negative press and public outrage by misleading communities and by outwardly suggesting that care would be continued. This is a strategy of silence and complicity: rather than risk their funding, Seattle Children’s decided to quietly bend to governmental overreach despite a State judge’s block of the executive order.

These decisions to comply without due process are directly contributing to the demise of our democracy. When the checks and balances that we once relied on are being eroded, larger organizations like hospitals, universities, and retail chains have the power to resist the federal government’s attempt to strip liberties from entire communities. Unfortunately, organizations like Seattle Children’s Hospital are choosing self-preservation and complicity.

In the days since the start of this administration, Congress has only weakly challenged this administration over its actions that are destroying the economy and removing the rights and freedom of many. The administration has begun targeting a number of communities and programs, spreading our focus and attention among numerous societal concerns: immigration, tariffs, trans rights, national forests, the Department of Education, research, Medicaid, and many more. This strategy causes institutions to become self-interested, focusing only on their own budgets and longevity and turning their backs on the communities that are most vulnerable.

However, this strategy can also be the administration’s undoing. If only one or two organizations decide to stand on the side of justice and human rights, the federal government will be able to focus all of its energy on stamping out one or two fires. But if many larger organizations choose to resist, the federal government will need to allocate much of its own resources to fighting the many fires it has ignited.

The choice comes down to this: will the people comply in advance, or will they resist? Seattle Children’s has made the choice to comply, and we cannot accept that choice. We cannot stand by and watch as organizations comply in advance; we must put pressure on organizations like Seattle Children’s to protect marginalized communities. Allowing institutions to quietly bend to this administration will be our downfall.

This is where we as individuals have the power to enact change. It is up to us to change the minds of workers and community members that refuse to resist. They act out of fear and self-preservation; we must act out of bravery and hope for our communities. When we write history, we will write it in the streets, with our voices and with our actions. This is where we, the people, have power. We can and we must demand that institutions like Seattle Children’s choose to prioritize the health and well-being of the communities they serve. Healthcare organizations should provide care based on evidence, not on the commands of a political party.   

This is a call to action — it is time to organize, it is time to rise up! Go to protests, sign petitions, call your representatives, and put pressure on your place of work if they are not representing you. When you are at protests and rallies get connected with groups that you identify with. Make your actions impactful, not performative. Use your anger as fuel and then hone that anger into carefully crafted weapons for change. If you are feeling burned out, rest and recoup, but then return to action. Challenge yourself to be defiant and persistent. Remind yourself of what keeps you in this fight and of who you fight for. Remind yourself of your own strengths and of the community that you are working to build.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, May 14 (6:45 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): May General Meeting (Zoom and in person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Thursday, May 15 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Da Vinci Code Reading Group – Day 1 (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Thursday, May 15 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Immigrant Justice Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, May 17 (2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Consumer Pledge Canvass! (Meet outside 3100 16th St)

Sunday, May 18 (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Capital Reading Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Monday, May 19 (5:50 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Socialist in Office + Electoral Board Meeting (Zoom)

Monday, May 19 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Ecosocialist Planning for Vision and Strategy (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Monday, May 19 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Tuesday, May 20 (7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.): Socialist Night School: Salting (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Wednesday, May 21 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): What is DSA? (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Wednesday, May 21 (6:45 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Tenant Organizing Working Group Meeting (In person at 438 Haight)

Thursday, May 22 (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.): Education Board Open Meeting (Zoom)

Thursday, May 22 (7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.): Comrade Karaoke (In person at 34 7th St.)

Saturday, May 24 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Food Service (Meet at Castro St. and Market St.)

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

Events & Actions

Apartheid-Free Bay Area: Consumer Pledge Canvassing

Help gather signatures in order to build public support for local apartheid-free stores and to raise awareness about Israeli apartheid! We’ll be meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 17th in front of 3100 16th St. We will first train you, and then you will put that training into practice by collecting signatures at the Nakba Day Rally. RSVP here! New members encouraged to join!

Rally: Remember the Nakba, Demand an End to Genocide in Gaza

Saturday, May 17 will mark 77 years since the Nakba. Since then, Palestinians have faced genocide, displacement, and occupation under Zionism. This Nakba Day, we will rally at 16th St. and Valencia St. starting at 2:30 p.m. alongside cities worldwide to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza, a full and immediate two-way arms embargo on Israel, the release of all Palestinian political prisoners, Immediate humanitarian aid and reconstruction for Gaza, and an end to the Zionist occupation of all Palestinian land.

The world stands with Palestine—see you in the streets!

Socialist Night School: Salting

Curious about salting? Heard the term but not sure what it means? Interested in learning about salting opportunities in the Bay Area? Join the Labor Board for a Socialist Night School on salting on Tuesday, May 20 from 7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. at 1916 McAllister. We’ll learn about salting strategies, examine past SF wins, and hear about current opportunities to salt a workplace.

Masks are encouraged but not required. Food and drink will be provided!

RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/socialist-night-school-salting/

DSA Karaoke

Come hang out and do some karaoke with your fellow DSA SF comrades or cool people you want to impress with your incredible singing voice! Thursday, May 22 from 7:30 – 10:00 p.m. at The Roar Shack (34 7th Street at Market). Suggested donation of $10, no one turned away for lack of funds. No songs refused, no entry denied! Cheap drinks available to purchase or feel free to bring your own! RSVP here.

Office Hours

Co-work with your comrades! Come to the DSA SF office and get your DSA work or work-work done, or just hang out. We’ll  be at 1916 McAllister from 12:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m. on Fridays.

EWOC Training Reportback

9 of us gathered at the Office on Wednesday with wide-eyed curiosity for the first session of the EWOC Fundamentals Training series. While some of us are actively looking to engage in workplace organizing, others are motivated to become informed and fluent supporters of the fighting section of workers. Across both groups, learning the brass tacks of Analyzing Your Workplace is the common first step, i.e. mapping the workplace for workers’ concerns, their shifts & departments, relationships, willingness to get involved and more. This all informs who we should approach to gauge interest about joining the organizing committee (OC), or a representative group of the workplace that democratically drives the strategy and bottomlines the organizing efforts. Our biggest shared takeaways from the lecture were (1) the importance of acting like a union, even if you aren’t legally recognized as one yet and (2) the fact that the OC model minimizes unnecessary risks taken by workers and is the safest method for workplace organizing. Next week, we’re going to run it back and learn all about how to Bring Coworkers Together!

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.