As the entire country deals with forced migrations, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has declared that the migrant crisis will “destroy New York City.” He claims that a city with the largest concentration of millionaires in the world lacks the resources to provide every migrant with adequate shelter. Shortly after making this announcement, he proposed that every New York City agency cut its budget by as much as 15% starting next year. Not all New Yorkers will be affected in the same way by the mayor’s proposed budget cuts, however. It is the multiracial working-class that will suffer the consequences of Adams’s loyalty to the elite. 

As a result of the increased surge of migrants into the city, the Adams administration has taken measures to roll back New York’s constitutional “Right to Shelter,” which makes it unlawful for the administration to deny shelter to homeless people in the city. On May 23, 2023, the New York City Law Department filed an application for modification of that right.

During initial budget negotiations, Adams cited the need for increased funding to provide shelter to migrants as a pretext to slash the budgets of nearly every agency except the New York City Police Department. To account for the budget shortfall, New York’s Socialists in Office have proposed a series of tax increases. DSA member and State Senator Julia Salazar stated, “We should increase taxes because it’s economically just policy to offset the costs for our state to function. I’d say that even if our city and state hadn’t seen an increase in migrants seeking asylum, this moment makes it all the more important for the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes.” Tax increases enacted in 2021 under then-Governor Andrew Cuomo are set to expire in 2027, increasing the likelihood of a budget deficit. 

In May, the Adams administration claimed that it would send hundreds of single adult men to hotels in Rockland County and Orange County. In response to Adams’s move to send migrants upstate, Governor Kathy Hochul rebutted by stating that “… you cannot involuntarily take people from the city and send them all over the state of New York. Putting someone in a hotel on a dark, lonely road in upstate New York and telling them they’re supposed to survive is not compassion.” Hochul has initiated her own lawsuit against the state’s Right to Shelter law, arguing that the right only applies to New York City, not New York State. In an apparent affront to Hochul’s administration, the Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, has decided not to represent the state in this matter. 

Adams has not made many allies in the federal government due to his criticism of the White House for not providing aid. Recently, however, the Biden administration announced it would allow New York City to shelter migrants on nearby federal property, including in Floyd Bennett Field. 

What can we do about the “Migrant Crisis?” 

Although New York City has indeed experienced a recent uptick in the amount of migrants seeking asylum, the actual number of migrants arriving is not historically unprecedented. As of September, more than 113,000 migrants have arrived in New York since spring of 2022. In 1907, Ellis Island processed more than 100,000 immigrants in a single month. Between 1996 and 2001, an average of 111,828 immigrants settled in New York per year. What’s different? The cost of housing and basic services has become significantly more expensive in just the last decade alone. According to Adams, it costs New York City $383 a night per migrant family that the city cares for. 

Adams’s management of the city budget, however, has raised some eyebrows. In August of 2022, Adams announced an emergency procurement declaration, which allowed his administration to skirt normal contract approval procedures, such as requiring competing bids from vendors. As a result, the cost of basic goods and services to care for migrants has skyrocketed. For example, one of the vendors contracted for laundry services at migrant shelters charged the government $3 per pound, while the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) pays 99 cents per pound of laundry. 

What else is different? A century ago, migrants could find work, albeit in jobs with very little worker protections. Today, many migrants arriving in New York are not authorized to work. As a result, migrant populations cannot sustain themselves and must rely on government services.

It is estimated that 40% of migrants arriving in New York City are Venezuelan. Recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension and redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which will allow migrants hailing from the country to work. Some, however, have called for more systemic change, including repealing sanctions against Venezuela to address a root cause of the influx of migrants. According to the DSA International Committee, sanctions against Venezuela have cut government revenues by a staggering 99%. The blockade has eliminated “nearly all of the foreign exchange needed to import medicine, food, medical equipment, spare parts and equipment needed for electricity generation, water systems, or transportation.” 

Recently, twenty legislators in New York, including Socialists in Office, released a statement advocating for the end of vicious budget cuts and calling for the expansion of rental assistance voucher programs, such as New York City’s Family Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Supplement (FHEPS) program, as well as a plethora of other policy measures. Moving people into permanent affordable housing is more sustainable and will reduce the burden on New York City’s shelter system. Socialists in Office have also called for the state to utilize its $13 billion “economic uncertainties” fund, which will allow the state to transfer savings from previous budget surpluses to boost funding for social services. 

The multiracial working-class forms the backbone of New York City. Contrary to the mayor’s implication that the influx of migrants would “destroy” New York City, the cultural and economic fabric of the city would crumble without multiracial working-class people. Turning people away is not the solution. Under the Adams administration, New York City has divested from core social services. Instead of advocating for systemic change, the Adams administration has blown xenophobic dog whistles, gaining allies on the Right and alienating the already wary Left. As New York City fails to provide asylum-seekers with basic services, mutual aid organizers have stepped in to fill the gaps. Mutual aid groups, such as the South Bronx Mutual Aid Collective have prepared free food, donated clothing, and distributed hygiene products for new arrivals. The collective also developed a real-time app called AyudaNYC, which offers asylum-seekers assistance links to various services in several languages. 

New York City DSA and Socialists in Office have offered a bold plan to support homeless people, and people all across the country should stand in solidarity with migrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families in the United States–not turn them away or treat them with contempt.

The post New York to Adams: Raise Taxes on the Rich and Stop Blaming Migrants appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Criticism is a necessary component of revolutionary change. But how can we effectively criticize ourselves and the institutions we want to improve?

Join the Education Committee for our upcoming book club series, where we will discuss the book Constructive Criticism: A Handbook by Vicki Legion. This book takes a look at the goals of criticism and outlines a practical approach. The book is available in PDF or you may purchase a hard copy here. (Please note that this store ships from France, so please allow a few weeks to receive your order.)

Schedule

Our book club sessions will be held both in-person and on Zoom. See the schedule below to help you prepare your readings prior to our discussions:[…]

Read More...

Thorn West: Issue No. 176

State Politics

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

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

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

City Politics

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

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

Housing Rights

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

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

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

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

Labor

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

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

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

Start: Monday, October 2, 2023 at 8:30 PM ET

Join MAWG organizers from around the country to navigate distributing our long-anticipated disaster readiness plan. Our plan is being tested by 3 chapters, but we need more (and we need help following up with the ones who have started) – if disaster organizing is your passion, we really, really need your help!

Join us to talk about how we’re going to get it done, put a little work in together in real time, and strategize for a solid release plan.

We’re growing! Per the Consensus Resolution passed at 2023 Convention, our Steering Committee is expanding from 11 to 15 members. All DSA members in good standing may apply to join.

Deadline to apply: October 13, 2023, 11:59pm (PST)

FAQ

What is the Steering Committee?
The GND Steering Committee is tasked with coordinating all national Green New Deal campaign work for the Democratic Socialists of America. In this capacity, the body is responsible for designing external campaign strategy, recruiting and cultivating organizers, establishing internal campaign infrastructures, and acting as national representatives of DSA in climate and labor coalitions, with the ultimate goal of winning an ecosocialist Green New Deal.

Our current framework is called Building for Power (aka B4P). Steering will support and encourage campaigns that aim to win policies and collective bargaining provisions which expand public services through green construction projects with strong labor standards, including project labor agreements (PLAs) with unions and targeted hiring provisions. The campaign will train and support DSA chapters to build their own base and form coalitions primarily with four elements of the working class: public sector unions, building trades, environmental justice groups, and public service users like transit riders’ unions or tenant unions.

View the application for more about what is expected of our members in terms of time commitments, experience, etc.

Who can apply?
Any DSA member in good standing can apply. To check your membership status, email membership@dsausa.org. Please apply on your own behalf.

Who reads the applications and selects candidates?
The current Steering Committee will review all applications and submit recommendations to the National Political Committee (NPC). The NPC ultimately appoints all members by majority vote.

Will current members still be on steering?
All current members must re-apply and be appointed by the NPC.

What is the timeline?
Applications are due October 13th, 2023. The NPC must make appointments by October 30th per our 2023 Resolution.

What if I am not appointed, can I still be involved?
Yes! We have an item on the application where you can indicate that you would like to stay involved. We will be sure to reach out.

I have other questions…
Email greennewdeal@dsacommitees.org and we will help you out!

The Bund: A Graphic History of Jewish Labour Resistance

Edited by Paul Buhle, written by Sharon Rudahl, illustrated by Michael Kluckner, with a foreword by David Rosenberg. Between the Lines Press, 2023. (The book can be ordered in Canada at Between the Lines Press and in the United States at AK Press.) A live online interview with the creators of The Bund can be heard on October 22 at the Jewish Community Library.

From its beginnings under Russian occupation in Vilna, Lithuania in 1897, the Jewish labor association known as the Bund faced many of the challenges that are still with us:  state and factory opposition to labor unions, war in Eastern Europe, tyrants suppressing democratic and socialist movements.  The word “bund,” which means “to bind” or “alliance” in Yiddish and German, became the title of an enduring labor and cultural association formed by Jews. (The group’s full title was “The General Jewish Labor Bund of Russia, Lithuania and Poland.”)  The history of this group, and its legacy in contemporary political and cultural activism, are celebrated in a new graphic history book that deserves to be celebrated as well.

The Bund: A Graphic History of Jewish Labour Resistance, edited by historian Paul Buhle, offers a text written by Sharon Rudahl and illustrated by Michael Kluckner.  In subtly colored drawings, Kluckner introduces a bevy of Tsarist soldiers, Bundist organizers, Lenin and the Bolsheviks, farmers, scholars, workers, fascists, and resistance fighters. The men and women in this story almost leap off their pages, as their watercolor and ink images stand out against the white background. While the images are eloquent on their own, Rudahl’s concise and lively narrative moves the reader through a half-century of uprisings, arrests, escapes, suppressed publications, strikes, and underground resistance, along with the cultural and political triumphs  that accompanied Bundist activity.

Much of this history has been told at greater length in scholarly volumes. But The Bund’s highly visual presentation offers a new, inviting perspective on the past and its connection to present-day activism.  A graphic history, much like a graphic novel (minus the fiction), by its very form calls for a new approach–an approach dependent on visual images, an approach well suited to an age in which film, television, and electronic screens often steal prospective readers away from text-heavy books.  The genre of graphic history book, like the graphic novels that preceded it, should not be confused with antecedents in comic books and political cartoons.  The Bund is not a comic book, which is to say the illustrations are not shown in six or eight small boxes per page, but rather through capacious, mostly full-page drawings that offer a lot of detail.  Humor surfaces at times in the words and images; but, in general, the presentation is more panoramic than comic.  

Before graphic novels gained a respectable following a few decades ago, comic book artists and cartoonists tended to offer readers worlds of fantasy, science-fiction, horror, and romance. Superheroes and talking animals were the most popular characters.  A significant change in topics and style began in the 1960s as “underground comix” by such artists as R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Spain Rodriguez, and Trina Robbins drew on alternative culture and New Left politics.   Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus proved it was possible to explore extremely serious matters such as Holocaust survival and family tragedy through “comic” art.

Paul Buhle has taken the art of graphic book-writing in another, highly adventurous and commendable direction, by editing and commissioning visual histories of radical political figures such as Emma Goldman (in a book by Rudahl), Eugene Debs, Paul Robeson, Che Guevara, and stories about Leftist groups such as Students for a Democratic Society, and now, the Jewish labor Bund. 

As Buhle notes in his epilogue to the new book, the Bund’s continued existence (and resistance to its adversaries) over decades became a sort of collective memory, “a collective past” that “lies hidden within all of us.”  Unknown or underacknowledged by many people, this collective past includes the radical impulses of Jews resisting oppression through organized labor and cultural activities in the first half of the twentieth century, impulses that have resurfaced and taken new form among their descendants and later generations.  

“The Bund actually found a new if limited role in postwar North America,” notes Buhle, as those in its tradition “took part in a revival of the Yiddish schools, choral, and other activities while extending their resources to help other survivors trapped abroad or recently arrived.”  More specific passing along of Bundist tradition is acknowledged in Rudahl’s brief biography of Bundist Charney Vladeck, born in Minsk, an immigrant who became “a Social Democratic giant in New Deal Manhattan.”  Current programs in social justice activism and Yiddish cultural history promoted by Workers Circle branches in Canada and the United States can be considered Bund-like actions, with many Bundist immigrants having joined Workers Circle early in the past century.

The graphic history’s two most lengthy Illustrated biographies confirm the resistant and enduring qualities of Bundism, as the narrative explains how Bernard Goldstein went from prison in Tsarist Siberia to underground resistance in World War II Poland, and from surviving the Warsaw ghetto uprising to a less trying life in the United States; and how one of the Bund’s founders in Vilna, Pati Kremer, survived several arrests under Russian occupation, and later hosted secret Bund meetings in German-occupied Lithuania.  

Some of the Bund’s long and hemisphere-spanning  life might be attributed to Yiddish, once the vernacular language of Jews across Eastern Europe. Bund speakers could be understood by Yiddish-speaking Jews in many countries, and their shared language made the Bund de facto an internationalist organization (although it favored ethnic autonomy too). Yiddish crossed many borders, and moved with its speakers to North and South America when they immigrated.

Of course Bundist ideas can be implemented in other languages, and have been.  The Bund by no means limited itself to Jewish or Yiddish culture, either.  As David Rosenberg notes in his preface to the book, the Bundists “put great stress on culture – not just Yiddish culture … but also the world of culture that other peoples had created – their art, music, literature, education.  Just as the Bund worked for a world without borders, they wanted the borders between cultures to be fluid to enable mutual understanding and appreciation.”  The Bund also sought to improve its communities with schools, dances, choral and theatrical performances, sanitaria, and self-defense units.

The book makes no reference to the Democratic Socialists of America, but it would not be unreasonable to speculate that the Bund’s advocacy of democracy and socialism, and its resistance to fascism and exploitative capitalism, anticipated some current DSA programs. In fact, Bundists were among some of the early members of DSA’s predecessor organizations. The historic Yiddish labor organization’s influence continues; and after reading this colorful and compelling book, it is hard not to want to celebrate and renew its efforts.

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The post Solidarity Across Borders and Time: The Jewish Labor Bund appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Green New Deal Campaign Commission Bylaws

Adopted: September 27, 2023

1. Membership
   1. The Green New Deal Campaign Commission (GNDCC) Steering Committee (SC) shall be composed of 15 DSA members and up to two National Political Committee (NPC) liaisons. The GNDCC SC term will continue for two years from the date of appointment or until the appointment of a new GNDCC, whichever is later.  
   2. The GNDCC SC shall elect, from among its members, two co-chairs via Acclamation, or via Approval voting should elections be competitive. The co-chairs shall be the primary points of contact between the GNDCC and the NPC and its liaisons, and shall plan and chair GNDCC meetings and otherwise lead administration of the GNDCC in accordance with these Bylaws. The NPC liaisons will be voting members of the GNDCC but ineligible for co-chair positions.
      1. An interim co-chair may be elected by the SC, should the need arise.
   3. Prior to the end of the term, the GNDCC will write and publicly circulate an application for membership to serve the next term. Applications shall be open for at least two weeks. All DSA members in good standing are eligible to apply. 
   4. From the pool of applications, the GNDCC will submit a list of recommended candidates to the NPC for approval based on the capacity, skills, and knowledge needed to carry out its mandate.
2. Scope of Work
   1. The GNDCC is tasked with planning and executing the national GND priority campaign as approved by the DSA Convention.  
3. Meetings
   1. The GNDCC shall meet at least three times per month, generally weekly. 
   2. Asynchronous voting outside of meetings may be carried out by the GNDCC co-chairs when needed.
   3. Quorum is a simple majority (50%+1) of GNDCC SC members.
4. Accountability
   1. As requested by the NPC, the GNDCC shall make regular reports to the NPC that detail progress on projects and requests for support or coordination with other parts of DSA. The GNDCC will make available summaries of these reports on the GNDCC website. 
   2. Votes shall be recorded in Google Forms or similar software.
5. Subcommittees
   1. The GNDCC shall appoint such subcommittees as it determines are necessary to carry out specific campaign tasks. 
   2. Each subcommittee shall have one or more chairs, selected from and appointed by the Steering Committee, who shall be responsible for planning and chairing subcommittee meetings and strategies, and reporting back to the SC.
   3. Subcommittees may bring in DSA members from outside the GNDCC to assist with their work.
   4. Forming or dissolving a subcommittee requires a ⅔ vote of the GNDCC SC.
   5. Subcommittee Procedures
      1. Subcommittees shall meet at least once per month.
      2. Subcommittees shall keep and make available minutes to the GNDCC.
6. Participation
   1. GNDCC members are expected to be regular participants in weekly GNDCC meetings and in at least one subcommittee along with carrying out asynchronous work, as needed.
   2. If a member of the GNDCC is absent for more than two meetings in a row, the GNDCC co-chairs will have discretion to contact that member to gauge their capacity and if they would like to continue their role, and if so, how their capacity for work/meetings/availability may have changed.
7. Removal and Replacement
   1. Any member may be removed with a ⅔ majority vote by the GNDCC. Reasons for removal may include continued absence from GNDCC work and meetings, continued failure to follow through on commitments, disruptive behavior, and actions that violate the principles or policies of DSA. 
   2. In the event of a resignation or removal of a member during the term, the GNDCC shall recruit and nominate a replacement to be approved by the NPC.
8. Amendments to the Bylaws
   1. These bylaws may be amended by a ⅔ vote of the members of the SC or by resolution at DSA’s national convention.
   2. No Bylaw amendment shall be considered by the SC unless notice of the amendment language is provided to the SC at least 72 hours prior to a vote.