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East Bay DSA Newsletter December 16, 2021
The emancipation of the working classes must be conquered by the working classes themselves.
Karl Marx
Comrades,

It's been nearly two years now that we've been living with the COVID-19 pandemic, and with another wave of a new variant on the horizon, it seems as though 2022 will start out much the same as 2021.

But there's much hope this holiday season. Out of the disruption of the pandemic, almost miraculously, a string of working class victories has emerged. In October and November, UAW workers at John Deere struck for the first time in 30 years.

Meanwhile, workers at cereal maker Kellogg's have been on strike since October 5, themselves inspired by the Nabisco strike earlier this year.

When workers are not marching on picket lines, they're still fighting for their rights. And East Bay DSA is right alongside them.

For nearly two years now, AC Transit bus drivers have carried riders through an unprecedented public health crisis. Before booster shots, before the vaccine, drivers were putting themselves at risk to serve the public as "essential workers."

Now, these same drivers are fighting to win the back hazard pay they deserve. You can help them by joining this weekend's ridership canvass with People's Transit Alliance.

We are currently in the midst of a strike wave the likes of which this country hasn't seen in decades. Worker power is back! And that's something we can all cherish this holiday season.

Solidarity!
Solidarity in action! ATU 192, TWU 250a, ATU 265, ATU 1555, IBEW 1245, OEA, ALC, East Bay DSA, and the People's Transit Alliance (PTA) rallied to fight for back hazard pay for transit workers. Join PTA and East Bay DSA this Saturday to canvass riders. RSVP here.
News and Information
Be sure to check out East Bay Majority, East Bay DSA's news source with a socialist perspective, for the latest news and information.

DEMANDING HAZARD PAY, TRANSIT WORKERS FORCE AC TRANSIT TO THE NEGOTIATING TABLE

All across California, frontline workers have demanded and won hazard pay during the pandemic, especially in grocery, retail and healthcare workplaces. Transit workers in the Bay Area, though, have not received one penny of extra compensation for continuing to work in life-threatening conditions. On July 28, over 40 AC Transit workers and riders spoke up at the AC Transit board meeting to demand transit workers be paid retroactive hazard pay.

Read more
Featured Events
While we are starting to be able to meet face-to-face, and events are still going on, whether in person or on Zoom, that you can be a part of. Events with a 🌹 are great for new members. RSVP below to stay updated. You can also keep track on our Events page.

🌹ZOOM TRAINING FOR TRANSIT RIDERSHIP CANVASS

Tonight! December 16 | 5–6 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info ♿️
See the description below for our AC Transit rider canvass on December 18. We’re holding an optional canvass training on Zoom tonight, December 16, from 5–6 p.m. to prepare and answer any questions you may have. RSVP below!

RSVP

ABOLITION WORKING GROUP

Tonight! December 16 | 7–8:30 p.m.
Frank Ogawa Plaza at Oakland City Hall ♿️
Meeting of the Abolition Working Group to hear about work done by members who are organizing for the abolition of the Prison Industrial Complex, and to do political education, plan actions, and hold space for folks within the chapter to get involved.

RSVP

🌹RIDERSHIP CANVASS WITH PEOPLE’S TRANSIT ALLIANCE

Saturday, December 18 | 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Fruitvale BART Station, 3401 E. 12th St, Oakland ♿️
Join the People's Transit Alliance and ATU Local 192 as we build worker and rider solidarity and power to ensure AC Transit becomes a public agency that actually addresses the needs of the multi-racial working class in the East Bay. We are canvassing bus riders to petition AC Transit to spend $110 million of federal rescue funds in line with these three unified demands:
  1. Expanded service
  2. Reduced fares
  3. Back hazard pay for frontline transit workers

If you've never canvassed before, that's okay! We will have a canvass training on Zoom the night of December 16 from 5–6 p.m. to prep for the Saturday canvass.

Bring yourself, a friend, a mask, and we'll supply the canvassing materials! Afterwards, we will be headed to nearby Ale Industries to debrief, share our experiences, and hang out!

Please fill out this RSVP form to attend.

COVID Safety: We will provide masks and hand sanitizer! If you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone that has symptoms, please do not attend the canvass or the social afterwards.

RSVP

🌹INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE MEETING

Saturday, December 18 | 1–2:30 p.m.
RSVP for location information ♿️
Join us for our International Solidarity Committee meeting! We will discuss the state of international struggles, ongoing solidarity work with other organizations, and planning the future work of the committee.

RSVP
Upcoming Events

RACIAL SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE MEETING

Monday, December 20 | 7–9 p.m.
Contact [email protected] for location information ♿️
Join the Racial Solidarity Committee for our monthly meeting!

The Racial Solidarity Committee (RSC) is dedicated to fighting for the rights of BIPOC communities here in the Bay Area as well as around the world. We are committed to building a multiracial democratic socialist organization that reflects the diversity of the Bay Area working class. Our work ranges from immigration justice and open borders to workers' rights and access to fully-funded public education. In our general meetings, we hold political discussions and report on upcoming RSC campaigns and events. Join us and become a part of the fight for Racial Solidarity!

Racial Solidarity Committee is open to all, and we especially welcome self-identified BIPOC folx. BIPOC facilitators take progressive stack, and we maintain community agreements.

RSVP
Catch up on Socialist Night School
CATCH UP ON NIGHT SCHOOL
Even with social distancing guidelines lifted, now's still as good a time as any to catch up on our Socialist Night School.

Catch up on past night school readings and videos below.

Watch past Night School videos

Catch up on Night School readings
Not a Member Yet? Let's Fix That.
DSA now has more than 90,000 members nationally, 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
Student Researchers at the University of California won recognition by UC as part of the SRU-UAW organizing campaign this month. This alone increased the number of unionized workers in the US by 0.1%.
Caucus Corner
Our caucuses organize events too! Check out the Caucus Corner of our website to learn more about the activities of East Bay DSA caucuses and how to participate.
Announcements
SIGN UP TO TALK TO A MOBILIZER!
Are you a new DSA member? Or are you looking to get more involved with East Bay DSA's projects and campaigns? Sign up to talk to a mobilizer!

Here are three reasons to sign up to talk to a mobilizer:

  1. Meet a fellow socialist organizer
    We want to build a movement of millions of working class people and change the exploitative and oppressive system in which we live, but we do that first and foremost by building one-to-one connections with each other.
     
  2. Answer your questions
    Learn more about DSA, the local East Bay chapter, and our different committees and projects.
     
  3. Get more involved
    The main thing a mobilizer will help you with is getting more involved in DSA. Maybe there’s a campaign or project you’re particularly interested in, or maybe you’re a blank slate and you don’t really know what to do. Either way, a mobilizer will help you figure it out.
Sign up to talk to a mobilizer!
Isolated, we are but straws that any boss can bend to his will, but organised we are a mighty force that no one can break.
Alexandra Kollontai

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To stop receiving emails, click here.

The emancipation of the working classes must be conquered by the working classes themselves.

-- Karl Marx

Comrades,

It's been nearly two years now that we've been living with the COVID-19 pandemic, and with another wave of a new variant on the horizon, it seems as though 2022 will start out much the same as 2021.

But there's much hope this holiday season. Out of the disruption of the pandemic, almost miraculously, a string of working class victories has emerged. In October and November, UAW workers at John Deere struck for the first time in 30 years.

Meanwhile, workers at cereal maker Kellogg's have been on strike since October 5, themselves inspired by the Nabisco strike earlier this year.

When workers are not marching on picket lines, they're still fighting for their rights. And East Bay DSA is right alongside them.

For nearly two years now, AC Transit bus drivers have carried riders through an unprecedented public health crisis. Before booster shots, before the vaccine, drivers were putting themselves at risk to serve the public as "essential workers."

Now, these same drivers are fighting to win the back hazard pay they deserve. You can help them by joining this weekend's ridership canvass (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcE2TmucM4yGqU6h3qS4puxA6GnMACRkY0zo9e_rSYFUY6lw/viewform) with People's Transit Alliance.

We are currently in the midst of a strike wave the likes of which this country hasn't seen in decades. Worker power is back! And that's something we can all cherish this holiday season.

Solidarity!

News and Information
Be sure to check out East Bay Majority (https://eastbaymajority.com/) , East Bay DSA's news source with a socialist perspective, for the latest news and information.


** DEMANDING HAZARD PAY, TRANSIT WORKERS FORCE AC TRANSIT TO THE NEGOTIATING TABLE
------------------------------------------------------------
All across California, frontline workers have demanded and won hazard pay during the pandemic, especially in grocery, retail and healthcare workplaces. Transit workers in the Bay Area, though, have not received one penny of extra compensation for continuing to work in life-threatening conditions. On July 28, over 40 AC Transit workers and riders spoke up at the AC Transit board meeting to demand transit workers be paid retroactive hazard pay.

Read more (https://eastbaymajority.com/ac-transit-jovanka-beckles-covid-hazard-pay-bus-drivers/)
Featured Events
While we are starting to be able to meet face-to-face, and events are still going on, whether in person or on Zoom, that you can be a part of. Events with a 🌹 are great for new members. RSVP below to stay updated. You can also keep track on our Events page (http://eastbaydsa.org/events/) .


** 🌹ZOOM TRAINING FOR TRANSIT RIDERSHIP CANVASS
------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight! December 16 | 5–6 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcE2TmucM4yGqU6h3qS4puxA6GnMACRkY0zo9e_rSYFUY6lw/viewform?usp=send_form) ♿️
See the description below for our AC Transit rider canvass on December 18. We’re holding an optional canvass training on Zoom tonight, December 16, from 5–6 p.m. to prepare and answer any questions you may have. RSVP below!

RSVP (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcE2TmucM4yGqU6h3qS4puxA6GnMACRkY0zo9e_rSYFUY6lw/viewform?usp=send_form)


** ABOLITION WORKING GROUP

------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight! December 16 | 7–8:30 p.m.
Frank Ogawa Plaza at Oakland City Hall ♿️
Meeting of the Abolition Working Group to hear about work done by members who are organizing for the abolition of the Prison Industrial Complex, and to do political education, plan actions, and hold space for folks within the chapter to get involved.

RSVP (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1956/2021-12-16-abolition-working-group/)


** 🌹RIDERSHIP CANVASS WITH PEOPLE’S TRANSIT ALLIANCE
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, December 18 | 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Fruitvale BART Station, 3401 E. 12th St, Oakland ♿️
Join the People's Transit Alliance and ATU Local 192 as we build worker and rider solidarity and power to ensure AC Transit becomes a public agency that actually addresses the needs of the multi-racial working class in the East Bay. We are canvassing bus riders to petition AC Transit to spend $110 million of federal rescue funds in line with these three unified demands:
1. Expanded service
2. Reduced fares
3. Back hazard pay for frontline transit workers

If you've never canvassed before, that's okay! We will have a canvass training on Zoom the night of December 16 from 5–6 p.m. to prep for the Saturday canvass.

Bring yourself, a friend, a mask, and we'll supply the canvassing materials! Afterwards, we will be headed to nearby Ale Industries to debrief, share our experiences, and hang out!

Please fill out this RSVP form to attend (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcE2TmucM4yGqU6h3qS4puxA6GnMACRkY0zo9e_rSYFUY6lw/viewform) .

COVID Safety: We will provide masks and hand sanitizer! If you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone that has symptoms, please do not attend the canvass or the social afterwards.

RSVP (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfcE2TmucM4yGqU6h3qS4puxA6GnMACRkY0zo9e_rSYFUY6lw/viewform?usp=send_form)


** 🌹INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE MEETING

------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, December 18 | 1–2:30 p.m.
RSVP for location information (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/2016/2021-12-18-international-solidarity-committee-meeting/) ♿️
Join us for our International Solidarity Committee meeting! We will discuss the state of international struggles, ongoing solidarity work with other organizations, and planning the future work of the committee.

RSVP (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/2016/2021-12-18-international-solidarity-committee-meeting/)
Upcoming Events


** RACIAL SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, December 20 | 7–9 p.m.
Contact [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) for location information ♿️
Join the Racial Solidarity Committee for our monthly meeting!

The Racial Solidarity Committee (RSC) is dedicated to fighting for the rights of BIPOC communities here in the Bay Area as well as around the world. We are committed to building a multiracial democratic socialist organization that reflects the diversity of the Bay Area working class. Our work ranges from immigration justice and open borders to workers' rights and access to fully-funded public education. In our general meetings, we hold political discussions and report on upcoming RSC campaigns and events. Join us and become a part of the fight for Racial Solidarity!

Racial Solidarity Committee is open to all, and we especially welcome self-identified BIPOC folx. BIPOC facilitators take progressive stack, and we maintain community agreements.

RSVP (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1687/2021-12-20-racial-solidarity-committee-monthly-meeting/)

Catch up on Socialist Night School
Even with social distancing guidelines lifted, now's still as good a time as any to catch up on our Socialist Night School.

Catch up on past night school readings and videos below.

Watch past Night School videos (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeMYhhCCTFq1jGdOt6lcF8l7HQJwnJndD)

Catch up on Night School readings (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/night-school/)

Not a Member Yet? Let's Fix That.
DSA now has more than 90,000 members nationally, 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 (http://dsausa.org/join?source=East%20Bay)

Caucus Corner
Our caucuses organize events too! Check out the Caucus Corner of our website (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/about/caucuses/) to learn more about the activities of East Bay DSA caucuses and how to participate.

Announcements

SIGN UP TO TALK TO A MOBILIZER!
Are you a new DSA member? Or are you looking to get more involved with East Bay DSA's projects and campaigns? Sign up to talk to a mobilizer!

Here are three reasons to sign up to talk to a mobilizer:
1. Meet a fellow socialist organizer
We want to build a movement of millions of working class people and change the exploitative and oppressive system in which we live, but we do that first and foremost by building one-to-one connections with each other.

2. Answer your questions
Learn more about DSA, the local East Bay chapter, and our different committees and projects.

3. Get more involved
The main thing a mobilizer will help you with is getting more involved in DSA. Maybe there’s a campaign or project you’re particularly interested in, or maybe you’re a blank slate and you don’t really know what to do. Either way, a mobilizer will help you figure it out.

Sign up to talk to a mobilizer! (https://forms.gle/np21b7Jt225z4xmq5)


Isolated, we are but straws that any boss can bend to his will, but organised we are a mighty force that no one can break.

-- Alexandra Kollontai

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