The post DSA Labor Statement on Spanberger Veto of HB1263 and SB378 appeared first on Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America.

Events & Actions

Tuesday May 19 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Wednesdady May 20 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Guarantee Act Petition Dropoff/Pickup (Mission Playground, 36 Cunningham Pl)

Wednesday May 20 (6:00 PM – 7:30 PM) What is DSA? (1916 McAllister St)

Thursday May 21 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Social Committee (zoom)

Thursday May 21 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Education Board Open Meeting (zoom)

Thursday May 21 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM) Immigrant Justice Regular Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Friday May 22 (9:30 AM – 10:30 AM) District 1 Coffee with Comrades (2 Clement St)

Friday May 22 (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM) Maker Friday (1916 McAllister St)

Sunday May 24 (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM) Physical Education + Self Defense Training (Panhandle, William McKinley Monument)

Sunday May 24 (1:00 PM – 3:00 PM) DSA Spring Picnic (William McKinley Monument, Panhandle)

Sunday May 24 (5:00 PM – 6:00 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle Working Group (zoom)

Monday May 25 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Tenderloin Healing Circle (Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Monday May 25 (6:30 PM – 8:00 PM) Homelessness Working Group Regular Meeting (1916 McAllister St.)

Monday May 25 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) DSA Run Club (McClaren Lodge, Golden Gate Park)

Monday May 25 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Labor Board – Flex Meeting (zoom)

Tuesday May 26 (5:30 PM – 7:00 PM) Social Housing Working Group (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Tuesday May 26 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Public Transit Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Wednesday May 27 (6:45 PM – 8:30 PM) Tenant Organizing Working Group Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Thursday May 28 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Public Bank Project Meeting (zoom)

Thursday May 28 (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM) Bilingual Emergency Planning Training: How to Show Up for Immigrants at Their ICE Check-Ins (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Friday May 29 (9:30 AM – 10:30 AM) District 1 Coffee with Comrades (in person at 2 Clement St)

Sunday May 31 (1:00 PM – 2:30 PM) What Is DSA? (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Monday June 1 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) DSA Run Club (in person at McLaren Lodge)

Monday June 1 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Labor Board – New Union Organizing (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Tuesday June 2 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

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

We kicked off our campaign for the Affordable Housing Guarantee Act!

Come out to Mission Playground this Wednesday, May 20th anytime between 6 and 8 PM to drop off filled out petitions and pick up fresh petitions! We’ll train you in signature gathering and get you set up everything you need. Come help us guarantee our affordable housing funds!

RSVP here.

Join our Community Forum for wide-ranging discussions

We’re holding our Community Forum from 12-3 at the DSA SF Office. This will be our first run of the event, so we’re focusing on members first before rolling out to a wider audience, and we’ll be soliciting feedback and suggestions from attendees.

The goal of the event is to facilitate a discussion around concrete issues that people are concerned about at the global, national, and local levels, to discuss how problems that seem distinct are often interconnected through the logic of capitalism, and how socialism can tackle these challenges by targeting the roots.

EWOC Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing Course: Reportback for Weeks 2-4

The four week long Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing course had its final session this past Sunday. Our cohort was 8 to 12 comrades strong and we learned about the building blocks of organizing. These trainings are run regularly, with the next one coming up Tuesdays in July. You can find out more details here!

During the second session, the big idea was “socialize before you organize.” Building real relationships with coworkers outside of work creates the trust you need before any organizing conversation can actually happen. We talked through the 80/20 rule, 20% asking questions and sharing, 80% listening. The goal isn’t to come in with your own list of issues, but to get curious about what your coworkers care about and let them articulate what’s wrong in their own words. From there, you can start connecting people to each other and turning individual frustrations into collective ones, since a problem affecting one worker likely affects another. We also got into some of the practical strategies as well, such as not having organizing conversations at work or on internal communications tools like slack, always updating your chart afterward (if you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen!), and never assuming someone will say no before you’ve actually had the conversation. A few people shared updates on their own charting, including one person starting a chart at their workplace who got connected with another attendee organizing at the same company! We wrapped up talking about what makes someone “organizable”, things like prior social connections or signs they care about a cause, and how to redirect hopelessness by pointing to workplaces where organizing has actually won.

The third week’s plenary focused on “Campaigns and Collective Action,” and after watching it together we dug into how an organizing committee actually moves from building relationships into running a campaign. A big theme was structure tests: the idea that every action doubles as a diagnostic for how much cohesion you actually have. You want to front-load smaller, lower-stakes actions (stickers, swag, socials, asking OC members to commit to 1:1s, getting a question upvoted at an all-hands, raising an issue in a visible internal forum) so that if something flops, it flops early and tells you where the gaps are. Someone made the point that in tech especially, demands tend to be more amorphous than in service-sector campaigns, so you often have to get creative about what counts as an action. We also talked about how the most common failure mode isn’t unclear messaging but workers not feeling like others have their back, which is really a 1:1 trust problem dressed up as a communication problem. Recruiting natural workplace leaders into the OC matters a lot, and tactics like anonymous-signature open letters can lower the risk threshold for people who are nervous about visibility. On scope, we got into how a campaign can carry a #1 and a #2 issue rather than shoehorning everyone into one demand, with the Starbucks example as a reference point (pay and benefits across the board, hours and scheduling shop-specific). Identifying the actual decision-makers, which often means going past your immediate manager to the board, shareholders, or execs, came up as something bosses actively try to obscure. We closed by touching on the spectrum from business unionism to class-struggle unionism, with the sense that tech organizing probably can’t stop at the business-unionism layer. Recommended reading from the discussion included *What the Boss Doesn’t Want Us to Know*, *Class Struggle Unionism*, and *Unions of Our Own*.

The final session went over inoculation, which is the practice of preparing your coworkers against common talking points the boss and anti-union coworkers may share. We used the Union Busting Bingo Card to practice responses and reasoning behind the canned responses that union busters will have. Our scenarios went over phrases including “We’re already making those changes”, “If you don’t like it then don’t work here”, “You can always come to us”, and “We’ll give you a pizza party <or any kind of small gimme>”. We also discussed how to respond to concerns about immigration/work status being threatened and the myth that unions only ask for raises so that they can get more union dues. The boss is your strongest organizer because inoculation can prove to your coworkers that the boss isn’t there to support the workers and that they’d rather read from a union-busting playbook than respond to worker demands.

If you’d like to get involved with the SF local chapter of EWOC, reach out to the lead coordinator Caitlin S or email labor@dsasf.org. EWOC is a standing topic at meetings of the Labor Board, which are held every other Monday at 7:00 PM, both in-person at 1916 McAllister and over Zoom. Anyone is welcome to attend, and we’re always looking for people interested In workplace lead canvassing, organizer trainings, and volunteer outreach. If you’re interested in organizing your workplace and would like to be connected with an EWOC organizer, fill out the request form here.

Shasta County DSA faces the challenge of organizing in a rural, heavily Republican corner of far northern California — but years of persistent effort have paid off.

The post North California Home to New DSA Chapter appeared first on Democratic Left.

Procedure Steps

1. The Chapter Member(s) wishing to make an expenditure request (hereafter referred to as the “Requestor”) fills out and submits the Milwaukee DSA Expenditure Request Form at least one (1) week in advance of any deadlines associated with the request.
2. The Chapter Finance Team and/or Chapter Treasurer (hereafter referred to as the “Reviewer”) reviews the request within one (1) week. The Reviewer then determines if the request meets the following:
   • Criteria:
     • If the request meets both these criteria, the next steps of this procedure are then performed. If the request fails to meet any of the above criteria, the Reviewer denies the request and informs the Requestor of the reason(s) for denial, after which this Procedure is complete and no further steps are necessary. 
     • It is qualified for consideration according to the Governing Documents of Milwaukee DSA
   • If the request meets both these criteria, the next steps of this procedure are then performed. If the request fails to meet any of the above criteria, the Reviewer denies the request and informs the Requestor of the reason(s) for denial, after which this Procedure is complete and no further steps are necessary. 
3. The Reviewer determines what body of the Chapter is required to approve or deny the request (hereafter referred to as the “Grantor”), and refers the request to the appropriate party.
4. The Reviewer contacts the Requestor to inform them of the date, time and location at which the Grantor will consider the request, and asks if the Requestor or another person is available at that date and time to explain and motivate the request to the Grantor.
5. The Grantor approves or denies the request at the next available opportunity, and informs the Requestor of their decision. 

Purpose

The Internal Communication and Moderation policy will ensure that chapter communication spaces remain welcoming, constructive, and aligned with the DSA’s Code of Conduct for members as well as Milwaukee DSAs Online Code of Conduct policy and Meeting and Events Code of Conduct.  By establishing consistent moderation practices and clear guidelines, this Policy will help facilitate productive discussion, reduce disruptive behavior, and protect the ability of members to organize effectively online. 

Community Standards

1. At all chapter meetings and events, members must adhere to the Policy: Meeting and Event Code of Conduct.
2. For all online communication, members must adhere to Policy: Online Code of Conduct. 
3. Members may appeal a moderation decision through the Procedure: Moderation Appeal Process. All thoughts and concerns regarding a moderation action may not be shared on public platforms. Any questions regarding a moderation appeal or action must be asked privately and directly to a moderator or HGO.

Platforms

1. Milwaukee DSA members may use the Discord server, moderated by the chapter (hereafter referred to as the chapter Discord) to communicate with other active members, to discuss among themselves as individuals, and to advocate for their own individual perspectives. With the exception of announcements from moderators or duly elected or appointed chapter officers, posts are understood to represent individual opinions, not official decisions or positions of the Milwaukee chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
2. Signal should be used occasionally, concisely and for person to person, immediate communication. Signal may also be used in the event that said communications need to be encrypted.
3. The Milwaukee DSA Signal Chat has been terminated. There is no official Milwaukee DSA Signal Chat. 
4. The primary official method of outreach shall be through regular direct outreach to members and supporters at the contact information they have shared with DSA and Milwaukee DSA (e.g., email newsletters and occasional phone calls or texts). Chapter officers shall organize this outreach. Outreach using chapter contact lists shall be conducted using DSA resources to ensure members’ privacy. Scripts and emails shall be approved by duly elected or appointed chapter officers to ensure that they reflect the collective decisions of Milwaukee DSA.

Role Definitions

1. Moderators: members who moderate and monitor discussion in chapter chat servers
2. Harassment and Grievance Officers (HGOs): responsible for overseeing the investigation of Members accused of engaging in prohibited behavior according to the Harassment Policy (Resolution 33) of DSA. See chapter bylaws for more detail. 
3. Administrators: Maintain membership in the chapter chat server, adding in new members and channels plus removing members who are no longer in the chapter. Admin roles will be given to mkedsaoutreach@gmail.com and milwaukeedsa@gmail.com and be maintained by the Secretary, Outreach Officer and Communications Officer. More admins will be added on an as needed basis.

Role of Moderators

1. To remove, mute or ban any content or person that does not follow all applicable codes of conduct and policies 
2. To document all incidents in which the moderation team removed, muted, or banned content or persons
3. To seek advice from those on the moderation team for guidance on how to proceed with member infractions/removals
4. To cooperate with Chapter HGOs in the event of content needing to be retrieved for an HGO filing
5. To keep discussions and other chapter business on topic and concise
6. To receive feedback from members regarding content or user interactions, and clarify to members why the moderators modified their participation in the chapter server
7. Provide 48 hour notice to members who receive infractions or banning

Guidelines for Moderation Actions

1. This set of community guidelines follows a “three strikes you’re out” guideline for removing members from the chapter server. Once a member has acquired three or more infractions, they will be removed from the chapter server for a year or possibly more, depending on the severity.
   • Infraction #1
     • Member(s) will be notified by a moderator why the content they shared did not follow the Community Guidelines within 48 hours of the incident occurring
     • Member and Moderator will discuss and/or re-educate the member about how to interact with the chapter chat server in the future
   • Infraction #2
     • Member(s) will be notified by a moderator why the content they shared did not follow the Community Guidelines within 48 hours of the incident occurring.
     • Member will be banned from server ranging from a day to a week, depending on severity
     • Member and Moderator will discuss and/or re-educate the member about what they can do in the future
   • Infraction #3
     • Member(s) will be notified by a moderator why the content they shared did not follow the Community Guidelines within 48 hours of the incident occurring.
     • Member will be banned from server ranging from one  to indefinitely, depending on severity 
     • Member and Moderator will discuss and/or re-educate the member after the length of the ban time to determine if both parties are ready to bring the member back into the server.

2. Moderators will use their best discretion to enforce all applicable Community Standards (see section I.) and to maintain an orderly and safe place for all members to organize.  
3. At any point a member may discuss with the moderation team about why they received any moderation actions (deleted posts, account banned or muted)  against them. Questions regarding a moderation appeal or action must be asked privately and directly to a moderator or HGO. Members may appeal moderation actions through the Procedure: Moderation Appeal Process. 
4. In the event that a conversation is generally heated and may escalate, a moderator may temporarily put a channel or thread into “slow mode” to allow all parties time to cool down. Moderators should consult other moderators and/or HGO(s) if they chose to put a channel in “slow mode”  

Choosing moderators

1. Chapter Harassment and Grievance Officers (HGOs) will manage the moderation team under the purview of the Executive Committee; they will not personally moderate membership posts except in the case of inappropriate moderator behavior or when immediate emergency action is needed.
2. There must be at minimum 2 moderators (not including HGOs). The Executive Committee may appoint additional moderators as recommended by the moderation team. Appointed moderators will be subject to a confirmation vote by membership at a General Meeting.
3. Moderators must be members in good standing
4. A Moderator’s term shall be no longer than 1 year following their confirmation vote, unless reappointed by the Executive Committee. All moderators are subject to appointment or reappointment by the Executive Committee in June each year.

Purpose

A primary goal of DSA is to be welcoming and inclusive to our members and others who share DSA’s core values of liberty, equality, solidarity, as well as our commitment to restructuring gender and cultural relationships to be more equitable and not oppressive within the context of building a diverse working class movement. As such, we are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.

This code of conduct outlines DSA’s expectations for all those who participate in DSA meetings, conferences, and other public-facing events, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior. That includes DSA members, allies, vendors, donors, supporters, and others. We invite all DSA members and allies to help us create welcoming and positive experiences for everyone

1 Expected Behavior

The following behaviors are expected and requested of all persons – including members – who participate in Milwaukee DSA meetings, conferences and other events:

1. Abide by DSA Guidelines for Respectful Discussions and with all applicable Community Codes of Conduct;
2. Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech;
3. Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the health and longevity of DSA;
4. Exercise consideration in your speech and actions;
5. Share analysis and opinions rather than accusations;
6. Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants. 
7. Alert a DSA chapter officer if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential;
8. Trust your gut if you notice someone who might be an infiltrator, and let a DSA chapter officer know. For DSA resources as to what infiltrators historically do, please read this and this.

2 Unacceptable Behavior

The following behaviors are unacceptable within our community and may lead to the person being subject to our harassment policy or code of conduct and expulsion process:

1. Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person, as well as language which could reasonably be interpreted as encouraging or threatening violence;
2. Concealing, carrying, or brandishing weapons;
3. Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language;
4. Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material;
5. Posting or threatening to post other people’s personally identifying information (“doxing”);
6. Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability;
7. Inappropriate photography or recording. You should have someone’s consent before taking their photograph and/or recording their voice;
8. Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someone’s consent before touching them;
9. Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes: sexualized comments or jokes; inappropriate touching, groping, and unwelcome sexual advances;
10. Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following (online or in person);
11. Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior; Disruption of community events, including meetings, talks and presentations; including by anyone who is in substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization, as provided by the DSA Constitution.

3 Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior

3. Unacceptable behavior from any person who attends a Milwaukee DSA meeting, conference, or event will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.
4. Infiltrators will be removed from meetings, conferences, and all other events immediately. An infiltrator is defined any of the following: (a) anyone who is advocating for principles or actions which are in substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization, as provided by the DSA Constitution (b) anyone who is engaging in systematic/planned disruption of DSA meetings/events/etc. regardless of their stated principles, (c) anyone who misuses DSA data. For example: tracking/compiling/using/disseminating DSA data (lists, minutes, etc.) for the purpose of surveillance, for use by an outside organization, or for other unapproved uses.  
5. If a person engages in unacceptable behavior, Milwaukee DSA leaders/organizers may take any immediate action they deem appropriate, including expulsion from the meeting, conference or event, and without refund in the case of a paid event. Until the chapter can investigate whether the unacceptable behavior violated DSA’s harassment policy and/or any applicable code of conduct, the person may be prohibited from further participation in the organization.

4 Reporting Guidelines

1. If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behavior, or have any other concerns, please notify a meeting marshal, HGO, or DSA officer (including the elected chapter leadership and/or meeting or committee chair). 
2. Solely as an option of critical need, depending on the nature of the conduct, DSA officers may help community members engage with local law enforcement or to otherwise help those experiencing unacceptable behavior feel safe. At in-person events, organizers will also provide escorts as desired by the person experiencing distress.
3. Chapter HGOs (harassment grievance officers) can assist with filing a grievance for a potential violation of DSA’s harassment policy, Resolution 33, and/or chapter codes of conduct. If an HGO is not present at the meeting, please contact a chapter officer or look on the chapter website to obtain the confidential email address to submit a grievance.

5 Scope

3. We expect all community participants (DSA staff, members, allies, vendors, donors, supporters and others) to abide by this Code of Conduct in all community venues–online and in-person–as well as in all one-on-one communications pertaining to DSA business.
4. This code of conduct and its related procedures also applies to unacceptable behavior occurring outside the scope of community activities when such behavior has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of community members.
5. The Executive Committee may pre-approve appropriate security for any meeting or event if needed. Nothing in this code shall be interpreted as prohibiting security steps deemed necessary by the EC.

The candidate for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District is one of at least 14 DSA candidates on the ballot Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Oregon, and Kentucky.

The post Chris Rabb Makes the Establishment Nervous appeared first on Democratic Left.

Las Vegas DSA’s Electoral Working Group (EWG) has prepared a process-driven voter guide targeting Southern Nevada. EWG developed a list of candidates that had the potential to be aligned with our positions, and invited candidates on the list to fill out the questionnaire. Based on the questionnaire responses, EWG made recommendations to the General Body, which approved the following voter guide for publication.

Please note: Las Vegas DSA treats recommendations differently than endorsements. When we endorse a candidate, we commit a significant portion of our chapter resources to fight to get that candidate elected and they are expected to act as representatives of LVDSA. Although multiple candidates sought our endorsement in 2026, only two were endorsed – Val Thomason and Shaun Navarro. The additional recommendations in this guide are intended to help voters with their choices, but they do not imply endorsement.

View the full guide

A friendly boss and a healthy wage are increasingly rare, but do workers lucky enough to have both need a union?

The post I have a good boss. Do I still need a union? appeared first on EWOC.