These days, Labor Day is a corporate, conservative, and depoliticized holiday. Declared a federal holiday by Grover Cleveland in 1894, it was an attempt to placate the militant labor movement of that time, particularly the fight for the 8-hour day. It was also in response to the Pullman strike, a mass, nationwide railroad strike supported by Eugene Debs' American Railway Union. The strikers faced brutal state repression: 30 workers killed and Debs thrown in jail.
Today, we honor the Pullman strikers, who fought against pay cuts and high rents and were met with brutal state violence, by continuing the fight against police violence, austerity budgets, and the capitalist class they serve. Here is what you can do this week to join the fight to defund SPD and fully fund Black and brown working class communities.
Decriminalize Seattle Labor Day Car Caravan!
Join Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now TODAY for a car caravan to make sure that City Council follows through on their pledges to defund SPD and invest in Black communities. In August, Democratic Mayor Durkan vetoed the City Council’s first round of cuts that started to chip away at the SPD’s budget. We won’t stand for that.
Join online or in-person for a car caravan in each district! The Caravan will drive to different locations in each district. Join at one (or more!) of the locations to welcome the caravan, hear folks speak, phonebank your Councilmember, and participate in a social media action. The caravan starts in District 1 at 1PM and ends at District 7 at 5:10PM. Find out more information on Decrim's Instagram here, and if you’re participating online, follow Decriminalize Seattle for a Facebook livestream here!
Join the EveryDay Marches with us
Protesters and Seattle DSA members have been out in the streets everyday. Join us! Join your Seattle DSA comrades every Saturday as we attend the Every Day evening march together. To coordinate, join Seattle DSA’s Slack (just forward your “Thanks for being a DSA-er" email from Maria Svart to [email protected]). Of course, comrades will be out every morning and evening as well.
Help us organize town halls in your district
As we gear up for the October budget cut, our councilmembers need to know that we will hold them accountable to cutting SPD’s budget by 50%. Join your district groups to plan virtual town halls to keep up the pressure! Find your district group on Slack to get involved. If you’re in District 3 or 6, head over to the District 3 action meeting this Wednesday!
Vote this week on endorsing Sherae for State
At our General Membership Meeting last week, we welcomed Sherae Lascelles, Seattle People’s Party candidate for State House, for a Q&A. This week, our democratic, membership-run organization considers an endorsement together. If you’re a SDSA member, join us on Tuesday at 7PM for a discussion! Not a member yet? Join the largest socialist organization in the US here.
Solidarity with Spokane DSA
Last Sunday, Spokane DSA Co-Chair Jeremy Logan was abducted by unidentified agents while on his way to a Jacob Blake protest, hauled into a van, and eventually taken to jail where he was held for a day and a half. This is a clear example of retaliation against left-wing and Black Lives Matter activists happening across the country by the federal, state, and local police forces. We can't let their efforts to intimidate protestors succeed! We’ll keep you posted on solidarity actions you can take.
Organize!
Honoring the Pullman strikers means joining together with our coworkers and neighbors to stand up for ourselves and fight for a better world. Honoring their fight means organizing in our own lives! Do you want to fight back at work? Curious about organizing with your neighbors? Join our workplace organizing collective and housing collective, both meeting online on Wednesday evening.
In solidarity,
Seattle DSA
Here are upcoming events:
Time: September 8 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Venue: Online (Zoom Call - See Slack channel)
[Read More]
Time: September 8 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Venue: Online
Calling all socialist tech workers! We are planning work on a number of interesting projects to work on that will help the org build power. These include: a members-only section of the Seattle DSA website a labor portal campaign data analysis tools We'll figure out how we want to organize this group, who wants to work on which project, dsa website basics, and more. Agenda [Read More]
Time: September 8 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Venue: Online
Seattle DSA is considering an endorsement of Sherae Lascelles (they/them), activist candidate for State House, running against one of the most prominent Democratic establishment politicians in the state, Frank Chopp. At our September 1 General Membership Meeting we were honored to be joined by Sherae for a Q&A town hall. This meeting (9/8) is a special membership meeting organized to give [Read More]
Time: September 9 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Venue: Online (Zoom Call)
Does your building management take too long to make repairs? Are you concerned that your lease could be illegal? Does your landlord charge you too much rent? You’re not alone. The Housing Collective is a group of Seattle area residents, including experienced housing rights activists, who meet every week to teach each other concrete, effective organizing skills to build power at home. This [Read More]
Time: September 9 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Venue: Online
Join District 3 members and others to discuss organizing online town halls in districts 3 & 6 to pressure city councilmembers to stay true to their pledge to cut SPD by 50%. Seven out of nine Seattle City Council members pledged to defund the Seattle Police Department by 50% and reinvest those funds in community-led health and safety services. They voted to make some important cuts to the [Read More]
Time: September 9 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Venue: Online
Due to coronavirus, we'll be meeting online. Join us on Google Hangouts Are you frustrated that you don't have a voice at work? Are you a freelancer who rarely gets paid on time? Are you working 2 or 3 gigs just to make rent? You're not alone. The Workplace Organizing Collective is a group of Seattle DSA members, including experienced labor organizers, who meet every week to teach each [Read More]
Time: September 10 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Venue: Online
Given the recent shootings in Kenosha and Portland, and their aftermath, it’s important we continue discussing right-wing extremism. This is a natural follow-up to our meeting on fascism last month, which was a good discussion but didn’t focus enough on how we fight right-wing extremism today. It’s clear that far right groups like Patriot Prayer, the Proud Boys, and the Boogaloo Movement continue [Read More]
Time: September 12 @ 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Venue: , WA
After a summer hiatus, the reading group back! We will discuss John Clegg and Udaner Usmani's "The Economic Origins of Mass Incarceration." Join the meeting with this link [Read More]
Time: September 12 @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Venue: Online
This month we learn and talk about the first trade unions for women in the US, the Lowell Mill Girls, and the fight for the 10-hour day in the 1840s and 1850s! Ever wondered what early US working class struggles against industrialization were like? How the first trade unions came about? What lessons that period of history has for socialists today? Join the Queer and Feminist Caucus for our [Read More]
Time: September 13 @ 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Venue: Online
Join us to pursue a fair and effective Green New Deal to halt climate change and win environmental justice. We explore ecosocialist theory, organize with climate groups, and are developing a campaign for fare-free transit. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85803903635?pwd=QXNuZzNBR3ovWnpKaDBMcjdFbzJjdz09 OR by phone 253-215-8782 Meeting ID: 858 0390 3635 Passcode: 660387 [Read More]
