DSA comrades helped #ShutDownDC on Monday as part of the global climate strikes. Also: Bernie supports national rent control, and so do we!

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This week in MoCo DSA
Dear comrades,

We agree with Bernie Sanders that "in the richest country in the history of the world, every American must have a safe, decent, accessible and affordable home as a fundamental right." Bernie has an incredible new housing platform ([link removed]) that calls for national rent control and housing for all, paid for by taxing the very rich. We highly recommend reading the platform and taking action by working with us to fight for rent control here in MoCo! So - please join us at our next Rent Control Working Group meeting this Wed., Sep. 25 (see below to RSVP)!

Speaking of Bernie, our MDC DSA chapter will be canvassing for him across the DMV. The Bernie working group is trying to raise $10,000 to pay for printed materials. Can you make a donation of $5, $10, $27, or whatever you can spare? Here’s the link (you can note "Bernie Working Group" in the notes section): [link removed] ([link removed])

The global movement of students calling for action on climate change is holding strikes all over the world. They asked adults to step up as well! Yesterday hundreds of DMV residents helped #ShutDownDC by blocking intersections all over the city ([link removed]) . Our DSA chapter and a labor contingent shut down Mass. Ave & New Jersey Ave., and then joined ([link removed]) 350.org, CodePink, WERK DC and others as we traveled across the city! There was tons of joy ([link removed]) and creativity ([link removed]) as we demanded climate justice and a Green New Deal.

Courageous whistleblower and Montgomery County resident Chelsea Manning is still in jail for refusing to testify at a grand jury about questions she has already answered and served jail time for. She will likely be jailed for another year and has $69,000 in fines already, with more added every day. Please donate to her legal fund ([link removed]) so she can continue to fight this abuse of power.

Upcoming DSA events:

Wednesday, September 25 at 7:00 PM
MoCo DSA Rent Control Working Group Meeting in DTSS
Help us plan the next phase of our rent control campaign - which will include reaching out fellow DSA members in MoCo, creating content for the new MoCo DSA website, and more! (RSVP by emailing us here, and we'll send you the exact location details (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Sep%2025%20rent%20control%20meeting) .)

Saturday, September 28 at 10:00 AM
Queer Socialist Caucus - National Trans Visibility March on DC
From the organizers: MDC QSC will have a contingent in the National Trans Visibility March to show our solidarity with our trans comrades, trans women of color, one of the most marginalized groups in society, and all trans people. Details here. ([link removed])

Don't forget to check out the Metro DC DSA Meetup Events page ([link removed]) to find many DSA events throughout the Washington Metro region!

Good Reads:
From Vox: "The Case for a 4-Day Work Week ([link removed]) " by Alexia Fernandez Campbell. "Americans once worked 100 hours a week, six days in a row. Then, in 1940, came the five-day work week [after workers fought for it for decades]. Now labor unions are making the case for even less work: dropping days worked down to four. That’s one of the changes unions are proposing as part of their vision for the future of work, which is outlined in a new report by the AFL-CIO. As technology makes workers more productive, unions argue, why not give them three-day weekends? Not 40 hours compressed into four days. Labor unions are proposing a 32-hour work week, with employees earning no less than they did before."

From In These Times: "The Unions Backing the Global Climate Strikes ([link removed]) " by Sarah Lazare. "Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America, told In These Times her union will 'absolutely support the Global Climate Strike and actions around the world.' Nelson says those young people deserve labor’s solidarity. 'In order to create change, the first step is defining the problem for the masses and the urgency of fixing it. Collective action is an effective way to draw attention to an issue, inject it into the popular narrative, and demonstrate what people are willing to do to force a political will for solutions."

From Jacobin: "Against Polling ([link removed]) " by Nathan Akehurst. "The way we use big numbers is not neutral. It frames politics as market research. And it is emblematic of the neoliberal period. The cult and culture of polling has to be more than just a phenomenon summoned forth by the demands of political strategists for intelligence, and those smart enough to occupy the routes of supply. It is self-perpetuating and self-replicating, a living worldview which continues to multiply and spread throughout the body politic with every push poll or more legitimate statistic enlisted for illegitimate ends."

From Vice: "The Biggest Strike in America is About How Much Bosses Can Gut Your Healthcare ([link removed]) " by Rachel Cohen: "When about 48,000 workers went on strike Monday against General Motors, they launched the largest American labor stoppage against any business since the financial crisis. They’re in a war for their lives, and the company is basically putting a gun to the unions' head."

In solidarity,
Elissa, David, John, Zach and Frank
MoCo DSA Steering Committee

Follow us on Twitter: @MoCo_DSA ([link removed])
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DSAMoCo
{MoCo DSA is a branch of the Metro DC chapter of DSA}

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