October General Membership Meeting

This Tuesday, 10/22 7pm
Southside Commons (with online option)

Seattle DSA Ghouls and Goblins, the time is upon us to get together and summon the Spirit of Socialism! Our GMM is this coming Tuesday October 22nd, 7pm - 9pm at Southside Commons (with online option) in Columbia City.

This month we have Guest Speaker, Candidate Shaun Scott, coming to give us a SPOOKY GOTV pep talk. Several of our Working Groups and Committees engaged in exciting political work will be giving updates; we’ll also have an update from our Chapters efforts to help with Disaster Relief across the southern states impacted by the recent climate crisis, supercharged hurricanes.

We will be having a Costume Contest for a Grand Prize! This meeting is the perfect opportunity to fine tune and test out your Halloween costumes, or your traditional Samhain and Day of the Dead attire. Many Holiday traditions are during the end of the year, SDSA would like you to feel empowered to celebrate how you want!

If you are voted the Most Frightening and/or Fanciful Creature by your peers, you’ll win a Gift Basket full of SDSA Swag, gift cards, autumnal goodies and more.

Labor Working Group Fall Retreat
This Sunday, 10/20 2:30pm
Location TBD
RSVP

It has been a busy year for Seattle DSA’s Labor Working Group! From supporting individual labor organizing campaigns and strikes to organizing two socialist job fairs and helping canvass to raise the minimum wage, we have been working hard to build workers’ power in the Greater Seattle area.

Now that many of us have some bandwidth again, let’s take some time to gather around, socialize, look back on this past year, and think ahead to the next about what we want to do: What seemed to work and what was not so effective?  What are our strengths both individually and collectively? How can we engage current SDSA members as well as non-SDSA members? What do we want to focus on in 2025?

Join us this Sunday, October 20th from 2:30pm to 6:30pm as we hang out, break bread, think critically, and plan ahead for the coming year. Physical location is TBD but we will announce it in follow-up emails/texts after you RSVP here.

We have put together a suggested reading list and some motivating questions for some of our discussions. These are by no means exhaustive but are representative of some of the key topics of our organizing both within SDSA and outside it. Copies of the readings along with additional links for supplementary articles can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N2oYqfw3OF0oJl7VGyH4m2GkxrrPxQ5HXq9ZdW7kQIk/edit?usp=drivesdk.

SDSA members are also planning a night shift picket support action tonight from midnight to 4am! Make sure to RSVP and let us know if you need transportation or can drive volunteers. Dress for the weather!

Sign up for more information about future picketing and donate to the strike hardship fund!

DSA Chapters Respond to Climate Crisis Disasters, and How You Can Help

Capitalism knows of only one law - the pursuit of profits at all costs. The logic by which the bosses suppress workers’ wages and squeeze the most from us through high prices is the same logic by which they deplete our natural resources and pollute our land, air, and water. The result is the twofold crisis before us - socioeconomic as well as ecological. Democratic Socialists of America believe only systematic change led for and by workers instead of massive corporations will save us.

In response to the devastation inflicted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton - storms made worse by global warming - DSA Chapters across the country have been mobilizing to deliver critical aid to impacted communities, help with relief efforts, and demand eviction moratoriums. Crises like these demonstrate the power of working-class self-organization through mutual aid in our political work. When we organize to meet each other’s needs while also agitating against the root causes of our collective problems, that is the role of socialists in the struggle to overcome capitalism- induced crisis. Solidarity, not charity!

Seattle DSA members can help by donating to relief funds being organized by our sister chapters in the Southeast as well as other organizations including Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR).

Florida DSA Emergency Relief: https://donorbox.org/florida-dsa-emergency-relief

NC Triangle/Asheville DSA Relief: https://donorbox.org/western-nc-mutual-aid

Asheville, NC Relief: https://ashevillerelief.com/home/mutual-aid/

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR): https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/

Support a Local Activist Assaulted Protesting City’s Housing Policies

Alan Meekins is a local activist who has been involved with mutual aid alongside the Black Lives Memorial Garden, and helped found the recall effort against Mayor Jenny Durkan in the wake of 2020 protests. He is dedicated to holding our elected officials responsible for their duties.

At a previous City Council meeting, Councilmember Kettle called the Seattle Police Department to harass public commenters speaking out against racist, transphobic laws under debate—after shutting the commentary session short because he didn't like what the people of Seattle had to say.

As a part of the effort to challenge this behavior, Alan attended a small protest at the home of Bob Kettle on September 15, 2024. Within minutes of beginning the peaceful protest, angry white neighbors swarmed the group of concerned citizens. They argued, yelled, and belittled Alan and his comrades. Suddenly without warning, one man pushed protesters out of his way to grab a heavy speaker and hurled it at Alan, the only Black attendee, striking him in the head and causing a gaping head wound that bled for hours. The other neighbors proceeded to obstruct the protesters, protect the assailant's identity, and scream as an angry mob. Their constant refrain was "You don't belong here,” a statement that carries obvious connotations in the historical “Sundown Town” of Queen Anne.

Alan intends to press criminal charges and file a civil lawsuit against the assailant and accomplices, which will require significant funding for legal fees. He is fundraising to help cover the costs of lost work during recovery, hiring additional help with his newborn child, and any other needs during the extensive time commitment it will take battling this injustice.

It was heartwarming to have multiple friends of Alan in Seattle DSA put in a request for the chapter’s Solidarity Fund and the Local Council approved a $500 donation to Alan and his family. Individual members are strongly encouraged to help match by donating to Alan’s fundraiser. Our comrade may also be in need of childcare and securing legal counsel; contact [email protected] if you can help. All of your support will help Alan continue his vital work as a local activist, and ensure that this violent act of modern-day racism does not go unanswered.