Plus: Strike Support, Westside neighborhood meetings, and more
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Week of February 7, 2022
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Take action for a Green New Deal for Public Schools in LA today!

First, send the LAUSD Board of Education a letter in support of the LAUSD Climate Literacy Resolution! This initiative aims to establish funding for a comprehensive LAUSD climate curriculum and justice program that will prepare LA’s youth to tackle and overcome the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

Second, sign the Green New Deal for LAUSD campaign petition! The proposal spotlights five key demands focused on green infrastructure and climate justice in the second-largest school district in the country. If you want to see environmental reforms like solar panels, electric school buses, green schoolyards, free student metro passes, and a robust climate curriculum, please take a moment to add your name to the petition and share it with a friend!

Stand with striking Baker's Union workers - Sign up for Strike Solidarity alerts

DSA-LA members returned to the picket line in Santa Fe Springs to support workers at a Jon Donaire cake plant that have been on strike since November 3rd. Members of BCTGM Local 37 (aka the Baker's Union) took strike action after their employer (the aptly-named Rich Products) refused to meet their demands. After working throughout the pandemic the union is bargaining to win improved contract language on healthcare, pensions, sick time, production standards and pay.

DSA-LA's Labor Committee and Eastside and San Gabriel Valley branch are organizing to support the striking workers because our struggle for social and economic justice is the same. For the working class to win we need a militant labor movement that raises expectations and strikes back against employers. Help us build this kind of labor movement by telling the Labor Committee more about your organizing interests https://dsa-la.org/workplace-survey/ and signing up to receive Strike Solidarity alerts bit.ly/DSALAstrikepledge22.

We (still) want to hear from you -- Fill out the new and improved member survey today!

We want to learn as much as possible about the people who make up DSA-LA. This information will help us gather crucial feedback, connect chapter organizers with members who have skills and resources to share, and gain a better understanding of the demographics of our membership base. It should take around 5 minutes to complete.

CALENDAR

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!

Education Workers Circle Meeting

TONIGHT! Monday, February 7 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Join the Education Workers Circle to build power in your workplace and a socialist presence in your union! K-12 and University educators welcome.

Healthcare Justice Committee Meeting

TONIGHT! Monday, February 7 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Please RSVP here to join us for our first Healthcare Justice Committee meeting of the new year! We’ll be discussing important upcoming AB 1400 work, tabling events, and more. Zoom link will be provided directly to RSVPs, and an agenda will be sent prior to the meeting.

Hugo Working Group Meeting (+ Hugo Campaign)

TONIGHT! Monday, February 7 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

You are a critical part of our plan to win!

Join us for the very first of our meetings co-hosted by the DSA working group and campaign, where we will share our plan to build a lasting community power in CD13 and lay out our upcoming big weekend of action on Feb 12th & 13th.

This meeting will include:  

  • political education centering the history of Echo Park Lake led by our own DSA members
  • hearing from the candidate himself about his campaign priorities 
  • planning for our big upcoming actions on February 12th & 13th 

In the meantime, feel free to reach out to the Hugo Working Group [email protected], and we hope to see you at weekend canvasses!

DSA-LA San Fernando Valley Marxism Reading Group: Socialism: Utopian and Scientific

Tuesday, February 8 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Join us for our discussion of Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, a pamphlet from German philosopher Friedrich Engels from the year 1880 CE. Engels, alongside Karl Marx, co-wrote The Communist Manifesto in 1848.

This influential pamphlet is a good introduction to the materialist conception of human history and how it differs from human idealism. Can we do socialism scientifically? Who were the utopian socialists? What was their deal? What does “utopian” mean in this context anyway? Feel free to come join us, discuss, and find out! Zoom link and reading materials will be provided ASAP after RSVP. See you then!

Labor Committee February General Meeting

Wednesday, February 9 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Join us on Wednesday, February 9th at 7:00 PM for our monthly Labor Committee meeting. We will be discussing workplace organizing, the labor movement, and opportunities for DSA members to organize and build worker power.

The core of DSA-LA’s labor work is our Labor Circles program. If you are interested in joining a Labor Circle or forming a new Circle, you can begin by filling out the Socialist Workplace Survey. The survey will help us map where we are in LA’s economy and identify where we have workplace, industry and union membership densities to organize around. Take a minute and fill out the Socialist Workplace Survey today!

South Bay Neighborhood Meeting

Saturday, February 12 @ 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Neighborhood Meetings are a structured place for comrades to engage in socialist political education and tangibly contribute to our chapter’s priority campaigns, in their own areas. 

This meeting will feature discussion and planning aligned with strategic power-mapping for the Childcare for All campaign, and information on the development of the Green New Deal for Public Schools campaign.

Recommended popular education reading forthcoming!

Note that this and all other South Bay Neighborhood Meetings are open to new and long-time comrades who live in El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Lawndale, Alondra Park, Carson, and West Carson.

Coastal Areas Neighborhood Meeting

Sunday, February 13 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Neighborhood Meetings are a structured place for comrades to engage in socialist political education and tangibly contribute to our chapter’s priority campaigns, in their own areas. 

This meeting will feature discussion and planning aligned with strategic power-mapping for the Childcare for All campaign, and information on the development of the Green New Deal for Public Schools campaign.

Recommended popular education reading forthcoming!

Note that this and all other Coastal Areas Neighborhood Meetings are open to new and long-time comrades who live in the range of coastal cities and areas, including: Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Playa Vista, Del Rey, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey, Malibu, Topanga, and the Pacific Palisades.

WeHo, Pico-Robertson, and Miracle Mile Neighborhood Meeting

Sunday, February 13 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Neighborhood Meetings are a structured place for comrades to engage in socialist political education and tangibly contribute to our chapter’s priority campaigns, in their own areas. 

This meeting will feature discussion and planning aligned with strategic power-mapping for the Childcare for All campaign, and information on the development of the Green New Deal for Public Schools campaign.

Recommended popular education reading forthcoming!

Note that this and all other WeHo, Pico-Robertson, and Miracle Mile Neighborhood Meetings are open to new and long-time comrades who live in West Hollywood, Hollywood Hills West, Miracle Mile, Fairfax, Pico-Robertson, Beverly Crest, Beverly Hills, Beverlywood, Carthay, and Beverly Grove.