By: Casey G.

[Editor’s Note: The final session of the Political Education Committee’s fall Organizing 101 series, “Always Be Organizing,” will be in Dearborn at 6:30 Thursday, November 20, followed by a social hour. You don’t need to have attended the first three sessions to attend the last! RSVP here.]

I’ve paid my $5 a month to DSA since about 2020, attending one General Meeting but always ending up finding one reason or another not to really get involved. After moving to Detroit this summer, I pulled up the Detroit DSA Events page and told myself it was time to stop sitting on the sidelines. I’d spent years agreeing with the principles, nodding along online, but I wanted to actually meet people and be part of the work.

Organizing 101 felt like a good first step — a way to connect what I believe with what I do.

At its heart, Organizing 101, based on the Labor Notes book Secrets of a Successful Organizer, is about connection. The series introduced the foundations of union organizing — how to move from appreciating the idea of a union to the practical, everyday skills we need to bring people together and build solidarity in our workplaces. Before Zoom calls and printing stickers, organizing begins with talking to your coworkers.

Session One, Beating Apathy, focused on moving from frustration to collaboration. How do you go from venting about work to building real momentum and solutions with your colleagues? We practiced early organizing conversations — asking good questions to uncover issues, and helping coworkers move from “this is just the way things are” to realizing they have permission to feel frustrated, to dream, and to hope for (and potentially help build) a better workplace.

The basics of being a good listener don’t change, but it’s always useful to have a refresher. The handout taught me our brains process thoughts four times faster than spoken speech, making it easy to fill in the gaps in someone’s story with our own assumptions. We practiced role-playing exercises to make sure we were slowing down enough to focus on what was really being said, and how to show you hear what someone’s saying.

Our leaders also walked us through the organizer’s bullseye — from the core group (the folks thinking about organizing even on their days off), to activists and then supporters, and how to identify the disengaged or those hostile to the campaign. It was helpful to visualize where different people might fall, and how to meet each of them where they are.

Session Two, Organizing Your Leadership Team, built on that foundation with a hands-on exercise. We were given quotes from conversations with five hotel employees and asked to identify which one might be a natural leader. There was a bit of logic and deduction involved — who did coworkers mention most often? Who already had everyone’s phone numbers? From there, we began to think about the logistics of our own workplaces: Who spends time together outside of work? How many departments and shifts are there?

Then we talked with those around us about examples in our own workplaces of times we might need to move fast and mobilize. Participants were open and vulnerable, sharing experiences from their workplaces and giving examples of grievances and goals.

In a small workplace, maybe you could reach everyone yourself — but it’s not exactly in the spirit of solidarity to carry that alone. True organizing means identifying and empowering others to lead alongside you, creating a network strong enough to mobilize everyone.

Session Three, Turning an Issue into a Campaign, featured Michigan State Representative Dylan Wegela, who shared lessons from his time organizing a statewide strike with teachers in Arizona. Moving from identifying issues, we then identified targets for the campaign (people who had the ability to change these things) and potential strategies. The strategy ideas were then put on a thermometer ranging from a relatively calm and cool idea like wearing red shirts on a Wednesday (the starting point for the Arizona campaign), to piping hot like a strike, or, in my favorite new phrase from the workshop, “Teacher January 6” (that one might have broken the thermometer).

My favorite part was an exercise where we were given five common workplace grievances he found with the teachers in Arizona, and participants brainstormed possible demands to address them. Afterward, we compared our ideas to the actual demands the teachers made in their campaign — out of the six demands the group had come up with, we’d accurately guessed half of them, most of which were solidified in the contract later.

Dylan’s reflections were honest and grounding — some campaigns succeed, and many don’t. It was inspiring to hear both his victories and his honesty. Not every campaign wins, but every one builds skills, connection, and courage — and that, too, is a victory.

Organizing 101: Jump-Starting Action Through Education was originally published in The Detroit Socialist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

More chapter reports from the fall of 2025, this time focusing on electoral campaigns and more!

The post Fall 2025 Chapter Reports: Electoral Campaigns and More appeared first on Democratic Left.

Detroit DSA Turns Out for Starbucks Strikers — And So Do Customers

By: Kristin Daniel

[Editors’ note: Kristin was part of Detroit DSA’s solidarity action Saturday, November 15, along with dozens of other DSA chapters across the country, to support Starbucks strikers. We leafleted five nonunion stores in metro Detroit to inform both baristas and customers about the workers’ strike for a union contract with decent pay and working conditions. Stay tuned to the Labor Working Group to find out about future actions next weekend.]

Standing on Woodward Avenue, trying to hold a poster that read “Solidarity with Starbucks Workers” in just the right way so the wind wouldn’t take it out of my hand, I smiled and waved along with my comrade, KC, as the first car turned in. As the car started to get into the line for the drive-through, the driver stopped and rolled her window down and asked what was going on.

“There’s a strike happening!” I answered, as KC stepped forward, handing the woman a small flier. We explained that Starbucks stores across the country were striking for a better contract, and that we were asking people to consider getting their coffee elsewhere for the duration of the strike.

“Hell yeah. I can absolutely go somewhere else today,” the woman responded, looking up from the flier. She exited the drive-through line, drove around the building, and honked and cheered as she turned back into the main road.

Although not every interaction for the rest of the day was as positive as the first, the community responded resoundingly positively. Some people in the drive-through line refused to roll their windows down, and others walking into the store took longer paths around the parking lot to avoid walking by us, but a truly surprising number of people were interested in hearing about the union.

Although many of the people that we spoke to had already paid for a mobile order and did not want to go through the process of cancelling, they enthusiastically said that they would not come back until after the strike was over. Those that had yet to put in an order were excited to chat through options for local coffee shops nearby after hearing about the strike.

In general, people seemed curious and willing to engage. Many had not heard about the strike and wanted to hear about the demands of the workers. One woman we spoke to told us that she was part of a union, and that her union had just won a new contract, so she was happy to help others do the same.

Cars driving by honked and waved when they saw us standing outside the shop. Over a dozen people decided to go somewhere else for the day, and even more pledged not to come back. We ran out of fliers in about an hour, and I headed home feeling more connected to my community, hopeful about the future, and confident that Starbucks workers would get the contract that they deserved.

In the past few years, labor unions have reached a level of popular support that they hadn’t seen since the 1960s, but many people still have a stereotypical view of labor unions as being only possible for certain types of jobs. As fewer Americans are employed in things like manufacturing, the image of what a union job can be also needs to change. The current strike action by Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) is not only an opportunity for workers to fight for their own dignity and a fair contract, but also a great opportunity to demonstrate to a receptive public that workers in different sectors can successfully organize and improve their material conditions.

If my experience is any indication, many people that are headed to Starbucks are people that would have little opportunity to engage with the labor movement otherwise. Many people simply didn’t know that Starbucks workers had a union, much less that Starbucks Workers United was on strike. By standing in solidarity with SBWU during this strike, socialists can engage more working class Americans who are already sympathetic and help convert popular support to tangible wins.

As someone who is newer to the chapter, getting involved was very easy. Simply join the Labor Working Group Slack to get updates from the DSA Starbucks solidarity committee and find an action that you are able to attend. As noted, the community has been largely receptive, so don’t be scared to come out and speak with your neighbors about how they can help!

To support Starbucks workers, commit to boycotting Starbucks for the duration of the strike by signing their No Contract, No Coffee pledge, or donate to the strike fund.

Detroit DSA Turns Out for Starbucks Strikers — And So Do Customers was originally published in The Detroit Socialist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Español

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

En Solidaridad,

El Comité Directivo de Charlotte Metro DSA

English

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Solidarity,

The Charlotte Metro DSA Steering Committee

Enjoy your November National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected 27-person body (including both YDSA Co-Chairs) which functions as the board of directors of DSA. This month, hear about recent wins, support striking Starbucks workers, sign up for trainings, and more!

And to make sure you get our newsletters in your inbox, sign up here! Each one features action alerts, upcoming events, political education, and more. 

• From the National Political Committee — Take on the Moment
• Help Socialists in Competitive Runoff Elections!
• Be a Part of Our Fall Drive! Next Call Saturday 11/15 with Labor Guest
• Sign Up for Trump Admin Response Committee (TARC)
• Join DSA’s Queer Socialist Working Group
• National Political Education Committee Trainings Thursday 11/20, Thursday 12/04

From the National Political Committee — Take on the Moment

Dear Comrades,

It’s hard to believe that it has only been 9 days since proud DSA member Zohran Mamdani became New York City Mayor-Elect — we’ve been celebrating, and we hope you have been too! This is the biggest socialist electoral victory in the US in a century. Despite the millions spent to stop us, working people across New York chose a movement to bring down the cost of living, expand public services, and hold war criminals to account. 

And socialism isn’t just winning in NYC — Zohran won office alongside a slate of democratic socialists who won municipal races in Atlanta (Kelsea Bond), Detroit (Denzel McCampbell), Minneapolis (Robin Wonsley and Soren Stevenson), Boston (Ayah Al-Zubi), and across the country, and DSA chapters all over the place fought hard in races that built a stronger local base for future fights.

Join us to analyze these wins and find new ways to grow DSA by taking on the political moment at our Our Time to Win call tonight at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT!  On this call, you’ll hear organizers from some of the teams that brought you these wins (and at least one of the winners themselves!) as well as folks from the labor movement, organizers for immigrant rights and Palestine solidarity, and more. 

Tonight’s call is a perfect opportunity for new and potential DSA members to learn how we work in DSA to tie together different areas of working class organizing, both inside and outside the electoral arena. Our connections with labor and tenant unions, social justice movements, anti-war organizations, and mutual aid networks are crucial for building the working class power that can and will defeat capitalism, and we need all hands on deck! 

And have you signed up for your unique referral link for our Fall Recruitment Drive yet? Zohran’s election is inspiring people around the world, and this is a crucial political period for us to grow DSA and keep building momentum together. We just passed 85,000 members nationwide, and are aiming for 100,000 by the end of 2025! It’s a great time to ask friends, coworkers, or family members to join DSA — and as you recruit people (perhaps by inviting them to tonight’s call or to participate in one of the actions below), have them use your unique join link. If you recruit three new people to DSA using your referral link, you’ll win a prize, as well as the satisfaction of helping to grow and sustain our mass movement for socialism!

Speaking of mass movements, over 1000 Starbucks baristas in 40+ cities across the country just walked off the job and launched an open-ended Unfair Labor Practice strike. This is likely to be one of the highest-profile labor actions in recent memory, given the combined popularity of the pumpkin spice latte and the tireless coast-to-coast organizational efforts of our comrades at Starbucks Workers United. 

Starbucks organizers have some simple organizing asks for us, and because Starbucks really is everywhere, it’s likely that the vast majority of folks reading this newsletter can show up for at least one of these. So let’s make it happen! 

1. Find a picket line near you! They’re in cities across the country. Connect with your DSA chapter if you can, or just show up and make new friends once you get there!
2. Don’t buy Starbucks, and tell your friends: “No contract? No coffee!” This is a great way to practice having some organizing conversations in your network. (If they go really well, use that unique join link and ask them to join DSA!)
3. Join SBWU for a mass call on Monday 11/17 at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT/6:30 MT/5:30pm PT! Hear from baristas on strike and find new ways to get plugged in.

These are just a few of the organizing asks we’ve got for you this week. Just because this round of elections is mostly over (we’ve still got some runoffs — see below for how you can help!) doesn’t mean the work is done. In many areas, it’s just beginning! Scroll down for more opportunities to plug into DSA work nationally. And if you’re not yet connected with your DSA chapter locally, find it here and reach out. We’ve got a world to win and it’ll take all of us. We’ll see you out there!

Solidarity,

Ashik Siddique and Megan Romer
DSA National Co-Chairs

Help Socialists in Competitive Runoff Elections!

BREAKING: Our comrades Jake Ephros and Joel Brooks of North NJ DSA are heading to a runoff for Jersey City Council!

Corporate money will be flooding into this high stakes run off in North New Jersey, and Jake and Joel are going to need YOUR help to get over the finish line. It’s time to take out the capitalist trash in Jersey City and send 2 more socialists to office. 

We’ve already raised $100,000 for DSA candidates around the country, who won over 11 races this year! Help us cap off a historic election cycle for socialists in the US with a donation to Jake and Joel TODAY.

Be a Part of Our Fall Drive! Next Call Saturday 11/15 with Labor Guest

The Growth and Development Commission has been hard at work with the Fall Drive. We now have over 5,000 new members, and the goal is to keep that growing while helping chapters engage members new and old in recruitment and development work.

We have a team of coaches working with chapters across the country for the Fall Drive. If you would like to participate in the Fall Drive with your own coach from our national team, please email the GDC at gdc@dsacommittees.org.

If you want to help us build DSA, join us for an upcoming phonebank with special guests:

• Sat 11/15 at 5pm ET with the NLC and a special guest from the labor movement
• Wed 11/19 at 7pm ET with special guest author Adam Hochschild
• Sat 11/22 at 2pm ET with special guest, author and Danish MP Pelle Dragsted
• Tue 12/02 at 7pm ET Giving Tuesday phonebank

Sign Up for Trump Admin Response Committee (TARC)

As the second Trump administration continues to wreak havoc, we know this onslaught is meant to overwhelm working class people and make us feel powerless. The Trump administration has within the first year committed mass terror campaigns against the people who live in this country, from threats against trans lives to the brutal horror of ICE raids across the country. But at the same time, we’ve seen the power of solidarity in this moment, as working class people in LA, Chicago, and cities across the country have taken a stand to defend their friends, families, and neighbors from this administration’s brutality. Multiple times this year, millions have taken to the streets to show their opposition to the Trump administration. What we are seeing across our society is something we as socialists already know: we are not powerless when we’re organized, and we’re still fighting for someone we don’t know.

It is crucial for socialists to be part of this fight to defeat fascism and win a socialist world. To that end, DSA’s Trump Admin Response Committee (TARC) is organizing with DSA members across the country to fight to defend and expand the rights of trans and migrant communities, stand up against Musk’s billionaire coup and stand with workers, elect socialist champions to office all over the country, and show how DSA is fighting against fascism and authoritarianism and for a world where we all have dignity and liberation. 

DSA can be a leader in the fight against fascism, but we need you to make it happen. Join our fight against fascism, and sign up here to get involved in TARC today!

Join DSA’s Queer Socialist Working Group

Join the DSA Queer Socialists Working Group (QSWG)! With recent anti-trans judiciary decisions, joining QSWG is more important than ever. The Supreme Court just decided that Trump can invalidate trans people’s passports, and a Federal court in Ohio just allowed people to bully trans students.

But right now, you can take action on anti-trans legislation! The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), described by sponsor Marsha Blackburn as intended to “protect children from the transgender in our society,” is back in Congress. This is especially concerning given the passage of explicitly transphobic anti-“obscenity” and digital surveillance bills in state legislatures all over the country. Our coalition partner Fight For the Future has a dialing tool and information about KOSA here.

The QSWG also has major internal changes going on. The Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy campaign commission is merging into the Queer Socialists Working Group (QSWG). We’ll also change our name, make structural reforms to comply with the Democracy Commission’s proposal, and have elections for new leadership in January. To vote or run in that election, you must join the QSWG.

National Political Education Committee Trainings Thursday 11/20, Thursday 12/04

With our big wins and fightback against the right, DSA has momentum and we are growing! The National Political Education Committee (NPEC) offers trainings to help chapters prepare for new members and build the strength of their local. Join us to learn how to start and run your own poli ed committee on Thursday 11/20 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT. Or learn how to set up a childwatch program on Thursday 12/4 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT.

And that’s not all! We want to broaden DSA’s horizons and encourage the spread of this kind of knowledge. If you have reflections and experiences with socialist political education in or out of DSA, we want to help you share them. Pitch your writing to our monthly newsletter, Red Letter.

The post Take on the Moment — Your National Political Committee Newsletter appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

People inspired by the Mamdani's success should consider changes to the electoral system that would make similar wins possible across the country.

The post Making Mamdani a Model appeared first on Democratic Left.

Discussions of internal structure are often maligned as being the least of an organization’s concerns. As the crises of capitalism evolve and accelerate, what use is it to discuss the role of a branch, the difference between a working group and a priority campaign, or the need for this or that committee?

The reality is that well-organized internal structures are crucial. Rational and accessible chapter structures help new members find and participate in chapter work, and clearly defined roles for chapter bodies provide leadership with clear expectations. It is important that we have a common understanding of the roles of our various bodies to make sure they work effectively and that their purposes are clear to new members. When a chapter’s bodies are logically and consistently organized, the chapter is more effective at growing itself and its capacity to deploy its membership to the task of building a revolutionary socialist party to confront capitalism and fascism. 

This article discusses a vision for the function of the lowest body in Chicago DSA, the branch. 

The Structure of Chicago DSA

Branches 

At its lowest level, Chicago DSA is divided into five branches – four territorial and one based on “a common interest”. The territorial branches divide the city into four parts: the North Side Blue Line, the North Side Red Line, the South Side, and West Cook County. A person is a member of a geographic branch by virtue of residing in its assigned territory. The interest group branch is called the Labor Branch, and all members of Chicago DSA are eligible to apply for membership. The Labor Branch works to “help socialists build unions, push labor leadership left, make the labor movement accountable to the rank and file” (Labor Branch Manifesto).

The chapter’s bylaws describe branches as being “responsible for promoting and implementing CDSA policies and programs.” They further state that the branches are “not autonomous entities and must seek full chapter approval for outward facing political work” (Article VII, Section 5, emphasis added). The Labor Branch has been granted higher autonomy by the chapter’s Executive Committee and General Chapter Meetings. As a result, it functions far more like a working group or campaign than the other branches. For that reason this article excludes the Labor Branch when referring to “branches” and the term should be read to mean “geographic branches”.

Working Groups & Campaign Committees 

Above these branches are Chicago DSA’s working groups and campaign committees (often called priority campaigns). These bodies are officially created at the sole discretion of the Executive Committee, but in practice they are frequently chartered at the chapter’s quarterly General Chapter Meetings through resolutions drafted and voted on by the chapter’s membership. Working groups and campaign committees, once chartered, are relatively autonomous bodies capable of engaging in outward facing political work on behalf of the chapter within the scope of their charters. They can generally host town halls, create flyers and petitions, contact electeds, and otherwise interact with the public without approval from the EC.

Executive Committee & the General Chapter Meeting 

At the top of Chicago DSA is the quarterly General Chapter Meeting. According to the bylaws, the GCM is the “highest policy-making body” in the chapter (Article IV, Section 2). Between GCM meetings, the Executive Committee is empowered to make decisions that are ratified by the membership at the next GCM (Article VI). These two bodies are the most powerful in the chapter. They share the authority to establish and dissolve all lower bodies and are responsible for guiding Chicago DSA’s activity and direction.

Other Committees

The chapter also currently has three standing committees which help facilitate certain areas of its work: political education, membership engagement, and communications. These committees help do the basic administrative work of the chapter.

A Vision for Chicago’s Branches 

Our vision for the branches is rooted in part in the text of the chapter’s bylaws and in practicality. First and foremost, the branches are meant to serve as non-autonomous bodies responsible for “promoting and implementing CDSA policies and programs” (Article VII, Section 5). In other words, the branches are responsible for doing the work of the chapter as determined by our General Chapter Meetings, the Executive Committee, and the chartered working groups and priority campaigns. In our view, a branch should not be deciding on its own work and political vision, but rather should strive to serve the needs of the higher bodies. 

The North Side Blue Line (NSBL) branch’s newest steering committee has worked over the past several months to organize its branch under this principle. Prior to recent elections, most of Chicago DSA’s branches were relatively aimless. The NSBL, for example, had a single member on its steering committee prior to the July 2025 election. Prior to this summer, none of the branches did more than host a single monthly meeting (usually used for general political discussion rather than substantive organizing) and sporadic phonebanking events. Meanwhile, chapter projects like our Fix the CTA and Unite + Fight campaign committees were responsible for hosting their own canvassing events of which there were only a small handful between January and June of 2025.

Most of the members of NSBL’s current steering committee were identified by the previous term’s one-person steering committee to stand up an ad hoc organizing committee in early 2025. This committee quickly began implementing reforms. First, it was noted that most people attending branch meetings were new members without a home inside DSA, so time at NSBL meetings was given over to reports and requests for volunteers from the campaign committees. This facilitated a pipeline from joining DSA to doing work for DSA. Second, the branch’s future leaders realized that campaigns struggled to put on widespread flyering efforts for the same reason the branches’ own events were so sporadic: running such events is a lot of effort for already busy campaign organizers. To combat this, the organizing committee and later steering committee began recurring “outreach” events (tabling, flyering, and phone-banking).

NSBL has found that branch leaders are much better situated than campaign organizers to research local targets for outreach events. They have more time and a deeper understanding of their home territory and easier access to members looking for work to do through the branch meetings. Furthermore, because the branch can draw work from any campaign or working group, there is never a shortage of things to do. As a result, tabling and flyering does not have to be propped up sporadically by particular campaigns as needed but can become standing infrastructure which can be planned once and set to recur regularly (NSBL currently runs three such events, with plans for more next year). This infrastructure can be used as needed by one or more campaigns and is easily retooled for new campaigns. 

The benefits of organizing the branch as infrastructure for doing the work of the chapter are two-fold. First, consistent branch infrastructure attracts regular volunteers, who naturally develop as leaders in their area of work. As those budding leaders become more confident and connected in their branch, they can either take over a project (freeing up the original organizer

to do other work) or  organize around their own ideas such as other tabling events, socials, book clubs, or fundraisers rooted in the branch. The infrastructure approach effectively develops leaders who can reinforce existing events and facilitate bigger and better projects. 

The second benefit is to the campaigns. As a result of the massive growth in outreach events, the campaigns have been able to greatly expand their reach without a significant increase in their labor. Without branch support, Chicago DSA’s Trans Liberation Campaign was able to host three canvassing events in June (centered around major Pride events) to collect signatures to restore gender affirming care at Lurie Children’s hospital. The NSBL was able to supplement their work with a full six outreach events dedicated to distributing the petition in the same time period. As the summer progressed, NSBL outreach events incorporated literature from the Immigrants Rights campaign’s (now International Solidary working group) Boycott Avelo project and Fix the CTA’s call for the state to fund transit to avoid disastrous cuts.

Effectiveness of the Organizing Principle 

Organizing the NSBL branch under the principle of “doing the work of the chapter” has had immediate, noticeable effects. More and more new members have shown up to branch meetings. These meetings grew from 10 to 20 people to over 40 monthly attendees, spread out over two locations. Many were new members or longtime members who were becoming more engaged. The new members frequently told us they joined because of our tabling, while longtime members said that they felt lost trying to engage in DSA prior to recent branch meetings guiding them to chapter work.

More concretely, the number of calendar events labeled as “outreach” skyrocketed from less than 10 chapterwide between January 1st and April 30th to more than 44 between May 1st and August 31st. The NSBL accounted for 55% of all of these outreach events, with another 20% held by the campaigns themselves. During the same time period in 2024, 0 such events appeared on the calendar.

The uptick in activity has had measurable effects on recruitment and engagement in the branch. In the month leading up to our last GCM, members of the NSBL branch were more likely to have engaged in at least one Chicago DSA event than any other branch. In that month, the NSBL achieved 19% member engagement, compared to just 13% on the similarly large North Side Red Line branch. Additionally in August, the NSBL recruited twice as many new members as any other branch.

Conclusion 

Chicago DSA is lagging behind other large DSA chapters in terms of membership growth. This is in part because we have an undeveloped structure for our chapter, which makes it difficult to recruit and retain new members. The NSBL has shown a path forward for other branches to build the structures necessary to foster new leadership within the chapter at the branch level. New leadership increases capacity and allows the chapter to grow its activities, membership, and ambition. 

We envision a future Chicago DSA which rivals (and eventually surpasses) other parties in Chicago for political power in the city–we encourage other branches to follow our lead towards a model which helps build the organization of this future.

The post On the Role of Branches appeared first on Midwest Socialist.