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👻 East Bay DSA Newsletter October 31, 2019 🕸
When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.
Frantz Fanon
🎃

Happy Halloween comrades! You've probably seen plenty of scary costumes today, but truly nothing is scarier than the fact that our state is on fire.

California's fires are caused by a combination of climate change and PG&E's profit-driven mismanagement. PG&E powers two-thirds of the state, and it loves cutting corners to increase profit margins. Instead of putting necessary funds toward safety and sustainability, PG&E spends millions of dollars on lavish executive pay and lobbying in Sacramento. As climate change and unsustainable development turn California into a tinderbox, the company's stubborn negligence increasingly costs people their homes, their health, and their lives.

That's why we say: Let's Own PG&E! Because private companies answer to their investors, they can't be trusted to ensure the wellbeing of the public and the environment. Energy is a public good, and the people who provide it for us should answer to us — democratically. Public utilities exist all over the world, and even here in the U.S., where they were the norm until recent decades. This isn't a fringe idea. Congressman Ro Khanna is talking about taking PG&E under public ownership, and Bernie Sanders is calling for something similar on a large scale.

Speaking of Bernie Sanders, we have a few months to get him elected, and our chapter has a ton of Bernie canvasses coming up that you should join if you want to make that happen (see details below). And speaking of climate justice, be sure to join us at our upcoming General Meeting, where we’ll talk about socialism and the fight for the Green New Deal. Please also join us for our next edition of Night School, where we’ll talk about immigration and capitalism and hear from Suzy Lee, author of "The Case for Open Borders."
Last night's Boos for Bernie socialist Halloween party.
We’re proud to stand with the workers of Chicago schools, who spent their tenth day on strike yesterday. Stay tuned to @CTULocal1 and @SEIU73 for updates today. Their demands and incredible work on behalf of students and families are an example of what it takes to win, and how much the united working class can achieve.
Featured Events
If you're ready to scare some billionaires, here's a list of upcoming events. RSVP to keep updated. You can also keep track on our Events page.

CANVASS FOR BERNIE AT OAKLAND FIRST FRIDAY

Tomorrow! November 1 | 4–8 p.m.
Uptown Oakland, near Telegraph and Grand ♿️ 
Join us at Oakland First Friday to crowd canvass in support of Bernie's 2020 run and democratic socialism! We’ll be the ones in red working to make this a better world for the working class.

A democratic socialist is a frontrunner for the presidency, and DSA is building a mass movement for socialism behind him. Bernie Sanders's 2020 run offers an unprecedented opportunity for democratic socialists to reach thousands of people with our politics, build working-class power, and make sure that California — a crucial battleground state — goes to Bernie on
"Super Tuesday," March 3, 2020.

Join us to talk with and listen to all kinds of folks about the issues that affect their lives, and invite them to join the mass, working-class movement being built by Bernie 2020 and DSA. No experience necessary to canvass!

RSVP

NEIGHBORHOOD CANVASS FOR BERNIE IN WEST OAKLAND

Saturday, November 2 | 12–3 p.m.
West Oakland - RSVP here for address ♿️
Keep the momentum going with a neighborhood canvass on Saturday in West Oakland! RSVP for address and other details.

RSVP

SOCIALIST NIGHT SCHOOL: THE CASE FOR OPEN BORDERS

Tuesday, November 5 | 7–9 p.m.
East Bay Community Space, 507 55th St, Oakland ♿️
Join the East Bay DSA Socialist Night School for a discussion of Suzy Lee’s groundbreaking essay "The Case for Open Borders," kicked off by a video interview with Lee herself.

For a century, the US labor movement advocated immigration restrictions in fear that new immigrants would drive down wages for US workers. In the last few decades, however, the AFL-CIO has made a dramatic turn to become advocates for comprehensive immigration reform. What accounts for that shift?

Policies that aim to restrict immigration flows rarely achieve their intended result. Instead, their main result is to deprive immigrant workers of rights and to undermine the ability of all workers to organize to improve their conditions. For that reason, Lee argues, the labor movement should advocate for the free movement of labor across borders. Such a stance provides the basis for solidarity between working-class people regardless of where they are born.

Accessibility: Entrance and bathroom are wheelchair-accessible.

RSVP Read the readings

GENERAL MEETING: THE FIGHT FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL

Sunday, November 10 | 1–3 p.m.
Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave, Oakland, CA ♿️
This month’s general meeting will focus on the Green New Deal: what could it mean for the Bay Area and how do we win it? We’ll hear from a panel of local activists and union members on the topic, followed by a questions and comments session.

We need volunteers! From setup to sign-in to mic-running, volunteering for our meetings is lively, easy, and low-commitment. Volunteer here. Use this form, too, if you have child supervision or accessibility needs, including the need for an ASL interpreter.

Our next voting General Meeting will be in December. Member-submitted resolutions will be accepted on a rolling basis—please email them to [email protected]. The submission deadline for each meeting is three weeks in advance of the meeting itself.

The Omni Commons ballroom is wheelchair-accessible via a lift and has wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and we provide child supervision and wireless microphones with runners. It is also accessible by BART (1/2 mile walk from MacArthur Station) and by AC Transit bus lines 18, 88, and 12. See more information on Omni accessibility.

RSVP
Upcoming Events

HOW TO HAVE A ONE-ON-ONE POLITICAL CONVERSATION

Thursday, November 14 | 7–9 p.m.

Location TBD

Texting, emailing, Facebook, flyers, and leaflets are good tools but one-on-one conversations are the best way to get people involved in a political project and convince them to take action.

In this organizing training, we'll talk about how to have a one-on-one conversation that leads to greater involvement in a shared political project and greater mutual understanding.

RACIAL SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE MEETING

Monday, November 18 | 7–9 p.m.

Call / text 209-613-0810 for location

Our regularly-scheduled monthly meeting of the Racial Solidarity Committee!

Location and accessibility details may vary.

RSVP

SOCIALIST FEMINIST PANEL: SILVIA FEDERICI, JENNY BROWN, AND DANI BURLISON

Monday, December 9 | 7–8:30 p.m.

Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley ♿️

East Bay DSA is proud to co-sponsor this panel discussion featuring some of the leading socialist-feminists of our time. Silvia Federici is a feminist activist, writer, and teacher well known for her works Wages Against Housework and Caliban and the Witch. Jenny Brown is a National Women's Liberation organizer, former editor of Labor Notes, and author of Without Apology: The Abortion Struggle Now. Dani Burlison is the author of Some Places Worth Leaving (Tolsun Books, 2019) and Dendrophilia and Other Social Taboos: True Stories.

This event is free and wheelchair-accessible. PM Press is a fellow co-sponsor.

Wheelchair accessible via elevator to event room.

RSVP
Not a Member Yet? Let's Fix That.
DSA now has 60,000 members, and we're still growing. There's never been a better time to get involved than right now! Join our national organization by clicking below and become an official socialist organizer.

Join DSA
The fight for education is happening here, too - students in Berkeley held a sickout and took to the streets to support their teachers’ demands for a fair contract. And in Oakland, we joined a vigil to protest the use of police violence against parents and teachers at last Wednesday’s OUSD board meeting.
Caucus Corner
Aside from the events and announcements in this newsletter our caucuses organize events too! Check out the Caucus Corner of the East Bay DSA website to learn more about the activities of East Bay DSA caucuses and how to participate.
Announcements
EAST BAY DSA IN SEARCH OF OFFICE SPACE
Do you or someone you know have access to an office space that East Bay DSA could rent? Because we are a member-run organization with limited resources, we are looking for a low-cost, below market rate office space. Please contact [email protected] if you have any leads. Thank you!
Nature shrinks as capital grows. The growth of the market cannot solve the very crisis it creates. Furthermore, while natural resources can be converted into cash, cash cannot be converted into nature's wealth… In nature's economy and the sustenance economy the currency is not money, it is life.
Vandana Shiva

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When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.
-- Frantz Fanon

🎃

Happy Halloween comrades! You've probably seen plenty of scary costumes today, but truly nothing is scarier than the fact that our state is on fire.

California's fires are caused by a combination of climate change and PG&E's profit-driven mismanagement. PG&E powers two-thirds of the state, and it loves cutting corners to increase profit margins. Instead of putting necessary funds toward safety and sustainability, PG&E spends millions of dollars on lavish executive pay and lobbying in Sacramento. As climate change and unsustainable development turn California into a tinderbox, the company's stubborn negligence increasingly costs people their homes, their health, and their lives.

That's why we say: Let's Own PG&E (https://letsownpge.org/) ! Because private companies answer to their investors, they can't be trusted to ensure the wellbeing of the public and the environment. Energy is a public good, and the people who provide it for us should answer to us — democratically. Public utilities exist all over the world, and even here in the U.S., where they were the norm until recent decades. This isn't a fringe idea. Congressman Ro Khanna is talking about (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/29/california-rep-ro-khanna-the-state-should-take-control-of-pacific-gas-and-electric.html) taking PG&E under public ownership, and Bernie Sanders is calling (https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/09/climate-town-hall-2020-democratic-presidential) for something similar on a large scale.

Speaking of Bernie Sanders, we have a few months to get him elected, and our chapter has a ton of Bernie canvasses coming up that you should join if you want to make that happen (see details below). And speaking of climate justice, be sure to join us at our upcoming General Meeting, where we’ll talk about socialism and the fight for the Green New Deal. Please also join us for our next edition of Night School, where we’ll talk about immigration and capitalism and hear from Suzy Lee, author of "The Case for Open Borders."

 

Featured Events

If you're ready to scare some billionaires, here's a list of upcoming events. RSVP to keep updated. You can also keep track on our Events page (http://eastbaydsa.org/events/) .


** CANVASS FOR BERNIE AT OAKLAND FIRST FRIDAY
------------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow! November 1 | 4–8 p.m.
Uptown Oakland, near Telegraph and Grand ♿️


Join us at Oakland First Friday to crowd canvass in support of Bernie's 2020 run and democratic socialism! We’ll be the ones in red working to make this a better world for the working class.

A democratic socialist is a frontrunner for the presidency, and DSA is building a mass movement for socialism behind him. Bernie Sanders's 2020 run offers an unprecedented opportunity for democratic socialists to reach thousands of people with our politics, build working-class power, and make sure that California — a crucial battleground state — goes to Bernie on
"Super Tuesday," March 3, 2020.

Join us to talk with and listen to all kinds of folks about the issues that affect their lives, and invite them to join the mass, working-class movement being built by Bernie 2020 and DSA. No experience necessary to canvass!

RSVP (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/834/2019-11-01-canvass-for-bernie-at-oakland-first-friday/)


** NEIGHBORHOOD CANVASS FOR BERNIE IN WEST OAKLAND
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, November 2 | 12–3 p.m.
West Oakland - RSVP here for address (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/835/2019-11-02-neighborhood-canvass-for-bernie-in-west-oakland/) ♿️

Keep the momentum going with a neighborhood canvass on Saturday in West Oakland! RSVP for address and other details.

RSVP (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/835/2019-11-02-neighborhood-canvass-for-bernie-in-west-oakland/)


** SOCIALIST NIGHT SCHOOL: THE CASE FOR OPEN BORDERS
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, November 5 | 7–9 p.m.
East Bay Community Space, 507 55th St, Oakland ♿️


Join the East Bay DSA Socialist Night School for a discussion of Suzy Lee’s groundbreaking essay "The Case for Open Borders," kicked off by a video interview with Lee herself.

For a century, the US labor movement advocated immigration restrictions in fear that new immigrants would drive down wages for US workers. In the last few decades, however, the AFL-CIO has made a dramatic turn to become advocates for comprehensive immigration reform. What accounts for that shift?

Policies that aim to restrict immigration flows rarely achieve their intended result. Instead, their main result is to deprive immigrant workers of rights and to undermine the ability of all workers to organize to improve their conditions. For that reason, Lee argues, the labor movement should advocate for the free movement of labor across borders. Such a stance provides the basis for solidarity between working-class people regardless of where they are born.

Accessibility: Entrance and bathroom are wheelchair-accessible.

RSVP (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/837/2019-11-05-socialist-night-school-the-case-for-open-borders/) Read the readings (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/night-school/)


** GENERAL MEETING: THE FIGHT FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, November 10 | 1–3 p.m.
Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave, Oakland, CA ♿️


This month’s general meeting will focus on the Green New Deal: what could it mean for the Bay Area and how do we win it? We’ll hear from a panel of local activists and union members on the topic, followed by a questions and comments session.

We need volunteers! From setup to sign-in to mic-running, volunteering for our meetings is lively, easy, and low-commitment. Volunteer here (https://forms.gle/EEhhQ1GPhqFxiPvq9) . Use this form, too, if you have child supervision or accessibility needs, including the need for an ASL interpreter.

Our next voting General Meeting will be in December. Member-submitted resolutions will be accepted on a rolling basis—please email them to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . The submission deadline for each meeting is three weeks in advance of the meeting itself.

The Omni Commons ballroom is wheelchair-accessible via a lift and has wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and we provide child supervision and wireless microphones with runners. It is also accessible by BART (1/2 mile walk from MacArthur Station) and by AC Transit bus lines 18, 88, and 12. See more information on Omni accessibility (https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Accessibility) .

RSVP (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/836/2019-11-10-general-meeting-the-fight-for-a-green-new-deal/)
Upcoming Events


** HOW TO HAVE A ONE-ON-ONE POLITICAL CONVERSATION
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, November 14 | 7–9 p.m.

Location TBD

Texting, emailing, Facebook, flyers, and leaflets are good tools but one-on-one conversations are the best way to get people involved in a political project and convince them to take action.

In this organizing training, we'll talk about how to have a one-on-one conversation that leads to greater involvement in a shared political project and greater mutual understanding.


** RACIAL SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, November 18 | 7–9 p.m.

Call / text 209-613-0810 for location


Our regularly-scheduled monthly meeting of the Racial Solidarity Committee!

Location and accessibility details may vary.

RSVP (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/758/2019-11-18-racial-solidarity-committee-monthly-meeting/)


** SOCIALIST FEMINIST PANEL: SILVIA FEDERICI, JENNY BROWN, AND DANI BURLISON
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, December 9 | 7–8:30 p.m.

Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley ♿️


East Bay DSA is proud to co-sponsor this panel discussion featuring some of the leading socialist-feminists of our time. Silvia Federici is a feminist activist, writer, and teacher well known for her works Wages Against Housework and Caliban and the Witch. Jenny Brown is a National Women's Liberation organizer, former editor of Labor Notes, and author of Without Apology: The Abortion Struggle Now. Dani Burlison is the author of Some Places Worth Leaving (Tolsun Books, 2019) and Dendrophilia and Other Social Taboos: True Stories.

This event is free and wheelchair-accessible. PM Press is a fellow co-sponsor.

Wheelchair accessible via elevator to event room.

RSVP (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/838/2019-12-09-socialist-feminist-panel-silvia-federici-jenny-brown-and-dani-burlison/)


Not a Member Yet? Let's Fix That.
DSA now has 60,000 members, and we're still growing. There's never been a better time to get involved than right now! Join our national organization by clicking below and become an official socialist organizer.

Join DSA (https://act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/)

Caucus Corner
Aside from the events and announcements in this newsletter our caucuses organize events too! Check out the (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/about/caucuses/) Caucus Corner of the East Bay DSA website (https://eastbaydsa.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eastbaydsa.org%2Fabout-caucuses&e=2a45200adde490b42ab2a48c4c963ae4&utm_source=eastbaydsa&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_8_26&n=23&test_email=1) to learn more about the activities of East Bay DSA caucuses and how to participate.


Announcements

EAST BAY DSA IN SEARCH OF OFFICE SPACE
Do you or someone you know have access to an office space that East Bay DSA could rent? Because we are a member-run organization with limited resources, we are looking for a low-cost, below market rate office space. Please contact [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Office%20Space) if you have any leads. Thank you!

Nature shrinks as capital grows. The growth of the market cannot solve the very crisis it creates. Furthermore, while natural resources can be converted into cash, cash cannot be converted into nature's wealth… In nature's economy and the sustenance economy the currency is not money, it is life.

--Vandana Shiva

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