If you are unhappy with what was decided in your grievance by your chapter’s leadership, you may be able to appeal the decision to the NPC, DSA’s National Political Committee. Previously, DSA had two separate appeals processes, depending on whether your appeal was for grounds under Resolution 33 (harassment based upon an individual characteristic such as race, gender, disability or religion) or for grounds under your chapter bylaws, such as “undemocratic, disruptive behavior” or “disagreement with the policies of DSA” or chapter codes of conduct. Having two different processes was confusing, for HGOs, parties, and leadership alike. So the NPC voted to consolidate the two processes under the process that has been followed under Resolution 33, and this consolidation became part of DSA’s Resolution 33 as amended in 2021.
With this update to our process, the appeals process is now consistent with Resolution 33 and DSA’s values, with the goal of enabling timely, efficient, accurate, and discreet adjudication of harassment grievances. Due to the backlog of pending appeals and the NPC’s agenda, a newly submitted appeal could take several months to decide following the final ruling from the chapter’s governing body (Steering or Executive Committee). However, by working with the chapter and the parties, we are sometimes able to resolve grievances decided at the chapter level without the need for an appeal, through providing conflict resolution assistance, mediation, a restorative justice process, and/or other outcomes desired by the person who has been harmed and which more quickly resolve the conflict.
If you are a party who is either unhappy with or have questions about how your grievance was decided at the chapter level, please contact Paula, the National Harassment Grievance Officer, at [email protected]. Paula will advise you about the next steps for appeal, and/or make contact with the chapter and parties as needed to come up with another solution for the conflict.