RAISE THE WAGE RENTON:

BAD NEWS & GOOD NEWS

😞The Bad News 😞

King County Elections posted results, and our validation rate on signatures is lower than expected.
6,156 signatures were validated, and we expect another ~600 to be validated after a second review process. That will put us at around 6,600-6,700 valid signatures.
WE DO NOT QUALIFY FOR THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER.
BUT WE CAN GATHER AROUND 2,300 MORE VALID SIGNATURES TO MAKE THE BALLOT IN FEBRUARY!

🌹The Good News 🌹

We know why so many are getting rejected and how we can fix it. The top 2 reasons for rejections are:
- Voters are registered under a "Renton" address, but technically live outside city limits
- Voters are simply not registered to vote
We have a plan to collect the rest of the signatures and avoid this issue: door-knocking.
When we knock on doors, we use VAN data to validate that the voter at the door is a) registered b) registered within Renton city limits.
We have at least another 4 weeks to do this, and have a REAL shot at the February ballot.
We’ve recently applied for an endorsement from the NEC, which means we could get a NATIONAL DSA ENDORSEMENT and up to $10,000 to pay canvassers to knock on doors -- we could knock out up to 1,200 valid signatures on this alone!
Our endorsed Renton City Council Candidate Michael Westgaard has a primary on August 1st. He is the ONLY candidate running on raising the wage, and canvassing for both RTW and Michael can help ensure he gets across the finish line for his primary!

This means we need folks to help us keep collecting through August. We really need teams to send to doors as much as possible. We will provide training, support, materials and more! But it’s going to take a few more core organizers to get this over the line by late August.

This is our chance to deliver a MASSIVE wealth transfer of $45 million EVERY YEAR from the corporate elite to the working class, especially the most marginalized minimum wage workers! THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE TO QUALIFY FOR THE BALLOT!

This Sat. July 22 (9 AM - 1 PM) RSVP here

This Sun. July 23 (11 AM - 3 PM) RSVP here

This Sun. July 23 (4 - 7 PM) RSVP here

This Tues. July 25 (3 - 7 PM) RSVP here

UPS Teamster STRIKE Solidarity Tabling/Postering

This Saturday (7/22), 11 am

E Pike St & Broadway

RSVP

This Sunday (7/23), 11am

Capitol Hill Farmers Market

RSVP

Right now 340,000 UPS workers, members of the teamsters union, are in a contract fight with UPS and if a deal is not reached by August 1st we might see one of the largest strike in US history. Even though UPS made over $13 billion in profits last year the company has refused to budge on paying its part time workers, the majority of its workers, a living wage. And the company has begun to spread its corporate propaganda in an effort to put a stop to efforts to build solidarity amongst the working class.

If you haven’t sign the strike ready pledge here to commit to showing up on the picket lines if UPS workers go on strike.

July Chapter Membership Meeting:

UPS STRIKE SOLIDARITY

This Tuesday, July 25th, 7p

In-person at Southside Commons

3518 S Edmunds St

(Zoom option available)

RSVP

Our July Chapter Membership meeting is one week out from potentially one of the largest strikes in US history with 340,000 UPS workers striking for an end to poverty wages for part-time workers - the majority of the UPS workforce.

Join us to discuss the upcoming strike, the counterattack by UPS, the corporate media, and the ruling class, and the role of Seattle DSA in supporting the strike.

🎧 SOCIALIST SOUND 🎧

🔥Episode 4 just DROPPED🔥

Check it out wherever you get your podcasts, or directly from the RSS feed here

We also debuted the new SOCIALIST SOUND logo, designed by the great Valerie Ross, a Seattle DSA member (now living on the Portuguese coast!). Help boost our chapter's podcast by following and leaving a 5-Star review.

SHOW NOTES

In this episode, we dig into the sharp debates and controversies surrounding DSA’s electoral work. My four guests are candidates for DSA's National Political Committee hoping to be among the 16 elected at the August National Convention of DSA in Chicago. Each represent a different DSA caucus.

There are 41 candidates for the National Political Committee, which is the highest elected body between DSA’s bi-annual National Conventions. The political make-up of the team elected to lead the largest socialist organization in the US is arguably the most important decision the Chicago Convention will take.

Yet even within DSA, too often we default to dominant norms of US political culture, reducing political debate to sound-bites and gotcha moments on social media. In the spirit of a more engaged democratic process, this extended episode features a far more in-depth discussion over how DSA can address one of our central challenges: building a powerful and yet accountable socialist electoral project.

My guests:

Amy Wilhelm is co-chair of Seattle DSA, and a trans Marxist born and raised in Seattle. Amy’s background is in tenant organizing, and they’re a member of the Marxist Unity Group, a DSA caucus.

Philip Locker is a long time socialist organizer and a member of the Seattle Education Association. He helped lead the fight to win the $15 minimum wage in Seattle, the first major city to do so. Philip recently completed a term as Co-chair of Seattle DSA and is a member of the Reform & Revolution caucus.

Alex Pellitteri is a Bread & Roses caucus candidate for NPC. He is from NYC-DSA where he has served as a campaign manager for a DSA-endorsed candidate; he served on the Socialists in Office Committee; and helped start a YDSA chapter.

Sam Heft-Luthy is a former co-chair of DSA San Francisco, the current Secretary of California DSA, and a member of the Red Star caucus. He served on DSA SF's electoral strategy commission in 2021 and was a staff organizer for the chapter's People First San Francisco ballot measure campaign. He grew up in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.