News

Your National Political Committee newsletter — Mourning, healing, embracing joy

March 18, 2021

Enjoy your March National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected eighteen-person body (including two YDSA members who share a vote) which functions as the board of directors of DSA. Read on for more!

FROM THE NATIONAL POLITICAL COMMITTEE

A full year into the COVID crisis, and it’s hard not to reflect on all we’ve had stolen from us. It’s okay to be angry, afraid, or uncertain. Nearly 3 million people worldwide died completely preventable deaths, countless communities will never be the same, and those in power have to be forced to just give us crumbs. None of this is okay.

Our hope, however, is in our solidarity. It’s in the power we have when we come together wherever we are to fight for what we deserve. We stay committed to this everyday work, and to our everyday politics. Our commitment to our collective struggle reminds us to be patient with ourselves and with each other, and to not give in to despair. Though capitalism continues to treat us as disposable, we remain resolute about how indispensable we are to one another and to our movement. The cruelty of the capitalist class will not keep us from striving toward a world rooted in care, abundance, and agency. We know it is going to take a mass, multi-racial, international working class movement to win the socialist world we deserve. And every day we do the work brings us that much closer.

So we carry on: in order to win the PRO Act nationally and locally wage campaigns for housing, immigrant rights, socialist candidates, healthcare, and so much more. We hold on to hope, knowing that solidarity is bringing us closer to a better world. In the words of Arundhati Roy, we know “another world is not only possible — she is on her way.” As we mourn and heal, we must make space to embrace joy and the opportunity of another day. And we’ll fight like hell each and every day until that day comes.

Solidarity,

Your NPC

IN GRIEF AND SOLIDARITY: NPC STATEMENT ON THE ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE IN ATLANTA

We mourn the lives of the 8 people, including 6 Asian women, who were murdered in Georgia Tuesday, and send love to their families and communities. These attacks fit a xenophobic pattern of anti-Asian violence that the capitalist class welcomes as a scapegoat for their complete inaction in the face of the COVID crisis. Of the thousands of incidents, many have been toward women, the poor, the elderly, and the undocumented. You can read our full statement here.

THURSDAY, 3/25 — EYES ON ICE: TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION FORUM

The Immigrants’ Rights Working Group, AfroSocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus, and Mijente invite you to Eyes on ICE, a virtual Truth and Accountability Forum, Thursday, 3/25 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT.

President Biden issued a Day 1 memo calling for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct a 100-day review of its immigration enforcement policies and practices. Our Truth and Accountability forum will provide a space for community members to provide testimony about ICE’s misconduct and abuses during the Trump Administration. We plan to share this community testimony with the Department of Homeland Security and urge them to adopt policy changes that will better protect immigrant families and communities. 

Join the Truth And Accountability Forum to show up for immigrant communities and contribute to a national movement within the We Are Home campaign!

PLUG INTO OUR PRO ACT PHONEBANKS — SHIFTS AVAILABLE DAILY!

DSA is going all-in to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO Act), which would strengthen unions, build working class power to organize on the job, and grow our capacity to win a just transition to a green economy for all.

And great news — the PRO Act passed the House last week! But there’s still a lot of work to do. You can strengthen worker power now. Sign up today for DSA phonebanks to get the PRO Act through the Senate!

Together, we aim to make 500,000 calls to voters in states where crucial Senators haven’t signed onto the PRO Act. Shifts are available every day next week. You’ll get a quick intro to the campaign and training, so all experience levels are welcome. We’ll see you then!

IMPORTANT CONVENTION UPDATES FROM YOUR NPC

By now, your chapter leaders will have been emailed the results for your respective chapter’s delegate allocation for 2021. We approved a 1:70 apportionment ratio for the convention, resulting in 1320 total delegates (including 100 at-large), and are excited to host the BIGGEST convention yet!

Whether you decide to run for delegate or not, one thing all of our 92,000+ members will be able to weigh in on is our national platform. Our Platform Subcommittee is proud to share their first draft with all members and encourage you to take some time to read through it. This First Draft represents the beginning of the process to shape the political platform that will be discussed at the 2021 National Convention. A political platform should be short, so that people can make time to read it. At the same time, it could never be long enough to adequately describe the exploitation, oppression, and indignity capitalists inflict on working class people around the world. Nor could it be long enough to enumerate the many ways we fight to change it. This draft is a first attempt. Please join us in the conversation. If you have any feedback, let us know via this form by Thursday, 4/15. We will have other opportunities to discuss and amend the platform, including at our pre-convention conferences, a few platform-specific calls, and via submitted changes.

We’ve updated TWO important dates related to the convention. Our new deadline for resolutions and constitution and bylaws changes is now Thursday, 4/15! As a reminder, proposals must be submitted with 100 signatures from members in good standing to be considered. The other change is that of our fifth pre-convention conference, which has moved from 6/26 to Sunday, 6/13. Our final schedule is now as follows:

  • Saturday, 5/15 at 10am ET/9am CT/8am MT/7am PT
  • Saturday, 5/22 at 11am ET/10am CT/9am MT/8am PT
  • Saturday, 6/5 at 12pm ET/11am CT/10am MT/9am PT
  • Saturday, 6/12 at 1pm ET/12pm CT/11am CT/10am PT
  • Sunday, 6/13 at 1pm ET/12pm CT/11am CT/10am PT

And nominations for At-Large delegates to the 2021 DSA National Convention are now open! The deadline to fill out the nomination form is Friday, 4/30.

For the purposes of the Convention, “At-Large” is defined as members who do not belong to a chapter. Based on DSA’s National Constitution and Bylaws, members of Organizing Committees are considered At-Large Members of DSA and are eligible to run in the At-Large Delegate Election. You can find more information on At-Large delegate elections here.

Lastly, we need your feedback on our convention programming. If you have ideas, things you’d change about our last convention, or events you really enjoyed in 2019, please let us know via this form no later than Wednesday, 3/31.

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST LABOR COMMISSION MEETING MONDAY, 3/22

Join the Democratic Socialist Labor Commission (DSLC) for our quarterly DSLC Membership Meeting Monday, 3/22 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT! We will discuss current organizing projects including Bessemer Amazon Organizing work and DSA’s push to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Going forward, we’ll be meeting every three months to help cohere and coordinate our work.

“BUILDING THE RELIGIOUS LEFT” VIRTUAL CONFERENCE 4/24-4/25 — FILL OUT SURVEY TO GET INVOLVED

Save the dates! “Building the Religious Left,” our DSA Religion and Socialism Working Group virtual national conference, will be Saturday, 4/24 from noon to 7 pm ET, and Sunday, 4/25 from 2pm-7pm ET.

We hope you can join us! If you want to attend any or all of the conference, or are interested in the Religion and Socialism Working Group, please fill out this survey about your interests and connections. This will ensure you are connected to the work and in the loop about the conference plans.

SOCIALIST FORUM CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS — DEADLINE FRIDAY, 3/26

Socialist Forum, DSA’s quarterly long-form publication, is looking for submissions for its Spring 2021 issue. The pitch submission deadline is Friday, 3/26. Editors will blind-review pitches and notify you about the status of your submission by Monday, 3/29. If your pitch is chosen, Socialist Forum will expect a full first draft by Monday, 4/12.

Pitch submissions can address any topic of concern to DSA members. For a sense of the kinds of articles we publish, please see our Winter 2021 issue.

If you would like to contribute an article to Socialist Forum, please use this form to submit a short pitch describing your article. If your pitch is accepted, the full article should be roughly 3500-4000 words in length. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]. Submissions are not officially accepted until after editors review the first draft of a full article.

RESTAURANT ORGANIZING PROJECT LAUNCHES THE DISH — GET IT WHILE IT’S HOT!

The Restaurant Organizing Project has officially launched our monthly newsletter, The Dish! The Dish gives a space for food service workers to speak on our own terms, and includes what’s happening on the ground in our campaigns, plus opinion and insight on what an organized restaurant industry could look like. We’re currently accepting submissions for text, art, recipes, the works! And we can always use more hands putting it all together. Visit dishrag.org to read it or email [email protected] to get involved.

STATEMENTS ON JACKSON, MS WATER CRISIS AND ON PUERTO RICO

Earlier this month, the NPC released a statement on the water outage in Jackson, Mississippi, including ways for members to help during the current crisis. You can find the statement here.

The NPC also approved the release of a DSA International Committee Secretariat statement on Puerto Rico. The full statement is posted here.