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The DSA 2003 Convention
Before the convention itself began in earnest, early arrivals took a tour of labor landmarks in the city, including the Federal Screw factory, site of an early sit-down strike and of intense battles between strikers and police; the building once owned by the Detroit Socialist Party, busted in 1919 during the Palmer Raids; and Ford’s massive River Rouge Plant, where Ford thugs brutally beat UAW organizers and, later, union members in the 1930s. Through all the labor wars, the people of the city came to the aid of the unionists-and that feeling was still visible today, in the huge labor monument (built with money raised by the unions) standing in the center of the waterfront. It was also present in the receptivity shown to today’s visiting socialists (and respect and thanks given to Detroit DSA) by union members and government officials. On Friday evening, the Convention delegates attended Detroit DSA’s annual Frederick Douglass-Eugene V. Debs Dinner. The event was held at the union hall of historic United Auto Workers Local 600, which represents the workers at River Rouge. The event honored four people: Julie Hurwitz, the Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild/Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice; Philip Schloop, the business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers, who, along with the AFT’s David Hecker, brought Detroit DSA into the Metro AFL-CIO Labor Council-led living wage campaign; longtime DSA member and union activist Carl Shier, who helped found the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, one of the forerunners of DSA; and life-long socialist Oskar Paskal, who worked for much of his life in labor education through the UAW and is an activist in the fight for single-payer healthcare. The keynote speaker was journalist, political commentator and DSA Vice Chair Harold Meyerson. After paying tribute to the UAW’s contribution to “every progressive social movement,” he went on to describe the new organizing challenges facing labor in the time of Wal-Mart (the subject of one of DSA’s campaigns under its Low-Wage Justice Project). While automaking started out with Henry Ford committed to paying his workers enough to buy his products, today Wal-Mart’s strategy is to pay its workers so little that they have to shop at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart’s economic clout, in turn, guarantees that its wage policies exert downward pressure on the entire labor market. To counter this, unions must keep organizing and reorganizing workers. In addition to the DSA Convention delegates, approximately 200 Detroit-area union and political activists were present at the dinner, testifying to the impressive relations Detroit DSA has developed with other organizations. UAW International Vice President Dick Shoemaker, a DSA member and awards presenter, noted that “without the socialist movement and people like Carl [Schier] and Oskar [Paskal], labor and social justice progress would never have happened.” Entertainment was provided by Canadian folk-singer and accordionist Len Wallace, who closed the evening with a rousing rendition of the “Internationale”-accompanied, of course, by the DSA Convention Delegates Choir.
Other priorities for the next two years include continuing and expanding DSA’s Low Wage Justice campaign; using our international connections to promote much needed dialogue between progressive elected officials in the U.S. and abroad around how best to build a democratic, multilateral alternative to unilateralist United States foreign policy; and strengthening DSA internally by improving the effectiveness of our communication and outreach, forming closer ties between our youth section and the national and locals, conducting more internal political education, and continuing the work of the Local Development Committee. The Convention also passed resolutions calling for electoral reform and an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, adopting a working mission statement for DSA, and calling for National DSA to start a strategic planning process. The National Office and the Boston local were charged to organize a public socialist event in connection with the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Delegates also elected a new National Political Committee (NPC) to direct DSA’s work over the next two years. Since 2001 the DSA Constitution has required that the NPC have sixteen members, at least eight of whom must be women and at least six of whom must be people of color. Owing to a lack of female and minority candidates, the new NPC consists of eight men and three women, only one of whom is a person of color. One of the first and most important tasks of this committee will be recruiting members to fill the vacant seats.
Maryann Mahaffee, President of Detroit City Council and longtime DSA member, welcomed the delegates to the city. She said that “socialism-what the world, the earth, gives to us being equally available to everybody-just makes sense.” Delegates also received a surprise welcome from Congressman Conyers, who wasn't scheduled to speak until the next evening. At the Convention’s first plenary panel presentation on "Defending the Social Wage,” Michigan AFL-CIO Secretary Tina Abbot called Bush “the most dangerous president of modern times,” whose policies are costing 60,000-100,000 jobs a month. Discussing the low levels of social solidarity in the U.S., NPC member and Temple Professor Joe Schwartz stressed that racism is behind much of American antipathy toward social programs. Saturday’s plenary session was “The Left Response to the Global Economy,” with author Holly Sklar (Raising the Floor), Bonior and CoMartin. Sklar provided a wealth of figures on the current results of corporate-dominated globalization. A notable moment was when Bonior outlined the proposal for a North American Parliamentary Union with a parliamentary body elected by all citizens in NAFTA countries-a project he has been promoting along with Mexican legislator Carlos Heredia. Saturday evening’s outreach event featured West, Conyers, Sklar and DSA Vice Chair Harold Meyerson, Editor At-Large of the American Prospect and Washington Post columnist, speaking on “Progressive Politics, the Left and the 2004 Elections.” Conyers opened by saying that “with a crypto-fascist administration, there's no singular purpose more important than unelecting the unelected president”—a point that formed the focus of much of the discussion over the weekend as well as that evening. The Convention's final plenary session on Sunday morning on “The Quest for American Empire” featured Greater Philadelphia DSA Co-chair Kathy Quinn along with professors Fran Shor from Wayne State University and Vrasad Venugopel from the Physics University of Detroit. The Convention also featured a variety of issue, skill-building and discussion workshops, including one on universal health care that drew as many delegates as most of the plenary sessions. Detroit DSA members especially are to be commended for their hard work on organizing the Convention and the fine results. Read the report of the outgoing National Political Committee to this convention. |
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