(from @PortlandDSA twitter)
|
DSA-LA has been monitoring the situation in Portland, OR where residents have been bravely protesting police violence and racial injustice for months. Federal agents arrived at the beginning of July after President Trump signed an executive order on June 26 ordering the protection of federal monuments and buildings. They have since been attacking protestors, including beatings, use of tear gas, and unidentified agents pulling people into unmarked vans.
Opposing these authoritarian actions by the Trump administration is directly linked to the current struggle to defund police departments nationwide, which also responded violently to protestors. That is why it is so important that we stay focussed on the goals set forth by Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and our role in supporting Black liberation while also recognizing that this recent escalation represents a clear and present danger to our democracy, which must be opposed by any means necessary.
Of the largest cities in America, Portland is the whitest. The oppression now being experienced by white people there is a minuscule sample of what African-Americans have suffered constantly since being brought here as slaves. If what is happening in Portland is allowed to continue then every city and town in America will be under threat. Indeed, Trump has already announced that he is sending federal agents to other cities across the country. It is people of color who will suffer most from any expansion of authoritarianism.
Politicians, who have otherwise shown only performative support for the protestors and their goals, have nonetheless reacted to the federal presence by adopting the protestors’ language: Oregon Governor Kate Brown described the federal response as a “blatant abuse of power,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called it an “attack on our democracy,” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said the federal agents were acting “beyond their authority” and “every American should be repulsed when they see this happening,” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden described the agents as an “occupying army,” and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called them “storm troopers.” We do not expect these same politicians will cooperate in advancing meaningful reforms.
As the leadership of DSA-LA, we are committed to the following actions to respond:
- Sending $500 to Portland’s DSA chapter for the purchase of supplies and collaborating with its leadership to highlight their work and provide communications support
- Continuing our work as a coalition partner of the BLMLA-led People’s Budget LA
- Supporting organizing work in historically Black communities of Los Angeles
|
|
TONIGHT: SCHOOLS & COMMUNITIES FIRST/Prop. 15 EDUCATION EVENT
|
Monday, July 27th @ 7pm PST
|
DSA members up and down California have the opportunity to help pass the largest tax increase in history on California’s wealthiest commercial property owners, raising $10-12 billion per year for public education and social services. That is why we say YES ON 15! Presenters include: Cecily Myart-Cruz, President, United Teachers Los Angeles; Rudy Gonzalez, Executive Director, San Francisco Labor Council; and Fred Glass, labor historian. Join us to learn how to tax the rich and fund our future! What to get more involved? Fill out this form!
|
Stop the Evictions!
A tidal wave of evictions is coming, as all levels of government have failed to pass real, comprehensive protections for tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why DSA-LA has endorsed AB 1436, the COVID-19 Eviction Prevention and Housing Stability Act. This bill would protect renters across CA from being evicted because of their inability to pay rent due to COVID-related loss of income. While it does not address everything DSA-LA would like, it would buy us time to fight for additional housing demands like rent cancellation, rent rollbacks, collective bargaining, and a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction.
|
Stop the Sweeps!
LA’s new homeless shelters created under the Mayor’s A Bridge Home program are surrounded by “Special Enforcement Zones” (SECZs) where LAPD aggressively police houseless neighbors who couldn’t get inside. This is a cruel, costly practice. If city leaders are truly committed to reimagining public safety and an unarmed response to non-violent calls, they must abolish the punitive SECZs. Struggling Angelenos need #HomesNotZones!
Unfortunately, this week City Council will be voting on a motion to resume sweeps in these zones — in violation of CDC guidelines. Call in to City Council at 10am on Wednesday, July 29 to give public comment against agenda item No. 46 — resuming sweeps in the zones.
|
Demand Congress extend Federal Unemployment Benefits!
|
We must demand Congress extend federal unemployment benefits for the jobless in the U.S., but a real transformation of the food service industry will have to come from workers in the industry themselves. A statement from DSA-LA's Food Service Labor Circle.
Here are three actions we can take right now to come together as food service workers:
- Sign the national Restaurant Workers United Petition calling for an extension to federal unemployment benefits, organized by DSA.
- Text ExtendUI to 767464 to immediately get connected with your Senators, and urge them to Extend the 600 now!
- Join our National Labor Committee at their Food Service Forum on August 7th to learn how we can organize to transform the LA Food Service industry.
Extend the 600! Unite the industry! When we organize and fight, we win!
|
DSA-LA Steering Committee Update:
|
Julia Shannon will be relocating from Los Angeles and as a result has resigned from her position as an At-Large member of our Steering Committee. We thank Julia for her work on the committee and wish her luck moving forward. We have appointed Molombo Thillia Thillot to serve as an At-Large member for the duration of this Steering Committee's term, and are thrilled to have him join the DSA-LA Steering Committee team. Molombo is currently a law student, and looks forward to filling the role and engaging with our chapter's membership. Please join us in welcoming him!
|
Language Justice and Interpretation Training
|
Do you have fluent language skills and are you interested in serving as an interpreter for DSA-LA? We will be offering a three hour Language Justice for Organizers and Interpretation skills training facilitated by the language justice collective Antena in August (date still TBD). If you would like to be considered for inclusion in the training please fill out this form by Wednesday July 29th and we will be in touch with further details if space is available.
|
Check out our online calendar for full list of committee meetings and chapter events. Be sure to follow our Instagram & Twitter for real-time announcements and calls-to-action!
|
Tuesday, July 28th @ 6pm – 8pm
|
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. This is not a lecture, but a meeting for new and veteran organizers. We’re excited to chat with you!
|
|
Hollywood Labor’s The Redlist Meeting
|
Wednesday, July 29th @ 7pm – 9pm PST
|
THE REDLIST is a project to promote socialist art from disenfranchised groups across the country, aimed at breaking the culture industry and shifting the kind of stories Hollywood can tell to a more left-leaning paradigm, one which both includes and promotes the stories of the marginalized, the poor, and the oppressed. It would build institutional power to promote diverse, socialist talent to help push the public perception of what socialism is and what it can achieve. Learn more about it here!
|
|
Lost Angles Part 2: Building a Radical Los Angeles
|
Thursday, July 30th @ 6pm – 1pm PST
|
Despite its frequent portrayal as a region of sun-drenched bungalows, citrus trees and quaint conservatism, Los Angeles in the first half of the 20th century was roiled by radicalism. A rise in worker militancy led to the development of the Los Angeles CIO, one of the most diversely led labor formations in the United States. Labor organizing and a racist judicial system, clearly seen in the trials following the Zoot Suit Riots, brought together community leaders, radicals, and communists in broad coalitions dedicated to defending the rights of the multiracial working class.
|
|
Power to Heal Screening + Panel Discussion
|
Thursday, July 30th @ 7pm – 9pm PST
|
Our Healthcare Justice Committee will be participating with Physicians for a National Health Program in screening 'Power to Heal' which tells the story of how the Civil Rights movement worked to create Medicare. In turn Medicare, shaped by the movement, ended the segregation of hospitals, nursing facilities and medical staffs. The film will be screened via the distributors' website and there will be a Q&A on Zoom afterwards.
|
JOIN US & FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL:
INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // FACEBOOK // YOUTUBE
|
|
