1) COMPUTER CRASH DISCLAIMER & REQUEST
         2) DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS MAKE THE NEWS... & AT YDS' CONFERENCE
         3) "WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE" SCHEDULE & DETAILS
         4) STUDENTS & LABOR, STRONGER TOGETHER: TACO BELL BOYCOTT WINS!

1) COMPUTER CRASH DISCLAIMER & REQUEST
This past Friday the main YDS computer crashed and some important correspondence and conference-related emails and files were lost as a result.  Data recovery services were not able to retrieve them.  Because of this untimely occurrence, we have had to spend much of the last few days trying to rectify the situation and get ourselves back on track.  We've made substantial progress and are confident that despite this unfortunate set-back, the upcoming conference will be a successful and empowering event.

Because of the computer crash, you may still be awaiting a response to a previous email you sent us. If you registered on-line for the YDS conference or emailed us about other matters and have yet to hear back from us, please don't hesitate to contact us again via email or telephone.  We apologize for any inconveniences.  


2) DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS MAKE THE NEWS... & AT YDS' CONFERENCE
Bush's Perverse UN Pick
A look at how John Bolton's career has been dedicated to subverting the UN
by Ian Williams (DSA member, U.N. correspondent for The Nation magazine, author of Deserter: George Bush's War on Military Families, Veterans, and His Past and The U.N. for Beginners)
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050321&s=williams
Ian Williams will be speaking at the "Resisting the Right-Wing" opening panel this Friday as part of YDS' "When Bush Comes to Shove" conference.

The Young and the Jobless
One in five of the city’s young adults are out of school and out of work. What can NY do about it?
by Tracie McMillan (YDS member, managing editor of City Limits magazine)
http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/articleView.cfm?articlenumber=1223
Tracie McMillian will be speaking at the "Left-Wing Media" panel discussion this Saturday as part of YDS' "When Bush Comes to Shove" conference.


3) "WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE" SCHEDULE & DETAILS
It is still not too late to register for the conference!
REGISTER ON-LINE: http://www.ydsusa.org/confs/nyc_0305.html
You can also just show up and register at the door... though registering in advance will help us determine how much food to purchase and other important logistical affairs.  You will receive an email by tonight with details if you requested travel subsidies and/or housing assistance.

YDS is also proud to announce that Sergio Moya Mena, the former vice-president of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY- of which YDS is the U.S. member organization) will be attending our conference. Sergio, who comes to us from Costa Rica, now works in the Socialist International Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean.

NYC TRANSIT (subways, buses, trains, maps, schedules, etc.)
http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/subway/index.html
MAP OF OFF-STREET NYC PARKING FACILITIES:
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dcp/html/parking/pidpindex.html
NYC RESTAURANTS
www.menupages.com

The schedule and speakers for this weekend's YDS conference, listed below, are subject to minor changes.  Please remember that the Friday opening plenary and the play on Saturday are open to the public. 

FRIDAY MARCH 11
The Friday opening plenary and registration will be located at American Federation of Musicians - Local 802, 322 West 48th Street (between 8th & 9th Aves).
Subway: A/C/E to Port Authority/42 St. or N/Q/R/S/W/1/2/3/7/9 to Times Sq/42 St.

6:00pm - Registration begins at 6:00pm

7:00pm - Opening session entitled "Resisting the Right-Wing"
    -with-
Frances Fox Piven- Distinguished sociologist, author of The War at Home: The Domestic Costs of Bush's Militarism and Honorary Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America;
Ian Williams- U.N. correspondent for The Nation magazine, author of Deserter: George Bush's War on Military Families, Veterans, and His Past and The U.N. for Beginners
Hany Khalil- Organizing Coordinator of United for Peace and Justice, War Times contributor

8:30pm - Reception with snacks and refreshments

SATURDAY, MARCH 12
Saturday and Sunday activities will be located at the Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities, 351 West 18th Street (between 8th & 9th Aves).
Subway: 1/9 to 18th St. or A/C/E/L to 14th St./8th Ave.
All events on Saturday and Sunday at the school (except for the "Marx in Soho" play) will be located on the 6th floor.  There are elevators available.  There will be a staffed YDS table as you enter through the front door on 18th St. directing people to the proper locations.  The "Marx in Soho" play take place in the theater on the first floor right next to the front door.

9:00am - Registration and breakfast (provided)

10:00am - Conference introduction begins promptly

10:45am - Democratic Socialism: History, Theory & Practice
with: Joseph  Schwartz- Chair, Dept. of Political Science, Temple University and Chair, Steering Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America; Leticia Benedet- Gender Equality Secretary, Young Socialists of Uruguay; Feminist Coordinator of the Americas, International Union of Socialist Youth

12:10pm - Workshop block 'A'

Understanding Capitalism
with: Paddy Quick-  founding member of the Union for Radical Political Economics' (U.R.P.E.) Women's Caucus; Frank Roosevelt- U.R.P.E. member, co-editor of Why Market Socialism?: Voices from Dissent

Counter-Military Recruitment: A Training for Youth Activists
with: Steve Theberge and Molly Birnbaum of the War Resisters League's Youth & Counter-Militarism Program

Electoral Politics: Youth Activism & the Ballot Box
with: Xavier Hansen- Tent University and the Community Empowerment Project; Deirdre Schifeling- Working Families Party

1:30pm - Lunch (provided) and informal group discussions

2:30pm - Workshop block 'B'
Iraq, U.S. Foreign Policy & the Peace Movement
with: Joanne Landy- New Politics editorial board and Co-Director of the Campaign for Peace and Democracy; John Mason- Professor of Politics at William Paterson University, Board of Directors of the Socialist Scholars Conference and of the Institute for Transitions to Democracy

Our Generation Under Attack: Tuition, Jobs, Health Care, Debt & Housing in Crisis
with: Lucas Shapiro- National Organizer, Young Democratic Socialists; Eric-Michael Rodriguez- NOLSW Local 2320, City Wide Task Force on Housing Court; Jessica Jade Lee and Frederick Nagel- Physicians for a National Health Program

The Labor Movement & Student Solidarity
with: Gabe Kramer- SEIU / District 1199 Ohio; Rebecca Cooper- USWA Blue Green Alliance Coordinator; Katie Romich- CWA, Texas State Employees Union,  Camilo Romero- United Students Against Sweatshops

3:55pm - Workshop block 'C'
Left-Wing Media: A Panel Discussion
with: Maxine Phillips- editor of Dissent; Kent Worcester- editor of New Politics; and Tracie McMillan- managing editor of City Limits

International Solidarity & the Global Justice Movement
with: Mark Engler- Commentator for Foreign Policy in Focus, journalist for www.democracyuprising.com; Jessica Shearer- S.E.I.U. and Feminist Working Group Coordinator, International Union of Socialist Youth; Jamie McCallum- Left Forum conference organizer, Queens College instructor

YDS Chapter Organizing
Bethany Cureton- Coordinating Committee, Young Democratic Socialists; Maria Svart- SEIU/CIR, Co-chair of the Young Democratic Socialists 

5:00pm - Howard Zinn's "Marx in Soho" play performance doors open to public
featuring: Bob Weick as Karl Marx.  Directed and designed by John Doyle.  There will be a short spoken-word performance preceding the play by artist and union activist Rebecca Cooper.

5:30pm - Play begins

8:00pm -12:00am - YDS Party (details announced at conference)

SUNDAY, MARCH 13TH
9:00am - Breakfast (provided)
10:00am - Workshop block 'D'
Grassroots Organizing 101: Campaigns, Coalition Building, Visibility & Recruitment
with: Maria Svart- SEIU/CIR, Co-chair of the Young Democratic Socialists; Lucas Shapiro- National Organizer, Young Democratic Socialists 

Solidarity Across Struggles: Anti-Oppression & Multi-Issue Organizing
with: Eliyanna Kaiser- former YDS National Organizer, Geoff Kurtz- Rutgers University Young Democratic Socialists;

11:25am - Workshop block 'E'
Conducting Popular Education
with: Geoff Kurtz- Rutgers University Young Democratic Socialists; Maria Svart- SEIU/CIR, Co-chair of the Young Democratic Socialists 

Challenging Right-Wing Propaganda
Matt May- Co-chair of the Young Democratic Socialists, M.A. in Rhetoric from the University of North Texas

The Feminist Movement: Reproductive Rights & Beyond
with: Amanda Singer- Feminist Coordinator, Young Democratic Socialists; Devon Balfour- America History student, Hampshire College

12:50pm - Lunch (provided) and informal group discussions

2:10pm- Inter-generational Activist Dialogue
with: Steve Max- former leader in Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Director of Organizing and Training, Midwest Academy, in addition to others activists.

3:35pm - Brief conference closing


4) STUDENTS & LABOR, STRONGER TOGETHER: TACO BELL BOYCOTT WINS!
YDS stands in solidarity with the workers, students and community activists who won a tremendous victory over Taco Bell yesterday for dignity, better wages and collective bargaining rights.  In this era of Bush and corporate domination, it can seem as though those of us on the left are on the losing end of the struggle.  The success of the Taco Bell Boycott reminds us, however, that collective action to advance social and economic justice is not a lost cause.  Organize to win!

"The consumer boycott is the only open door in the dark corridor of nothingness down which farmworkers have had to walk for many years. It is a gate of hope through which they expect to find the sunlight of a better life for themselves and their families" (Cesar Chavez)

On March 8, after nearly four years of struggle and amidst the momentum of the 2005 Taco Bell Truth Tour, farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) scored a decisive victory in their national boycott of Taco Bell. Caving under the weight of an intense grassroots campaign, the fast-food giant has agreed to work with the Florida-based farmworker organization to improve the wages and working conditions of farmworkers in the Florida tomato industry by paying a penny-per-pound surcharge demanded by the workers. The farmworkers' sub-poverty wages have been stagnant and declining in real terms since 1978.

"This is an important victory for farmworkers, one that establishes a new standard of social responsibility for the fast-food industry and makes an immediate material change in the lives of workers. This sends a clear challenge to other industry leaders," said Lucas Benitez, a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The CIW's precedent-setting victory is also an important step forward for student/youth, global justice, and poor peoples' movements throughout the U.S. who have worked in solidarity with the farmworkers, forcing the world's largest restaurant corporation (Yum! Brands, Taco Bell's parent company) to accept responsibility for conditions in its supply chain.

As planned, farmworkers and their allies will gather in Louisville, KY on March 11th and 12th to celebrate the victory and chart the next steps in the movement to end sweatshops in the fields. Please join us.... now more than ever!  The battle is won; the war continues.

To view the details of this precedent-setting agreement, view a statement from Lucas Benitez of the CIW, or additional coverage 2005 Taco Bell Truth Tour (photos, video, audio), click here:
http://www.ciw-online.org/



 
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