Comrade,
HAPPENING NOW
The
current vacancy on MDC DSA’s Steering Committee will be filled by
chapter-wide special election in January 2020. First step: nominations, which will open Monday, Dec. 9 and will be announced at this Sunday’s General Body Meeting. A link to the nominations form, open through Monday, Dec. 16, will be sent to all members this Monday. Members may be nominated by others or self-nominate; five nominations are needed to be on the ballot. A Temporary Election Working Group is in formation to administer the election and any chapter member volunteers are invited to join it – indicate willingness in the # steering slack channel or at
[email protected] .
TODAY, Rally with the 3435 Holmead Pl NW Rent Strikers!
For the past three months, tenants at 3435 Holmead Place NW have been fighting their slumlord UIP Management, one of the most ruthless and politically powerful developers in DC, to make basic repairs and improve living conditions in the building. They've directly confronted the bosses, circulated petitions, strategized together, and much more, all to win what everyone deserves: safe and dignified housing. This month, they're going on rent strike, and they are calling on the community to support them in this fight.
This building is also rent-controlled, meaning that the fight has even greater stakes: letting this building deteriorate or these tenants be pushed out through constructive neglect would be another blow to our rent-controlled housing stock. Several tenants testified at last month's hearing on rent control, and some of the problems they face would be addressed by the Reclaim Rent Control coalition's platform—of which Metro D.C. DSA is a part!
If they win, it will be one of the most important blows against the displacement machine in years. YDSA organizers with Stomp Out Slumlords have been working for months with militant tenants to hold UIP accountable—let's make sure they all know we have their backs!
Meet at 3435 Holmead Place NW (
map at link)
at 6 PM TODAY, Friday December 6th.
– Stephanie B
LABOR SOLIDARITY — THE LATEST FROM THE TRANSDEV ACTION and strike support opportunities
Our comrade Todd Brogan of ATU provides the latest on the campaign against WMATA’s privatization in this morning’s (Friday’s) issue of Union City. It’s Day 43 of the Cinder Bed strike and Day 1 of ATU’s fair labor practices strike of the Fairfax Connector. See in the article latest calendars for strike support and a shareable strike flyer.
Come join team Janeese Lewis George for a neighborhood canvass this Sunday, meeting at 1 p.m. at Library Tavern (5420 3rd St. NW). There will also be a brief rally before we head out to knock doors to celebrate the endorsements of five incredible progressive organizations in D.C.: Working Families Party, DC for Democracy, Black Lives Matter, Jews United for Justice, and of course, MDC DSA. Child care will be available. Hope to see you there
-- More details here:
https://actionnetwork.org/events/rally-and-canvass-for-janeese?fbclid=IwAR2kqjofipHdD0EB37LK7yn0lRLHvrZXx-jKktTw8CcGwDpNEtwMg0U45qU
--Irene K
ACTION REPORT: DSA 4 Bernie Working Group Update:
Do you love Bernie?
Of course you do. Do you want to be part of the movement that stands up to the 1%? Then say it with me: “EVERY. BILLIONAIRE. IS. A. POLICY. FAILURE.”
And join the
DSA 4 Bernie team working in metro Washington, D.C. We’re a group of volunteers that are organizing our Capitol-area neighborhoods to support Bernie in the Democratic primary and ultimately send him to the White House in 2020.
If you live, work, learn, or play in the area and want to meet some
SuperAwesome people that want to change the world, send us an email to learn more and get involved:
[email protected]
Want to take action immediately? Join our canvass this Saturday, December 7th.
DSA 4 Bernie Canvass on Saturday December 7
th from 12-3pm. Meet at the Wheaton Metro Station at noon.
https://www.meetup.com/mdcdsa/events/266789446/
https://www.facebook.com/events/2651872544894502/
Email us at:
[email protected] -- Join the convo on Slack:
#bernie
--Sara BC
Sunday Dec. 8,
NOVA Migrant Justice Kickoff at 1 PM at the Arlington Central Library (Ballston Metro stop) in the Wilson room. We are kicking off the new NOVA Branch working group based on migrant justice work, based on our recent brainstorming, votes, and discussions. Discuss how we focus on migrant justice work: what it means, how we act, and how we can fight to protect and empower our communities in NOVA.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2031176650318936/
--Alex H
BRIEFS
Sunday, December 15-- MoCo DSA welcomes two of their members who are also current members of the Maryland House of Delegates – Gabe Acevero and Vaughn Stewart – to brief MoCo members on the upcoming General Assembly session, which opens Jan. 8. They’ll meet in the Silver Spring Library. Get this and other MoCo DSA news, including a Bernie canvass this Saturday (Dec. 7) in their weekly branch newsletter here
https://mailchi.mp/mdcdsa.org/join-us-on-saturday-nov-1263388?e=003de9ccab
PREVIEW of the January 2020 Washington Socialist featured articles:
>>Andy Feeney on
changes in the political and social landscape of climate activism.
>>Kurt Stand on
continuing struggle to get criminal justice reform in Prince George’s County
>> and if you missed them, our December
Washington Socialist newsletter articles on the
Check Your Complicity campaign in NoVA,
DC labor history as seen in 1986, and “get on the bus” to
drop petitions on management of that local NFL team, demanding a non-racist name.
From the DSA National Director, the December Dispatch. You should have gotten this as an email, but if it passed you by, here’s a second shot. National committee actions including NPC statements, news on Bernie, M4All, national pubs, new chapters and organizing committees -- and swag!
Read it here.
Wednesday, December 11 -- OUTREACH action for MDC DSA-endorsed Maryland Dist. 5 primary candidate Mckayla Wilkes -- Join us for an evening of all-you-can-eat pasta* bar and phone banking for Metro DC DSA's very own Mckayla Wilkes.
Mckayla and her cadre of lovable leftists are trying to pump socialism into the hearts and minds of Maryland's 5th Congressional District. However, the evil Steny Hoyer is dead set on ruining the fun with planet-threatening climate policy and substandard healthcare. Will our heroes succeed and enjoy an evening of spreading socialism to the working class? Or will Steny extend his 40-year rule of corporate Democrat governance? Come by and find out! 6:30-8:30 PM,
5000 Sargent Rd. NE - walking distance from the Green, Red, and Yellow Lines at Fort Totten Metro Station -- Join #mckayla2020 on Slack for updates and details!
SAT January 11 Stomp Out Slumlords Know Your Rights Canvass with DCTU,
Come out and inform tenants of their rights in court, how to get a lawyer, and see if they're interested in organizing their building--and help build connections with the DC Tenant Union!
Meet at the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station near the 7th & Maryland exit – train at 1:30, canvass stepoff at 2.
Follow link for details.
Sunday after the GBM, interested comrades can consider the kickoff for Our Rev’s national campaign --
Sunday DEC 8 Our Revolution’s National Organize to Win 2020 Kickoff 5- 7:30 PM -- Hear National Chair Larry Cohen, Jim Zogby, Jim Hightower, and Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and Occoquan Supervisor Kenny Boddye. Eaton Hotel, 1201 K St. NW, DC
RSVP
SOCIALISM: CAN YOU FIND THE WORDS?
Attention all writers, editors, photographers, illustrators, and designers:
The Washington Socialist wants you! If you’re eager to contribute your talents to the
Publications Working Group,
fill out our contributor’s form and we’ll be in touch. We need your help to spread socialist ideas and news about the chapter’s work.
Meanwhile, our
publications schedule: This is the last monthly MDC DSA
Washington Socialist newsletter for 2019. Weekly Updates in December will be published Fridays, Dec. 13, 20 and (maybe) 27 if urgent fresh info demands it. The January 2020
Washington Socialist will be published Friday, Jan. 3 with
an article deadline of Dec. 28. An advance look at two January articles is above in BRIEFS.
Actually existing right-now socialism – This newsletter is published Friday. As the weekend and the week unfold, make sure to keep up with any changes in the events in our calendars by following links we helpfully provide here to Facebook Events pages or Meetup, where the latest information will be found.
-- The Publications Working Group edit team
