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Week of May 17, 2021 |
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The risk of exposure to COVID-19 is still very real.
We need to be extra vigilant and mitigate the risks of infection, particularly for those who are older or who have pre-existing conditions. For the sake of our collective health, please remember to wear a mask when you leave your home, practice social distancing, and wash your hands frequently. This pandemic has shown us that the health of one is the health of all so we all need to take responsibility for our common well-being.
There are some easy ways to safely stay connected to the chapter, such as: signing-up on the front page of our website to receive our weekly newsletter, and checking the calendar on the site for upcoming virtual events.
In solidarity, DSA-LA |
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ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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DSA-LA Chapter Meeting – May |
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Saturday, May 22 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
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Pronto estará disponible una versión en español de esta página. Esta reunión será accesible en español mediante interpretación simultánea. Fecha y hora: 22 de mayo, 3-5pm |
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How to participate in a DSA-LA Chapter meeting (Roberts Rules Training) |
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Wednesday, May 19 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm |
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DSA-LA uses Robert’s Rules of Order to help make meetings and decision-making flow smoothly, while being as accessible as possible! Want to make sure you’ll know what’s going on during our upcoming chapter meeting? Attend this event!
Rules of order can sound intimidating! The truth is, most of us don’t ever get to participate in truly democratic spaces in our daily lives, so learning how to participate in democracy in real time is a skill that needs to be learned. The good news is that it’s not too difficult to pick up the basics! This event will have 2 parts – you can join for either or both.
In the first part, all members can learn some basic terminology and experience a live demo of how Rules of Order can be used to make a group decision. In the second part, we will go more in depth and look at meetings from the perspective of a chair; learning how to keep things running smoothly. |
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ACTIONS |
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Have You Voted Yet? DSA-LA is Electing Delegates for National Convention! |
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This is already shaping up to be the most competitive election in our chapter’s history. After weeks of promotion broadcast to all members, 2 public informational events, and a lot of member-to-member organizing, we ended up with nearly 150 candidates applying to run for delegate to the National Convention. That’s far more people than have ever ran in a DSA-LA election and more than double the number of delegate candidates that ran in 2019. Click the link below to learn more info on how to vote, join the discussion board and read candidate statements. |
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How to Access the DSA-LA Discussion Board |
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Hello members! After two weeks of testing, today is the day that we are officially transitioning from Slack to our new online Discussion Board, which can permanently be accessed by DSA-LA members in good standing who visit talk.dsa-la.org. The Board is built by members, for members, to be a home of announcements and chapterwide discussion about official and unofficial business. It has a simple layout with clearer categories than Slack, has far more robust tools we can develop including tags and badges, is slightly more secure, and all members can gain access through a very simple process.
This is paired with another project, the Member Portal. Because of the system that has been developed in order to guarantee members access, we also now have the ability to host content on our website that can only be viewed by members. It’s barebones now, but we plan to add a lot more resources in the coming months. DSA-LA members in good standing already have an account created for them. Click the link to learn more and how to log in for the first time.
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CALENDAR |
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The following list is only a highlight of what's happening this week with DSA-LA. Please check out our online calendar for full list of committee meetings & chapter events! Be sure to also follow our Instagram & Twitter for real-time announcements and calls-to-action! |
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Neighborhood Meetings |
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All members are encouraged to attend their neighborhood meetings! You can meet socialists in your area for political education, mutual aid, and tenant organizing. Learn more about the Neighborhood Solidarity Program here. |
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West Hollywood, Pico-Robertson, Miracle Mile Neighborhood Meeting |
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(TODAY) Tuesday, May 18 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm |
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Come one come all, if you live in the easternmost outskirts of the Westside Branch you belong to this neighborhood! We’ll catch up on our grocery solidarity program in response to Kroger’s corporate greed, talk about an opportunity to help with community fridges, and talk about other things we can do in our neighborhood. Our study topic for this meeting will cover Socialist Struggles for Decommodified Public Goods. Totaling ~21 pages, the following set of recommended excerpts and articles provide a foundation for discussion on social strategy in workplace organizing:
Recommended readings (total 21 pages):
If you have questions about whether or not this is your Neighborhood – email us at [email protected] and we’ll get back to you right away.
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Mutual Aid Book Club: Braiding Sweetgrass Part 3 |
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(TODAY) Tuesday, May 18 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm |
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Braiding Sweetgrass looks at the intersection between biology, society, and our connection to nature, seeking to use it to heal the rifts that have been created by wide-scale social forces, unlearning our hurtful mindsets, and healing ourselves in the process. The Mutual Aid Book Club is embarking upon this journey to challenge our own internalized colonialism, seeking to ask questions while walking, and facilitate the process of learning together as comrades. To aid in this process we’ve asked for guest facilitation from the IAF-FAI, and hope that we may learn from their lived wisdom as we learn to relate to all our comrades, both on two legs and four and many, to learn new ways to know and relate to the world around us–and finding solace between them all. For this week’s reading we’ll be going over the fourth (and eponymous) section of the book, Braiding Sweetgrass. The book can be obtained digitally through Hoopla, where an audiobook is also available. If members are still having trouble obtaining a copy, feel free to reach out to mutual aid leadership at [email protected] to make sure you get a copy. Please RSVP to this event to get connection information. The Mutual Aid Book Club meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. |
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Worker Cooperative Onboarding Meeting |
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(TODAY) Tuesday, May 18 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm |
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Join comrades from our Worker Cooperative Subcommittee to learn about and help build worker cooperatives in Los Angeles. Worker cooperatives are geared toward taking ownership of our economy by creating non-exploitative workplaces. The Worker Cooperative Subcommittee is working on developing an Arizmendi (Arizmendi.coop) style worker cooperative bakery to be part of the Downtown Crenshaw Rising project. |
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Immigration Justice Committee May Meeting! |
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(TODAY) Tuesday, May 18 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm |
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May Day may have come and gone, but let’s treat it like the “basic” folks treat their birthdays, and we’ll celebrate it all month! Lot of interesting things happening in the world of immigration justice, and this month, we’ll be hearing from the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition about their campaign against Palantir plus MUCH more! |
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Mutual Aid Skill-Share Subcommittee Meeting |
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Friday, May 21 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm |
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The Mutual Aid Skill-Share Subcommittee is dedicated to giving our members a platform to share their skills and support each other with free resources. If you have a skill to share or want to help us encourage skill shares in your branch, neighborhood or committee, please join us! Please RSVP for meeting connection information. |
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SFV Branch Community & Trust Building Session 4: Communication Styles, Talents, and Gifts |
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Saturday, May 22 @ 10:00 am - 12:30 pm |
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Do you live, work, or play in the San Fernando Valley? Join us for the next session of our Community and Trust Building series for the SFV Branch! Old or new members, all are welcome!
Getting to know each other a bit, building trust, and recognizing our own strengths and weaknesses in movement building can help us be better organizers and stronger as a community. This session we will be discussing communication styles, talents, and gifts. Any SFV Branch member can join for any of the sessions they wish to be a part of!
After you RSVP, you will be emailed the information to join. All sessions will be held in English, with ASL interpretation available upon request. Please email [email protected] at least 3 days in advance to request ASL interpretation or for any other accessibility requests. |
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Hygiene, Health and Happiness Drive Kit-Building |
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Sunday, May 23 @ 11:00 am - 2:00 pm |
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Help us put together tools and products that support school age children’s hygiene, physical development, and literacy development! We will be building the kits to distribute throughout the LA Community fridge network. The event will be outdoors and socially distanced, with everyone wearing masks. |
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