Chapter Statement on COVID Crisis
The COVID-19 Crisis has impacted the most vulnerable among us the hardest: working people, undocumented, the unhoused, and the uninsured. People of color, and especially black people, are dying at disproportionate rates. More than a public health crisis, the pandemic is quickly becoming an economic catastrophe with 2.7 million filing for unemployment in California since the crisis began. Every day more people’s homes, health, and livelihoods are thrown into jeopardy.
As socialists, we know that the divisions of privilege made deeper and more visible by the pandemic are not new. They are inherent in our politics under capitalism. This crisis has made it evident that only through solidarity can we secure everyone’s safety and a just, equitable future.
The Sacramento chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America demands that Mayor Steinberg, The County Board of Supervisors, and Governor Newsom take immediate action on the following for the duration of the COVID-19 Crisis:
- An immediate moratorium on rent/mortgages and evictions/foreclosures with no paybacks or fees.
- Guaranteed free access to COVID testing and treatment.
- 1 Month paid sick leave and guaranteed PPE for front-line workers.
- Uninterrupted healthcare for laid-off workers.
- End all sweeps on the unhoused and open motels, hotels, tiny houses, and trailers as shelters.
The Democratic Socialists of America Sacramento also understands that it is not enough only to call on our elected officials. We must also join in solidarity with those in our community who are organizing and providing mutual aid. We would like to demonstrate explicit support for these causes, and hope that as many of our members as possible can join them. We stand in solidarity with and echo the demands of the following organizations that have stepped up in the face of this pandemic. We encourage people to reach out to the following organizations which are providing material and educational resources for the public:
We encourage members to donate time or materials as they are able to these worthy projects. Further, we hope that more people will join us as DSA members, to add their bodies and contribute materials to these causes and the overall cause of organizing the working class.
In addition to supporting the organizations listed above, we also encourage people to take the following steps:
- Sign onto this letter, written by our healthcare committee to be delivered to Sacramento Area officials calling for health care and real economic relief in response to the COVID crisis. SacDSA Letter to Elected Officials
- Sign the National DSA COVID Demands Petition: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/covid-19-petition
- Sign the Sacramento for Real Rent Control Petition: The City of Sacramento is refusing to put this measure on the November ballot, even though we qualified and by refusing to do so, they are ignoring the will of over 47,000 Sacramento voters. We know that spiraling rents have been hurting working class Sacramentans, and the economic effects of this pandemic will only make that pain worse.
- Join DSA! We are working to transform Sacramento and California for the working class. Our platform includes fighting for Medicare for All, stronger unions and workplace protections, local utility justice and a Green New Deal to save ourselves and our planet and dignified housing for all. Please take advantage of this guide to organizing in the time of COVID and utilize any resource that DSA makes available to our members. DSA COVID-19 Campaigns Organizing document.
Our health, safety, and dignity is not something we will allow capitalists and landlords to control any longer. The time to stand together is now. There is power in numbers, there is security in solidarity.
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