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Out in Force — Your National Political Committee newsletter

September 21, 2023

Enjoy your September National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected 18-person body (including two YDSA members who share a vote) which functions as the board of directors of DSA. This month, sign the UAW strike pledge, hear about chapter Green New Deal and tenants’ rights work, check out volunteering opportunities, and more!

And to make sure you get our newsletters in your inbox, sign up here! Each one features action alerts, upcoming events, political education, and more.

From the National Political Committee — Out in Force

Dear Comrades,

As #HotLaborSummer rolls into #StrikeSeason, DSA members across the country are standing strong in support of picket lines and showing solidarity with workers across industries as we demand nothing more and nothing less than the world we’ve built. The UAW strike marches on in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri, and as this email hits your inbox, plans may be rolling out to strike more plants! We stand in solidarity with the ​​150,000 UAW auto workers in their contract fight against the Big Three Detroit car makers General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, which are raking in record profits off the backs of their workers, and are inspired by the workers’ demands, which are well within reach — like a 32-hour work week, a just transition to electric vehicles, with EV workers not relegated to second class, and the ability to strike over plant closures, among others. We encourage you to sign our Big 3 Strike Ready Pledge to show your support — and to be ready to hit the pickets if a plant near you strikes! From electeds, to union workers, to DSA members in chapters large and small, we are ready to support our UAW siblings.

DSA members are also out in force supporting tenants across the country. East Bay DSA jumped in alongside coalition partners TANC and Berkeley Tenants Union to make some big noise at a ghoulishly genteel happy hour hosted by a local landlords’ association in celebration of the end of one of the last eviction moratoriums in the country. Connecticut DSA rolled in strong alongside the Cargill Tenants Union for a rally demanding lead and mold remediation in these buildings that are full of working families with vulnerable children.

While the weather (mostly) cools down, chapter Green New Deal campaigns are heating up against the climate crisis! DSA’s Building for Power (B4P) campaign is helping organize chapters, labor unions, and environmental justice coalitions to build green projects and expand public services. This Saturday 9/23, Milwaukee DSA is hosting a bilingual town hall for their public power campaign, Power to the People. DSA members helped text bank over 10,000 people in English and Spanish to attend, and our Green New Deal Campaign Commission granted the chapter $1600 to cover the costs of 6,000 bilingual petitions. Sí, se puede! Interested in starting a B4P campaign in your chapter? Come to the September 27th campaign huddle on Zoom. And check out this story about NYC-DSA’s winning Build Public Renewables campaign in In These Times for a fascinating look at what it takes to win a Green New Deal!

This month, we’re feeling more sober reminders of another world that’s possible — but kept cruelly out of our reach. As of September 1, Biden’s government is once again allowing lenders to collect student loan payments, ending the pandemic-era debt relief for tens of millions of working class people across the country. That period proved that student loan payments could just stop, like turning off a light switch — and the economy didn’t fall apart. Instead, when the payments stopped, a new world opened up for many of us, one where each paycheck didn’t have to be a scramble. As socialists, we demand better — all student debt should be canceled and forgiven immediately. If you have federal student loans, fill out the Debt Collective’s student debt release tool!

On September 11, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the coup in Chile and the death of President Salvador Allende, whose Unidad Popular coalition was a shining example of democratic socialism coming to power as a result of worker and peasant mobilization. Allende will be forever remembered as a visionary socialist leader who dedicated and even sacrificed his life to the cause of building workers’ power. For decades, DSA has carried the flame of US-based socialist solidarity with the Chilean people. As we organize for socialism in the 21st century, there is much we must recover that the United States government has classified about its role in overthrowing democracy in 1973 and supporting the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. We applaud DSA-endorsed Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s legislative and personal efforts in raising awareness of the coup, the Nixon Administration’s role in it, and its victims’ ongoing struggle for justice. #NuncaMas — #DemocraciaSiempre!

One of DSA’s greatest strengths is our ability to fight on multiple terrains of struggle and to connect working class issues together in the fight against capitalism itself. At our first full NPC meeting this past weekend, we worked to take the first steps toward putting some of our newly-passed Convention Proposals into action, consolidating them into two connected proposals to form new organizing bodies. We will be moving quickly on the first stages of these campaigns, so please note the short deadlines for applications below.

The first of these, which will bring the “A Fighting Campaign for Reproductive Rights and Trans Liberation” proposal to life, will be called the Trans Rights & Bodily Autonomy Campaign Commission (TRBACC). This campaign will move us further into the enormous cross-tendency multi-terrain fight for bodily autonomy, bringing together the work of chapters from coast to coast and helping new chapters tap in with campaigns that meet their own local conditions. If you’d like to serve on this campaign’s leadership body during Phase 1, please apply here by September 25.

To implement the work of the “Defend Democracy through Political Independence” proposal, which will work to tie our social movement organizing more closely into our electoral organizing, we have formed the For Our Rights Committee (FORC). As a major election year, 2024 is certain to be filled with empty promises from corporate politicians, and this committee will take on the herculean but absolutely necessary task of cutting through the noise to demand our rights to true democracy, bodily autonomy, and the fruits of our labor as the working class. If this is your jam, please apply here by September 25.

Winning all these big battles won’t be easy, but when we fight, we win. We are so proud to have you in this movement with us, and we look forward to seeing many of you on your (virtual) home turf as we kick off an NPC chapter speaking tour next month and continue outreach on behalf of our Solidarity Dues drive. (Speaking of which, have you switched yet? Or signed up to join us for a phonebank to encourage other members to switch?) Other exciting announcements are coming down the pike, too, and please remember that we always want to hear from you about your chapter’s roses and thorns — never hesitate to reach out to [email protected] to keep us posted on what you’re up to.

In Solidarity,

The National Political Committee

Tonight Thursday 9/21 or Sunday 9/24 — Join a Solidarity Dues Drive Phonebank

DSA is unique — we are a democratic organization that is truly member-led and member-funded. The vast majority of our financial resources and power come from member dues. In order to meet the moment of intersecting crises, we must be organized, and that means our people and our money. That’s why we’re doing what unions and other working class organizations do — we’re asking DSA members to contribute 1% of their income to DSA through the Solidarity Income-Based Dues Program. Since Convention, over 550 DSA members have made the switch to Solidarity Dues!

If you haven’t already, make the switch to Solidarity Dues today and join us on a national phonebank to ask fellow members to make the change with you. The Growth and Development Committee is hosting regular national phonebanks from now until the end of the year. All upcoming phonebanks can be found here. Our next two scheduled phonebanks are:

For Our Rights Committee and Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy Campaign Commission Applications Due by Monday 9/25

The National Political Committee is soliciting applications to join two leadership bodies that will help guide DSA’s fight for democratic rights, trans liberation, and bodily autonomy in the next year! Applications for both bodies are due by Monday 9/25 at 11:59 PT.

The For Our Rights Committee (passed by the convention with the resolution “Defend Democracy Through Political Independence”) is seeking leaders to participate in drafting a national program to guide DSA’s struggles for working class independence and democratic rights. Members will help chapters adopt a common strategy for political communication relating to the 2024 election and participate in mass movement work in support of the program. You can apply here.

The Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy Campaign Commission is seeking leaders to run a multi-front campaign for trans liberation and abortion rights under the banner of the national program. Members will help chapters identify strategic opportunities for local work — including electoral campaigns, engagement with local DSA-endorsed electeds, labor struggle for gender-affirming and reproductive care, and other social movement activity — and organize local leaders to support a national Day of Action in the spring. You can apply here.

The two campaigns will collaborate to organize chapters to support this in the coming year, and members should stay tuned for opportunities to implement the campaigns in their chapters!

RSVP for Political Education Call Saturday 9/30 on Imperialism: the US and Mexico

DSA’s National Political Education Committee is hosting an upcoming panel discussion on US Imperialism, Mexico, and the Southwest. The call will be held on Saturday 9/30 at 2pm ET/1pm CT/12pm MT/11am PT.

The relationship between the United States and Mexico, both today and historically, constitutes a significant feature of U.S. imperialism. Speakers at this panel event will discuss concepts of imperialism; the long drive by U.S. capital and the U.S. government to dominate Mexico and seize economic benefits at the expense of Mexico and the working class of both countries; and Mexican/Chicano labor in the U.S., including the ways in which the U.S. imperialist relation to Mexico has tended to divide the working class and responses to those divisions. This unequal relationship continues today, affecting workers on both sides of the border. We aim to develop a better understanding of the relationship between the two countries and deepen our bonds of solidarity.

In These Times Magazine Offer for DSA Members — ends Saturday 9/30

Left magazine In These Times is offering a free subscription to DSA members! Click here to sign up. And enjoy your reading!

Work for DSA! YDSA Organizer Applications due by Friday 9/29

We are thrilled to share an exciting job opportunity within our organization that we believe will greatly interest our community. We encourage you to help us spread the word and assist us in finding the perfect candidate to join our team as an Organizer for Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA).

Job Opening Details:

  • Position: YDSA Organizer
  • Department: Organizing
  • Application Deadline: Friday 9/29/23

Job Description:

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a vibrant, member-run socialist organization, and YDSA is its dynamic youth and student section. The YDSA Organizer will play a crucial role in building and strengthening YDSA chapters and the national body. The YDSA Organizer’s primary responsibilities involve supporting and advancing national YDSA campaigns, fostering productive collaborations with DSA, and providing guidance and training to YDSA chapters. Additionally, the organizer will be instrumental in developing a new chapter organizing program and co-executing national gatherings. This position involves regular travel and is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.