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A Momentous Day — Your April Dispatch

abril 5, 2023

Here’s your April Dispatch! This month, electoral victories, labor organizing training, Convention updates, and more. Read on to get involved. 

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From Maria — A Momentous Day

Wow! Voters in the third largest city in the country just elected former teacher and union organizer Brandon Johnson to be mayor, instead of the candidate endorsed by the police union and school privatizers. They also sent a sixth DSA candidate, new Alderwoman Angela Clay, to join our bloc on the Chicago city council. This really was a fight between two visions: public programs for overall community health and safety versus more cops. The task ahead is to hold together and grow the kind of multi-racial working class coalition that the city hasn’t seen since Harold Washington. Our socialist bloc, representing the diversity of the working class in Chicago, is in a good position to help do so. Last night also saw a major victory against the authoritarian Right on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a key step in protecting abortion and voting rights.

These victories have national strategic importance. They set the narrative about the role of government and concretely sway specific levers of power. Both alter the terrain of working class struggle. As the largest socialist organization in decades, we have a very powerful class enemy, and we know the importance of thinking and acting at this scale.

But we also know that there’s tremendous power outside the formal political realm. Labor creates all wealth and workers therefore have power when we come together in the economic realm. You and I fund our organization through our membership dues so we can pool our resources and act independently of wealthy funders, and one thing we’ve democratically chosen to do is promote collective action at the point of production. That’s why I’m so excited for Socialism is the Future, our upcoming national gathering of student, electoral, and labor organizers. We live in a time of rising authoritarianism but also rising workplace organizing. Exciting developments in the labor movement combined with major contract fights this year mean there is ample opportunity for us to bring our unique strengths to bear. Stay tuned to hear more in the coming weeks!

In solidarity,

Maria Svart
DSA National Director

Convention Updates — Proposal Deadline Extended to Friday 4/28, NPC Nominations, At-Large Delegate Elections

Things are heating up for the 2023 DSA Convention! Proposal submissions are open now, and the deadline has been extended to Friday 4/28. You can find more information here.

And nominations are now open for National Political Committee (NPC) elections! The NPC  is the highest decision-making body between national conventions and acts as DSA’s Board of Directors. You can find more information on the nomination and elections here.

At-large delegate nominations are open now until Thursday 5/4. For the purposes of the Convention, at-large members are defined as members who do not live in a chapter’s jurisdiction. Members who live in an Organizing Committee’s jurisdiction are eligible to run as at-large members. You can find more information here.

RSVP for Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee Training Thursday 5/4

All around the country the labor movement is taking off, and it’s a great time to join it! The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee’s Foundational Training Series is a perfect place to start. Sessions run weekly on Thursdays from May 4th until May 25!

If you want to organize your workplace but don’t know where to start, or if you would like to support others organizing their workplaces, this training is for you.

In four 90-minute weekly sessions, we’ll discuss how workers can unite to address issues at their workplace and begin the process of unionization. You will learn how to approach coworkers, build a team of organizers among them, and develop a campaign. You will meet other workers who are organizing, and learn helpful tools, practices, and principles for winning workplace improvements and getting a democratic voice over your working conditions. You will also learn how to prepare yourself and your coworkers to take collective action. Finally, we’ll discuss building a democratic organization of coworkers that can negotiate with the boss over working conditions.

Space is limited to 200 participants, so sign up now! Register here today.

Plan Your 2024 Campaign Now with the National Electoral Committee!

The DSA National Electoral Committee (NEC) is reaching out to encourage chapters to start planning your involvement in the 2024 election cycle — and members of the NEC are ready to support you. The time to start preparing for victory is now, so please reach out to the NEC at [email protected]!

NEC members have previously supported chapters in the following ways:

  • Growing chapter membership through endorsed electoral campaigns
  • Recruiting candidates and placing referendums on the ballot
  • Creating a democratic, member-driven chapter-wide endorsement process
  • Leveraging member enthusiasm to contact thousands of voters
  • Setting up digital voter outreach tools provided by the national DSA office
  • Other National Electoral Committee resources

We can’t tell you how much more beneficial it is for campaigns to have a long runway for everything electoral-related — from fundraising and a solid field plan, to soliciting guidance from the National Electoral Committee. Don’t get caught off-guard without a winning strategy in the run-up to a campaign! Email us at [email protected].

Solidarity Fund: Help Comrades Come Together

Democracy depends on all of us coming together. And as a working class movement, we need to make that happen ourselves! This year we’re bringing socialist organizers together in a big way with the YDSA/DSA Labor and Electoral Spring Conference and the DSA National Convention. But travel costs are rising, and working class attendees need your help. Pitch in today to help members come together!

DSA is Hiring!

DSA is hiring! We are happy to announce the following new positions:

Socialist Forum Winter/Spring 2023 Issue Out Now

The Winter/Spring 2023 issue of Socialist Forum, DSA’s quarterly long-form publication of theory, strategy, and debate, is now live. This issue tackles a wide range of topics, including:

  • the long fight to reform the United Auto Workers union
  • union organizing in the cannabis industry
  • the politics of sports team ownership
  • the war in Ukraine and the question of Taiwan
  • reflections on democratic socialist electoral strategy

As always, we welcome responses and feedback at [email protected].

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