Dear comrades,

We hope you had a terrific Labor Day! A number of MoCo DSA members marched in the Gaithersburg parade to bring attention to major problems faced by working families; DSAers canvassed for Medicare-for-All with Our Revolution Maryland, and marched with the Poor People's Campaign and UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO (the union that represents thousands of County employees). 

 

 Due to a vacancy on the Steering Committee, MoCo DSA will hold a special election next month. In the interim, the steering committee has appointed treasurer David Reed to the open seat. Please nominate yourself or ask any questions about the position by emailing us here! The online election will begin on October 4, and nominations must be sent to the steering committee in writing by September 20, 2019.

Long-time labor activist Gene Bruskin has written a new musical, The Moment Was Now, and he is inviting DSA members to attend a performance on Sat., Sep. 21 at a discount! It tells the story of "a turning point in U.S. history when our country almost did the right thing, centered around conflicts and possibilities that unfold at a fictional meeting convened by Frederick Douglass and attended by Susan B. Anthony, Black trade union leader Issac Myers, African American abolitionist Frances Harper, and National Labor Union president William Sylvis." If you are interested in $25 group tickets, please email us by this Sunday.

 From our allies at Progressive Maryland:
Do you want to stop predatory lending? We sure do. Progressive Maryland and Americans for Financial Reform are working to stop predatory practices around credit cards, medical debt, pay day lending, student loans, etc. We are collecting stories of struggle with lenders and bill collectors to build the grassroots pressure we need to end predatory lending and debt collection for good. If you have a story you'd be willing to share with us, please click here.

Reminder: MoCo DSA is looking to organize more political education events such as our Socialist Night School on police and prison abolition, and we want your ideas. Please fill out this survey to give input on or help with future events!

Upcoming DSA events:

 Sunday, September 8 from 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM: Takoma Park Folk Festival
MoCo DSA will have a table at the festival this year! We'll be handing out flyers about democratic socialism and our rent control campaign, and having conversations with the public about making Montgomery County a place for the many, not the few. Stop by and say hi or join us at the table! Festival details here.

 Sunday, September 8 at 12:00 PM: Metro D.C. DSA for Bernie Canvass in Takoma Park
Also on Sep. 8, our DSA chapter will kick off its electoral efforts in support of Bernie Sanders for President. From the organizers: We are kicking off our first canvass for Bernie in Takoma Park! There will be a training before you head to the doors, and new canvassers with be paired with someone with more experience. Come have a blast with DSAers and help elect Bernie! Details here.

 Thursday, September 12 - Migrant Justice Action: Stand Up to Deportation Profiteers
From the organizers at MDC DSA: As ICE detains and deports immigrants every day, they are helped by for-profit companies. These profiteers allow ICE to function by providing key services, and the executives of these companies make millions for destroying lives in our community. We will provide the location and time as we get closer to the date of the action. Details here. 

Sunday, September 15 from 2:00-4:30 pm: MoCo DSA Branch Meeting at Takoma Park firehouse
Please join us to talk rent control and more as our monthly meetings resume in September - at a new location, the Takoma Park firehouse! Details here.

 Don't forget to check out the Metro DC DSA Meetup Events page to find many DSA events throughout the Washington Metro region!

Upcoming community events:
 Wednesday, September 4 at 6:00 PM: Shut Down DC Orientation
From the organizers: Youth leaders from around the world have called for a climate strike and global week of action from September 20-27, and are calling on all of us to take action. On September 23rd, we are going to shut down DC, and we're meeting every Wednesday until then. Details here.

 Saturday, September 7 at 1:00 PM: Escalating Resistance: Mass Rebellion Training
From the organizers: Lisa Fithian is offering a three-hour training to hone our strategies and tactics to impact power holders and create social disruption at increasingly larger scales. This organizing requires attention to how we build collective power that heals and liberates us from our socialization in the dominant culture of superiority – white, male, rich and Christian. Details here.

Saturday, September 14 from 9:30-11:30 am: Social Housing Discussion at County Council Offices in Rockville
Representatives from Vienna, Austria, will discuss the city's extensive social housing program with County Councilmembers, the Sierra Club, and the public. (It would appear that Councilmember Riemer is trying to beef up his left flank.) Details here. (There is also a symposium planned at UMD the day before - details here.)

Saturday, September 14 from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm: Climate Emergency Town Hall at Silver Spring Civic Center
Join County Executive Marc Elrich, County Councilmember Tom Hucker, DSA member and climate expert Danielle Meitiv and other climate advocates for a panel discussion and town hall on Montgomery County's response to the Climate Emergency. Details here.

 Friday, September 20 at 9:00 AM: MoCo Student Striker Kickoff Rally at Silver Spring Metro Station
From the organizers: Join in support of our Montgomery County climate strikers as they head to DC to demand climate action NOW! We will surround the Metro station entrance with a #ClimateStrike human banner and hear from strikers before they board the train for the 11:00 DC Climate Strike march at Freedom Plaza. Details here. Details on the Global Climate Strikes are here.

Saturday, September 21 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM: Maryland Trans Resilience Conference
From the organizers: The Baltimore Transgender Alliance, Trans Healthcare Maryland, and CLEAR Baltimore are partnering with local trans community to launch the Maryland Trans Resilience Conference, an annual trans-led, trans-focused gathering to foster connection, healing, and education. The conference includes workshops, panel discussions, wellness, art, resource tables, and more, all within a social, trans-affirming environment. Details here.

Good Reads:
 From Jacobin: "Americans Are Starting to Love Unions Again" by Meagan Day. "Labor union approval is now higher than at nearly any point in the last 50 years. The reasons: shit pay, teacher strikes, and Bernie Sanders."

 From Vox: "'Unions for All:' The New Plan to Save the American Labor Movement" by Dylan Matthews. "... a growing number of labor law experts and even presidential candidates... have settled on a new approach to revive the US labor movement. Major labor leaders like SEIU President Mary Kay Henry are embracing this strategy too, and shifting their organizations in turn. Henry has dubbed this “unions for all” — an entire industry’s workers, that is, not just in one company. This approach involves moving beyond the traditional form of union organizing that you know from movies like Norma Rae, where unions organize workplace-by-workplace and fight tough battles for recognition, to an approach closer to that used in Europe or Australia. This approach is called 'sectoral bargaining,' and it could change the way work is done in the United States."

 From The Guardian: "I Lost My Job for Keeping Charlottesville Police Accountable. I'd Do It Again" by Molly Conger. "I’m not surprised a police officer and a former prosecutor would try to weaponize the legal system to silence a critic. I am surprised the paper’s owners reacted with such incredible cowardice. What good is journalism that folds when confronted by those in power? How can we trust local media that allows the police union to dictate what is published about the police?"

 From Common Dreams: "Indigenous Women of the Amazon Send a Call: The Fight for Mother Earth is the Mother of All Fights" by Osprey Orielle Lake. "The lives of every future generation and our species as humans depends on the collective effort to generate new development models. Humanity has no Plan B for the Earth. Our fight is so urgent that we must all get together right now. The fight for Mother Earth is the mother of all fights."

In solidarity,