“When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.” – Frantz Fanon

The Salt Lake Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America stands in unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine in their decades long fight for national liberation and urges the people of Utah and the United States to stand up against settler-colonial, Zionist apartheid.

The Palestinian people have been held in apartheid since the establishment of the so-called State of Israel and the Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”) that followed. Millions of Palestinians have been removed from their homes, denied their basic human rights, and killed when they stood up against this tyranny upheld by the Israeli occupation. Israel is, per its constitution, an ethnostate, and it is not terrorism or anti-semitism to fight against this injustice.

The Palestinian people have shown us that no matter what walls Israeli forces may try to build to push the indigenous peoples out of their homeland, those walls can and will come down. We see this with the Palestinian people using bulldozers to tear down the fences surrounding Gaza, we see this every time Palestinians and their allies stand up in the face of violence, and we see this every time a smile crosses a Palestinian’s face. The Palestinian people are resilient people, and it is our duty as Socialists to stand with them. Apartheid structures will come down, and we will stand with the Palestinian people in their fight to tear down every structure used to uphold the apartheid they face.

Anti-Zionism is a principled Socialist position, and one that Salt Lake DSA takes seriously. Some of our members have worked with the DSA BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group and have relatives from Palestine themselves. It is also important for us because we are the only DSA chapter in Utah. Utah has its own history of settler colonialism, and much of the tactics and rhetoric modern day Israel uses in their attempt to eliminate the indigenous Palestinians, the European Mormon settlers used against the indigenous Ute, Paiute, Goshute, Shoshone, Dine (Navajo), and Timpanogos peoples. It is an issue personal to us, and to our history as a multi-racial, socialist organization in Utah.

From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free! 

The post Salt Lake DSA Statement in Support of Palestinian Liberation first appeared on Salt Lake DSA.

In the midst of a climate crisis and rising utility costs, People’s Gas, the private utility which provides gas service in Chicago, is asking to increase their rates by $400 Million in order to build more fossil fuel infrastructure in our city. In order to protect the health of our lungs and our planet, and keep heating affordable for every household, we must oppose this rate increase and demand a plan for ending the use of gas in Chicago.

In Illinois, roughly 80% of households use fossil gas powered appliances, such as heaters, boilers and stoves, which are responsible for a large share of the city’s total emissions that are driving the ever-worsening climate crisis. These appliances are not only bad for the planet, but burning fossil fuels inside our homes is also bad for our health. One in five cases of childhood asthma are attributable to gas stove use in Illinois. Children living in a home with a gas stove are 42% more likely to develop asthma. Residential gas combustion is the single most racially inequitable form of pollution exposure, with people of color exposed to 41% more than white people.

In addition to these environmental and health costs, there is also a large financial cost to the residents stuck paying ever increasing utility bills. Nearly one third of all households in Chicago incurred a late fee last year because they struggled to afford to pay their bills in full. Illinois is #1 in the nation for gas shut offs, with gas utilities shutting off service to more than 82,000 customers last year. Black and Latino households in Illinois are twice as likely to experience gas disconnection compared to white people. Many households are being forced to make impossible choices between keeping the heat running and other necessary tasks, like going to the doctor. On top of these already unbearable costs, People’s Gas wants to raise rates by another $400 Million which will raise the average gas bill by $12/month.

The rising costs of gas and the lowering costs of electricity generation also present another problem in the future, as gas utilities like People’s Gas may start to enter what is known as a “utility death spiral”. As highly-efficient electrical heating replacements become more affordable, while gas costs increase, more households are going to opt-out of gas usage altogether. This leaves a shrinking number of households left paying off the massive costs of the gas network that we are still building today. These households will inevitably be the most vulnerable and low-income households who cannot afford the upfront costs to switch to lower-cost electrical alternatives. This is why we need a plan for the managed decline of gas usage, designed to distribute benefits with equity in mind. The alternative is a system that will only get worse for those who are already unable to afford the basics of a dignified life.

All of these shutoffs and late fees are happening as People’s Gas continues to turn a record profit. As a private utility, People’s Gas operates as a regulated monopoly, which means they can extract profit for their private shareholders, but the rates they can charge are subject to regulation from state agencies. Under this kind of regulation, utilities profits are tied to a fixed percentage of their expenditures. In order to increase their profits, these utilities will enact larger and larger construction programs, regardless of their actual long-term value. State agencies like the Illinois Commerce Commision (ICC) and the state legislature are supposed to act as regulators restricting the excess of these programs, but in recent years they have often served as a rubber stamp. As we have seen from other regulated monopolies, these organizations are adept at influencing politicians and officials to enact policies that help them. 

We should take action and demand that fundamental infrastructure like heat and lights are no longer sold to extractive private entities, but instead run as a public good. We need to build power to make sure that we are able to stand up to the private interests, and demand that our government plans and builds a future where energy is clean, affordable and healthy for everyone. You can start by telling the ICC to reject these current proposed rate hikes and make a better plan for our future. You can also join CDSA’s public power campaign, Democratize ComEd, to join the fight for Chicago’s energy future.

The post Ending the Fossil Fuels We Burn Inside Our Homes appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

by Bryan S

Around 6:30 AM in Gaza on Saturday, October 7, Palestinian armed groups began launching waves of rockets into Israel as cover for fighters to break through the military siege by land and sea. Hamas reported firing more than 5,000 rockets into Israel while the Israeli army put the number closer to 2,200.

The internet was soon flooded with pictures and videos of Palestinians bulldozing the barriers the Israeli military had constructed around Gaza, capturing Israeli military equipment, and penetrating far beyond the Gaza border. The Israeli public has been completely shocked by the high death toll, the taking of Israeli hostages back into the Gaza Strip, and the fact that the Israel intelligence services were caught by complete surprise.

The unprecedented militant action on the part of Palestinians has struck both supporters of Palestinian self-determination and Zionist supporters of the state of Israel. Mohammad Deif, commander of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades, explained the immediate causes of “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” to be (1) repeated attacks on Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque complex in the Old City of Jerusalem, (2) the hundreds of Palestinians killed or injured by Israelis in 2023, and (3) Israeli refusal to exchange prisoners.

Israeli settler and IDF attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank over the past year have escalated to such an extent that the Israeli military commander of the occupied territory, Yehuda Fuchs, used the term “pogrom” to describe the violence earlier in 2023. Others have noted that Hamas may have intended this attack to quash growing efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

Deif called for Palestians throughout Israel and the Occupied Territories to “expel the occupiers and demolish the walls,” and called for “our brothers in the Islamic resistance in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen” to unite with the Palestinian uprising. Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced its fighters had joined the Hamas militants in the operation, and Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon launched rockets into territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

An informal declaration of war by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was formalized by the Israeli Security Cabinet a few hours later. The Israeli air force began launching strikes into Gaza around 11 AM local time on Saturday, Netanyahu released a statement telling Gazans to leave “Hamas hiding places” prior to the airstrikes.

However, more than two million Palestinians live in the 141 sq. miles of Gaza, with few shelters in which to take refuge. Additionally, the IDF has historically viewed all of Gaza as a potential “Hamas hiding place,” bombing residences, hospitals, UN buildings, international news offices, and energy infrastructure. Five residential towers, homes to thousands of Gazans, had been destroyed by Saturday afternoon. The United Nations announced Sunday night that 123,538 Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced by fighting, with 73,538 people sheltering across 64 schools.

Events are moving quickly and the toll of death and misery continues to rise. As of Monday afternoon in Gaza, around 700 Israelis and 510 Palestinians were reported dead, with more than 2,382 and 2,300 casualties respectively. While the Israeli military bombed Gaza, IDF soldiers and Zionist settlers killed at least fifteen Palestinians in the West Bank between Saturday morning and Monday afternoon. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant released a statement ordering “a full siege on the Gaza Strip. No power, no food, no gas, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”

The Austin Chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) called for a rally at the Texas state capitol on Sunday, October 8, calling for the termination of United States aid to Israel and the release of all Palestinian political prisoners. Of the roughly fifty people on the edge of the capitol complex, about ten were supporters of the state of Israel while the majority of attendees waved Palestinian flags. No major physical altercations occurred despite heated emotions on both sides.

On Saturday, DSA released a statement expressing solidarity with Palestine, adding that “today’s events are a direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime . . . that receives billions in funding from the United States.” The message included the statement that “we unequivocally condemn the killing of all civilians.” On Sunday, DSA’s National Political Committee met to discuss immediate actions regarding the violence in Palestine. This includes briefings with socialist elected representatives to make clear DSA’s position on Palestine and a call for all of them to refuse to vote in favor of further military aid to Israel. The Sunday resolution on DSA statements and immediate actions was referred to a steering committee special meeting to occur within the next two days. The sharpest debate centered around whether and how to respond to instances of Palestinian violence against civilians.

In response to Fareed Zakaria’s emphasis on Israeli civilian deaths during an interview on CNN, Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), said, “I do not accept attacking any civilian. I do not accept [when] Israelis attack our civilians, but look at what Israeli planes are doing now in Gaza. They are bombarding houses . . . highrise buildings are brought down to the ground and we are already receiving reports about families who are killed . . . I do not want any civilian to be hurt. Neither by Palestinians nor by Israelis. But the question is how to end that. Will it end by attacking [the] Gaza Strip another time? Israel has already conducted five wars on Gaza . . . This did not stop Hamas, did not stop resistance. There is one way to stop any violence and that is to end the Israeli occupation. And that is for the United States to be fair. They cannot say that Israel has the right to defend itself but we, the Palestinians, don’t have the right to defend ourselves.”

The post

Operation Al-Aqsa Flood

The author attended a Dutch Socialist Youth summer camp as an international representative for YDSA. In their report-back, they make the case for the necessity of Socialist cultural events for a vital socialist movement.

The post To Sustain the Socialist Movement, We Need Socialist Culture: Report from ROOD Summer Camp appeared first on YDSA.

DSA is steadfast in expressing our solidarity with Palestine.

Today’s events are a direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime—a regime that receives billions in funding from the United States. End the violence. End the Occupation. Free Palestine.  

We unequivocally condemn the killing of all civilians. It is imperative for international human rights law to be respected. 

We cannot forget that the Israeli state has systematically denied Palestinians the right to self-determination for decades. This was not unprovoked. For over 60 years, Palestinians have faced ethnic cleansing, torture, bombings, and housing demolitions. Gaza is still under a blockade. 

As socialists, we must act.

NYC DSA’s #NotOnOurDime campaign—led by DSA member & NY Assemblymember  Zohran Mamdani—provides an effective model for pressuring elected officials to stop providing financial support to the Israeli state.

Take to the streets to join a protest for peace and against funding the Israeli state. Find out what actions local DSA and YDSA chapters are taking and join in.

The post End the Violence, End the Occupation, Free Palestine appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

This past August, Cleveland DSA sent our 7 delegates to the National Convention. Our Education Committee asked these delegates to write up reflections on their experience, which will appear here over the next month. This round we have longstanding Cle DSA’er and defacto Roberts-Ruler Koby P:

It cannot be overstated how the scope and content of the 2023 DSA Convention was determined before it began.

As usual, this DSA convention required all bylaws amendments, resolutions, and secondary amendments to be submitted with prior notice. Floor amendments are prohibited and only incidental motions can be raised without prior notice in the course of business. This year, though 20 member-submitted resolutions reached the signature threshold for consideration (300, up from 100 in 2021), only 13 of them reached the floor in one form or another. Substantial time was given instead to National Political Committee (NPC) resolutions and “consensus resolutions” put forward by various national commissions. The agenda as it ended up being proposed by the Convention Committee was botched by a poorly executed delegate survey, resulting in some items unfortunately left off the agenda altogether, and others wasting precious deliberation time. In a rare exhibition of inter-caucus coordination, the delegation was able to successfully amend the agenda to partially rectify the issue.

The major forces at play at convention were the caucuses. Caucus membership represents just a fraction of DSA members, and a more significant yet still small proportion of the 950 or so convention delegates. Still, caucuses punch above their weight in contributing member-support resolutions, filling out commission leadership, whipping votes, and rallying around NPC slates. An explanation of the caucuses is out of scope for this report, but I attended the convention as a paper member of the Libertarian Socialist Caucus, with politics fairly closely aligned to the Marxist Unity Group.

The official results show a mixed convention. The delegation managed to get through a surprisingly high number of resolutions in its limited time – and with only limited brazen manipulation of parliamentary procedure. The “left” caucuses found themselves with some modest wins and a few losses, the “right” also was not without a few wins of their own. My feeling at the end of the weekend was hopeful.

We can expect a few major changes to roll out very soon. The new NPC has the potential to make great progress democratizing the national organization and increasing transparency and inter-body cooperation. To some extent, they have already been doing this by keeping the organization in the loop via the national DSA Discussion Board (make an account if you haven’t). Below are some resolutions that you’ll see in effect:

• By October 15th, a Democracy Commission will be elected by your convention delegates.
• By November 1st, your convention delegates will elect two NPC members to serve as full time salaried co-chairs of DSA, and to serve as spokespeople for the organization
• By November, NPC will have to elect 9 DSA Members as editors on the newly formed DSA Editorial Board, in charge of Democratic Left and Socialist Forum
• By January, the new National Campaign for Reproductive Rights and Trans Liberation will launch
• By March, the NPC is required to release an actionable plan for carrying out the convention resolutions and provide it to membership. This should include new campaigns and priorities, including a resolution to run candidates for local schoolboards.
• In 2024 DSA is required to hold a National Activist Conference
• The BDS working group is now a subgrouping of the International Committee
• The NLC will provide support for the creation of local EWOC formations.

The post DSA Convention Reflection #3 – Koby P appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

Thorn West: Issue No. 177

State Politics

• Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed political consultant Laphonza Butler to fill the US Senate vacancy left by the death of Dianne Feinstein. The choice has been criticized because Butler — whose resume includes consulting gigs for AirBnB and Uber, as well as many years as head of an SEIU local — was not a resident of the state at the time of the appointment.

City Politics

• Councilmember John Lee has been formally accused by the Los Angeles Ethics Commission for playing a role in the corrupt conduct of former councilmember Mitch Englander. Lee worked for Englander, who served time in prison for obstruction of justice, and was long suspected of being the unnamed “City Staffer B” in Englander’s written indictment. The commission’s written accusation makes it clear that this was indeed the case.

• At the most recent meeting of LA City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee for Government Reform, the committee finally came to a decision on a proposal for an independent redistricting committee. But a decision on the implementation of council expansion remains out of reach.

Incarceration

• In 2022, voters passed Measure J, which set aside 10% of the Los Angeles County budget for alternatives to prison and police. However, the county has entered into a $9 million contract with Accenture, a consulting firm that has done work for ICE, to design a pretrial jail diversion program using Measure J funds. LA Public Press covers the Accenture contract, which sidelines the work of local activists, who have already done substantial work designing a pretrial system.

• Knock LA is gearing up to launch their Incarceration Reporting Initiative next month, after platforming the work of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated writers earlier this year. The platform is doing some online fundraising for the endeavor this weekend, for more information, see here!

Labor

• WGA members vote on their tentative agreement with the AMPTP, while SAG-AFTRA negotiations with the AMPTP continue. Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA members have voted to authorize another strike, this one against 10 major video game studios. Issues underlying this dispute include stagnating wages for video game voice and on-camera performers, as well as worker protections against being replaced by AI. Statement from SAG-AFTRA here.

• Starting this past Wednesday and concluding tomorrow morning, 75,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities are conducting the largest healthcare worker strike in US history. The primary demand is that Kaiser address massive worker shortages, which place undue burdens on existing employees. More details available from the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

• SB 799, which makes striking workers in California eligible for unemployment benefits, as they already are in New York and New Jersey, was vetoed by Governor Newsom. The bill passed with a two-thirds majority in both houses, meaning that the bill’s supporters technically have the votes to override the veto. However, the California legislature has not overridden a veto in 40 years.

• Workers walked off the job at eight hotels near LAX, the latest in a rolling wave of walkouts as hotel workers negotiate for fair pay and benefits. Unite Here local 11, which represents the striking workers, is also organizing a Saturday-morning protest calling out the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are in town and have habitually disrespected the union’s boycott of hotels that have not worked out a new contract. Meanwhile, in Orange County, a low-turnout special election resulted in the failure of a ballot measure that would raise the minimum wage for hotel workers to $25 an hour.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• LAPD’s plans to test a new weapon, called the BolaWrap, on passengers of Los Angeles public transit have met with opposition from Metro Board and the mayor’s office.

Housing Rights

• This weekend, an Eastside local branch of the Los Angeles Tenants Union organized a tenants rally, in opposition to the coming citywide rent hikes on rent-controlled units. The rally, though peaceful, was assaulted by LAPD officers. Firsthand reporting here.

Environmental Justice

• The Los Angeles City Controller’s Office has released an analysis of the city’s Green New Deal, passed in 2019. Calling it “a promising start for climate action,” the office concludes that it “is in urgent need of a reboot.” The report can be found here.

The post CM Lee Accused of Ethics Violations + Newsom Appoints Former Consultant to Open Senate Seat appeared first on The Thorn West.

by Christian P.

Early Saturday morning, September 16, Education Austin, the union for certified and classified employees of Austin Independent School District, hosted a town hall to address the district’s failures in special education. Austin ISD has undeniably struggled to meet special education requirements in the past, allowing a backlog of thousands of student evaluations to build up. This is why the new progressive school board majority, elected less than a year ago, has moved to fix the situation. A district-wide raise for teachers and other staff resulted in hundreds of empty positions being filled, and the special education backlog has already dropped by half.

Despite these major improvements, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) moved to place a monitor over AISD, citing the special ed programs. The reality is that previous administrations have created problems in our district, but the growing voices of our teachers and community through the school board and the teacher’s union have already proved that they are much better equipped to address flaws in our schools than an outside state agency with a track record like TEA’s. Sensing the threat to our public schools and acting in defense of working people, Austin DSA’s new Schools For All campaign stepped up to boost this meeting with our community’s educators. 

After two weekends of door-to-door canvassing from Austin DSA, showing up to the meeting were education workers, parents, and community members, with at least a fourth of attendees being concerned and invested members of Austin DSA. The event started off with the frustrated story of an AFT leader from Houston, giving all a good idea of what could be expected from a TEA conservatorship. After succeeding in reform by all of TEAs own metrics, Houston ISD’s democratically elected school board was removed and TEA advanced its authoritarian vision for public schools by appointing an unaccountable superintendent: Mike Miles.

Miles’ history is spotty at best, resigning from Dallas ISD without increasing test scores (they actually lowered in some cases) and with many veteran teachers and principals leaving the district. This is the same Mike Miles who recently gained internet attention after starring in a musical about his life at a HISD teacher training.

HISD has since seen more than 2,300 layoffs, teachers forced into teaching a scripted curriculum, and libraries turned into detention centers. It is a grave look into the future that TEA wants for Texas children. Importantly, the union leader also noted that TEA’s idea of special education in Houston has meant incorporating those with special needs into regular classes, without the accommodations that they need. This makes it clear: TEA does not have a plan for special education in Austin, they just want to tear down one of the last public goods we have left.

This, unfortunately, isn’t a new story. By degrading the quality of our public education, private schools become more attractive in comparison. Schools are just the latest public good neoliberals are seeking to privatize and deregulate, and they’re nearly the last. Republicans in Texas have been trying to gut public school funding for decades, through school vouchers, charter schools, and school closures in working class neighborhoods. Their recent attacks on public education seek to further degrade the quality of our already underfunded schools, hoping that desperate Texans will be deceived into supporting a two-tiered charter school system, where rich families can afford an expensive education, and working class children are forced into under-resourced classrooms.

The union meeting showed that well-informed community members can confidently support their local teachers and stand strong against TEA’s heavy handed takeover. Moving into breakout rooms, groups were able to discuss what real solutions to the special education crisis could look like. Special education teachers spoke about the difficulties they faced in classrooms, often doing the jobs of what properly resourced schools would have three people doing. Incredibly engaged parents of special needs children spoke out about how the state legislature continued to fail to increase funding to important programs, and how they trusted teachers while they dealt with an inept administration. Often a sentiment arose of a need for regime change, believing that TEA couldn’t do any worse than AISD is doing now. Union members did a great job revealing just how much worse it could get, while demonstrating that the real solutions reside with those closest to the situation: with the workers and the teachers. The meeting ended enthusiastically with Education Austin calling for a coalition to defend public schools against TEA takeover and with a big thanks to Austin DSA for helping to mobilize around the cause. 

We were just following our principles. As socialists, we know that public education is the lifeblood of democracy and a crucial institution of the working class. A quality education used to be available only to the wealthy, and it is the wealthy that now seek to bring about a return to that sort of society. 

Austin DSA’s work in the Schools for All campaign will engage the community with an alternative to neoliberal austerity: democratic worker-led answers, and community investment. Going beyond the purely defensive, the campaign is an opportunity to say, yes there are problems in schools, but privatization is not and has never been the answer. The campaign will work with the community, Education Austin, and our pro-union school board to gather a list of demands and press forward with real improvements to our schools. High-quality education is a human right, and the way to achieve it is not via top down decision-making and privatization, but through well-resourced school districts that can hire more teachers for our overcrowded classrooms, provide more resources for students, and make teaching a viable long term career for professionals by reducing their work hours and paying them a livable wage.

Public schools are a bastion of the working class. They’ve suffered many blows in recent years, but Austinites should embrace improving them with worker-led problem solving and democratic community-led action. This campaign stands to bring parents, teachers, students and community members into solidarity by communicating with our neighbors, supporting the work of the union coalition, agitating in our Campus Advisory Councils, and pressuring the AISD Board of Trustees. As long as the Texas government continues to make draconian assaults on our schools, the campaign will organize against them. As long as working-class families aren’t getting the schools they deserve, this campaign will push forward with them.

If public education is something that’s important to you, there’s never been a better time to get involved. The Schools for All Campaign welcomes you to join us in building the schools Austinites deserve. 

On Saturday, October 7th, the Schools for All campaign will join alongside other Texans against vouchers at the Boot Vouchers Rally, talking to community members about how they can get involved. We’ll need all hands on deck this October as we phone bank lawmakers and plan other pressure tactics. After the special session of the Texas Legislature, we’ll focus on building momentum for local demands!

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No Takeover, No Privatizing Schools