For those of you still in school, the fall semester is beginning to wind down.  We hope you can find time for politics and organizing in between cramming for finals, finishing up term papers and planning your fabulous winter get-away vacation.  The sad fact is that while we're busy taking care of our own business, Bush and his corporate allies are busy screwing over workers and denying us our most basic rights.  In this email update we've highlighted some of these attacks and ways people can support the labor movement fightback.  In addition, we've included the full length statement recently passed by YDS' elected leadership detailing our perspectives on the 2004 elections and their aftermath.  The statement is a bit long for an email, but we hope you'll take the time to look it over and incorporate some of its suggestions into your activist work.


                  1) YDS POST-ELECTION STATEMENT                 
                  2) DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS IN THE NEWS: WORKERS' RIGHTS!
                  3) 'BUY UNION WEEK' UNDERWAY
                  4) ACTION: NLRB STRIPS TEMPS OF RIGHTS & STOLEN ELECTIONS?
1) YDS POST-ELECTION STATEMENT
The following statement was recently passed by YDS' Coordinating Committee:
 
I.  As young democratic socialists we are proud to have been part of the broad-based struggle to defeat Bush.  That struggle, however, was not enough, and we now face the prospect of a demoralized progressive grassroots and a right-wing on the offensive.  Whether Bush's win was due to illegal voter intimidation and vote-counting fraud, the GOP's skillful distortion of the facts and framing of the debate, an inept Kerry campaign, or a combination of many factors, we must assess our strategies and the shifting political terrain as we continue the fight for justice.  The right-wing will press forward with an aggressive plan to destroy their most powerful opponents on the left --labor unions-- and expand the war on terror as a cover to further dismantle social welfare programs and undermine democracy itself.  The elitist and more conservative wing of the Democratic Party has already begun calling for the party to become even more "republican-lite" in order to win future elections.  This we must resist.  Opportunistic moves to the right close off space for those offering a bold alternative to the greed and intolerance of the Republicans. 
 
The biggest lesson for progressive activists may be this: don't put all your eggs in the electoral basket.  Instead, build a broad base, work to elect politicians when necessary, and always hold their feet to the fire, especially as a way to demonstrate our own independent, collective power as a movement.
 
Though we were ultimately unsuccessful at unseating Bush, during the 2004 elections we witnessed a shift in the landscape of U.S. politics.  For the first time in recent memory, the American Left began to act and sound like it was building a coherent social movement around an electoral strategy.  Organized labor, communities of color, feminist groups, the LGBTQ community, environmental activists, and --most relevant to YDS-- a diverse range of students and youth organized an impressive anti-Bush grassroots mobilization.  The infrastructure that developed out of this progressive coalition along with independent groups like America Coming Together and the League of Pissed Off Voters must be sustained and expanded.  Now that the election is over, and despite the fact that many of our comrades are devastated by the thought of another Bush term and might dismiss our optimism, YDS affirms the possibilities of continuing and growing the progressive movement into the future. 
 
II.  There is hope in the fact that young voters were the only group to cast the majority of their votes against Bush.  At 54 to 45 percent for Kerry, the percentage of eligible 18-29 year olds who voted was the highest its been since the voting age was lowered to 18.  Some 21 million youth voted this time, and indeed, red state college campuses and metro areas harbor some of our most active YDS chapters.  There are many issues that confront young people and motivated them to vote, get involved in their communities and become engaged in the political process.  The ongoing crisis in Iraq, lack of health care coverage and decent job opportunities, spiraling tuition costs, and continued cutbacks in higher education funding have profoundly affected the livelihood of millions of students and young workers in this country.  With the Republicans in control, the situation for Americas youth will likely worsen during the years to come.  The silver-lining is that the distressing realities we face could potentially give rise to a new wave of activism.  YDS will work to encourage such a coordinated response to the attacks on the rights and well-being of our generation.
 
III.  It is no accident that one of the primary organizing principles for coalitional work has been the Democratic Party.  Indeed, some on the Left still hope for a radical breakthrough via revolutionary posturing and marginal Third Party initiatives. Democratic socialists, in contrast, have often found themselves in the unique position of both working within and critiquing structures (the Democratic Party, labor unions, etc.) that provide a mechanism for shifting social and economic power.  Our goal is to build a politics of the possible. This means struggling alongside the communities that share our ideals and recognize the utility of working with Democrats when feasible and necessary.  Holding this position requires balancing our pragmatic activism with a long-term commitment to an egalitarian socialist world. 
 
IV.  Today, with Republican control of the House, Senate, and Executive Branch, the right-wing is positioned to enact an Orwellian vision of the world: perpetual war, blatant manipulation of the public through the mass media, and a fundamental erosion of democracy.  Now, more than ever, a socialist vision of an alternative world and a principled struggle to express that vision is called for.  As we carry forward this struggle, we call upon our comrades to integrate the following strategies into their efforts to build a better world:  
 
IV.a.  Understand that the movement for social and economic justice has already won many friends, large numbers of whom were mobilized by the recent campaign to defeat Bush. They equally share many of our values and believe that a better world is possible.  Yet most of these same people do not have a critique of capitalism nor self-identify as democratic socialists.  YDS understands that these voters are the core from which we can grow a democratic and socially progressive majority.  However, we are not overly optimistic about the ease with which we can function as socialists or advocates of a socialist ideal under current circumstances.  The possibility of a world beyond capitalism is bleak in part because the American social and political movement to defeat right-wing candidates is lacking (1) a strong critique of capitalism (2) a concrete program for sustaining the pre-election intensity and (3) an understanding of how social movement activism and electoral politics can re-invigorate each other. 
 
IV.b. Understand the values and beliefs of those whose interests lie in economic populism and a break with corporate domination.  While encouraging working people to act in their economic self-interest, we must also maintain our absolute commitment to organizing for queer rights, reproductive freedom, and other causes the Right manipulates to win over sections of the electorate.  Fighting for progressive social values is indispensable to the struggle for a more humane and egalitarian world.  Our organizing must reflect this understanding. 


2) DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS IN THE NEWS: WORKERS' RIGHTS!
How can we fight for working families?
by John J. Sweeney (President, AFL-CIO and lifetime member of the Democratic Socialists of America)
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/1697/

God and the New Deal: The men who made the New Deal and built the CIO were secular liberals and socialists. But they knew that to succeed, they would have to accommodate traditional religion.
by Harold Meyerson (DSA Vice Chair, writer for L.A Weekly, Washington Post & American Prospect)
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=8890

Renowned Authors Call on Quebecor World to End Harassment, Respect Workers' Rights
In a truly unique and exciting example of how people can get involved to help workers in their efforts to form a union, on Nov. 18 two dozen prominent authors called on Quebecor World Inc. to end its campaign of intimidation and fear and to respect the rights of workers who print their books, articles and essays. The authors, include DSA Honorary Chairs Barbara Ehrenreich (who spearheaded the campaign) and Gloria Steinem among others.
For more details and how to take action, please visit: www.JusticeAtQuebecor.org


3) 'BUY UNION WEEK' UNDERWAY
Buy union-made gifts at AFL-CIO shopping site!
Before you start your holiday shopping, visit http://www.ShopUnionMade.org . Take a look at all the fine union-made gifts you can buy online: Artwork, cards and posters from Northland Posters and Syracuse Cultural Workers; books and magazines from Powells Books, Charles Kerr Publishers and Really Big Coloring Books; candies and chocolates from Ghirardelli, Hershey, Russell Stover and Sees; New Era fitted sports caps; clothing of all descriptions for men, women and children from Union Jean & Apparel, Justice Clothing, and No Sweat; Union Built computers (laptops and desktops); and much, much more!  Free electronic "buy union" greeting cards and information on where to find and buy hundreds of other top-quality union-made items also is available at: http://www.ShopUnionMade.org
 

4) ACTION ITEM: NLRB STRIPS TEMPS OF RIGHTS & STOLEN ELECTIONS?
Temps Lose Bargaining RIghts Won in 2000 - NLRB Reverses Stand Along Party Lines
Bush-backed National Labor Relations Board denies graduate research and teaching assistants the basic right to form unions and negotiate the terms of their working conditions.  Messed up!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20828-2004Nov29.html
To take action check out: http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/

The following update was excepted from a recent bulletin sent out by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)... of which YDS is a member:
UFPJ helped build the No Stolen Elections campaign from the end of September through November. The campaign built a broad coalition of national organizations and networks and a grass roots emergency response network of more than 20,000 to coordinate and evaluate information about the fairness of the presidential vote, and to help coordinate protests in the event of a stolen election.
 
Through a fairly extensive process of research and consultation with many voter protection groups (including People for the American Way, Rainbow/Push, Southwest Voters, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and This Time We Are Watching), the campaign collectively concluded that the vote was not at all fair, because of a combination of unfair rules, fraud and intimidation. At the same time, it is not clear that the illegal elements of this unfairness (or straight incompetence or technical malfunction) actually decided the presidential outcome. UFPJ supports calls to investigate the vote and we are pleased to see that the GAO will pursue an investigation. We also believe that every vote must still be counted and fully support the efforts underway to make sure this happens. While there may never be proof that this election was stolen, we know there is work to be done to ensure greater safeguards are in place in future elections.
 
Such campaigns, investigations, lawsuits, and protests are ongoing. In the immediate future, the No Stolen Elections campaign will monitor the important issues that have emerged in the aftermath of the Nov. 2nd election. We encourage you to remain vigilant in the struggle to protect the right to vote and to guarantee that every vote is counted.
 
NO STOLEN ELECTIONS Campaign: http://www.Nov3.US
Read (DSA member) Bob Fitrakis' reporting:  http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3





 
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