Week of April 13, 2020
This is obviously a very difficult time for the world, and for political organizing. Just as all of us have been quickly adjusting to the new normal of daily life under social distancing given the current COVID-19 virus public health emergency, we will now be holding meetings online.
Eric Kelly / erickelly.us
THANK YOU, BERNIE
Bernie Sanders represents a movement for politics that directly speaks to the needs of everyday working Americans, and we’re obviously disappointed that his candidacy has ended. However, Bernie’s campaign was still a huge victory for the left in this country. “Socialism” is polling favorably by double digits among Democratic voters in Texas and California, and is even polling favorably in “conservative” states like Tennessee and North Carolina; thousands of young people have learned to run effective leftist campaigns; and millions more were inspired and inaugurated into a democratic socialist politics that will last for decades to come. Bernie’s 2016 campaign inspired the rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and based on Bernie’s overwhelming support among voters under the age of 45 and among Latinx voters, the next few years will bring us more new insurgent socialist candidates.
Bernie’s campaign was never about electing a single candidate. The prospects of a progressive or socialist agenda being enacted at the federal level has always depended on the strength and organization of institutions that represent the interests of working class people – like labor unions, progressive, and working class grassroots organizations who are able to turn out their members to demand a better world.
Now's the time to continue the fight and to build the labor, tenants and ecosocialist movements, and to win down-ballot campaigns across the country. Join DSA!
Where do we go from here? Join us for another DSA 101 this Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 11am to 1pm and APRIL BRANCH MEETINGS on Sunday, April 19, 2020 2pm to 4pm
COVID-19 INFO & RESOURCES
NEIGHBORHOOD SOLIDARITY NETWORK
We are ONCE AGAIN ASKING YOU to join the Neighborhood Solidarity Network!
Do you want to help build DSA-LA into a healthy socialist organization? Do you want to get to know other socialists in your neighborhood? Then you should join the Neighborhood Solidarity Network (NSN)!
Since we began this project 3 weeks ago, we have had 143 people volunteer to be NSN organizers. They’ve made over 1000 calls and logged nearly 300 in-depth conversations with DSA members, asking about their well-being, getting to know them, and offering calls to action to support our COVID-19-related organizing work. Most importantly they’ve been engaging in deep, comradely conversations and building up strong organizing bonds.
Click here to learn more about what the project entails and to register.
HEALTHY LA CALL TO ACTION
The LA County Board of Supervisors is meeting tomorrow morning, Tuesday, April 14, and we need to urge them to support the Healthy LA platform to ensure the safety and well-being of the 10 million people who call LA home. Two weeks ago, they voted to provide more protections for vulnerable renters, homeowners, workers and people who are incarcerated. Now, we need them to build on those steps to protect our communities.
Healthy LA has built a network of more than 275 organizations and that collective power is making a big difference. We are reaching the Supervisors with our hundreds of advocacy calls and emails, which have already resulted in unanimous Board votes to enact vital measures to support our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and communities.
Today we need everyone connected to the coalition to make another call. You can use the script and you can find your Supervisor at healthyla.org/county
NATIONAL CALLS
RESOURCES
EMERGENCY WORKPLACE ORGANIZING PROJECT
The current crisis has led to unprecedented levels of joblessness, job insecurity, and exploitation. Workers deemed essential continue to face hazardous conditions without the proper protection and without just compensation. In this last week alone our country saw strikes or job stoppages from workers at Instacart, Whole Foods, and Amazon. Those who are on the frontlines of this crisis in the healthcare industry continue to pressure hospitals to provide more personal protective equipment and institute proper safety protocols. At the national level DSA is responding to the wave of workers who are self-organizing by developing the resources, the networks, and the training workers need to win their demands in this crisis.
Would you like to organize your workplace and need help doing so? Fill out this form to be put in touch with DSA’s Emergency Workplace Organizing Project.
Were you working in the restaurant industry before Covid-19 (restaurant, bar, fast food, other hospitality)? By all accounts the industry will not be the same when this is over. Fill out this form or join this call on Saturday, April 18th from 12-2pm PDT if you’d like to be part of a project to win worker power and relief in the industry.
FAMILY & EDUCATION
Cosmic Kids Yoga: A youtube channel full of stories targeted towards kids with accompanying yoga positions and moves to engage kids and adults together in being active, despite being stuck inside.
The Wiki Game: A very fun game that promotes skills with computer literacy, planning/problem solving, and making logical connections. This can also be played informally and you can compete with your kid to get from TikTok to Danny Devito and vice versa.
CALENDAR
Check our calendar for all weekly Committee Meetings.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 7pm to 8:30pm // Zoom
We will be discussing Chapters 3 and 4 of Lenin's The State and Revolution. This will be a pretty casual book club, but the reading is sure to spark some pretty deep discussion! Please RSVP for information on how to connect to the Zoom meeting. You can find the full text here.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 7pm to 9pm // Zoom
Join the Political Education Committee every week as we read and discuss Silvia Federici's classic text, "Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation". Meetings will be held via Zoom and open to all. RSVP to each meeting to receive the Zoom link to join!
Book PDF link: Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici
READING & DISCUSSION SCHEDULE
*THIS WEEK* Wednesday, April 15 - Part 4: "The Great Witch-Hunt in Europe" (pgs. 288-383 in PDF)
Thursday, April 23 - Part 5: "Colonization and Christianization" (pgs. 384-428 in PDF)
NIGHT SCHOOL: SOCIALIST STRATEGY & THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Thursday, April 16, 2020 at 7pm to 9pm // Zoom
New and long-time comrades are invited to join a Night School series that engages with Bernie Sanders’s insurgent candidacy within the broader history of socialist strategies and perspectives on electoral politics. Each session features a brief, informal presentation followed by facilitated discussion designed to engage all levels and connect current events to foundational socialist concepts and debates. Comrades are encouraged (but not required) to review recommended readings linked below, aligned with the session topic detailed here.
Recommended readings:
The Democratic Party Cul-de-sac (Chapter Nine from On New Terrain: How Capital is Reshaping the Battleground of Class War), by Kim Moody (Haymarket Books, 2017)
It’s Party Time: DSA and Post-Realignment Electoral Strategy by David Duhalde (DSA Socialist Forum, 2019)
Saturday, April 18, 2020 at at 11am to 1pm // Zoom
Are you new or newly returning to DSA? To Los Angeles? To the Left? Then join us for DSA 101!
At this orientation, we'll talk about what capitalism is, how it functions, and why socialism is ideologically opposed to it. Participants will also learn about the history of our organization and our chapter in particular, the current projects we're working on, and how you can get involved.
Pre-registration for this event is required. Click here to RSVP! After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the information on how to join this meeting.
Sunday, April 19, 2020 2pm to 4pm // Zoom
Central, Westside, and Valley Branch meetings will happen simultaneously online this Sunday from 2-4pm. Join us for updates on our work beyond Bernie and continuing the political revolution as well as our collective response to COVID-19. Learn how to organize with your co-workers and your neighbors, and hear more about our Neighborhood Solidarity Network. See you there!
Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 6:00 PM
Join DSA-LA's Bernie Working Group as we read "Bigger Than Bernie" by Meagan Day & Micah Uetricht. The book is available to purchase on Verso's website. In this first of four sessions, we'll discuss the introduction and first chapter. Email [email protected] if you'd like to participate but need assistance getting a copy. RSVP to get the conference link.
Stay safe and see you next week.
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