In 2018 the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released an alarming report, stating that the world needed to steeply cut its carbon emissions and make radical changes in order to limit the planet’s temperature from rising to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. If that goal wasn’t met, the report predicted a horrifying increase in suffering for almost all life and ecological collapses.
 
In America, this report was met on the political Left by sustained calls for the abolition of capitalist exploitation of people and the planet. The rationale was that capitalism’s imperative for endless economic growth required massive amounts of energy, the vast majority of which is still produced through fossil fuels. Some of the specific responses were reinvigorated support for anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist struggles by Indigenous peoples, surges in attendance at climate strikes, and great support for proposals like the Green New Deal by elected officials.
 
We’ve been exploring this theme in a Socialist Night School mini-series, co-organized with our Green New Deal Committee. The first two events explored what it means to be an ecosocialist and the Red Deal and Indigenous struggle. In this final Night School in our mini-series, we’ll attempt to answer a perennial question in our prior sessions: “How do we actually win a Green New Deal, especially after Bernie’s loss?” We’ve dedicated this time to making a space for us to attempt an answer.

Learn about our readings and our guest speaker, Thea Riofrancos, at the RSVP link below.

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With smoke in the air and uncontained fires raging across the state, it’s easy to feel scared and defeated. But there are ways to fight back against the austerity capitalists who’ve gotten us here and to protect each other from the worst effects of the fires. Join us to check in on our neighbors and recruit them to work on Green New Deal Committee projects like:

• Let's Own PG&E campaign
• Mutual aid, including making and distributing masks
• Green New Deal Electoral Organizing
• Environmental Justice/Racial Solidarity
• A Green New Deal for Transit Campaign

No experience is required. We'll show you what you need to have great conversations with some of the loveliest people in the world: the ones who've signed up through the letsownpge.org website!

Please email the committee Co-Chairs at [email protected] with any accessibility questions or concerns.

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Come defend democracy and demand that every vote be counted with Bay Area labor councils and East Bay DSA this Saturday. Wear masks and wear red.

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Join the East Bay DSA Labor Committee for a 7-part study series on labor organizing in the 1930s, open to all and designed for anyone engaged or interested in workplace or non-workplace based movement work.

The Left has always played an essential role in building movements for social justice. The current pandemic and the deepening economic crisis presents us with urgent challenges. Especially since ours is a new socialist movement without tons of experience in labor and other working-class movements, we need to learn as much as we can about how socialists conducted themselves in the past. The 1930s was the last great period of labor organizing in the US. Like today, the 1930s began with widespread economic desperation, racist repression, and a weak labor movement. Yet, by the end of the ‘30s, millions of workers had created and joined unions after tumultuous struggles, with Left parties playing key roles.

What were the key lessons of the ‘30s that can inform our work today? How did workers organize themselves and their communities? To what extent was the fight against racism integrated into those struggles? What was the role of the union officials and the state? And in all of this, what were the strengths and weaknesses that Left organizations brought to the movement?

Groups will start the week of November 8, consist of 10–12 people, and will meet every other week for a total of 7 sessions, factoring in a break for the holidays. Readings will be shared digitally at no cost, will average 50 pages every two weeks, and will include primary and secondary sources, fiction, and poetry.

For a list of the readings, click here. For questions, comments, etc, please email [email protected].

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Democratic Socialist politicians like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rashida Tlaib are raising the expectations of millions of people across the United States and bringing them into a political awakening. The membership of DSA, the largest socialist organization in the United States, is rapidly growing by the thousands. Millions of working-class Americans are calling for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, universal rent control, and more.

But what is democratic socialism? What does it mean to be a member of DSA? How do socialists look at the crises of police brutality, economic recession, and COVID-19? And what will we do after the election is over? Let's talk about it.

Join us to discuss what our political moment calls for, meet new people, and get plugged into our fight for democratic control of the things that we need for all of us to live a dignified life.
This socially-distanced event will be held at Grove Park in Berkeley at 1 p.m. Sanitizer and gloves will be provided, please wear your mask!
 
Grove Park is wheelchair accessible, but there are no public bathrooms.

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In this training, we will discuss and practice the art of the one-on-one meeting. This is a powerful and foundational skill for any organizer—it helps us form a political relationship with somebody, understand more about who they are and what motivates them, and gives us an opportunity to make a concrete ask of them.

One-on-one meetings can help us develop political relationships with other working-class people, build leadership in your committee, and move people to action. Come to this training to learn the components of a one-on-one and get some real-life practice.

Note: While everybody is welcome, this training event is geared towards people who are already active in the Democratic Socialists of America or aligned organizations.

Recommended readings

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Join us to win power for:

• Free Public Transit
• Greatly expanded service, accessibility, and schedule
• Protection of union workers and expansion of union jobs
• Social equity to overcome transportation discrimination
• Conversion of Public Transit to Zero Emissions vehicles

RSVP below for Zoom link!

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Join the East Bay DSA Political Education Committee for an analysis of what's happened since election day. Watch the event page at the RSVP link below for details!

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Join your comrades in a low-key, friendly social hour where we’ll explore our networks to help grow DSA to 100,000 members. Friend-to-friend organizing is one of the most effective tools we have to build our movement, and we need our friends, coworkers, family, and neighbors to build DSA into the mass movement it’ll take to create a better world.

Signed the 100k pledge but haven’t recruited 3 new members yet? We’re here to help! Haven’t signed the pledge yet? Start here: https://act.dsausa.org/survey/dsa-100k-pledge/

No experience necessary! Bring a fun beverage (optional).

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Our Green New Deal Committee meets on the second Wednesday each month. We will discuss eco-socialist issues, upcoming events and actions, committee priorities, and campaigns. All are welcome! Please RSVP to receive the URL to the meeting or email [email protected].

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Join us for a special reconvening of the Medicare for All Committee! With the pandemic and its multiple, intersecting crises, and the polling popularity of Medicare for All, our commitment to the movement is more important than ever. This will relaunch our work as a chapter committee. Come learn about our committee's efforts, as well as local, state, and national initiatives around Medicare for All and single-payer healthcare. All are welcome!

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Part II of this book by Andreas Malm exploring the question: "What does COVID-19 tell us about the climate breakdown, and what should we do about it?" The second half of the book (Chapter 3) is standalone, so please join us even if you missed the first discussion.

The event will occur via zoom meeting. Please email the committee Co-Chairs at [email protected] with any accessibility questions or concerns.

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See how your elected leadership works as we deliberate on current chapter issues. This meeting is open to all DSA members to observe the proceedings. Please RSVP for the Zoom link. The agenda is TBA.

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