The next online-only, chapter-wide General Body Meeting takes place Sunday, September 8 from 2 to 4pm. Members are asked to RSVP here to receive the Zoom link. At this meeting, chapter members will hear updates from working groups on active campaigns, but also will hear the second read on endorsing and mobilizing to support Ballot Question 1 on Maryland’s 2024 ballot. Chapter members will have the opportunity to debate for/against endorsement.

After the meeting, we will be hosting a happy hour in Montgomery County near the Silver Spring metro station at 5pm. RSVP to the GBM to get more info on happy hour location and timing. If members have any questions, feel free to reach out in the #steering Slack channel; interested non members can email [email protected] or reach out to any individual member of the Steering Committee.

We Power DC, Metro DC DSA’s public power municipalization campaign, will be holding its general meeting this Saturday from 2 – 4pm at the Shaw Library (1630 7th St NW). The meeting will include an organizer from Power to the People Milwaukee, an exciting campaign that has built broad support for public power in Milwaukee, collecting over 7,000 signatures from city residents in favor of publicly-owned utilities. This meeting is the perfect event for DC residents interested in organizing around rising energy costs, environmental justice and climate change but might not know where to start. Along with hearing from our guest speaker, We Power DC organizers will provide an overview of the campaign here in DC. The meeting will be followed by a happy hour at Dacha Beer Garden. RSVP here.

We Power DC is fighting for a power system that works for and is owned by the residents of the District of Columbia — one that works transparently and democratically to fight the climate crisis and meet everyone’s needs regardless of their ability to pay. This objective has been achieved in other states across the country, and will only be possible in the DMV through a concerted effort engaged by local residents. Learn more about public power:

• The state of public power in 2023
• What would public power look like?
• We Power DC’s campaign website

District residents also have a chance to join the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and the Stop Project Pipes Coalition as they organize to prevent Washington Gas’s $4 billion investment of DC ratepayers' money in fossil gas infrastructure. Washington Gas will submit their revised plan — rebranded to DC Safe — by September 27, and the Coalition wants to make sure the DC Council and Public Service Commission know DC residents do not want investment in dirty energy, no matter how greenwashed. DC residents, join your fellow residents and sign the petition today to get it over 1,000 before Washington Gas submits their plan.

Metro DC DSA has knocked on more than 150,000 doors across the region to win electoral and legislative campaigns that fight capital and empower working people. Expanding socialist representation in offices across the DMV is set to continue. DSA members are encouraged to join the DMV chapter’s new Electoral subcommittees to tackle bigger challenges at the ballot box. Members of the Mobilization, Communications, and Research subcommittees can help us turn out volunteers to canvasses and events, spread the word about our work or learn about potential future campaigns. Learn more here.

Build power in the DMV and join the Metro DC DSA Street Team by attending our monthly meeting at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (901 G St NW, room 401-F) on Saturday, September 7 at 4pm. This event is for anyone interested in getting active in the chapter’s Street Team to build socialist power in the DMV. The Street Team hosts and attends community events to connect our chapter and campaigns with the community in order to expand the chapter’s base and build a more democratic society.

In this meeting, the Metro DC DSA Street Team will be discussing summer and early fall events with a happy hour to follow. All are encouraged to attend in person at the MLK Memorial Library. RSVP here.

In the latest from the DC Coffee Wars, Compass Coffee management continues an aggressive union busting campaign against their workers. This has included cutting hours of pro-union workers, enforcing toxic workplace policies and consistent beratement from business owners Michael Haft and Max Deem.

Workers are asking the community to confront management on Tuesdays throughout the month to voice opposition to the company’s union busting tactics. The following locations have been identified by the union:

• GEORGETOWN: 1351 Wisconsin Ave NW — ask to speak with Jessica
• TENLEY TOWN: 4850 Massachusetts Ave NW — ask to speak with Eric
• ARLINGTON: 1201 Wilson Blvd — ask to speak with Sydney
• MCPHERSON: 1401 I St NW & 1301 K St NW — ask for Max Deem and email [email protected]
• GWU: 849 18th St NW & 1730 H St NW — ask to speak with Kadin

Follow @CompassCoffeeUnited on Instagram and @CompassCoffeeU on Twitter. Be cautious of who you follow online — management has created fake union accounts to confuse workers and the community. These cynical tactics will be defeated through community support and labor solidarity.

The Bird Union-CWA, the union representing workers for the Audubon Society, will be going on a 3-day Unfair Labor Practice strike next Tuesday to Thursday, September 10 to 12, across the country. Here is the list of strike events across the country, including three in DC at Audubon HQ (1828 L St NW, Washington, DC 20036). The tentative schedule for DC pickets is:

• Tuesday 9/10: Picket at 9am, main picket at 12:30pm, last picket at 2pm
• Wednesday 9/11: First DC office picket at 9am, main picket between 12:30 – 1pm, potential trip to the Zoo or Capitol for flyering in the PM
• Thursday 9/12: Potential trip to the Zoo or Capitol for flyering in the morning, first DC office picket between 12:30 – 1pm, main picket at 3pm, last picket at 5pm.

MDC DSA now has an internal wiki. All chapter members are invited to read — and write — this ever-evolving handbook of processes, procedures, records and generally helpful information. If you don’t have your SSO login yet, email [email protected] to get set up, or ask in #helpdesk on Slack.

Learn more about our local MDC DSA chapter — structure, campaigns and working groups, Night School and reading groups — HERE. And live from our studio, Wednesday, September 11, 7 – 8pm, Why You Should Join DSA / New Member Orientation (with Q&A). MDC DSA members: Join our Slack for real-time info, convo and inspiration. Email [email protected] with your most recent DSA dues receipt to get Slack access. #publications (our working group’s Slack channel) is always ready to onboard new socialist communicators.

MDC DSA Publications is information central for not just MDC DSA but the entire DMV left. The Washington Socialist publishes articles on a quarterly schedule; the Summer 2024 edition is now live and will be updated on a rolling basis. You can also follow our chapter’s political blog, REDBUG. Anyone, MDC DSA member or not, interested in contributing to the Washington Socialist can email submissions or questions to [email protected]. Get your socialist self on the record.

Weekly Updates are scheduled and emailed on Fridays; current and past Updates are on the web here. Not subscribed? DSA member or not, sign up to get the Update here. Submit your Update suggestions to the tip line, including nominating articles for ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES. Donate to our Comradery page if you would like to financially support socialist publishing in the DMV.

ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES are articles and opinion pieces of interest to DMV leftists but not, generally, appearing in local media. They should have links without paywalls. Readers are invited to submit candidates at our tip line.

The right’s obsession with childless women isn’t just about ideology: it’s essential to the capitalist machine
‘A woman without biological children is running for high political office, and so naturally that quality will at some point be used against her. Kamala Harris has, in the short period since she emerged as the Democratic candidate for US president, been scrutinized over her lack of children. It’s an argument about political capability that dresses up a visceral revulsion at the idea that a woman who does not have a child should be vested with any sort of credibility or status. In other comments, (JD) Vance said that “so many of the leaders of the left, and I hate to be so personal about this, but they’re people without kids trying to brainwash the minds of our children, that really disorients me and disturbs me”.’ The Guardian

Are Democrats Actually Listening to Jesse Jackson?
Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of dozens of speakers at Rainbow PUSH’s DNC event that night, said that Jackson was the first prominent political leader to publicly call health care a human right. “That’s where Jesse Jackson was 30 years before I was,” Sanders said. “Thirty years ago, he was talking about profoundly changing our health care system.” As U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a forceful progressive despite representing Silicon Valley, said in Chicago, “We can’t celebrate Rev. Jackson without listening to what Rev. Jackson is calling on us to do.” Josh Kurtz in Maryland Matters via Portside

Book Review: US Labor’s Crusade Against ‘Red’ Unions
In “Blue Collar Empire,” Jeff Schuhrke documents how many AFL and CIO leaders participated in witch hunts against UE and other unions in the U.S., and actively conspired with the U.S. government to undermine militant unions around the world. For instance, the American Institute for Free Labor Development was a training institute focused on promoting “free trade unionism” in Latin America and the Caribbean [with right-wing union participation]. Founded in the early 60s, AIFLD’s board of trustees included numerous businessmen from U.S. corporations, and was chaired by J. Peter Grace, a wealthy capitalist whose family had financial interests in a wide variety of industries in Central and South America. UE News via Portside.

Fascism late, early; fascism now, then
While apartheid, settler colonialism, white nationalism, and other terms may function well enough in particular contexts, using fascism for all of these manifestations allows us to see the continuity between the contemporary far right, interwar fascism, and the pre-fascism of the nineteenth century. Brooklyn Rail, TX to our comrade Dan S

Learning from our Past: Neoliberalism did not “just happen,” it was a conscious policy pursued by corporate interests determined to break the back of organized labor and the radical social movements that had gained strength in the late 1960s and early 70s. And although we commonly ascribe its origins to the Reagan Administration, its roots came earlier, during the Jimmy Carter years. This period is explored by historian David Gibbs (a member of Metro DC DSA in the 1980s) in his new book “Revolt of the RIch.” Gibbs explains his argument in this interview from Truthout. TX our comrade Kurt S

Finally, Maryland offshore wind power project approved
The federal government announced Thursday (Sept. 5) that it has given final approval to a proposed wind energy development off the coast of Maryland — a significant milestone in a process that has dragged on for more than a decade. US Wind’s Maryland offshore wind project, as approved, is expected to generate over 2 gigawatts of renewable energy for the Delmarva Peninsula, enough to power more than 718,000 homes. The development and construction phases of the project could support almost 2,680 jobs annually over the next seven years, which is when the wind installation is expected to be fully operational. The project area is nearly 9 miles off Ocean City. Maryland Matters

Opinion: JCRC doesn’t speak for us
From Montgomery County locals: “We believe that leaders and members of our community should be able to speak out for Palestinian lives without facing bad faith accusations of antisemitism. This cause is simply far too important to be silent on. As Jews, we will continue to advocate locally for peaceful solutions that recognize the interconnectedness of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hatred.” MoCo360

Friday, September 6

6:30pm | NoVA DSA Gamenite

Saturday, September 7

1 – 4pm | LoCo Falastin Tantura Film Screening & Discussion
2 – 4pm | We Power DC Movement Meeting
4 – 5pm | Metro DC DSA Street Team Monthly Meeting

Sunday, September 8

2 – 4pm | Metro DC DSA General Body Meeting
3 – 5pm | Know Your Rights: Overtime Pay & Wage Theft

Monday, September 9

7 – 8:30 | Montgomery County Branch Meeting

Wednesday, September 11

7 – 8pm | Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation

Thursday, September 12

6:30 – 7:45pm | NoVA Monthly Organizing Meeting

Saturday, September 14

11am | Gateway Apartments (MD) Renter Canvass
12pm | Gender Liberation March
3 – 5pm | Electoral Organizer Training

Sunday, September 15

2 – 5pm | Picnic with Prince George’s DSA
7 – 8pm | MDC DSA Internationalism Monthly Meeting

Monday, September 16

7 – 8:30pm | MDC TRBA organizing meeting

Tuesday, September 17

6 – 7pm | NoVA Medicare for All Working Group

Thursday, September 19

6pm | MDC DSA Monthly Happy Hour with CPSA
6pm | Social Housing Organizing Meeting
6:30 – 8:30pm | NoVA Branch Social Meetup

Monday, September 23

10am | Rally for DC Circulator Workers & Riders

Wednesday, September 25

7 – 8pm | Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation

Saturday, September 29th

2 – 3:30pm | Prince George’s Branch General Body Meeting